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Sunday, July 3, 2011

Now THAT is an arts group meeting!


We met at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for the landmark Monet show, had lunch at Rozzelle Court, got to see our buddies, rode on a shuttle, walked our little legs off...

And yes, this one IS on two different colors of paper in my journal.  Who cares??  I did the ink drawing on the spot...that's Joseph on the right side of the painting--and added colored pencil, watercolor, and bits of collage later.  That's Monet himself, shortly before his death in 1926...the year he finished the giant, luminous triptych.  (He worked on it for 11 years; one panel is owned by the Nelson, one by the St. Louis Art Museum, and one by Cleveland Museum of Art, but they're together again for this show!



Lunch at the ancient Rozzelle Court at the gallery was delightful as always...who can resist sketching there. surrounded by sun and antiquity?

Afterward, we has dessert--back at Rozzelle, of course!--and then I sketched Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen's giant--and once controversial--shuttlecocks.

This gives you some idea of the scale...that's a VERY tall water tower beside it, KC Art Institute buildings across the street, and skyscrapers on Main Street beyond the trees.

Finally, worn out, I sat and sketched Tom's Cubicle...hey, don't ask ME why Calder named it that!

  This is definitely what I call an arts group meeting...no agenda, no business, just a great time with friends!

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like an amazing day. The double spread for Monet is so full and lovely. And love the antiquities on the lunch pages.

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  2. Oh gosh, this is very reminiscent of the years I spent visting art museums everywhere I could. Saw Monet's Waterlilies in a Paris Museum in the 80s. That was breathtaking. And I loved the Washington DC and NYC galleries with Calders, Oldenburgs, etc., etc. etc., although I've never seen the Calder and Oldenburg that you saw.
    I was fortunate to have a friend who loved traveling..and art...as much as I did in those days. How great that you had such a wonderful outing with your artist friends!

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  3. It was delightful, thank you both! Shirley, the Rozzelle is just amazing...I could spend all day, just sketching THERE. The fountain bowl, which I've sketched before, is at least 2000 years old...
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathy-johnson/1808673836/

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  4. Wow! Looks like you had fun and what amazing sketches, too.

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  5. Thank you! YES, it was marvelous. I've loved the Nelson since I was a little kid, and still do, just as much if not more. The new Bloch building is a stark contrast, but still wonderful.

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  6. I feel like I went along, seeing your sketches of what you all saw. And I happen to like those shuttle cocks, too.

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  7. Aren't they fun? I remember the huge brouhaha when they were going in...

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  8. What a fantastic set of pages! I love how you've really manages to convey the sense of scale by doing two completely different points of view of the shuttle cock.

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  9. Wow! What precious sketches you made, Kate! Love it! I really wish I was there with you guys... I'm impressed by the size of the shuttlecocks. Haha! This is so funny! :D
    Just adorable. Glad you had fun with friends. :)

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