Kaweah Lake

As I refreshed the mural at the Tulare County South Fork fire station #14 in Three Rivers (sorry for all the words – it helps Uncle Google find my posts), I thought of all the times I have painted Kaweah Lake. This subject isn’t as popular as Mineral King, of course, but very little is that popular.

These are the first ones I painted of the lake, back in 2007 when I had only been oil painting about a year. I didn’t have a good inventory system set up yet, so I don’t know the sizes. I think they were either 4×6″ or 5×7″. Who bought them? I don’t know that either. If you own one of these, THANK YOU!

These were painted a bit later, maybe in 2009. I still didn’t record the sizes and didn’t yet have a scanner or Photoshop Junior. This is the same year that I first painted the water tank at the Tulare County South Fork fire station.

2009, when the mural was new, after I practiced the subject at least 8 times on canvases and boards.

We’ll continue our tour of Kaweah Lake on Tuesday.

Refreshing the Mural, Day 4

At the end of Day 3 on the South Fork fire station in Three Rivers, I left thinking “oh, them barren heels.”

Excuse me??

When I was a kid, a couple of Mom’s Alabama cousins stopped by to visit us on their first trip to California. One of them kept saying, “Them barren heels!” Translation: compared to the hills of Alabama, our hills looked bare to her.

On Day 4, I fixed them barren heels.

Let’s have a little review:

2009, when the mural was new.
The yellow faded, leaving everything that used to be green now in varying shades of blue.
Refreshed in 2020, this time using a yellow paint that is more lightfast.

Next, I’ll need to stop by in the afternoon light to take a better photo of the mural.

Thank you for following along as I turned the faded tank mural back into one that makes drivers on South Fork Road smile.

 

Refreshing the Mural, Day 3

The left side begins the day in shade, but it involves some looking into the sun while painting.

The flag flapped around, casting disturbing intermittent light and shadow on the tank.

The hills need more detailing, more texture, maybe some color changes.

I added smears of various yellows and oranges to indicate fields of poppies, fiddleneck, and mustard.

One more session and it should be finished enough for me to sign my name and sigh with relief that another mural in Three Rivers is looking good.

Mural Refresh Day 2

The weather continued to be cool, which allowed me to keep moving ahead on the water tank mural at the Tulare County fire station in Three Rivers.

On Day 1, I noticed goatheads because they came right through the bottom of my apparently worn-out Crocs.

On Day 2, I took a big sheet of cardboard to put beneath me on the ground. Good thing, because I sat and knelt to work on the flowers.

First, the right side before the sun got too intense.

You can see the tremendous degree of fading here, particularly in the poppies.
Poppies first.
I really like the color combination of poppies against the strong periwinkle blue, which has to be painted over with green.
Lots of time on the cardboard, working green around lupine and poppies. Although the lupine are almost still a good color, they needed another layer of paint.
Time to move to the left side, which was still shady.
I was on a schedule, so I just slammed out some green. The details will have to wait until another time. You can see that the lupine are almost the right color in their faded state.

On Day 3, I hope to finish detailing the flowers and grasses on the left side, and then spend time adding detail to the ridges of hills. The lake might be just fine as is. 

Refresh

in 2009 I painted a mural on the water tank at the South Fork fire station. This is Tulare County Station 14 in Three Rivers.

I mixed the colors using red, yellow and blue, plus white. About 2 years ago, the mural company stopped recommending that particular yellow for outdoor use. 

See why?

The yellow faded, turning everything that used to be green into varying shades of blue.
Oops, I think this green is too dark.
This is lighter, but I’ll have to try more areas first to know how things need to be.
Couldn’t resist trying that brilliant spring green. It really emphasizes the fadedness. (I know that isn’t a word, but I can’t think of the right one.)
I just started slapping various greens on in a somewhat random fashion so that I could compare the darknesses.
Now there is more to work with, so I can start making adjustments.
The blue ridge behind the farthest green needs to be a bit darker, but first I’ll finish the greens.

There – see the darker blue now? Colors are supposed to fade as they recede into the distance. That is part of what helps us know what we are seeing.

Now the sun is too high to continue.

When the sun shines directly on a mural, the paint dries too quickly on my palette and in my brushes and I can’t do my best work. So, this shall be continued. The grasses and flowers will take quite a bit of time, and the lake might need another coat. Then I’ll probably start drawing with my paintbrush, making up ridiculously detailed areas because that is the most fun part to me.

 

Saturday Thoughts

  1. I went to Visalia for the first time in several weeks and the lack of traffic was nice.
  2. I drove a little over the speed limit, and was passed in a blur by every car that came near me. Fueled by frustration, rebellion, and a desire for adventure, no matter how small?
  3. It troubles me that I was not carded at the grocery store when I was there during the Senior Hours. (And those hours are probably the reason for the light traffic. . . who else goes to Visalia at 5:45 a.m.??)
  4. Many of the bulk bins at Winco are back! These are the ones overhead that require pulling a lever rather than the ones below that provide a scoop so you can reach in the barrel and gather your own food.
  5. The library sent me a notice that I have 2 books due today. Well, yes, indeed, they have been due since March, but the drop-box is locked. But maybe the notice means the library will be reopening soon!
  6. I started a new project that will be on my blog next week.
  7. A drawing student came to my home, set up her own table and chair in my driveway, and we had a lesson. This worked because it wasn’t hot this week. No photos – I often live my life without documenting it, particularly when it involves other people. 
  8. Here is an article that explains how viruses are spread, describing which behaviors are high or lower risk: The Risks
  9. Here is an article (long, helpful) about the unintended consequences of the shut down: SJVSun.com
  10. Farewell-to-Spring wildflowers are thick around Kaweah Lake: beautiful pinky-lavender flowers that make me sad. The green is gone and the heat is on its way.

P.S. The reason it troubled me to not be carded is that I wanted people to say “You couldn’t possibly be a senior!!” Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. . .

Escape

Melvin the marmot

I want my posts to be encouraging, uplifting, enlightening, and a bit of an escape into the healing power of beauty, reminders that there are still plenty of good things to be enjoyed.

(This has nothing to do with anything, but did you notice all the E’s in that sentence?? Encourage. Enlighten. Escape. Enjoy.)

But, I hesitate to post about Mineral King, because it might be like showing off an expensive freezer full of fancy ice cream that you cannot have. 

It is my intention for these photos to encourage you that there are good times ahead. 

Looks the same, except the cottonwood branches may be leaning even lower than previous years, putting “twigs” in the top of the photo.

Everything is still brown and gray.

Plenty of water is flowing.

Monarch Creek
Chihuahua Creek
Crystal Creek

There is some green, but you must look closely to find it.

Dandelion, always first.
Unknown yellow
Unknown yellow – perhaps cinquefoil?
Green + purple = gurple (Will become Languid Ladies/Sierra Bluebells, an early flower.)
I brought my own green.

Are all slide shows supposed to end with a sunset? How about some alpenglow instead.

Take heart, friends. It makes life more pleasant than worrying about things over which we have no control.

Questions

 

  1. Why in a town called Three Rivers do people buy water?
  2. Why do people wear masks when they are alone in their own cars?
  3. Why does IHeartRadio play the same commercials as many as five times in a row?
  4. Why do people only return phone calls after you’ve given up waiting for them and have left the room (or the phone)?
  5. Why do people tailgate?
  6. Why is there so much conflicting information about The Virus?
  7. Why do I knit faster when I think I might run out of yarn?
  8. What happens to worn out batteries on electric cars?
  9. WHAT AM I GOING TO WORK ON NOW THAT MY COMMISSIONS ARE COMPLETED??

I’ll figure out something. Always have.

Finished and Finished

The green looks a bit uneven because it is wet. Those tiny white letters were challenging, nay, CHALLENGING!

The two sided A-frame mural (sign? what is this thing?) needed a few touch-ups.

 

In case you are wondering, yes, I can name all the flowers. They are all foothill flowers, not in my wildflower book Wildflowers of Mineral King: Common Names.

 

Other than getting the quail as close to reality as possible, this side was just lots of scribbling in brownish yellows and yellowish browns. 

Now what am I going to work on??

Side Two

I  was concentrating so intently on this side that I forgot to take photos until this stage. All that remains is studying it for awhile to see what needs to be refined.