I had a peach. It didn’t sell. Now it is an orange.
I had some lanterns. I didn’t like painting them and didn’t want to finish. Now they are pomegranates.
Welcome to the land of fruits and nuts, where you can enjoy the fruits of my labor.
The oil painting, Oak Grove Bridge XXII, sold. This means it is time to paint another view of my favorite bridge. I looked through my photos and found an angle I’ve never tried before.
Is it lunch yet??
Happy Birthday, Phoebe!! (23? 23!!!)
These eggs sold.
These eggs haven’t sold.
At a recent show, someone asked me about this painting, “Brown Egg, Blue Plate II”. “Is this a potato?”
Ahem. No, it isn’t. Guess it is time to rethink this painting. That blue plate was very difficult. I don’t want to waste it. How about a new egg color??
Trail Guy has made 2 more trips to Mineral King, AFTER I posted “Final Mineral King”. Before there is snow, when the weather is balmy and the air is clear up the hill, it is possible to still enjoy Mineral King (if one is retired).
On the first visit, he found penstemon in bloom!
He went again on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, when I was at the Arts Center having a boutique. (It’s okay – I love what I do; no need to express any sympathy here.)
Being Trail Guy, he headed up the Timber Gap trail (that’s the same one that takes you to Sawtooth, should you be so inclined.)
He didn’t go the whole distance; the days are short, and he is very faithful to help me break down, load and haul my stuff back home after my shows, so he was back in Three Rivers by 4 p.m.
This may be the second most photographed cabin; it is near Cold Springs campground and gets great sun in the fall and winter. (Probably in the summer too, but we are further up the road, taking pictures of the first most photographed cabin instead.)
These two were below Redwood Creek, above Slapjack. First sighting of the year in late November!
The Perfect Gift Boutique is an annual event held by the Kaweah Artisans at the Arts Center in Three Rivers. This is an old building, vaguely Craftsman in style, somewhat shabby, and in its third life – it has been a home, the Womans Club (Yes, that is the way a national club for women spells its name) and now an arts center with many uses.
Nikki the weaver and I usually set up on the stage. The back wall is actually made of sliding panels that open onto the back yard, so that the viewers of a play can sit in the back, outside.
The rock work is extensive, resourceful (using river rock) and interesting.
I’ve heard that it is a little scary upstairs, but I love those double-hung windows and shingle siding.
This is at the very top of the triangular back yard.
The balcony overlooks the back yard; I wonder if it was ever used in plays there.
This is looking up from the stage into the back yard audience area. 
The interior is where we, the Kaweah Artisans, spend our time. It is an open space where about 5-6 folks can set up their wares. This is the view that Nikki and I have of the room from our perch on the stage.
Could you people hold it down? I had a rough night and need my sleep.
What a boring title – “List of Activity” – I’m sure that got people tripping over the Google to find this post.
Not.
But it has been active around my studio and art business lately with sales of oil paintings and pencil drawing commissions.
Finished and sent to happy customer:
Sold:
Sketch approved and drawing begun:
What is this “pencilization” that you’ve been saying lately?
Just another made up word by your Central California artist, who specializes in pencil art, turning photos and ideas into pencil drawings.
The print arrived from Shutterfly, so I was able to continue with the commissioned pencil drawing. An email arrived also, giving me the freedom to do what needs to be done in order to make the scene mostly accurate and pleasing at the same time.
Hurray! Freedom! (Sometimes customers ask me to do things that will make their drawings look stupid; this customer is not like that at all.)
Once the print arrived, I was off like a rocket, pencils flying. There’s something to be said for being able to see the details clearly! It is now in the happy customer’s hands (or perhaps at a frame shop).
You regular Blog Readers (thank you for reading and caring!) know that my favorite thing to do is drawing, not oil painting. So, when I have a good painting day, it needs to be marked, remarked, remembered, noticed and celebrated.
An oil painting has been hanging around for awhile. Both Trail Guy and I wonder why it hasn’t sold yet. . . I’ve named it, of course, but it hasn’t really become a pet. A few years ago I reworked it, knowing I could do a better job.
On my good painting day, I reworked it again. In this photo, it is the one on the bottom. I had planned to work on the painting on the top, but on impulse (WHAT?? I am not a very impulsive person – what happened??) I pulled it out of the studio and moved it into the painting workshop.
Then, I redid the background, which meant that some of the middle ground needed to be retouched.
Do you see 2 photographs in the photo below? I used the upper one the first time and the bottom one in the do-over. Maybe it hasn’t sold because the colors were overly brilliant and/or because it looked more like a telephoto-type photo instead of a realistic painting.
Since I live in Realville, it was time to bring the painting along. This was a good decision, because it attracted attention and good comments at the recent Perfect Gift Boutique when in the past it was just ignored (poor old thing. . .) Even being as non-objective about it as I am, I can see that it is better than before.
But what about the painting I had initially planned to work on? Got the sky and the back mountain ridges done (maybe) and the top of White Chief Peak begun. Looking good on a good painting day, and looking forward to moving forward in the painting!
Now that was some poor writing (used the words “looking”, “good”, “painting”, and “forward” twice each in the same sentence). Does this mean that a good painting day makes for a bad writing day?
Life is full of unanswered questions.
This thing looks okay but it smells funny.
In Three Rivers, the first Saturday of each month is a special day. Some artists open their studios, some retailers offer discounts, and it is just a little more of an event to visit our town.
For First Saturday December, I will have my studio open for first time in several years.
You can see the newest mural, buy a calendar (other things too), and perhaps even get bitten on the ankle by Samson (unless he worked the late shift and is sleeping in one of his secret hideaways).
Pick up a map at Anne Lang’s Emporium to get directions to all the participating businesses, and this month it includes two other artists in my own neighborhood.
P.S. My studio has come a long ways in the past almost 16 years!
