The people that I meet when I’m painting on the street

Hello and welcome to the February 2023 edition of my blog, "The Viridian Path," where I chronicle the experiences I have and, 'the people that I meet when I'm painting on the street.'  You would think February would be a quiet month for a plein air (outdoors) painter, but that was not the case for me!  February was chalk* (see more below on that) full of amazing experiences and people.  So, let's get to it!

February 1st found the Virginia Highlands Plein Air Painters (VaHiPAP) and myself at the Ponce City Market in Atlanta.  Ponce is an old industrial building rich with iron architecture and wooden floors that's been converted to restaurants, boutiques and an amazing coffee shop.  Recall, the VaHiPAP's had gone indoors in January to the museums for sketching.  On Feb 1, we decided to "get real" and capture the scene at Ponce with busy people coming and going. I'm not ready for peeps just yet, and I love architecture, so I tried to capture the iron beams and cylindrical columns.

While sketching the interior was fun, the best part of the experience was sitting at a table with three other artists kibitzing as we sketched - sharing tips, tricks and new materials we had discovered.  Camaraderie - if I could sum up in one word why I love to paint outside with other people, it's camaraderie!

The following week found us in our Atlanta namesake neighborhood - The Virginia Highlands!  Such a neat place!!  Early on, when Craig and I were dating and then first married, we'd travel in from wherever we lived at the time (Colorado, South Carolina, Texas) to visit his best friend Kyle who lived in Alpharetta, GA.  The three of us would go into the Virginia Highlands for dinner.  As I stood there on the street, I couldn't help but think of the amazing coincidence and irony (Kyle has since move out of the Atlanta area back to his home state of North Carolina) of it all.

Did I paint our favorite restaurant there?  No!  That will happen down the road.  On this particular day, I wanted to paint something I attempted last year, when I was brand new to plein air painting - Murphy's Wine Bar.  I'll see if I can dig up a photo of that first painting and put it next to the one I did this month.  I could see a difference and it made me feel good to know I'm improving as an artist.

Last year:

3 weeks ago:

No sooner had I finished cleaning my brushes from that fun day, Craig and I packed up and headed West to Park City, Utah for a week of skiing, eating and wandering through the incredible and inspirational art galleries.  I didn't take my oils - too much to carry with ski boots and our luggage - but I DID take my gouache.  Gouache is a thick, water-based paint.  It can be thinned down to look like watercolors.  And, it dries fast, like watercolors and acrylics.  But, the difference is in its lush, velvety texture when it's dry.  And, it can also be re-wetted and re-worked if you see something you want to change (unlike watercolors and acrylics).

I did NOT go outside to paint plein air.  16 Degrees F is way too cold to stand there for an hour or two.  But, I did paint the street scene from our warm, cozy condo and from a photo I took.

However, my best painting that week came as a result of meeting one of the most inspirational people I've EVER met - Cooper Henson.

I had just sat down on the chair lift with 5 other people and was starting the ascent back up the mountain for another run.  The fellow in the middle said to the guy (Cooper) next to me, "Ok, Cooper, why don't you just tell us your story?"  And, here's Cooper's story:

About a year (or a little more) ago, Cooper was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer.  He immediately underwent chemo, radiation and a massive operation which included the removal of large portions of his femur and tibia and scraped his knee cap.  When he awoke, he asked the nurse if he'd ever snowboard again.  She was noncommittal in her answer to Cooper. (She didn't want to crush his spirit.)  But, unbeknownst to him, she had told his parents that he would likely never snowboard again.  No one shared that with Cooper.  He just kept focusing on recovery.

After a while, his parents decided there were NOT going to listen to what the nurse had said - they were going to find a way to for Cooper to be able to snowboard again.  His dad started a letter-writing (well, really email in this day and age) campaign to all the snowboard companies asking if they had ever run across or heard of anyone in Cooper's situation, anyone who may have overcome serious injury and had gotten back out there, any resources they may know of to be able to do this.  

Only one snowboard company replied - Kemper Snowboards based in Salt Lake City, UT.  The CEO of Kemper had a friend who ran a mobility institute (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of it) in Utah and he (the CEO) gave Cooper's family all the info they needed to reach out to the CEO's friend.  Oh, and the CEO also gifted Cooper with a brand new board, bindings and other snowboarding gear to get him going WHEN Cooper would get back on the mountain.  Chills.

Long story short - grab a hanky - Cooper spent many months recovering, reCOOPERating and healing.   With the help of the mobility institute and incredible strength and determination, that day I met him was his first or second day back on the slopes, on his new board from Kemper.  Wow.

After Cooper told us his story, we were all quiet.  One guy on the lift said, "Man, I don't even snowboard but that story makes me want to go out and buy one from Kemper!"  "Me, too!" said I.  

At that point, I figured if Cooper could be brave enough to be sitting next to me on the lift, I could overcome my fear of dropping my phone, a pole or a glove and take his picture.  I asked if he minded, and said, "No!  I think that's cool!" and even lifted his goggles so I could see his face.  Then he took down my info so that he could find my website and Instagram site and my blog down the road.

Since I had my phone out, I snapped a few photos of the gorgeous Ponderosa Pines that we saw as we road that lift - the Payday lift.  

That night, as I thought about my amazing encounter with Cooper on the lift that day, I painted this:

I called it "Payday Ponderosas" because of the name of the chairlift.  But, in my heart, I felt that they were "Cooper's Ponderosa's" for his triumph in getting back on his snowboard and riding up that chair lift.  

Y'all, inspiration comes to us in so many different ways.  It's really important to be on the lookout and constantly observing it ALL AROUND US.  I'm grateful to Cooper for sharing his inspirational story, and I'm grateful to the guy next to him for asking him to share it.

You'd think I'd end this blog here.  But, WAIT!  There's MORE!!  Yes, really, February was packed!

I no sooner returned from Park City than repacked and headed to the beach with Beth!  The Georgia Coast - unimaginable beauty on Jekyll Island and St. Simon's Island.   Our friend Preston met us there.  We painted Thursday morning, Thursday afternoon, Friday morning, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon!  And, yes, we met some absolutely AMAZING folks.

Clam Creek Picnic & Campground - my favorite spot to paint of the entire weekend!

I met a couple of lovely women from Michigan, and one of them has a daughter who is also an artist!  I found her page on Instagram and followed.  And, I'll see these ladies in Macon, GA in March when Beth and I do a plein air paint out there!

I also met a family of young kids whose fun and splashing in the ocean got a little too close when I was working on that 3rd painting!  But, it was all good fun.  There there was the dog on one of those long extended leashes that ran through the legs of my tripod - had to take control of that one and pull him out without knocking over my painting.  Speaking of knocking over paintings, a huge gust of wind knocked Beth's tripod over and her painting went facedown in the sand.  She recovered well, though, and the painting turned out great!

We both met a really interesting - and INSPIRATIONAL - fellow by the name of Sandy.  Beth met him on the first day and told us about him that evening.  Sandy was a retired chemist and he came up with the formula for Nestle Quick syrup!!!  (How cool is that?!) He was now focused on photography.  How about that?  On Saturday as I was painting on the beach at Clam Creek, a gentleman came over to talk with me and showed me some of his amazing photos.  I asked, "You're not Sandy by any chance, are you?!"  Yes, he was!!  So, I took his picture.

We painted at a few other spots - the fisherman's pier (where Preston gave us each a challenge - to paint the sky in a non-local color), historic Jekyll Island (where the bugs were so bad we could taste the bug spray soaking through our pores), Gascoigne Bluff (on St. Simon's Island, where the old oaks and the Spanish moss reign supreme).  

Preston (center) is a pastel artist.  But one of our fun passersby referred to his "chalk" and his being a "chalkist."  So, that's where the play on words comes from in my opening above with February being "chalk"* full.

No post about Jekyll Island would be complete without photos of Driftwood Beach, so here are some.  No, we didn't paint there.  But, we took lots of photos for inspiration.

We DID encounter an alligator.  He was sunning himself near the entryway to the path to Driftwood Beach.  We gave him wide berth!

And, no sooner did I return home from the fun weekend at the Georgia Coast than we had a spot of nice weather here in the Atlanta area, so the VaHiPAP and I painted at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  It was a big turn-out, which made the day so much fun!!  By the end of the morning, this entire walk-way was full of painters!  People stopped and talked with us and asked us all about it.  And, I met a sweet older couple who live in Atlanta now but were born and raised in China.  I got to practice my Chinese (thank you - she she - is all I know!)

I chose to paint something easy - I need a rest after such a full month! - so I painted one of those flower pots full of tulips.

And there you have it, folks!  A VERY busy February full of inspiration from all angles.  

I really appreciate your reading my blog.  It gives me a chance to share this part of my life with you all.  Hope you'll join me again for the March edition.  Plein Air season will be in full swing (hopefully) by then (as if February weren't enough!).

In the meantime, you can find me on The Viridian Path, painting what I love, sharing camaraderie with my fellow painters and all the neat people that I meet when I'm painting on the street!

Cheers,

Maria