Hidden Objects

Men + Mules + Water + Power has multiple hidden objects. Here is the list:

  1. pick-axe
  2. fish
  3. 2 heart-shaped rocks
  4. 1904
  5. a real rock
  6. a real mule-shoe
  7. 6 varieties of wildflowers – Sierra Columbine, Indian Paintbrush, phlox, Hoope’s Sneezeweed, Golden-beard Penstemmon, Wild Blue Flax.

Here is a little piece of the mural for you to study and identify a few of the objects:hidden.jpg

Another Long Walk

This walk was on Sunday. We took a load of firewood to my sister-in-law, who gave us a nice soft bed, fed us very well, and watched a bunch of baseball with Michael. I did a lot of knitting, waiting for the long walk to begin.

Told you so!

Kind of intimidating to be with all those athletic people. . . no worries, because they all took off and left us walkers in the dust.

This man got us started and then showed up again about 4 miles later. I’m thinking he had a ride.

The scenery was beautiful, of course.

This was a welcome sight!

I walked as fast as my short fat legs would go on short fat feet that kept going to sleep, got blisters, and finished #29 of 39 women in my age group. And, I finished 7 minutes slower than last year – prolly from all the stopping to adjust my shoes! I’m done with these expensive organized athletic events. Perhaps I’ll  even let the Inner Lazy Slob have free reign for awhile.

So there.

Work in Progress

Have you noticed that www.cabinart.net no longer works as a website? Maren and I have been redesigning it for awhile, mostly in our heads and in conversation, to reflect my current art, which is now primarily oil paintings. Yes, I still draw in pencil and teach people how to draw in pencil. But, now I call myself an Oil Painter and a Muralist. The new website will begin emerging a page or two at a time and I will keep you posted here.

CELEBRATION!

img_5095.jpg

September 30, 6 p.m. at the new mural – a CELEBRATION! Men + Mules + Water + Power is on E Street in Exeter, between Pine and Palm Streets. The celebration will consist of dinner (free!), some speech-making (not too much) and a square dance! BRING YOUR OWN CHAIRS.  Questions? Email or call me. See you there!

img_5098.jpg

Five Senses of Fall

A few friends accompanied me to Mineral King over the weekend. It was a beautiful fall-ish time – clear air (could have been clearer except that there are fires within the Sierra Nevada), warm in the day, cool at night. I was struck by how fall can be experienced with all five senses.

Taste: the currants are abundant!

currants.jpg

Hear the wind in the aspens – it sounds different in the fall!

img_5319.jpg

The colors are beginning to change:

img_5322.jpg

The dried grasses smell different:

img_1923.jpg

The higher we climbed, the more nip we felt in the wind:

img_5326.jpg

 

Studio Tour

Since the show at the Creative Center ended, First Saturday September is over, and the show at Lodgepole didn’t happen, my studio looks full and good! Thought you all might like a peek inside:

img_5292.jpg

img_5293.jpg 

I sure can cram a lot of items into an 11×14 square foot room! Incidentally, if you would like to visit, you can call or email for an appointment. I will even sweep up the dead scorpions in preparation for your visit. 😎

Love to Draw!

All summer I have been in conversation and planning for a drawing of a cabin. It has grown from a simple drawing to a collage, and the very trusting and polite customers have given me freedom to do it anyway I want. Often, the customers like to participate in the planning and be given a few choices and have a little input. These folks have taken a different approach, and it is a tad bit nervous-making, and quite a bit of fun! Here is what is completed as of today:

img_5291.jpg

It just takes me back to my roots of pencil, commissioned work, and, well, cabinart!

A Pair of Minutes, continued

Amazing how much work can be accomplished when one sits down, removes distractions, picks up the tools and works for just a pair of minutes! You can see how this very large drawing is nearing completion:

img_5290.jpg

The right side of the water wheel, brick pavers, some ground cover and a few detailed flowers in the foreground are all that remain. But wait! There’s More! – the final step in all drawings is the “nit-picking”, also known as the refinement stage. This is when little changes are made that cause a significant improvement – darkening the darks, lightening the lights, increasing contrast in the important places, sharpening the edges on some areas and blurring out others.