Summer is winding down and I'm ready for a break from all this sunshine and fresh air. My computer corner is beckoning and I have plenty of backlogged photos, all patiently waiting their turn to be loaded onto my Caboose.
Here's a series of buildings located in beautiful downtown Swift Current that I've done over the last few years. As you know this travel/home & garden/art/Oaxaca blog is also a part-time art gallery so here's my current exhibition.
It's the brick façades that catch my attention - I like painting shades of old brick. And bicycles. All lined up in front of our local bike shop owned by Grant, a retired French teacher turned bike expert.
I especially appreciate these locally-owned, independent businesses that add unique flavour to our city. Many are run by young people who have grown up here and have chosen to stay and seek their fortune in their own community.
This shoe store is managed by Amy, a third-generation owner/manager of the family business that provides old-fashioned shoe repair, as well as a huge variety of great boots and shoes.
I recently bought the softest red shoes for my mom's 104 year-old feet at this store and she loves them.
Bre owns a sweet and very stylish little boutique that offers the latest in women's clothing in the Prassas Block.
Kitty-corner to her store is the bright green Optical Image building on Central Ave and Cheadle Street. It's a busy centre for high-fashion glasses with a friendly staff known for their personal service.
During my childhood this building with the angled entrance was home to Jomar's Stationery (presumably named by combining the names of the owners, Joe and Mary Belle Lautsch). The green corner building still reminds me of buying school supplies there in the 1960's, brand new Crayolas and pristine notebooks and clean pink erasers.
I intensify colour and embellish spontaneously when I'm painting these pictures. A faithful architectural rendering is never my goal - some nostalgic charm and a touch of sentimentality is what seems to show up.
Sometimes it's the landscaping that offers appealing shapes and colour, like this Chartered Accountants Office which I gave to my friend Connie.
Occasionally I remind myself that drawing people really isn't that scary so I gather up my artistic courage and throw in a few pedestrians. And even a little dog if you look closely, something I've almost never drawn.
Some of these watercolours were framed and shown in two local art exhibitions and most, but not all, were purchased. The buyer then owns the original picture to reproduce for advertising or whatever they want, but not the copyright, so I can continue to show the digital version for purposes like this.
I recently found my painting of a wartime couple strolling by the Lyric Theatre, which I had copied from an old photo. I'm not sure who did the poster design, but I like the final result.
There's lots more subject matter on Central Avenue. I hope to get busy and entertain myself with more watercolours in this series sometime in the future.
But August weather is hot and lazy, and there's some autumn camping days ahead, and my eyes are still recovering from cataract surgery.
It may be awhile before I set brush to paper. The pleasure of art and blogging in the age of retirement is that you can take your sweet time. No need to move too fast.
Thanks for your visit to my Caboose Art Gallery!
