The Annual Carolina Renaissance Festival

While we were in North Carolina we took the grandchildren (and their parents) to the Renaissance Festival which is a little over an hour north of Charlotte.

These festivals are entertainment for people whether they like live shows, music, food, games, shopping, history taken lightly, or people watching.

We were greeted by Renaissance songs at the entrance.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell the visitors from the enactors.

We had no trouble recognizing the queen and her court.

There were some strange sights.

This is one of the eleven stages scattered throughout the grounds, all of which offered multiple shows.

For those who wanted to participate, there were carnival-like games.

Or if you wanted to be more active, you could go up...

and down...

on the Pirates Assault Catapult.

One of the shops...

Afterward you could walk around showing everyone your new finery.

There were educational exhibits like this one where you could learn more about the artisans of the era.  The man closest to the front made his  mail, link by link.

Here is a group of volunteers who educate those interested about the sighthounds popular in the Renaissance era.  You can learn more about the group at

www.HoundsofEastFairhaven.org

There are acts set up in the open areas as well as on the stages.  This is one I liked.

He didn't have business cards, told us to go on-line and type in Cale, juggler from Minnesota.  Sure enough that brings up websites where you can learn more about him.

After a pleasant afternoon, we headed south toward Charlotte.

The Best-Laid Plans...Gorges State Park, North Carolina,

Tom wanted to see a waterfall when we went to North Carolina.  He settled for looking at a wall with water falling over it as he sat in a parking lot.

The first problem was that we are from Ohio which has mostly flat terrain because the ice age glaciers smoothed most of our state.  As a result, it is hard for us to estimate how long it will take to drive a distance in a mountainous area.  One and a half hours would have been much more than enough  time in Ohio to get to Gorges from our location.  On the twisting roads in the North Carolina foothills and mountains, the actual time was closer to two and a half hours.

Our youngest son, his family, Tom and I finally arrived at Gorges' picnic area where we ate a late  lunch.  We were hungry.  We were hungry an hour earlier.

There was a waterfall trail close to the picnic area but the trail was listed as strenuous.  Anything strenuous is too much for Tom's scooter, even his new one.  As it turned out, it was almost too strenuous for me.  But I made it back to tell the story so all is well.

Here is a view of Bear Wallow Falls from the lookout at the lower end of the steeply sloping rocky trail.

It was the upward climb back to the parking lot that almost did me in.  Besides being steep, rocks half embedded in the trail offered tripping opportunities and so did the roots of the trees clinging to the exposed rocks and bedrock.

We were short of time since we were due back for a supper with several additional people but we did take time to stop at the park headquarters and look at the view from the walkway around it. Next time Tom and I will look at the exhibits inside

The  water continually falling over the tall wall is behind the V of timbers on the building's porch.

My son walked ahead of me, turned a corner, then returned.  "You'll like the view from the back of the building."

He was right.

We'll visit the park again but next time we will stay in a town closer to the park and plan to take an entire day to explore  Tom will find that scooter-friendly trail he knows is somewhere at Gorges State Park because he read about it on the Internet.

Finishing the Yellow Waterlily

Yellow Waterlily...13.5 inches by 10.5 inches...watercolor

This is the way the painting looked in September.  I had matted, framed it and exhibited it a year earlier.  I was disappointed in the painting.  I had finished it at the last minute and it just didn't shine the way I wanted it to. 

This is the photo Tom took at Biltmore Estates in October of 2009 which was my reference photo.

The day was dreary and rainy and the flower was a bright spot.  I tried to make it brighter by strengthening the yellows but it still didn't pop out from the background.  This time I put several washes of Antwerp blue over the background and washed a little yellow into the area behind the lily.  I laid washes of Antwerp blue, Winsor green, New Gamboge, and Magenta mingled in various ways over the nearest lily pad.

I like the painting better now that the lily has become more prominent.  Still the painting is very different in coloring from the photo I used for my inspiration.  Playing with colors is part of the fun of painting.

The white mat was a distraction on the original painting.  Now a white mat looks better.  I also experimented with two other matting possibilities.  All three possibilities are below.

The colors in the final example are the closest to the mats and also the painting.

Painting with Friends...August 4

Last Thursday, the three of us gathered at Marsha's house for a morning painting session.  It was good to see Donna and Marsha.  We always find plenty to talk about between our silent intense spells of painting.  We talk a lot about painting, but we also talk about other things. 

Donna worked from her computer.  (Marsha has WiFi)  The photo on the screen is one Donna took at Meadow View Gardens south of New Carlyle.  She is using acrylics.  I forgot to ask her if she was using Golden Open.  Golden Open is a new type of acrylic which acts a bit more like oil paint. I know Donna likes them.

Marsha is using her iPad for reference.  She took the photo at the Bass Pros Shop in Springfield, Missouri.  Bass Pros Shops have wonderful dioramas featuring animals which have been stuffed by expert taxidermists.
She is working with watercolors on 140 weight cold-pressed paper.

And here I am.  I am using watercolors on 140 weight cold-pressed paper, also.  I am using the wet-on-wet technique, glazing with thin layers of paint.  You can see the ripples in the paper which will disappear when the paper dries.  Taping the paper to a board helps control the rippling.  Above the painting is part of the computer generated enlargement of a photo Tom took at Biltmore Estate in North Carolina two years ago.

After we painted intensely for a little over an hour, we took a snack break and studied what we had accomplished.

All three of us opted to bring  store-prepared snacks from our local groceries. Marsha provided iced tea, cups, plates, and napkins. 


                                    

Then we went back to work again.  Here, Donna is making the lily "pop" by adding a blue-green background.  I expect to see her finished painting on her blog.
www.donnapierceclark.com/blog

Here is a close up of Marsha's painting.  She used mask which is a rubbery liquid that dries to a protective cover over the grasses and the egrets.  She decided not to paint the rocks in the upper left triangle of the photograph but to turn that area into something which resembles sparkling water or a night sky.  Take your pick.  The white speckles were created by sprinkling salt on the wet watercolor. The completed painting is on her Red Bubble site.
http://redbubble.com/people/melliott

Here is my waterlily after the paper dried.  The ripples are gone.  Since I work slowly, and since I am using the glazing technique I expect to be painting on this for a number of days.
www.donnapierceclark.com/blog

Lone Pine...Final

Lone Pine...14 inches by 11 inches...Watercolor on 300wt. paper

After listening to the comments of various people, I added roots to the tree although they were completely hidden by the rocks in the original photo and toned down the foliage on the clifftop. Thank you to everyone who critiqued this painting and to those who thought it was fine as it was.

Having people like the painting just as I have painted it pleases me. That means the possible changes are not immediately visible.

It is always easier for me to see what another artist can change to improve a painting than it is for me to see what I could change in my own work. If I immediately notice something that doesn't feel right on my paintings, I keep on working. I know it is not ready to show to anyone. It's those "maybe yes" "maybe no" changes that are harder to figure out.