Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Kern County Museum/Pioneer Village





Our plein air group had our outing at the Kern Co. Museum. It used to be called Pioneer Village. There are so many houses and buildings and other things from the past there to look at, photo, and paint.

I started at an old gas station. I found the perfect spot. In front of some nice big bushes that gave me nice shade. Next to me was a tin warehouse-type building with an overhang. That overhang had misters all along the front edge. So I had shade and the gentle misting of water to keep me comfortable while I drew my quick sketch of the station.

I then moved along the little path/road to an old corral and barn. But you couldn't see the barn. They are having an event at the Museum this weekend, and they had put up a tent and bleachers in front of the barn.

I moved along a little farther and did a quick sketch of a couple of trees for the sketch trees thread at Wetcanvas. And drew a postcard-sized sketch of a train caboose.

Later I found myself next to an adobe house that had succulents and a cactus along the side. I concentrated on the cactus. It was unusual as some of the "arms" had broken off, but were still alive and probably growing on the ground.

I arrived at the outdoor museum at 9 am. About 11:30, our usual time for packing up, I got my gear together and went along to the picnic table where the others agreed to meet up. We had lunch and our critique, and I was home by 12:30. Very nice time sketching today. I had missed it after a month off.

If you click on the photos, you can see them larger.

3 comments:

Teresa said...

Now that sounded like a fun trip! Great pics.... I especially love the gas station and the caboose.

Joan said...

This will inspire lots of great paintings!!! I saw the ones you posted in the Scavenger Hunt.

Jo Castillo said...

Nice photos. I loved the sketch you did of the gas station. Great work.