Old Carthage Press Building

This is the back of the old Carthage Press building. According to a friend who worked there, the building is "full of concrete."

I went to Carthage's Food Truck Friday before settling into a few hours of sketching. This was a fun image to create, and I am really pleased with the outcome. The clock tower in the background belongs to the Jasper County Courthouse.

Flummerfelt's Town and Country

This is a bit of a departure from the other panoramas I've been doing, but I did this as part of James Gurney's Paint a Storefront challenge. I incorporated my panorama size into it, so it would fit my series.

This is Flummerfelt's Town and Country. This store used to sit on Commercial Street in Pierce City, Mo, but it was damaged in a tornado in 2003. The owners moved the store to its new location on Hwy 97 North. The family-owned business has been in operation for several decades, and I wanted to capture the steadfastness of the storefront in casein.

Howdy Neighbor Days

During the first week of the school year, it has been a tradition to host Howdy Neighbor Days in Pierce City.
I spent the late afternoon sketching this as the lines formed and people showed up for the rides. This was a difficult sketch in some ways. I was planning the panorama from the right to left, and wound up further right than I had expected. This overlapped the bird cage Ferris Wheel on the left more than I wanted. But, I sketched through. Also, I was hoping to do the arms of the rides in form rather than line, but the nature of the overall work didn't lend itself to that.

After this epic run of sketching, I joined the festivities and caught some rib dinner. A few good friends were among the crowd, and a nice evening was had by all.

#SketchHiker #UrbanSketcher #PencilandPaper

Jolly Mill Dry Dam

Hello folks,

One of my favorite places is Jolly Mill, the remnants of the small community of Jollification located just a couple of miles off of Hwy 60 near Pierce City (South on Wallaby Rd). The former town is now land managed by the Department of Conservation. However, the old grain mill still exists on the north side of the road. It's now part of a private park, and it costs $5 per carload per day for visitors. This expense goes to maintaining the grounds.

I had the opportunity to sketch the falls area while the dam was being drained before a heavy rain prediction. The area is prone to flooding, so opening the dam was a precaution to overflow. As I sketched, blue herons, dragonflies, butterflies, and darners swarmed me. I sat near the creek and watched the fish swim by.

This sketch is the first of a series of panoramic sketches documenting my travels and various hikes.