Author: cabinart

How to Order a Coloring Book

Ordering a coloring book from my website is a bit of a project. If you have ordered, you know that I email to ask for your address, even though you entered all the info while ordering. My website is a little out of whack, and I don’t know why. Sigh. It just happens. Today I learned that it will cost $300 to update my website to make everything work properly. Big heavy sigh.

If you want a coloring book and don’t want to go through all the steps, a check in the mail is fine – $15, and I will pay the mailing costs. I appreciate so much when shipping is free that I do the same for my customers/clients/collectors/friends.

Okay, just in case you decide to order from the website, here is the exact order of clicking steps.

Click on my Website
Under the For Sale tab – click Heart of the Hills Coloring Book
Click on the coloring book. (If there are 2, click on the one on the right with the price beneath it. If it says there are no products available, hit your refresh button. If this doesn’t work, put down the computer and walk away.) This takes you to a new page (Why is this necessary?? Don’t ask me – I just work here.)
Click on the purple Add to cart button. It takes you to a cart page.
Click on Proceed to checkout. It takes you to a checkout page where it asks for your details. This is where you then go to Paypal, and it accepts your credit card even if you don’t have a Paypal account.

I don’t know what happens next, because I stopped there because I didn’t want to buy a coloring book from myself because I have them already.

Sounds as if I am babbling to myself. This is because I am babbling to myself. Technology often affects me that way. (Ick – that stupid “easy to use” Square at the Redbud almost turned me into a raving lunatic at the Redbud Festival, right there in public.)

I have a wise friend who reminds me from time to time that if you have a problem but you have money to fix it, then what you have is an inconvenience rather than a problem.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE WHO ORDERED COLORING BOOKS! This means I have the money to get the website tuned up.

But when do I have the money to get ahead??

Never mind.

This new coloring book will be available very soon, and I hope you will be able to order it easily from the website.

coloring book

More Paintings in Place

“Painting” singular, in place, is more accurate. Yesterday I showed you paintings hanging in friends’ homes, friends who collect my art specifically, or collect the art of local artists in general. Some buy it because they love my work and then they become friends, some buy it because they love me.

It’s nice to be loved, and it is nice to have my work loved.

Now, the reason for today’s post:

Before:

After:

Beautiful room, pretty cool painting!

There was a photo of me standing on the hearth next to the painting, but I looked fat, wrinkled, and slightly overwrought. So, we’ll settle for the painting in place.

This is the commissioned oil painting of a Three Rivers home. It was privilege to be chosen to paint this. It was a little bit too hard for me, but it is good to be challenged and to push through the difficulties. The homeowners were a delight to work with.

Thank you, C & S!!

Paintings in Place

Art marketing gurus tell artists that we need to have photos of our artwork hanging in customers’ homes.

Customers or clients? The marketing gurus say “collectors”. I think “client” sounds pretentious, “collector” sounds presumptuous, and “customer” sounds like good plain English.

However, around here, the word that usually fits is “friends”.

Paintings at LB's house

I think this looks stunning on a red wall!

B's wall

I think these look stunning here! And this friend has more of my paintings than anyone else, but I still don’t think of her as a “collector”. She’s a friend!

framed painting framed closer

And isn’t this a creative way to emphasize a little painting?

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

Nope, not going to make a TLDR* blog, so come back tomorrow.

*Too Long, Didn’t Read

oil paintings

Early Spring in Mineral King

This week Trail Guy went to Mineral King to see how things look in early spring. Yes, I know May is not “early spring” down here in Three Rivers, but things are different at 7800′.

Mineral King cabins

These folks have some melting and shoveling to do.

The classic view of Mineral King, probably the most photographed, and definitely the most drawn and painted scene by this Central California artist. It looks wrong to me with the tall red fir gone. That remaining tall tree is a ~~cedar~~ juniper (Thank you, Trail Guy. The reason I mix these 2 up is that those are the names of 2 similar green colored pencils.) Farewell Gap is more visible this way.

Daffodils are not native flowers, but they are a welcome sight.

These folks have some melting and shoveling to do.

They can use the door on this side of the cabin instead of fighting all the snow off their deck.

The sunny side of the valley is where Trail Guy spent many an afternoon when he wintered in Mineral King. (I didn’t know him then.)

There is plenty of snow in the shade and on the north facing slopes. It just makes it fun for kids to make snowballs, and slippery for adults who want to walk a bit.

More daffodils. Thanks, Van and Mary, for planting these. Isn’t this a cute cabin?

Thanks, Trail Guy, for your early spring reconnaissance trip.

The road will be open to the public on Memorial Day weekend.

Mineral King Mineral King photography

Drawing Lessons

Since 1994 I have been teaching people how to draw. Each class has 3-5 people who meet together for one hour per week. There are 5 of these classes in Exeter at the Courthouse Gallery on Tuesdays. (but not in July, August or December)

Each person works at his own pace on his own drawing. Some have been with me for a month now, some for about 10 years. The only ones who don’t learn are the ones who quit too soon.

Everyone comes for a different reason. Here are some:

To learn how to get their shapes and proportions more accurate so they can paint better.
A desire to prove some art “teacher” wrong, who told them they have no talent. (Isn’t that mean!? Wasn’t the “teacher” there to help?? )
A love of learning how to do new things.
A desire for a new hobby.
Always thinking it might suit them, and finally making the time to investigate that interest.
Already knowing how to draw but needing a specific time and place.

Have a look at what some of my students have either just completed or are currently working on:

Spice Cat

joshlyn

There are specifics about drawing lessons here. (Click on the word “here”).

My classes are full right now but you can get on a waiting list. Sometimes people do quit. I don’t think I drive them away. . . life changes, or they got what they came for and move on.

drawing lessons pencil drawing

Coloring Book Report

Whole lotta reporting going on this week.

While preparing for the Redbud Festival, I decided to add a few more oil paintings and finish the giant painting of the Oak Grove Bridge. Then I wisely decided my time was better spent elsewhere.

So, I began working on a new coloring book design. No telling how long this adult coloring craze will last, so I’d better make hay while the sun shines.

Here is the cover, version #1:

heart of mineral king

This is too hard to read, so I redesigned the cover.

MKcolorcover

Then, I finished all the crazy-making computer work, and sent it off to be printed.

NEW COLORING BOOK COMING SOON!

It will have fewer pages and thus will cost less than Heart of the Hills. THIS ONE WILL BE CALLED HEART OF MINERAL KING.

Please excuse me for shouting at you. This is very exciting and fun.

It should be available in two weeks.

coloring book Mineral King

Redbud Report Continued

Heart of the Hills

Yesterday I told you that fifty-eight coloring books, Heart of the Hills, sold during the annual Redbud Festival in Three Rivers.

Lest you think I could have just skipped the booth set up and plopped myself at a card table with a stack of coloring books, plenty of other items also sold. I even had the privilege of seeing some new friends from Fresno who came specifically for pencil drawings, which I had to race home and retrieve. So glad I live close, and that Trail Guy delivered my car to me, since I had walked to work that morning.

Cards, small oil paintings and tee shirts remain popular. But the coloring book stole the show.

My booth was busy almost the entire time, and sometimes I’d see someone sort of hovering around the edges. While I’d be talking with someone else, I’d just pick up a coloring book and pass it over the the hoverer, who invariably said, “How did you know that is what I was looking for?!”

I lied and said I had read her mind. (I hope no one got freaky about that.) It was just obvious to me, taking into account the tremendous popularity and publicity the coloring book is receiving.

Besides, I’ve been doing this show off and on since 1987, so I can read people pretty well.

Wow. It was a busy busy weekend, and I am so thankful to have had this pleasant and peaceful walk to work each morning of the show.

It is truly a blessing to live in Three Rivers.

coloring book heart of the hills Three Rivers

Redbud Report

Redbud is shorthand for The Redbud Festival, an annual arts and crafts fair in Three Rivers. It happened this past weekend. Because I live nearby, I was able to set up my booth on Friday afternoon with the help of Trail Guy and the trusty Botmobile. (That is his 1986 Toyota pickup with 300,000+ miles. If you need a fabulous mechanic, I HIGHLY recommend Foreign Autoworks in Visalia – Toyota, Honda, and their derivatives only. 559-734-8285.)

I purposely brought fewer oil paintings than usual. Just wondering and experimenting with how the booth looks to see if less is more or if less is a bore.

I knew that coloring books would be the big deal, so I hung the somewhat cheesy sign where it could be seen from each entry. And I brought the finished commissioned painting of the Three Rivers house, along with the in-progress version of the Oak Grove Bridge.

I liked the uncluttered look of the screens. Along with oil paintings and coloring books, I had Mineral King tee shirts (now sold out enough to be removed from my website), notecard packages, and Wilsonia cabin books.

It was all mostly a backdrop, a little gallery for the purpose of selling coloring books.

FIFTY-EIGHT COLORING BOOKS SOLD!

Heart of the Hills is available here and at Kaweah River Trading Co., Three Rivers Mercantile, and the Three Rivers History Museum, all in Three Rivers.

Three Rivers 1st Saturday Three rivers oil paintings

Reminding You of the Beauty of Tulare County

Do you know why I write this blog?

It is because I want to remind us all that there is beauty here in Tulare County. Sometimes I have to put myself out into that beauty and even take my Big Girl Camera with me to get great photos so I can do my job of reminding you of the beauty of Tulare County.

The wildflowers along the lower 6.5 miles of the Mineral King Road are abundant and beautiful. There really aren’t very many places to pull over, so just drive slowly and soak it up. Better yet, have someone else drive, and you can just gawk.

This is spice bush, and it is in bloom right next to the Oak Grove Bridge.There is good water flowing beneath the bridge. This is the upstream view.

This is leaning over the bridge looking downstream. There was a pickup parked on the bridge with rafting stuff. The people were actually rafting down there! I have no idea how they got the raft down to the water or how they got into the thing without having one foot in and one foot out when it shot down some treacherous rapid.

Leaning out over the bridge is all the risk I care to take here.

This is the first time I have noticed the rock work propping up the road over there. STAY PUT, little rocks.

We did a little trespassing to get this view. Now you don’t have to. I don’t know if there is enough color here – just greens and browns, with that little place of blue in the water. The wildflowers are just too small. Maybe I could put some in the foreground, in spite of the fact that there are none there. . .? Time will tell. I still haven’t finished the 24×30″ painting that has been on my easel since January or February! Too busy being out in the beauty of Tulare County to be recording it in paint right now.

Oak Grove Bridge Three Rivers Tulare county

Redbud Festival is Coming!

Redbud Festival in Three Rivers is an annual arts and crafts show at the Veterans Memorial Building.

This year it will be on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8. (Yes, that is Mother’s Day).

I’ve been painting a few pieces to add to the collection for sale, in case anyone is interested in anything besides coloring books.