Six Things I Learned in October

And a few of these things may be hold-overs from September or perhaps even August (slow learner?)

  1. Propane: a. If a tank is full when it is hot out, the propane expands and blows off the pressure relief valve; b. Propane’s bad smell attracts flies
  2. The sharper your knife, the less you cry (when slicing onions). This is the title of a book (minus the part about onions) that I read, a memoir by Kathleen Flinn, about her time a Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. I don’t cook much, don’t like onions and don’t use them very often, but I will be sure to sharpen my knife next time.
  3. The Pencil Lady was interviewed on my favorite podcast What Should I Read Next. She runs a store in New York City that sells everything pencil related. WOW! It is called CW Pencil Enterprise.
  4. When defrosting the frig at the cabin, it goes fast if I put a warm burner plate off the woodstove inside the freezer (on a piece of foil). Amazing idea – why did it take 31 years to figure this out??
  5. VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) charges a whole mess of fees; the next time I rent a place to stay, I will skip this giant greedy conglomerate and find a local rental agency. Ha ha to VRBO.
  6. Drawing lesson for me: drawing a portrait of someone I can’t see and don’t know is just as difficult as drawing a portrait of someone I don’t know from a photo that is blurry. The difference is that when the unknown subject looks similar enough, I get to quit messing with it.

Three Orange Oil Paintings, Completed!

Whoa. That was a sprint. Three new orange oil paintings in a week’s time, begun and completed.

This is the original orange painting; it is drying in the window because I had to re-sign it so that the frame wouldn’t cover my name.
Top orange completed. The color and clarity are definitely better after the 2nd coat. Good thing.
It was very helpful to have the original painting right there to match the colors.
Two down, one to go.
Compare the bottom painting in this photo to how it looks in the photo above.

It is a privilege to be thought of when local businesses have Art Emergencies; it is a thrill to be able to handle those situations. I’m very happy to be able to help, and particularly happy to help out in ag and especially in citrus.

Lovies,

Your happy orange painter

Oranging Along

It’s my blog, I’m 58 and I can make up words if I want to. Any questions?

Oh. What does “oranging” mean?

It means painting oranges, although I was just painting greens that day. Because this commission job was for 3 oil paintings in 2 weeks, I had to plan the most efficient method of delivering mostly dry paintings. 

Day one: get the first layer down, all the canvas covered, the basic shapes and colors in place and the edges with one coat.

Day two: Perfect the background greens so that on. . .

Day three: sign on the green area after perfecting the orange area. Finally, put a second layer on the edges, which may or may not show. I don’t know what the framer has in mind and won’t get to see the final product. 

This gives the paintings a week to dry. Would have been better to know about this job sooner, both for more time to work and also for summer’s heat, which makes for quicker drying. They might be a little tacky (in the tactile sense of the word, not the quality of the job.) But, a little pressure is sometimes a good catalyst for action.

Working upside down is helpful both for seeing shapes accurately and for a more comfortable hand position. The finished painting is on the bottom, and it is my guide.
The second painting.
And here is #3. Bet you are wondering if there really are 3 plus the original. . .
Yeppers. Three orange oil paintings with the original sitting alongside on Samson’s shelf.

Speaking of Samson, he is pretty tired. He’s been working the night shift lately. 

Mineral King Paintings Sold

These paintings sold through the Silver City Store* over the summer. Most were 6×6″; a few were 8×8″, 8×10″, and 10×10″. (It is probable that I was slightly careless in my record keeping, because all of these are square – where is that 8×10″??)

It is possible I could have sold more, if I had stayed home and painted instead of being out on the trails, chasing down wildflower names.

Choices and consequences.

*4 miles below the Mineral King valley

Holiday Craft Fair

This is an annual backyard boutique in Visalia. I participated last year and was very impressed by the quality, variety, organization and attendance. If you like shopping, looking at handmade items, hanging around nice people, then this event is for you!

2018 Calendar Special Offer

My 2018 calendar will be printed soon. The price will be $15 unless you order and pay for one BEFORE Nov. 1. This can be done from this page on my website: Calendar What’s the deal? $12.

Is it worth it to save $3? Only you can answer that question!

Three Oranges, To Go, Please

Two weeks to paint three oranges, but really, only one because of a planned 2 days off and because of drying time.

No problem. . . just get outta my way! They don’t have to be truly identical, because each one will end up in a different home.

That sounded weird. If they were all in the same home, they really wouldn’t have to be identical. Never mind.

They will all be presented at the same time, so they need to be close. That way, no one says, “But I like his better!”

This is how it looked over the course of Day One at the easels.
The last step of Day One was painting layer #1 on the edges. When I return to the project in two days, they will be dry enough to put on the next layer. The second day of painting will be when I perfect all the details. 

Two days isn’t some formula; it is because I teach drawing lessons on the second day and have a prescheduled appointment on the third. On day four I can continue.

They most certainly need more work. . .

 

Four Oranges, Please

A yearly customer emailed me to ask for a painting she saw on my website, but she didn’t just want that painting. She wanted four of that painting.

Well, oops. My paintings don’t get reproduced by machines; my paintings get reproduced by a paintbrush in my hand.

But wait! There’s more! She wanted them in two weeks time.

Ahem. I paint in oils. They take awhile to dry (unless it is July or August). This could be a tricky assignment.

First, I found the original painting and got in touch with the gallery showing it to set it aside for me to retrieve. This meant that I had to paint “only” three. That helps.

Second, did I even have blank canvases the right size? Yeppers, I did. 

I know, you are just dying to see what painting she wants.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you what happens next.

Why 2017 Was Different in Mineral King

  1. Lots of water, lots and lots and even more.
  2. Lots of wildflowers – taller, wider variety, new flowers, abundance.
    Wild Blue Flax
    Shooting Star – often more purplish than pinkish, sometimes named “Jeffrey”
    Crimson Columbine

    Sky Pilot
  3. No bear sightings. None.

    See? No bears.
  4. Favorite neighbors The Sawtooth Six did not come as a group. Weird. (Don’t make this a regular practice, you Six!)

    Sawtooth Six and Trail Guy, 2008
  5. I was there for most of July; no workshops, no lessons, no commissions, no shows, no books, no trips, no one dying in my family, no projects. Nice.
    Surround Sound in water!

    Have I ever seen this before? It seems to be everywhere this year. I think it will turn into a berry.

    Samson didn’t think it was such a great summer. Don’t worry, Little Buddy. We’re home now for a long long time.

Pencil Drawing Finished?

The pencil drawing commission might be finished. I often run things by my drawing students, telling them to be as “mean” to me as I am to them. It gives them an opportunity to practice the skills of looking very critically, and articulating clearly if they see any weak areas of a drawing.

Here it is the first time. It was originally drawn to be printed in The Cabins of Wilsonia.

And here it is in its second iteration:I am more confident that the roof angles are closer to reality this time, and I think it has tighter detail. I’m guessing that the shocking difference in darkness is due to the computer preparations required for printing in the book. It wasn’t that dark in person because my pencils aren’t that dark. It almost looks like ink to me! (Nope, not participating in Inktober.)