No particular order, no particular reason. Just sharing some of what I love about March in the foothills of Tulare County (where there is no Trader Joe’s).
Searching for a Bridge
Three Rivers has one river, the Kaweah, pronounced “kuh-WEE-uh”. Four forks come together into the Middle Fork, but apparently only three mattered when it was time to name the town. (No, I don’t know which three.) Middle, Marble, East, South, and North are the names of the various branches.
A week or two ago, I learned that the brother of two of my former drawing students took on something called a “bridge project”. He was commissioned to create four 2×2′ tile mosaics to decorate a new bridge somewhere in the county. I asked around and concluded it must be the bailey bridge at the upper end of South Fork Road. So, Trail Guy and I went exploring.
You can see evidence of the SQF Complex fire that burned a lot of South Fork, threatened Three Rivers, Case Mt. and Mineral King
Here is the bridge, going in just upstream of the old bailey bridge, and still just one lane wide:
You can watch Nate Norman talk about making these tiles on this YouTube video. (You might want to fast forward past the first few minutes of someone talking about Arts Consortium business and get right to Nate’s presentation.)
I did a screen shot from the video to show you one of his truly beautiful mosaics. As someone who has experimented with tile mosaic in the past, I can assure you that this was no small undertaking. 
We drove up near the bridge, but it was being worked on so I just took a couple of photos. I am guessing the tiles will go on each of 4 main pillars, one of which I have circled the spot in red for you.
The bridge is about 11 miles up South Fork Road, and I think the campground is one mile farther. We didn’t cross the bridge, but headed back down. It was such a beautiful day that I almost forgot about August. And heat. And smoke. And smog.
There were poppies, but they were closed up due to the overcast day. However, I did get this poor photo of a few wildflowers by kneeling in the mud on the side of the road.
You are welcome.
I do what I can to find the beauty in Tulare County, but not so much that people will flock here. Remember, we are uneducated, poor, unemployed, fat, and diabetic. Oh, and there is that bad air filtering down through the Altamont Pass from the Bay Area for which we get penalized. Further, there is no Trader Joe’s and never will be.
Just keeping it real.
Summer’s Coming and so is the Bridge
Last week it got cold and rainy but I painted in the unheated workshop anyway because summer is coming and I will wish it was cold. Yes, there is a heater which Trail Guy offered to light for me several times, but I declined. It was overcast, and I knew I wouldn’t be painting all day because it was a little hard to see the colors correctly.
In deciding which of the 7 Mineral King oil paintings to work on, it may not surprise you that I chose one of the Oak Grove Bridge, my favorite subject to draw and paint.
The bridge needs to be refined and the foliage needs to be finished. Then I will probably start on the other oil painting of my favorite bridge in all of Tulare County.
Summer’s Coming
Yes, yes, I know it is still March, my second favorite month (interpret that either way you would like). But summer comes every year, and with it comes the need for me to supply Silver City Resort with oil paintings to sell. There isn’t a lot to paint of Silver City itself, and as nice as it is, people go there BECAUSE IT IS NEAR MINERAL KING.
Excuse me for shouting. I feel that all the way to my toes, since I took a job at Silver City in 1985 BECAUSE IT IS NEAR MINERAL KING.
Here are the paintings that I have begun in order to have merchandise for Silver City to sell.
Forrest’s Nightmare Cabin
Painting session #2 was a strong effort toward turning this commissioned oil painting into Forrest’s Dream Cabin.
Tucker is not impressed.
Still a mess, but not quite a nightmare any more. Forrest, you are a brave man. This is because he knows that. . .
. . . I use pencils, oil paint, and murals to make art people can understand, of places and things they love, for prices that won’t scare them.
Forrest’s Dream Cabin
My friend/customer/web designer Forrest requested a large painting of a cabin. He searched for several months, until he came up with a photo that he declared to be “IT”. Alas, he was not the photographer, and I just can’t be copying people’s work without permission.
No no no no, I can’t copy no more, I’m scared of waking up in the courts. No thank you, please, it only makes me freeze (with fear), and then it makes it hard to face the Lord.
Forrest contacted the photographer and got permission!
So, I started. He said it would be fun to see the progress, and I decided to include you all in on the fun. I also told him to not be scared, because they all start out ugly. Forrest’s Nightmare Cabin, perhaps.
Yeppers, it is sideways. Easier to reach the top of this 20×30″ commissioned oil painting. Remember,
I use pencil, oil paint, and murals to make art that you can understand, of places and things you love, for prices that won’t scare you.
(except that the beginning stages might scare you.)
Who is Farmer Bob?
Farmer Bob is Bob McKellar, a most enterprising and remarkable orange grower and business man from Ivanhoe, Tulare County, California. He started Seven Sycamores, a wedding venue, and most recently has begun Farmer Bob’s World, a citrus learning center. They “strive to bring the entire scope of the Ag Industry to life for urban school children, families, legislators and bureaucrats who visit our farm.”
Their Grand Opening is on Saturday, March 13, from 9-3. McKellar Farms, 32988 Rd 164, Ivanhoe (about halfway between Farmersville and Seville, which I know is highly useful information for you.)
A friend in Three Rivers (Why?*) asked me if I had any citrus themed art to sell on consignment in the new gift shop at Farmer Bob’s World. Indeed I do! I have a few small oil paintings, three different pencil reproduction prints, but alas, no cards. So, I ordered 4 pencil drawings of oranges in notecard form, to be assembled and sold as an assorted package.
Because Farmer Bob’s World is a non-profit, I will donate a portion of the sales of these card packages that I sell via my website. (They already get a percentage from the ones they are selling at their gift shop).
The cards are about 4×5″, fold-over, blank inside, and the price per package of 4 is $9 (plus 7.75% sales tax if you live in California, I am so sorry, it isn’t my fault but I am still sorry) plus mailing cost, which I will have to estimate. So these cards are not exactly a bargain, but maybe I am just out of touch with the cost of cards these days.
That wasn’t very helpful.
How about this: if you order them in California and want them mailed, they are $11/package. If you live outside of California, they are still $11/package because the postage might be more. If you buy them directly from me without having them mailed, they are $10/package. I will donate $3 to Farmer Bob for each package sold.
Ick. I’ll go paint now because this business end of things makes me twitch. Too bad I don’t earn enough to hire a business manager. 
*The friend is a member of the board of directors for Farmer Bob’s World and knows that I would not have seen the announcements on Facebook; he also knows that I have been making citrus themed art for many years. It is good to have friends.
And Still Painting. . .
. . . but almost finished.
That was the last one needed for the upcoming show, Still Here, at Arts Visalia in the month of April (virtual? actual in-person? More will be revealed. . .)
Now I can get back to the Mineral King paintings that I started when the others were too wet (or I was too flummoxed) to work on.
Now I have to decide if it is a good idea to show you all the finished paintings that will be in the show or maybe just make you actually attend the show in person. (As if I have the power to make anyone do anything)
Told You I Was Still Painting
Lest you worry that I am spending too much time taking walks, visiting friends, admiring daffodils, and weeding my baby poppies, here is some evidence of forward motion toward completing the paintings needed for the upcoming show Still Here at Arts Visalia in April.
It was getting dark, so it was hard to see the right colors and the detail. Plus, the cats were ready to reclaim their home/jail/safe space for the night.
One Last Glimpse of February
You may recall that February is my (first) favorite month. It was a little difficult to stay focused on painting when just outside the studio there were all these daffodils. I took a break on February 25 to photograph all the various groups around the yard, both for your pleasure and for mine.
Good news is that deer don’t eat daffodils; bad news is that they have a very short season (which is why I have to roam around the yard while they are blooming in spite of having a pile of paintings to finish.)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I went back to the easels that afternoon. Thank you for your concern. I will show you tomorrow.