On this beautiful Saturday morning I decided to make the drive down to the delta to the little town of Locke. This is a regular Plein Aire Meet-up, every 1st Saturday of the month, thanks to Martha Esch who lives in the area. The interesting thing about the Plein Aire Meet-ups is that you have no idea who is going to be there if anyone. I am guilty of RSVPing and not showing up as well as showing up without RSVPing. And so, when I got there, no one was there. It was kind of like a ghost town--well, I guess its always like a ghost town, that's part of the charm of this place. After taking a stroll around town (it takes about 15 minutes to make the loop around the whole town) I set up right on the corner of the main street through town.
As I first started to sketch, I realized that I was going to need to remember rules of perspective from drawing classes 20 years ago- vanishing points! Landscapes have some sense of perspective but when you're drawing buildings, it becomes VERY noticeable. Even now, as I compare the painting to the photo, I can see my perspective should have been "more extreme". It just goes against reason as you are drawing diagonal lines for what your eye sees as straight lines. This was definitely a new challenge compared to the last building I had painted, the
Indian Museum, where I had looked at it straight on. The eaves on the first building seemed to come straight out at me and were difficult to figure out. And although the eave supports of the second building aren't quite long enough (they appear to be against the building instead of out to the sidewalk), I really liked the effect of the negative space. I had wanted to create the same effect on the first building too but with watercolors, once your white paper is painted on, you really can't get it back! Maybe if I tried this again...? Lots of good thoughts for next time. Of course if I would work in acrylic, it would be more forgiving...hmmm, I still haven't met that challenge yet of plein aire painting with acrylic.
Later in the morning, Martha Esch came by and took a photo of me finishing up my painting and invited me to her studio at the end of the street, The Shack. The building itself is a piece of artwork, with very eclectic art decorating the exterior walls and patio. And once you are inside, she has on display a variety of paintings that she has done, from views of the town of Locke to old German warplanes, and Mona Lisa! She also has a small room dedicated to the history of Locke. Martha has a wealth of knowledge about this little town, historical as well as political (oh, does she have stories!). Martha also happens to be the current coordinator for the Plein Aire Meet-ups, so I thought this was a very productive outing!
Locke is one of those towns that just lends its self to creativity. The buildings are so unique and the walkways throughout the town create these unusual perspectives. The last time I was here, Painting Locke, I found myself challenged by the rules of perspective, which seem even more extreme down the long narrow main street of the town. So this time, I put the vanishing point in the middle of the painting. The details of the buildings was where the challenge laid this time. I found that interpreting them into geometric shapes was the best solution. And the negative spaces between created the supporting beams (as well as a buffer to keep the colors from bleeding together). 
The left side of the street was obscured from my view, so it didn't get any attention other than the shadows that were cast. I need to work on foreshortening cars, but this was my first attempt at painting cars (putting cars into a painting!) so I thought I did pretty well. I liked the big yellow street sign at the end of the street so it got more emphasis in the painting than can be seen in the photo.
I think my favorite part of the painting, though, is the motorcycle in the foreground. I was just experimenting with different shades of black and trying to get the essence of the bike and its shadow without too much detail. 
