Days 320 and 321 Marshfield Fair Drawings pen & ink and pencils

 More quick sketches from the Marshfield Fair.  We go almost every night to walk around, look at the festivities, visit with friends and perhaps have a meal.  I decided to leave the sketchbook home and just brought a folded piece of sketch paper in my pocket.  The first drawing is from the stools at the Fair clam shack, and the second through the door down in the Horticulture area of the Agricultural Hall.
These are days 320 and 321 

of my daily drawings.  Thank you for your continued interest. 

Day 319 "Quilters at the Fair" 9 x 9 pen & ink

I love the Marshfield Fair, and volunteer there frequently each August.  It is enjoyable to watch the activity increase and the buildings fill during the weeks and days ahead. In the Agricultural Hall, country arts and crafts are submitted upstairs, and quilts are hung from wires strung among the rafters.  Each year, a table of quilters works during the fair, piecing together quilts from squares entered to the annual themed contest.  I love the dimensions built by these beautiful hand made treasures hanging throughout the building.
This is my three hundred nineteenth daily drawing.  Thank you for your continued interest. 

"At the Fair" oil 10 x 8

The August theme for Girls Just Wanna Paint theme was "edges".  Here is my take on the theme.  Each year I paint at the Marshfield Fair.  This year, I painted inside the Agricultural Hall, where the quilts and other art are displayed.  I was drawn to the doorway, through which people entered from the heat into the darker, cooler space in the Hall.  I needed to concentrate on softening the edges of the figures in the doorway, the trees against the sky, and all the outdoor shapes to keep the light consistent.  

Day 158 "Escape the Heat" ink and pastel 6 x 5

Every summer I spend some time at the Marshfield Fair, volunteering for a friend of mine who runs part of this lovely agricultural fair. The fair is a smorgasbord of visual interest for me.  Here's a quick sketch of a family coming through the door from outside in the heat.  
This is my hundred fifty eighth daily drawing.  I so appreciate your interest.  Thank you.

"August Garden" 9 x 6 mixed

Scrolling through my old photos, I found this one of a sunflower garden taken from under the cooling leaves of a tree.  I remember it was a hot day out in the sun, but the tree was accompanied by a small water feature which provided cooling through sound and temperature.  Nice spot over on the corner of the Marshfield Fair Grounds here in town.  I drew it in pen and ink, then added some warm gray marker, colored pencil, crayon and then white conte pencil.  This is my sixty-eighth daily drawing.  Thank you for looking.

"Horse Pull" 6 x 9 pen & ink #dailydrawing 33

I spend a lot of time at the Marshfield Fair in the summer, volunteering in one of the departments.  I try to spend time watching the horse pull each summer.  I love the way the horses work in tandem, and how they seem to want to pull the ever-increasing weights.  This pair of horses are being led to the sled carrying the weights.  It's a complex dance, the pair swinging wide, their handlers lining them up, holding the horses in check while they back the team up to the sled, drop the hook, and the team takes off.  In each team, one horse seems to dominate, setting the pace and direction for the team.  Both horses wear blinders.  I'll try to see it again next summer.
This is my 33 daily drawing using ink in some form.  Thank you for looking.

"Shakes & Cones" ink and warm gray 6 x 9 #Inktober

Each summer  I volunteer at the Marshfield Fair, and spend time there many evenings.  I love the pageantry, lights, hubbub, activity, and the charm.  I was drawn to the contrast in this image with the backlit figures, and the light emanating from within the ice cream truck onto the family. It's one of many vignettes throughout the fairgrounds.  
This is my 25th drawing for #Inktober.  Thank you for looking at my drawings.

"Flower Power" watercolor & ink 9 x 12

Yesterday I painted at the Marshfield Fair with a few other artists.  We were each assigned a fireworks-themed flower arrangement to interpret as we wished.  I worked with my sketchbook, intending to create a page which represented the busyness of this area at the Fair, and the sense of fireworks.  I drew the scene in ink, then began adding watercolor.  When I got home, I added a little watercolor crayon  to tie together some of the darks... an explosion of color.
Here are a few photos showing my process.

As always, thanks for looking.

"Meet Me at the Fair" acrylic 2' x 3'

The Marshfield Fair begins this week.  Each year I volunteer down in the Horticulture area in the basement of the Agricultural Hall.  There is a GCFM (Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts) flower show every year.  Themes vary.  This year's theme is "Take Me to the Fair" in honor of the Marshfield Fair's 150th anniversary.  Here is the sign I painted announcing the show.  It will be hung on the side of the building by the entrance.   I look forward to painting a sign each year.... 

Thanks for looking.  

"Fair Friends" oil 8 x 8

Every year, I do a painting demo at the Marshfield Fair.  You can find me on the first Sunday hanging out upstairs in the main building.  The juxtaposition of inside and outside is always intriguing for me.  I chat away with children and adults.  The room is visually stimulating with beautiful quilts hanging from the rafters and a wide variety of handmade arts and crafts entered by the public. Check the Fair website for entry categories and dates in the exhibitor handbook each year.  
To the left, you can see how I blocked in this painting, with one dark and warm shape for the inside, and a cool yellow light shape for the outside space, along with the indication of some people in the doorway.  I may get back there this week for another painting day.. hope so.
 

Marshfield Fair observations - watercolor

Every student in our K-12 school creates two Exhibitions of Mastery each year.  Exhibitions of Mastery are long term projects that involve research and public presentation.  The students from our school are terrific public speakers as a result.  My arts project is collaborating with the Marshfield Fair (our local Agricultural Fair) this year, its 149th.  My students are going to work in groups to research some of the Fair's offerings for visitors, including horticulture, 4-H, vegetables, artisans, quilting, etc, and make educational displays that will be moved around the Fair during its 10 days in August, the goal being to inform and entice families to see all that the Fair has to offer during their visit.  We'll begin in earnest after vacation, but the students did some research this week and painted their choice of images.  I am impressed by their sense of design.   As always, the midway rides are a big draw.

Sketching and Listening

I attended an interesting conference yesterday with a variety of speakers.  I took the chance to work in my sketchbook, adding some watercolor pencil to a few sketches, and drawing the conference attendees.  Sometimes I am a better listener when I am working with my hands and other parts of my brain at the same time.  

I have math students who like to doodle in class.  Maybe their brains work as mine does. I check in with them to make sure they are hearing instruction and retaining the content.  If so, they can doodle away.  If not, I work with them to help them discern when to doodle and when to shift focus back to the class. I remember sitting at rigid attention in classes as a child.  I wish doodling had been an option.    How about you?       

Fair Floral - 10 x 8 oil

Katie making some changes

My home town has an agricultural fair that takes over the aptly named, "fairgrounds" here for 10 days each August.  We love the Fair, have volunteered/worked there for years and years, and we go for a little while everyday, maybe just to walk and take in the pageantry, lights, color, etc.  This year, the director for the arts and crafts area organized a floral design/floral painting afternoon.  Floral arrangers arranged, then artists painted the arrangements.  Here is my result, with a few shots of the painting in progress.  And, I gave my daughter a few minutes at the easel while I took a short break. So, I guess this painting is a collaboration.  

As always, I love your comments.  Thanks for looking.

Establishing the light and dark pattern... looks a little bit like "Little Shop of Horrors" at this point

Modelling in the lights and darks

  

Marshfield Fair 2012

The Marshfield Fair comes to town for 10 days each August.  We love it and have volunteered for years in a variety of ways during the weeks prior to and including the Fair.  We find ourselves there almost every day, enjoying the lights, the pageantry, the sounds and smells, the people watching.

We spend a lot of time in Agricultural Hall, smack dab in the center of the fairgrounds.  Arts and Crafts are housed upstairs and Horiculture

is downstairs.  This year, I was scheduled for a painting demo upstairs, and chose the Arts and Crafts Shop. I love the majestic old building with its views of carnival rides and festivities out the windows.  

I have been bringing my sketchbook and will sit and draw while soaking up the atmosphere.  Whether I am sitting isolated on the rocks of a Maine Island, or amid the hubbub of our local country fair, I am blessed...