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Graffiti by the River |
I am working towards an exhibit of drawings of Cedar Falls, Iowa, my home for over 25 years.
As I draw Cedar Falls, I have discovered themes. EDGE OF TOWN is one of them. Here is a drawing I did today, Thursday, September 13th. I sat under the highway bridge that crosses over the Cedar River above Washington Park. The further bridge is a bicycle/pedestrian bridge that leads to an extensive trail system within George Wyth State Park (all the trees and color beyond). The river is a wild place. This river front, city park is a wild place. It is only a few blocks from my old-town residential neighborhood. On walks, I routinely see fox, raccoon, bald eagles, and heron. All while semis rumble overhead on the highway. I'd been attracted to drawing these two bridges for awhile. When I discovered the freshly applied graffiti at the base of the bridge pier the other day, I knew I had to act fast. The public works department is super vigilant about painting over graffiti. It usually doesn't last more than a couple weeks.
Here are two other drawings I did this summer that I feel speak to the EDGE OF TOWN theme:
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Dead End at the Bean Field |
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Cornfield from North Cedar Neighborhood |
So good to see you have mature corn! And what a great series of sketches!! Love the corn tassles.
ReplyDeleteThe cornfield one was drawn in early July, before the extreme drought had taken its toll. Now this field looks like what farmer friend Marianne aptly calls tall, vertical French fries. I don't know how salvageable the few cobs I saw in this field are for harvest. Glad you like this set of drawings.
DeleteYou really nailed that sense of light and shadow! Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt was such an enjoyable interlude of onsite drawing--the soft, late-in-the-day light heightened by the darkness under the highway bridge. Also enjoyable because there were NO biting bugs (I'm covered with black fly bites from an earlier in the week drawing excursion.)
DeleteWhere did you go that you got black flies? HATE them...and it does look like you had a marvelous time.
DeleteAfter a mosquito-free Iowa summer, I was caught off guard when I set up my stool on a weedy strip next to a chain link fence to draw the school bus garage http://flic.kr/p/d99zTf. I usually carry bug spray with my sketching stuff. It wasn't where it was supposed to be and those black flies hurt when they bite and the bite gets more and more inflamed over the subsequent days. Black flies are usually not that big a deal in Iowa. It's been a very weird summer climate-wise. Oh the rigors of on-site sketching!
DeleteYou are the queen of green! Your greens are always rich and full of life!
ReplyDeleteI am honored by the new title you have bestowed on me, Barbara. Just as long it's not ME that's green, as in motion sickness which I am terrible prone to.
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