This is a commissioned oil painting of Mineral King. The Friend/Customer wanted a painting to fit a particular space and match some of her other paintings. This magical scene was her decision, and I am happy to comply.
Here we go, step by step.
Maybe something I learned in the plein air painting sessions is improving my studio painting. (Or maybe this is just a magical scene.)
A few cold days arrived in early October, so Trail Guy went up the hill to make sure our water system and cabins were faring well. (Yes, “cabins” plural, because he looks after many of our neighbors’ places too.)
We went up together the following weekend, and it was still cold. It was colder inside the cabin than out, and we built a fire in our fireplace for the first time this year.
Hiking Buddy and I spent a fair amount of time slouching on the couch while the men did various maintenance chores in our neighborhood. We did manage one walk to experience the beginning of fall colors.
Look! Bigelow Sneezeweed STILL IN BLOOM below the Honeymoon Cabin. This is the last remaining vestige* of summer in Mineral King.
Put down your brushes and walk away from the mural! That’s what I had to tell myself at the end of Day Three on the mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers.
At the end of Day Two, I took a photo of the mural, studied it, and made a list of things that were not quite right. When I arrived on Day Three, I didn’t even read the list but just started working. The oak tree, the sycamores, the river’s edge. . . fixey, fixey, fixey.
Next, I peeled the masking tape from the top 2 sections to see how effectively it masked the edges. Then it was time for lunch. (I love working at St. Anthony’s!)
The tape had a few malfunctions. The pencil we used to swing the arc and the blue chalk line all had to be painted out, so I used the wall paint to cover the now extraneous guidelines.
I signed it, then added one more poppy.
Stick a fork in it; it’s done!
I started Day Two on the mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers with the idea that I could finish it, maybe even in the morning.
Fall down laughing.
First, I needed to fix the slopes below Comb Rocks. It was mushy in the mural, undefined, hard to read. See?
I looked out the window to see how the hills actually look. Of course, it is the wrong time of year, the wrong lighting, and the wrong angle; that’s where I try to blend artistic license with believability.
Artistic license is also why I have made Comb Rocks more prominent in the mural than they are out the window.
That took longer than I expected, so I took a break. First, I photographed the live oak out the nearest window, thinking it might be helpful.
Go back to work, Central California artist, because you are procrastinating and it isn’t advancing the mural.
Time for lunch! I love working here. 😎
The oak tree on the left, the bank along the river, the sycamores, and the river itself don’t seem quite right to me. So, tomorrow I will see how to make these things look more believable.
It is possible that painting inside a little chapel at St. Anthony’s Retreat is the most pleasant mural painting experience I’ve ever had.
This is a scene cobbled together from several photos of Three Rivers as it shines in the spring. Look at how much I got done in one focused day of painting!
When I paint murals, there is a lot of noise in my head. Listening to Shannon’s books occupied the part of my brain that keeps yammering at me that I have no idea what I am doing, and that this is too hard for me. So, on this day of painting, the noisy and negative part of my inner dialogue didn’t have a chance. I just listened and painted, and it was lovely.
St. Anthony’s Retreat is a conference grounds here in Three Rivers, a gathering place by many people for many reasons, not just a place for Catholic retreats. I like to go there; it’s close to home, has happy memories, and most of the people who work there are my friends (I don’t know all of them. Yet.) Plus, if I am there around lunchtime, they feed me really good food.
They want to convert a small windowless room to a prayer chapel, and got the idea to have me paint a mural on one of the walls so that it doesn’t feel claustrophobic in that space.
The wall is about 14 feet long and 10-1/2 feet high.
Stay tuned. I’ll show you the mural as it grows.
My sister and I crossed 2 bridges on our “Urban Hike” of seven San Diego bridges. There were 5 to go, and it was so fun to navigate through the streets with just some written instructions, sightseeing while on the lookout for bridges.
Thus we conclude our saga of my visit to Sandy Eggo, a city and county of many dear people in my life, many memories, and I hope, many future visits.
Hey Central California artist, don’t you work anymore?
Of course I do! After I finish telling you about my trip to Sandy Eggo, I’ll show you that I do still work. So there.
My resourceful sister found an urban hike for us. 5.5 miles around San Diego, crossing bridges. It is called the Seven Bridge Hike. (or walk, more likely, because there are restaurants along the way so a pack with food and water isn’t required.)
Balboa Park is full of beautiful architecture. I had forgotten just how many gorgeous old buildings are there. We lingered after the first bridge because there were many distractions.
The next bridge was a driving bridge with sidewalks. It is ornate when you drive beneath it on the freeway, but the details don’t show when you walk across, leaving the park on its western edge.
More about our seven bridge walk tomorrow. Then maybe I’ll get back to being a working artist.
The Gaslamp Quarter was just beginning to be redeveloped when I lived in San Diego. I worked for an architect in a somewhat seedy part of town, in a fabulous building. My sister was game to explore, so we went looking for the Keating Building.
We visited Coronado Island, which isn’t exactly an island. When I lived in San Diego, it cost money to cross the bridge to go there, so I didn’t go very often. Now it is free. Hunh?
