ON TO FLORIDA

Posted on October 2, 2019 by splashingpaint

Our workshop at Dillmans was a lot of fun – catching up with old friends and meeting new people. We were a couple of weeks early for the full Fall colors, but White Sand Lake is spectacular any time.

Great View from our cabin on the lake

Sandhill Crane – Dillmans

From Dillmans we headed over to Boone, North Carolina to meet “Cheap Joe” Miller – What a great guy – A real gentleman and character, the only person I know that can play Pachelbells Canon on a specially tuned wooden stick

Rocking Chairs on Cheap Joes Studio Verandah

Cheap Joe’s Workshop Studio is fantastic – lots of space, great light and a big overhead screen and camera

Beautiful old wooden Barn near Todd NC

Todd General Store and Bakery, near Boone NC

Bob and Tom – Irish Pub, Bradenton FL

Great to catch up with Joe Costanza in Florida – Crazy sense of humour and lots of great stories

Curious Squirrel

Gulf backwater near Mobile AL

Tupelo Honey

Old fish processing building as the sun rises – Apalachicola FL

Fishing Floats

Sad to see the Hurricane damage around the Gulf of Mexico. This, once grand, building in Apalachicola has an optimistic ‘Opening Soon’ sign, that appears to have been in place for quite a while

Old Jetty – Cedar Key

Cedar Key – Bar on the water as the sun goes down

Cedar Key

Roseate Spoonbills – Cedar Key

Pink Ibis

Young Herron

Egret

WHISKEY LAKE

Posted on September 23, 2019 by splashingpaint

We had a great workshop with Main Street art Centre in Lake Zurich. David R Becker was kind enough to lend us his fantastic studio in McHenry. Frankie Johnson organised everything and really looked after us.

After the workshop we headed up to Sudbury in Canada to catch up with my brother, Wayne, and his family. They have a camp on Whiskey Lake, so we spent some time there exploring the lake and walking through the woods in search of Bear and Moose.

David R Becker’s Studio, McHenry

Old Sudbury Hospital with a new coat of paint.

Sudbury Rib Fest where they cook or smoke anything for fame and fortune.

It was all too much for some

Massey General Store

Pond on the road to Whiskey Lake

Falls at Whiskey Lake

The Woods full of Maples, Cedars, Birches, Oaks and Pines

Wayne and Monique’s Camp on Whiskey Lake

Mountain Ash Berries

Woods around the Camp

Old Log Cabin on Whiskey Lake

Old log outhouse leaning to the left

Old iron outhouse leaning further to the left

Dinner at the camp with Wayne and Monique

Off across the lake in Monique’s dingy

Last of the old trapper’s cabins on Whiskey Lake

Blueberry Island

Through the trees to Whitefish Lake

Dingys stored on Whitefish Lake

Small spotted frog

This was the only Moose we saw

Except for this one, which didn’t look too healthy

Old Lake boat – Killarney

Killarney General Store

Killarney Lighthouse

Three Balancing Turtles

MONTANA WEST

Posted on July 25, 2018 by splashingpaint

Following our workshop in Calgary, we drove back into the USA to cross the Rockies in Montana. Driving through Glacier National Park on Going to the Sun Road is one of the most spectacular drives. We plodded our way slowly, stopping every chance we got to take in the view and do some walks.

The weather closed in as we reached the top of the mountains, but the rain, snow and fog sure added a wildness to the spectacular atmosphere of the mountains.

Driving out of Glacier National Park, we headed west across Montana. The country flattens out and is dotted with small ranches.

Mobile road block occupying 100% of the bitumen.

We met this guy and his wife, who live in the woods at the foot of Glacier Nat. Park. Their dog chases away bears.

Kootenai Falls where The Revenant was shot.

Crossing Idaho and into Washington the landscape turns to rolling hills of wheat and canola farms.

We reached an interesting little town called Hunters in Washington State. It looked like nothing much had changed there since the 1950’s. From here we turned North, drove back up into Canada and the Okanagan Valley for another workshop in the town of Kelowna.

BEAR RIVER POW-WOW

Posted on July 5, 2018 by splashingpaint

Dillmans Bay Resort, the venue for our Wisconsin workshop, is situated in the Indian reservation of Lac du Flambeau. We were lucky enough to be there when the annual Bear River Pow-Wow was being held. Lots of drums, chanting and dancing as the sun went down made for some great photos and an interesting evening.

HWY 80 to NEW MEXICO

Posted on June 29, 2018 by splashingpaint

After leaving Bisbee, our plan was to head east across the bottom of Arizona to the Chiricahua Mountains. This road took us through the small settlement of Apache near where Geronimo surrendered to the Us Army in 1886, ending the Indian wars.

Crossing into New Mexico, we stopped at a roadhouse in the little town of Rodeo. It was an interesting place with great food and an entertaining passage of local ranchers stopping in for coffee and gossip.

Further down the road a Museum had a great collection of local desert snakes – all safely behind glass. We hadn’t managed to see a rattle snake in all our wandering around, so this was a good opportunity to get a photograph.

Crossing back into Arizona, we headed up to Portal in the Chiricahua Mountains. The mountains were spectacular with birds and wildlife everywhere.

Hummingbirds were a lot of fun to photograph, being so small and moving so fast. Even at 2000th of a second their wings are blurred.

From Portal we climbed the mountains up to around 10,000 feet, passing the huge Morenci copper mine.

Old Indian cliff dwellings outside Camp Verde

LOWELL and BISBEE

Posted on June 16, 2018 by splashingpaint

Bisbee is a copper mining town that has, some how, flourished since the mine closed. The steep landscape and opulent architecture, from the boom days, make the town uniquely attractive. Lots of interesting pubs, bars and restaurants, and an atmosphere of 1960’s counter culture, have given Bisbee a whole new life.

Just outside of Bisbee is, what’s left of, the town of Lowell. In the 1950’s the mine pit was expanded to extract more copper and most of the town was consumed in the expansion. What is left (Eire Street) appears to have been frozen in time. Crumbling buildings, closed businesses, old cars, weeds and debris. A fantastic and confusing place.

Reflections in a junk shop window

Bisbee graffiti wall

Chainsaw on a roof

Rustys Snacks

Main Street Bisbee

Captivating display of ancient dentistry.

Bisbee mine head

Mine Site

Shell servo, Lowell

Cadillac from space

Outside Lowell Gym.

Welcome

ON TO TOMBSTONE

Posted on June 14, 2018 by splashingpaint

After the workshop at Tanque Verde Ranch, we picked up a hire car in Tucson and headed over to Tombstone. The old town is still pretty well intact, but relies heavily on tourism, so has a bit of a theme park air about it. Lots of cowboys, bar girls and guns, but the old historic locations are all well preserved and very interesting.

From Tombstone we drove out to a few old ghost towns and abandoned mining towns in the region. We discovered some great old buildings in various stages of decay.

Rain across the prairies between Tucson and Tombstone