Month: May 2009

Painting small

After spending a fair amount of time just spinning around, making lists, losing the lists, running errands, and visiting with people instead of moving to the next errand, I finally found my way into the painting workshop. I remember this – it is fun to paint with oil paints! 16×20″ isn’t all that big any more, and 8×10″ is really really miniature! Here are some pieces in progress or nearly finished:

This 16 x 20 is Vandever (the right half of Farewell Gap) as seen from the trail to Franklin Lakes and Farewell Gap. There are 2 layers on the sky and mts. and only one on everything else.

The 11 x 14″ is aspens on the Nature Trail heading into the Mineral King Valley from Cold Springs Campground. It might be finished but needs a signature. The oranges will be sold through The Downtown Gallery in Exeter; it only has 2 layers and needs a third with much more detail. Citrus sells well in that town. . . hmmm, wonder why?

These only have the bottom layers. There are more oranges for The Downtown Gallery, and Crescent Meadow is for Sequoia Gifts and Souvenirs. Pictures of Sequoia National Park and sequoia gigantea (the redwood trees) sell well in that lovely little Three Rivers shop. (Deanne, I let the shelves show a bit so you could snoop – not much has changed except that the mural paints aren’t yet put back on the top shelves.)

A contest!

As I paint the mural, almost everyone who is familiar with Exeter’s murals asks me the same question: “Will there be any hidden objects in your mural?” The answer is YES, and here is what I’m going to do about it: the first person to tell me what all 12 items are (YES, T-W-E-L-V-E!) will receive a $20 gift certificate to The Mural Gallery. I am aware that this is limits the competition to those who can actually go see the mural with their own eyes. Despite popular opinion in the cities, there ARE advantages to living in Tulare County! For those of you who think you have a head start, here is a hint: the following photo is no longer accurate or true because it was just too obvious.

Mural, Day Fifty-two.

Notice anything different about the title? It is significant, meaningful, symbolic. Today Betsy and I sat together and studied the mural, quarter by quarter. I filled 4 pages of little things to fix. They were easy. It involved moving the truck back into position, which would have been difficult if Larry hadn’t acted as my ground crew and rearview mirror! (THANKS, LARRY!) I did them all, including mixing a color to match the bricks so the weird white patches could be covered! Here is the final finale: This part wasn’t all that easy – a paintbrush is NOT a pencil. I signed once, blotted it all out, chose my remaining brand new brush, and signed again. After viewing all the murals in Exeter, I chose to not include my website (it appears if one googles my name), nor my phone # (I’m in the book), nor the copyright (it is owned by Exeter, A Festival of Arts), nor the year (it will be on the title plaque). There was a moment of hesitation – should I write cabinart beneath my signature?? Nope, I only do that on pencil drawings and this is a painting. Less is better than more – so just my name, the whole name and nothing but the name, so help me God. He did, believe me, He did!! Amen.

A good time. . .

. . . was had by all at The Garden Party!These are just random shots to give you the flavor of the event. I wouldn’t want you to think I would exploit the guests at my table by putting large candid photos of them all over the internet!! Mr. Dick Moss was the happy champion of the auction for my painting of the Honeymoon Cabin – man of exquisitely good taste, although I hadn’t met him until that night. It is a humbling thrill to have a stranger pay money for my artwork and I hope I never get calloused to it. Here is a final look at how nice the evening was out there on E Street.

Mural, Day Fifty-one

Remember this?Now look: And this view? Now it looks like this: Am I finished? Maybe.

The Garden Party. . .

. . . is sold out! If you are one of the lucky ones to have a ticket to this very enjoyable event, you will not be sorry. The Garden Parties I’ve been to in the past have been wonderful – nice evening outside in Exeter (no mosquitos there!), good food, great auction items, nice music, fun conversations, all around very pleasant evening.This will be auctioned off. I will probably have my hands over my ears, or perhaps my thumb will be in mouth.It is an 8×10 oil painting on wrapped canvas with no frame. The title is Honeymoon Cabin III or perhaps Honeymoon Cabin IV. The money will go Exeter, A Festival of Arts. This is the only place I give artwork!

Mural, Day Fifty

Another day of many many visitors. I am now dragging my brush because I don’t really want it to be over yet! I “helped” Dora with her computer for awhile (yeah, right) and spent some time just staring and adding a thing or two and dinking a bit here and there. Mr. Stroben and his wife came by. He offered a few suggestions, which I greatly appreciated. Tom D. came by and wanted to offer some last minute suggestions. I forced a brush into his hand and will show you his contribution to the mural! Mike M. came by to visit, and I was moaning about my stupid brushes and irritating acrylic paint that will not behave like pencils. He handed me 2 very tiny brushes that he happened to have with him! Isn’t that a hoot?! LJ came by and helped me understand the contours of the mountains underneath the plain white patches of snow so that I can add some depth to them. Shane stopped by and a learned a bit of history of Mineral King and the basic differences between the National Park and the National Forest services. Here are the photos from today:This probably doesn’t look any different to you, but it is new and improved. Part of the improvement was due to the extraordinary skill of emerging artist Tom D. Can you discern which 2 are his squiggles? (the color is terrible in this photo but is nice and green on the mural) This may not look any different to you either, but I can assure you it too is new and improved (but not lemon scented). You need to see it in person to appreciate the detail. As usual in my art instruction history, Mr. Stroben was right. 😎