Author: cabinart

A Very Happy Day

This will be a very personal post, not about my art or Tulare County or Mineral King or Three Rivers.

In the past week or two, I have alluded to a family crisis. In short, my brother-in-law has been diagnosed with a glioblastoma, the very sort of brain tumor that took out my dad 15 years ago.

His oldest daughter had her wedding planned for August 1. She made a very mature and exciting decision on May 3 to have the wedding on May 9. Yes, a wedding was planned in SIX DAYS, and we even received an invitation in the mail so we could ask Mr. Google how to find the location!

There was a team of AWESOME people who made this all happen. Words cannot express our gratitude and awe and admiration for those who pulled off this incredible event.

So, I’ll show you a few photos. Just a few, because this is the World Wide Web, not a private session of friends sitting around my dining table.

setting

The setting was the most stunningly beautiful and perfect private backyard I have ever had the privilege to experience.

audrey and steve

This is the moment that undid the entire group of those of us in attendance.

My niece, grand-niece and new nephew. No words. . .

creative people

And, lest you think my nieces and nephews are normal, nope. They are uninhibited and creative and full of fun. Used to be 5 of them, now there are 7, plus 2 more in the next generation. (Some wise adult protected them from this moment of foolishness and frivolity.)

Thank you for listening, reading, looking and caring.

Love,

Aunt Jana

Neighborhood Bookstore

Since self-publishing has become relatively easy – maybe if it doesn’t involve 278 drawings and learning to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop and a scanner and finding a printer and choosing your own paper and designing your own cover and dealing with a company that bids improperly and blames the customer – then perhaps it is easy. . . I wouldn’t know about that sort of self-publishing – but I digress.

Since the boom of self-published books, there are many people with their own book to sell. There are many just in Tulare County alone, which is rather astonishing given the fact that we are the 3rd least educated county in the state of California.

Excuse me. There I go again. . . What I meant to tell you is that I have the privilege of being included in a group book signing event in Visalia at someone’s home. Here is the invitation, because YOU are invited.

The Cabins of Wilsonia is my book. You probably knew that. 😎 It has many drawings, because it is a story of a cabin community told in pictures and quotes from cabin folks.

Wow. I’ve only met 5 of these authors and artists. This will be fun!

More Better Than Before

First, I get an idea. . . sunflowers!

Second, I look through my photos. . . sunflowers, where are they, I know I have some good ones, AHA, right under the category of florals.

Third, I attach a hanger, write a name and inventory number on the back, list it on the inventory list. . . Sunflower, Orange Sunflower (clever, eh?)

Fourth, I start painting. . . oh boy, this is sort of complex. Does it matter if I actually include every single petal?

Fifth, I paint again. . . okay, this is starting to look possible.

Now it is better than before. And it will continue to improve.

Improvement in my book means more detail, greater contrast, more accuracy.

Better Than Before

Better Than Before is the title of a book I want to read by Gretchen Rubin. It is about how to develop good habits. She is the author of The Happiness Project and Happier At Home. She is an excellent researcher, but more importantly, she has a gift for summarizing her research in a simple, helpful and entertaining way. Her writing is full of personal examples and stories, and I follow her blog and podcast because if I lived in New York, I’d hang out with her!

The reason I called this post “Better Than Before” is because I have paintings in progress and can show you how they looked at the beginning of a work day and at the end.

The two paintings of the Honeymoon Cabin in Mineral King weren’t on that day’s schedule. Or, maybe they were, but I got too involved with the other three paintings. They were dry-ish enough to take to the Redbud Festival.

(I’ll tell you about the Redbud Festival later this week.)

Meanwhile, here are Gretchen’s books and links to her podcast and blog.

The Happiness Project

Happier At Home

Better Than Before

My Favorite Bridge #11

The Oak Grove Bridge, 6.5 miles up the Mineral King Road, is my favorite bridge and favorite subject to draw and to paint. This is the 11th time I’ve painted it in oil, and although this is only partway to being finished, you may see it now.

OGB XI

As I did last time, I am exaggerating the colors. Why? Because I like it that way!

Do you like it brighter than the colors of real life?

An Attempt to Lighten Up

Sometimes when life is hard, it helps to focus on lighter things. (Life has gobsmacked my family – you can read about my brother-in-law here.)

So, these 2 little gems are in progress.

Doesn’t look like I know how to paint at this stage, although I’ve seen paintings of this caliber sold for big money.

I wonder if those artists are laughing all the way to the bank or if they actually did their best?

None of my beeswax. . . it is my job to do my very best for my customers.

Don’t you just wonder sometimes about lots of stuff? Nah, you prolly just watch teevee and have another beer. I’m sure that must be the demographic that reads my blog.

Just kidding! Trying to keep things light here. Buffoonery is a method of coping.

Unfinished Paintings, Finished Drawing

These paintings have been waiting for attention for weeks, or perhaps months.

It is true that what comes easily is usually more fun. I find painting to be work. It is satisfying, but laborious and more often than not, it is difficult.

In troubling times, I gravitate back toward that which brings me pleasure and comfort. Drawing in pencil fits that description.

Perhaps I am just procrastinating. Or maybe it has to do with life’s difficult situations using up whatever extra oomph is needed for me to tackle more challenging projects. Whatever the reason, right now I am choosing pencils over paintbrushes.

Poppies at the Beach

Poppies at the Beach, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 11×14″, not for sale

Redbud Report

The Redbud Festival is a longstanding Three Rivers tradition. It is an arts and crafts fair, and it happens in May, 2 months after the redbud has bloomed. This was Redbud Festival #41! (There may have been a year or two that it didn’t happen.)

It used to happen at a restaurant at the Three Rivers Golf Course. Both the restaurant and the golf course are closed. It moved to the Lions Roping Arena. Now it is at the Three Rivers Veterans Memorial Building, a mere walk from my house.

It takes 2 vehicles to schlep my stuff. We set up the night before, and then the next morning I just walk to the show. Very cool. Bit longer commute than I normally have when I walk across my driveway, but I’m up for it.

I pass the Presbyterian Church.

The plantings at the Memorial Building are native and drought tolerant and thriving. Is that pop-up tents in the distance?

Indeed, it is. And the building is such an odd shape – see it on the right?

Look – all in place and waiting for the customers.

Nice morning light coming in the windows.

My view out of the windows, but no chance to visit those booths.

Paintings sold better off this side of the booth, highly visible when one stepped into the building. So, as paintings sold, I just rearranged them onto this side.

Such brilliant merchandising, dontcha think?

It was a good Redbud Festival. Thanks, all y’all!

Redbud Festival Weekend

The Redbud Arts and Crafts Festival is a long time Three Rivers tradition. It has been around since I was a little girl, and it is always long after the redbud have finished blooming.

north fork

This is how redbud looks in bloom, up the North Fork of the Kaweah River. This is a commissioned oil painting I did last year as a result of a conversation I had with someone at the Redbud Festival. Wow, was it ever fun to mix these colors and paint this scene!

Anyway, here it is again, Redbud Festival time.

Redbud

WHERE: Three Rivers Veterans Memorial Building, 43490 Sierra Drive, Three Rivers, California. This is about a mile upstream from Reimers, AKA “the candy store”, on the uphill side, not the river side of the road.

WHEN: Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

ADMISSION: free!

WHAT: Lots of artists and craftsmen showing and selling their wares, music? (maybe), food (more will be revealed in the fullness of time.) There are vendors both indoors and out, and no one is allowed to bring items that they have not made themselves.

WHY: It is spring in Three Rivers, people like to come here, people like to shop, it is fun to see what people are making, it is fun to meet people who make their own products, and Mother’s Day is coming so maybe you would like to buy a present for a mother in your life.

Random Thoughts from a Chaotic Mind

We are having an extreme family emergency, and it is causing me great distress and lack of focus. If I don’t go into detail, perhaps I can live in denial. If you are interested, you may read about it here. (my brother-in-law) Meanwhile, random thoughts from a chaotic mind. . . If I dabble in this and that, it has to add up to productivity eventually, dontcha think?

This is what it looks like to drive in the countryside of Tulare County in Central California. Doesn’t it just make you wonder why anyone lives here? Or how an artist can persevere to find things to draw and paint?

This is the place where the Orange Cove Lions meet weekly. Their scheduled speaker cancelled, so they called me. Sure, I’ll speak to your group! What a great group of guys – I felt right at home. Citrus farmers, rural Central California folks – my kind of peeps.

And this is what my drawing table looks like right now. 2 drawings in progress, working from many photos, adding a little colored pencil, all because it was too overcast to see to paint. The sun came out, so I took this photo, moved into the workshop to paint, and then, bye-bye sunshine. What’s a Central California artist to do?

In other news, I messed with this painting a little more. A bit more light on the water and brighter colors in the flowers.

Is it finished yet? Will I finish anything – a drawing? a thought? a task? Can’t think, can draw.