Kathleen McElwaine from the Texas Hill Country has taken her bus pastime to a whole ‘nother level. Every day, on the hour-long bus commute to her job at the University of Texas, she paints–real paintings, folks–from her seat near the window. Here’s a sample of her work:
The majority of Kathleen’s bus ride is on the highway, so she doesn’t have to deal with the jostling of a city bus. (I’d like to see someone try this on the 48.) She’s also managed to create a bus-friendly set-up (lap easel, paint pallet, et cetera) for her rides. Check out this Youtube video of Kathleen in action.
I paint going and draw with the marker coming home. I often paint as many as 5 paintings going in the morning, most often when the morning sky is a great inspiration. As I finish the watercolor stage I put the painting in a watercolor book to get it out of the way; our bus is crowded and I want to be a plus in everybodys life. I then paint another and another until I must stop. Then in the afternoon all I get out of my back-pack is the watercolor book and my prismacolor marker – it seems to work well this way because I’m tired at the end of the day.
A fabulous artist and a good bus citizen? Definitely my kind of bus chick.
Kathleen also sells her bus paintings–both originals and note cards–online. Talk about taking advantage of travel time!