Tulsa Int’l Airport Plein Air

“A sense of humor… is needed armor.  Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.”
–Hugh Sidey

Right on!!



Tulsa Int’l Airport Plein Air – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor Sketch

When I was waiting for my departure from Tulsa, to go to Jackson Hole, I did this little sketch.  Before I even finished drawing the plane… it backed out and left!   So, to continue, I just made stuff up. 
Sunday afternoon, I resumed my flying.  I haven’t flown in three months because it’s been so dang hot!  They are selling the plane in Muskogee, so my instructor  met me in McAlester and flew with me, so he could re-endorse me for solo flight.  I did great!  I had some beautiful landings and even got a compliment from my instructor.    (Those do not come freely!)  It was a great day.

I’m ready to get busy and finish this thing up and get my license.  I’ll be doing a lot of studying and very little art, until I am done.  I may post some older paintings for a while, just to keep my little positive quotes in front of you.  I’d hate for you to forget to wiggle your butt. 

Hugh Sidey  1927 – 2005

Hugh Sidey, who covered the White House and the American Presidency for TIME for close to half a century, died in 2005 in Paris of a heart attack. He was 78. Born and raised in Iowa, Sidey came to understand the presidents of the last 48 years as well as anyone. He was with Kennedy in Dallas and Nixon in China. He was the iconic insider, staying close to many presidents even after they left the White House, becoming great friends with Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush.

A fourth-generation journalist and son of a country editor in Greenfield, Iowa, Sidey never became a prisoner of the Beltway. He’d often go home to Iowa to listen and learn what Americans were thinking. He was among the first print journalists on regular television, appearing on the late Agronsky & Company. As he scaled back his work for TIME, he continued to be deeply involved in the life of the White House. He was active in the White House Historical Association and co-wrote a book, The Presidents of the United States of America, that is a good history of the men and the office.

 

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1133407,00.html#ixzz1Z9nhKftW

Wanna Go For A Ride?

“Amongst my Superpowers are my ability to find creative solutions, my ability to wait, my ability to look listen and learn, my ability to modify the flight plan ensuring a successful outcome, PLUS consider IMPOSSIBLEs only stepping stones to success.”

Michelle Bassanesi
Rome, Italy

This quote was in response to a female pilot’s question to the other gals in the 99′s (women’s aviation group) – “What are your superpowers?”

I loved her answer.  It doesn’t just apply to piloting, but to life.



Wanna Go For A Ride? – 5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Sharpie

This is another great reference from KreativeK at WetCanvas.com.  I had fun simplifying it and showing the joy in it.   This is the third of three paintings I got to do last Saturday.

I went to McAlester yesterday afternoon and took their Cessna 172 out for some solo touch and gos.  I really had a good time.  My instructor wants me to do my long solo “cross country” this Saturday.    Of course it will depend on the availability of the plane and a last look at the weather.  I’ll fly from Muskogee, OK to Fort Smith, AR, to McAlester, OK then back to Muskogee.  Fort Smith is in controlled airspace which means I have to talk to and receive instructions from a control tower.  I am nervous about that, but have been listening to LiveATC.net, to get comfortable with that radio environment.  The links show satellite views of the airports. 

Michelle Bassanesi

If you click on that link it will tell you a little more about Ms. Bassanesi.  She seems like a wonderful lady.

The Ninety Nines

OUR MISSION –The Ninety-Nines is the international organization of women pilots that promotes advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring our unique history and sharing our passion for flight.

Established in 1929 by 99 women pilots, the members of The Ninety-Nines, Inc., International Organization of Women Pilots, are represented in all areas of aviation today. And, to quote Amelia, fly “for the fun of it!”

The Egret and the Frog – Watercolor ATC

“When thinking won’t cure fear, action will.”
– William Clement Stone



The Egret and the Frog – Watercolor ATC

“I’m Ellen the Egret.  The thing I like best about spring is the beautiful sunrises.  I could just look at them forever!  Something is tickling my foot!”

This little ATC went to Darlene, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
I like today’s quote.  I haven’t flown much lately, because the wild and windy weather in Oklahoma is beyond my personal minimums as a student.  Friday was calm, so I mustered up the courage to go do some touch and gos at the airport in McAlester.  I was nervous, because it had been a while.  After carefully doing my preflight, I preceded to do some takeoffs and landings.   I learned a lot in just an hour, that I can’t learn from a book and I’m glad I went.   Unfortunately, the forecast for the next 8 days call for major wind, so I’m grounded again.   I still have a lot of studying to do, so the time will not be wasted.

I am so close to finishing that I can taste it.  I can’t wait until I pass my check-ride, so I can take my husband with me.  That’s when all the hard work will really pay off.  We are going to have so much fun! 

About William Clement Stone

American businessman William Clement Stone overcame an impoverished childhood to head an insurance empire. He was born in 1902 in Chicago. His father died when he was three, leaving the family in debt. Stone dropped out of school to help his mother sell insurance. He called cold calls “gold calls,” and started each day saying, “I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel ter-r-r-ific!” He cowrote the book Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude with Napoleon Hill. He died in 2002 at age 100.

Calla Lily

“What is harder than rock, or softer than water? Yet soft water hollows out hard rock. Persevere.”
– Ovid



Calla Lily

I remember this one!  The challenge was to paint from life… no photo.  I am not experienced in this at all.  I’ve tried to do it since then and I really do like it, but I paint mostly from photos.  When I get some time under my belt in an airplane, I want to fly to Indiana and plein air paint with Leslie White. 

Sunday, I flew by myself from McAlester to Eufaula (where I circled around the airport, but did not land) then on to Muskogee and back to McAlester.  I found every airport easily and had a great time.   Two hours of pure joy!  I even took some photos and am going to upload them to Facebook.  All the water (if you go by to look) is Lake Eufaula.  It stretches into 5 counties, although I only covered 3 counties in my flight.    Wheeeee!

About Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso, the Roman poet known as Ovid, best known for the epic Metamorphoses, is considered one of the greatest poets of Latin literature. He was born in 43 B.C. in what is now Italy. He rose quickly in Roman government and was on track to become a senator when he chose to devote himself to poetry instead. His tale of Pyramus and Thisbe is the source for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Emperor Augustus exiled Ovid from Rome for unknown reasons in 8 A.D.; he died in exile in 17 A.D.

Begonia Greens

“Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich.”
– Sir Thomas Browne



Begonia Greens
Watercolor

This one was an exercise in greens.   I mixed a pallet full of different greens and just played away.  I still have that pallet and dig it out from time to time to play with the greens.   I admit that I often use greens straight from the tube, but it’s way more fun to mix them myself. 

I have to share… I flew for an hour by myself last night in McAlester.  I did really good and my landings are really improving!  My next trip is to pick the plane up in McAlester and fly it to Muskogee and practice there, then fly it back to McAlester.   Maybe this Sunday.  Wheeeeeee!

About Sir Thomas Browne

The erudite English doctor Sir Thomas Browne, who wrote a number of books on science and religion, was known for his baroque prose style and his controversial opinions. He was born in 1605 in London and settled in Norwich to practice medicine. He wrote his most famous book, Religio Medici (The Religion of a Physician), an intellectual autobiography, in 1635. A friend published it in 1642 without his permission, embarrassing him, but the book’s popularity encouraged him to write more. He died in 1682.

Flying Over Oklahoma

“Nothing will ever equal that moment of exhilaration which filled my whole being when I felt myself flying away from the earth.  It was not mere pleasure; it was perfect bliss…”
–Professor Jacques Alexandre Cesare Charles

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
–Napoleon Hill

Well, I guess you may have figured out that I had my first solo flight in a Cessna 172 yesterday!  It was wonderful!  I dreamed it, I achieved it and nobody can ever take it away from me.  Now, on to soft field landings and cross country training.  That first cross country (3 full stops at different airports, at least 50 miles apart) by myself will be huge!  A good pilot never stops learning and I still have a long way to go, but the first solo has now been accomplished.  YAY!!!!!




Flying Over Oklahoma
Four 4″ x 6″ Watercolor  & Acrylic Postcards

I painted this in November, 2009, from a sketch I did, looking out an airplane window on my way to Port Townsend, Washington for an acrylic workshop.  I painted it in my hotel room, while I was there.  I thought it would be appropriate for today’s post. 


Professor Jacques Alexandre Cesar Charles wrote this after the first free flight in a manned hydrogen balloon, December 1, 1783.  Note:  The exact adjective used by Professor Charles to describe the emotions is not “exhilaration” but “bilarite”, which can be translated exactly as ecstasy, exhilaration, joy and/or excitement.

See my shirt tail on Facebook!

In American aviation lore, the traditional removal of a new pilot’s shirt tail is a sign of the instructor’s new confidence in his student after successful completion of the 1st solo flight. In the days of tandem trainers, the student sat in the front seat, with the instructor behind. As there were often no radios in these early days of aviation, the instructor would tug on the student pilot’s shirttail to get his attention, and then yell in his ear. A successful first solo flight is an indication that the student can fly without the instructor (“instructor-less” flight). Hence, there is no longer a need for the shirt tail, and it is cut off by the (often) proud instructor, and sometimes displayed as a trophy.

Puppy Puzzle

“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
–John Wooden

 

Puppy Puzzle
5″ x 7″ Acrylic on Wooden Puzzle

I think this puzzle will probably get something else.  Remember when I said that about the Innocent Cat?    he he  That cat became quite a hit on facebook.

I had the most amazing flight last night!  I did a bunch of really good landings and I feel a solo coming.    Then this morning I got word that I am the official sign company for Carlton Landing.  I am thrilled about that!  It is a wonderful opportunity and I am very blessed!  Whoo-Hoo!!

I love this big wonderful life!!!


In looking for a biography on John Wooden, I discovered that he was an amazing person with a long, rich history.  All of the biographies were really long, so please click on the links here for more info.  He said some incredible things in his life, such as:

“Be true to yourself.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.”

John Robert Wooden
Born: 1910-10-14
Birthplace: Hall, Indiana
Race: White
Religion: Protestant
Field: Basketball
Famous for: Winningest-ever college coach
John Wooden Offical Website:
http://www.coachjohnwooden.com/

Beary Pink

We have the power to direct our minds to replace the feelings of being upset, depressed, and fearful with the feeling of inner peace.
–Gerald G. Jampolsky

 

Beary Pink
5″ x 7″ Watercolor

In this painting, I was practicing something I saw in Don Andrews’ book.  I wet all the paper around the bears and then added colors, tilting the paper to let them run into each other.  It was fun!

I had a great flying lesson last night!  I think I am getting closer to soloing.  My flight instructor is letting me have total control, to see how I work through things that come up.  My landings are getting better and I even stalled the plane (on purpose) at 2000 ft, to practice how it’s supposed to feel in the flare, before the wheels kiss the ground on landing.  It was so cool!!!  I only have 13 hours and I really want to solo soon, so I can get more hours in on the weekend, when my CFI is unavailable.  He doesn’t seem to have much time for me.   


Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., a child and adult psychiatrist, is a graduate of Stanford Medical School. In 1975, he founded the first Center for Attitudinal Healing, now a worldwide network with independent centers in over thirty countries. He is an internationally recognized authority in the fields of psychiatry, health, business, and education. Dr. Jampolsky has published extensively, including his best-selling Love Is Letting Go of Fear. He and his wife, psychotherapist and author Diane Cirincione, Ph.D., have worked in forty-nine countries and currently reside in both northern California and Hawaii.