John Payton Project X 2

Shortly after getting back from vacation my cousin was at it again with his band.  He and his band were, again at the Dinosaur BBQ.  We made it there with some friends this time and got to jam with them for a bit.  Of course - we had to leave early again to get home but still it was a lot of fun.  The first sketch was done on site with little time to do it in.  This time I tried to get most of them together.  During the concert I walked around with a camera and took some snap shots.  Even went to the restaurant owner to get permission to go up on the stairs to get some shots from above. Those I used to get the views you see in the second piece that I did at home.  Wanted to do a montage

of them.  Their bass player was missing that day so I did not get him in the image.  But I will work on it some more - at another time.  Wanted to get the sketched look but still do something more formal.

At the PIG ROAST in Ithaca 2012

 The Pig Roast.  It was the main reason for having the vacation this year when we had it.  There was a good crowd there. And my cousin Jay and his crew were responsible for the work done to cook it.  It was held on his property since he had the space for it and he had the roaster that he built for it.  I was told that he does several of these a year that other people pay for.  There was a big drum hooked up to a smoker.  The pig itself I did not want to draw.  But I was fascinated with the setup he had.  It was covered in heat induced rust.  Such a wonderful color.  Setup right next to his pond.  When it came time to take out the pig they were surrounded by several members of the family taking pictures of them carrying it to the table.  Everyone had brought a dish or two to add to the meal and we were stuffed is short order.  After the meal the family listened to the speachs' about the new family book that was getting ready to go to print and the costs' involved.  The orders went out for copies of the book then we spent some more time getting caught up.

Juli, Richard and I went over to pet and talk to Jays' two horses.  They were gentle and loved the attention.  But mostly they were impatient since it was their feeding time.  I walked around a bit and caught sight of Jays' well digging dereck.  From the look of it it was the same one that Uncle Harlod used to dig mom and dads well.  It may have been on a new truck but the rest was the same.  So I took a moment to put down the basic shape and then worked on this drawing later.  We left the next day back to Rochester so my sister could give her presentation to the church about her ministry.  It went well and we said our goodbyes to her since she would be back in Germany within a month.  It was a good vacation but I was glad to be back in my own bed.

Middle of Vacation 2012

 Getting a little side tracked moving my work to a small desk in my home. I have not made a post for a bit. But, here are the images I did on tues. and thur. On Tuesday I got Richard to go on a one mile hike down Nelson rd. to the old Four Winds Farm. The walk down was pleasant and we ran into Debbie Jewel at the first inter section(she driving up to aunt Graces'. Richard and I stopped at the old cemetary tucked into the side of the road. It was a tiny one.

 We continued on to the farm. I went to the house across from them and asked the owner permission to walk through them. They said yes and we did. They have just recently gotten new roofs and the rest of the interiors seemed to be in good shape. I talked to the roosters and they we went and petted the 2 horses they had. The hike back was slow(all up hill). We ran into Debbie again at the intersection(she driving back home). But it was a good hike - regardless of the heat.
That wed. I spent working on Mom and Dads' yard,weeding and pruning and trimming. I was soaked to the bone in sweat.

 Thursday Dad drove Richard, Juli and I around the city to some of the sites to get pictures and what not. The suspension bridge at Cornell is one of my favorite places to go. Because of the number of people that have jumped from this one the school has had to put up fences every where. They don't obstruct the view but it is a constant reminder of what lengths some students will go when at their lowest. Still the views from there is fabulous. It is weird feeling the bridge sway under your feet but the wind was non-existent that day so it wasn't too bad. From the middle of the it looking up stream is

the view you see here. I was limited to what I could draw since we had to jump from place to place and had to get back home. Of course we had more camp fires. The one above was at my uncle Ern's place This was the one that almost got rained out. Most of the night was spent under the awning on their porch, but still I went out to the fire to roast my hotdog. It was tight on the porch with everyone up there but still fun.