Adam & Eve in Tower Grove Park, St. Louis

Adam & Eve in Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, 07/12/2015, 7" x 9", watercolor on Canson 140 lb cp, Michael Anderson.

I took my sketching kit to the weekly outing of the Missouri Plein Air Painters Association in Tower Grove Park. The park is a large swath of urban landscape that once was the private garden of wealthy St. Louisan, Henry Shaw. It includes several ponds, some planted with lotus and waterlilies. After completing a couple of ink sketches I launched into the watercolor study above. A passerby stopping to look at each of the painters works in progress commented that my page looked like the Garden of Eden and said "you even have Adam & Eve!" One of my MOPAPA friends responded "That is your title." And so it is. Perfect for a Sunday morning in this earthly paradise.

Lotus plants, Precise V7 roller ball pen, Faber Castell Artist Pens

Plein air painters, Precise V7 roller ball pen, Faber Castell Artist Pens

Shakespeare Statue, St. Louis

Standing at the center of Tower Grove Park in a roundabout is a monumental bronze statue of William Shakespeare by the Bavarian sculptor Ferdinand von Miller. The work, a gift of Mrs. Henry Shaw, was dedicated in 1878. I began my sketch early in the day which was good  because by late morning the park was beginning to fill up and someone parked their car right in front of me effectively blocking my view. Fortunately I was close to finish plus I had taken a reference snapshot earlier. I put the final touches on this one in my studio. 

Shakespeare Statue, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, 08/11/13, Michael Anderson, watercolor on canson 140lb cold press, waterbrush.

Bandstand, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis

I spent several Sundays this summer sketching in Tower Grove Park with other Missouri Plein Painters Association artists. I have been working in watercolor in panoramic format with the idea that I would later develop these sketches into much larger studio paintings. This pavilion is the site of weekly band concerts throughout the summer as well as a popular spot for weddings. I have sketched here many times before but not from this side with the landscaped island in the foreground. The colorful scene seemed to lend itself to the page design and I completed it on location in about 2 hours, a bit longer than what is considered a typical "sketch."

Victorian Pavilion, Bandstand, Tower Grove Park, 07/15/2012, Michael Anderson, watercolor on Arches 140lb cold press, 8" x 23".

Composers Statues, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis

Marble busts on granite columns of Rossini, Beethoven, Wagner and other classical composers surround one of the most elegant Victorian gazebos in Tower Grove Park. This sketch depicts a portion of the formal circular pathway around the structure and was painted on a Sunday morning outing with Missouri Plein Air Painters Association. The piece was accepted into a landscape themed exhibit called Lay Of The Land which opens next week at the St. Louis Artists' Guild.

Garden Path, 07/08/2012, Michael Anderson, 8" x 23", watercolor on Arches 140lb rough

Tower Grove Park, St. Louis

One of my fave places to sketch and paint is the Victorian era park on the city's south side. Landscape workers have maintained the park very well this summer as always so despite the withering drought and record high temps the flowers and lily pads are in full bloom. Elephant ear ferns, cannas, crepe myrtle, castor bean, fountain grass as well as the palmettos and other tropical foliage continue to flourish. Formal pathways wind through the park, around colorful gazebos, elegant plantings, statuary and fountains. Missouri Plein Air Painters met here on four consecutive Sunday mornings beginning in late June.

Tower Grove Path, 07/01/2012; Michael Anderson, watercolor on Arches 140lb rough, 8" h x 23" w.