Scouting Around

For the first time in my life, I have purposely not gotten a cat “fixed”. We have so much trouble keeping cats that I want to generate a few back-up kitties. Besides, it costs so much and then some coyote just comes along, and poof, gone, bye-bye cat and bye-bye dollars. So, our little Scout […]

Tree Drawing Progress

Here’s what I had to work with, once back in the studio. I put on a podcast, an interview with James Clear about his new book called Atomic Habits. (Wow, what a practical guy. I might buy the book, but probably will wait a few years until I find it in the local library system.) Using […]

Chasing a Tree

During a recent drawing lesson, I opened up my envelope of just-in-case snapshots, and this one was on top. Why not draw it? Demonstrating is a good method of teaching. Both the trunk and branches are confusing to me. If I can’t see it, I can’t draw it. I can make stuff up, but since […]

Mineral King in January

It might be springlike in Three Rivers in January, but it is winter in Mineral King. Trail Guy made a day trip up there to check out the snow and the cabins. The photos look almost like black and white; I’m into green more than into white so I went walking up Salt Creek that […]

7 Things I Learned in January

I learned some hard things in January, but will only share a few because many are too personal for the World Wide Web. Unexpected death creates a ton of work. The more animals you own, the more you will spend in time, feed, and vet bills. It is horrible to lose a close friend. Horrible […]

Spring in January

When we have had rain and the sun is out in January in Central California, it seems like spring. Sure, we think it is cold out, but compared to places with real winter, this is very springlike.

Regreening a Mural

I had a little encouragement and companionship while working on the regreening of the Mineral King mural. It wasn’t the normal type, with questions and requests for business cards. One of the most difficult parts of painting a mural for me is that the brushes don’t hold their shape. They get clogged up by paint, […]

Unfading a Mural

The primary colors of red, blue, and yellow plus white are how I mix colors to paint murals. The paints are supposed to be highly pigmented and lightfast, but yellow ALWAYS fades first. Since green is made from blue and yellow, greens turn to grayish blues. Two years ago I repainted the big Mineral King […]

Pencil Progress

If I draw from top to bottom, left to right, it cuts back on the opportunities for smearing. The background hills are very forgiving, a good place to begin this commissioned pencil drawing of a very fine house in a serene setting.