The first week of October signaled the start of Waukesha's plein air competition. The city is about an hour and some change from Madison, but it seemed liked a worthwhile event.
If Waukesha sounds familiar to you but you're not from Wisconsin, chances are that you saw it in the news a few years back. It is the city where a man drove into a holiday parade and murdered 6 people, injuring many more. The man was sentenced to many life sentences and has left a scar on the community, but they consider themselves "Waukesha Strong" in the aftermath. https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/us/darrell-brooks-waukesha-sentencing/index.html
On a lighter note, it is also the birthplace of Les Paul and his presence is celebrated with many guitar statues throughout the city. They even have record stores still standing! Much like my first trip to Carson City, I did a little homework using street view on GoogleMaps and checking out information about the city. I wanted to paint the discount liquor store, but I discovered this was the exact patch of street where the parade murders took place. Glad I did my research on this!
Once I got there, I found the many restaurants, galleries, record stores, and bars to be very interesting but I felt like I was missing something. As I looked around, there were many of the decorative planters dotting the sidewalk. I was drawn to a cigarette delicately teetering off of a leaf. Not just any cigarette, but my paternal grandmother's brand, Pall Mall.
Looking back, I wish I would have painted this, but it was in the shade and there was not a lot of room for me to set up without being in the path. Instead, I took this as a cue to start checking these planters for other interesting material. It felt like this place was altogether different from day to night. This was evidenced by the many alcohol bottles left behind inside each planter I approached, though each planter was a little different with what it hid inside: a literal glass of wine, mini-bottles of Fireball and Skyy, a can of Heineken, a bottle of Malta Goya, a mini bottle of Sutter Home, a cheap necklace, and a spit-cup for tobacco. Eventually, I stumbled upon a half-smoked cigar sitting upon a pale yellow fire hydrant.
I felt this was a great scene, with the strong shadows along the hydrant and the planter nearby. Most importantly, my set up was not directly in the path of anyone passing by. Though many folks walked by, my favorite was probably the Latino gentleman listening to Abba's "Take a Chance on Me" which seemed to be on repeat because it was on each time he walked by--about four times. Another memorable passer-by getting into a verbal argument with a person over something I didn't catch while on the phone causing a second argument with the person on the phone. Again, there's a lot of interesting vibes and people in Waukesha.
Years ago, hubby gifted me an audiobook called "Blackwater, the Complete Saga" written by Michael McDowell. Since then, he has become my favorite horror author and each October, I give myself permission to listen to one of his audiobooks. This year, it was Katie. To be honest, I tried it last year and the first chapter was so graphic and awful I couldn't get past the opening. This time, I endured the horrible details, and like usual, I am so glad I did. Sometimes getting into a good book helps me focus while painting. Though, a pedestrian bridge near the river and walkways of Waukesha will forever be associated with this book in my mind. The painting was larger than any plein air I have ever done before, so it was a challenge. It didn't turn out like I envisioned, but it was a good chance to stretch my skills and try to learn from the process.
When dropping off the framed work the next day, I brought Chessie with me. We talked horror novels and gave some recommendations for other authors from the 1970's and 1980's. Chessie looked up a very unique nerd-game store that was operating out of what appeared to be someone's home. It was floor to ceiling with games, models, toys, and collectibles. It was a little anxiety-inducing because some stacks were a little unstable walking by, but it was a cool place to visit and see a lot of vintage games.
The night of the reception, it was exciting to see younger artists walk away with prizes for using media such as pastels. The city paired up the plein air competition with an art crawl working with galleries and music venues. It was a very cool Saturday night. Aside from the art walk, we saw teens running around in their homecoming garb and folks enjoying the nice weather with a drink in their hand. I knew a few of those drinks might end up in planters, but what can you do? The community of creatives there seem to have a lot of great things going on in a city that supports the arts economy. Hubby and I had dinner at a nearby restaurant that sponsored the event. The homecoming-donned youth were everywhere, but we had a great time waving at an adorable pair of toddler twins outside the window who wanted our attention.
To contrast this, the Madison area was hosting one of two yearly Gallery Nights, sponsored through Madison Museum of Modern Art (MMOCA). Unlike other cities, Madison's art gallery scene is very limited, but this event allows local businesses to transform themselves into a gallery space for the nightly event. I had the opportunity to share space with other artists at the Marquette Hotel & Cafe on Madison's historic east side. With a small group of others, we did some demonstrative arts in the cafe. Another space downtown called 100 State was where a few of my paintings were on display. I was so happy to have folks show up and support me, share a few fun stories, and chat with friends, other artists, and their friends and families.
The owner of the Marquette was kind enough to offer to buy the painting I did of the cafe's lovely tilework. He gave me and my friend, D, a tour of the hotel a few days later when I brought him the finished painting. The space was once a church and they preserved some of the space's unique features and furniture. If you're ever visiting Madison, it's damn cool and they have pretty excellent food too.
It's been a busy enough month, but it's been enjoyable and filled with great things. My friends and family seem to be happy, healthy, and in most cases, doing well. I found myself applying for a position with parks and recreation to do arts classes for youth. While I have yet to start the job, I am excited to get started with it at the beginning of 2025. It's still part-time, but I am looking forward to doing not just painting, but performance art, and upcycled crafts, too.
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