Gang of Six


Gang of Six - 8x8

THERE ARE ALWAYS challenges to painting, and special challenges to painting outdoors. And there are super special challenges on this trip, when I'm searching (primarily, but not exclusively) for sunflowers.

By and large, in the south-central part of South Dakota, where we are, the sunflowers have gone by... or almost gone by. I thought it would be close, but didn't think it would be quite this difficult to find fields of still-open plants.

There's been no appreciable rain here since July 4, according to the woman who runs the very cool place we are staying tonight (in a caboose!). It's been brutally hot, as well, and the sunflowers are suffering. I'm nervous enough about our prospects that we are planning to drive back an hour or so in the morning so I can paint a field that, two days ago, was standing tall. 

Here are other issues - 

  • Wind. I anticipated that it would be a problem - but I didn't figure it to be quite as strong as it's been - 20-30 mph most days ... starting the instant I set up my easel! Really, it's freaky. No wind, no wind, no wind. I sneak out of the car, shutting the door quietly, hoping to get by the wind gods, but to no avail. I unzip the case, pull out the first telescoping leg and WHAM, the wind picks up. 
  • Regular Flies. Small ones trail us everywhere - in hotels, in restaurants, and in the car, where they simply will not leave. Even if we manage to shoo them out the window, they fly back in. 
  • Biting Flies. Carol keeps bleeding from them. I keep swearing and startling, putting unexpected strokes and blobs in my paintings. 
  • Bees. At many of the fields, bees pester us constantly. They don't sting, but they seem attracted by the yellow paint, and continually launch themselves into it, getting stuck and dying needlessly.
  • The Sunflowers Themselves. Petals wilty and withering, these are different plants, and it's hard for me to paint them. Hard for me to remember to paint What I See and not what I think I see. They are bunched together here, planted close and tight, overlapping, not separate and arranged in a vase. To me, they are glory, hope, brilliance. To the farmers, they are crops.

But still, I like this painting a lot. It captures the crowding of the sunflowers, the wilting of the petals, the still bright yellows, and the surprisingly attractive foliage. 

A challenge taken and, I think, met. 


***
Bison Afternoon at Custer State Park


THE BISON, a big pack of them, are snoozing and resting at the side of the road as the day begins to wind down. We join a small parade of cars and open Custer Bison Tour trucks and watch as the day draws to a close on this group. 

Yes, I'm a little obsessed! There's at least one more bison entry to come. I am in awe, and transported, changed in my soul by seeing these creatures on land that must look much as it did when they roamed the earth in millions. 



***
People of the Day


THE PERSON OF THE DAY today is two people - Sylvia, above, and Taniqua, below. Sylvia is from Columbia, and Taniqua from Jamaica. They are two of many, many young (and not so young) people we meet, who are here from other countries, working for the summer. 

Can you imagine coming from Columbia to work at Wall, SD? You don't have a car, and you're in a town of 754, which is more or less entirely focused on tourism generally, and Wall Drug specifically (more on Wall Drug in the next installment).

We meet Sylvia at dinner in Wall, and then see her again at breakfast. She works two jobs, one right after the other, and saves all her money. That's why she likes Wall, she says. There's nothing to do but work, and so she is building her fortune in advance of going home to Columbia. 

To qualify for the program, she tells us, you have to be going to school and you have to speak English. This is her first year in the program, but in subsequent days, we meet many other workers from foreign countries. All say the same thing. They love working here, they are saving lots of money and they know America isn't exactly like Wall, or Hill City or Sylvan Lake. Most have plans for a trip to somewhere - New York seems a favorite - at the end of the summer. 


***
Dog of the Day


It's Denver, young, smart, happily adopted by my friend Susan. 
Both are delighted with the arrangement. 












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