Odd Job #10, Part Two

Our Bride-To-Be of the rustic wedding selected the typestyle and chose the solid version, so I began burning numbers on wooden discs.

At first I tried to trace and transfer the numbers. That didn’t work on the wood. After thinking it over, I realized that every table will be separate, so no table numbers will be displayed together. This freed me up from having to perfectly match every bump and bite and wobble of Papyrus. It also freed me to make each number whatever size looked best on its own individual disc.

After burning the #1 solid, I realized that this job just might delay the wedding, due to the slowness of the artist and the process.

I went rummaging around in the workshop and found some wood stain. At the risk of upsetting The Bride To Be, I stained #2. It looked so good that I proceeded to numbers 3-7. Then I got a little nervous, so I photographed and emailed them to her.

She loved them! (This is an Angel Bride, not a Bride-zilla.)

Because the wood burner is borrowed, I felt an obligation to complete this task as soon as possible. I liked drawing the numbers, fitting them around the center of the branch. I liked painting them with the stain. However, burning with fancy expensive tools is a tedious task. Next time I may ask to scratch it in with a nail and then fill it in with a Sharpie!

Oh, and the location of the rustic wedding? Malibu!!!

Here are links to some more previous odd jobs:

Ornament

Chair slat

Cabin sign (gotta scroll down to see this one)

Tiles

RV Decal

Odd Job #10

When you need an artist in a rural place such as Tulare County, chances are you don’t know too many. When you need an artist for a specific job, chances are you will simply ask the only artist you know.

The question usually sounds like this: “Do you know anyone who can do this obscure, one-time, peculiar semi-art-related task?”

Often, I say, “ME! I CAN DO THAT! I WANT TO DO THAT! THAT SOUNDS CHALLENGING AND FUN”!

It gets me all excited so I might raise my voice a bit. Sometimes I might even jump up and down, although that is rare.

A friend has a friend who has a sister who has a daughter who is getting married and wants things rustic and woodsy. They found someone to cut and sand 1″ thick wooden discs, about 5-8″ in diameter. (Thank goodness they didn’t ask me about that part!)

Then came the question about who could put table numbers on the discs.

ME! I CAN DO THAT!

It’s all who you know, and I know Rosemary who owns a stable of wood-burning tools. She lent me a fancy one that just might be worth more than my car.

I sent The Bride To Be several type styles. She chose Papyrus, which happens to be my favorite in spite of great contempt from all young graphic designers (Cory, I know you are listening). I practiced numbers on a board, and gave her a price.

Have a look at the practice board. If you are a real wood burning artist, kindly avert your eyes.

Here are some discs next to the numbers:

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll tell you (and show you) the rest of the story of this Odd Job. (Funny – I have the strange urge to spell “job” with 2 b’s when writing it next to “odd”.)

Here are some links to previous odd jobs:

Painting on a quilt square

Houseboat sign

Pet clinic sign

Painting on an antique window

Remember Reading Rabbit?

In the summer months of July and August, lessons are adjourned, suspended and recessed. Sometimes my students say “Have a nice vacation!” I don’t always take a vacation, although there are plenty of extended weekends in Mineral King, AKA The Land of No Electricity or Internet.

Salt & Light, or Reading Rabbit, oil on board, 11×14″

Reading is vacation to me. Being prone with a book without a sense of time or obligation or guilt about undone tasks is VACATION!

Here is a look at three books I have recently finished. (If you click on the links at the bottom of the post, it will open in a new Amazon window. If you buy as a result of that clicking, I will earn a few cents. It’s called “an affiliate link”. I’ve been taught it is a smart thing to do on a blog.)

1. Happy, Happy, Happy by Phil Robertson. Are you about to hurl? If you are, I agree with you that Duck Dynasty is one of the dumbest things on air these days. I don’t watch teevee but have overheard and overwatched as Trail Guy channel surfs. A friend said this autobiography was surprisingly good and that Phil is surprisingly smart, enterprising and interesting. He was right! This is one of the best autobiographies I’ve read in ages. Who knew??

2. The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern is by Victor Davis Hanson, one of my favorite writers and thinkers. He is a farmer in the Central Valley of California (that big valley is where I grew up, just down the hill from Three Rivers), a former history professor and currently someone important at Stanford in something called the Hoover Institute (I just work here, ‘k? I don’t know nuthin’.) My copy is autographed, dogearred and scribbled in. I had to read it with a dictionary, and it took me a couple of months. I finally took notes in a separate place so I could grasp the concepts. I’ve heard Victor speak twice in person over the last few months, and he is BRILLIANT, ENGAGING, and tells the hard truths, particularly about California. Yikes. You might need to read something light or fun after Victor’s work. (That’s why I chose a book with the title of Happy, Happy, Happy!)

3. Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant explains how the world is divided into givers, takers and matchers and how that affects each one in life and business. I loved reading about the different studies and people and results. Who knew that givers end up on both the top and the bottom of the success spectrum? And aren’t you interested to know which category you are in?

 

 

The Cabins of Wilsonia Now For Sale

After 3 plus years of planning, designing, photographing, editing, drawing, designing some more, exploring, computing, planning, and more drawing than you can possibly imagine, The Cabins of Wilsonia  is available for PRE-ORDER.

Pencil drawing of Wilsonia Club House

 

This means that you have to trust me to deliver a great book to you in 2-1/2 months.

So that you will be inclined to trust me, the pre-order price is $15 less than the real price.

The pre-order price is $70, which includes tax and mailing costs. (Mostly – I will be eating a little bit of those costs to keep the price to a nice round number.)

If you wait until the book is here to buy it, the cost will be $86.

pencil drawing of Wilsonia cabin

You may buy it here, using Paypal. When you get to Paypal (you need to already have a Paypal acc0unt for this to work), it will allow you to choose the quantity you want to order.



The special pre-order price of $70 has expired.

If we see each other regularly,  I will refund the mailing prices because I can simply hand the book to you.

You ready? I sure am!

A Wildflower Walk in Mineral King

Happy Independence Day Eve!

Normally I post about Mineral King on Fridays, but this week I will be silent on Friday because you will be busy and so will I. So, you get to read about Mineral King on Thursday. Hope you are feeling flexible.

Trail Guy and I took a break from our labors around the cabin (Is knitting a labor??) for a walk. No packs, no water, no snacks – just a walk. He wanted to visit his favorite flower, which has popped into bloom a little early this year since spring came early to the mountains.

Crimson Columbine

This is not his favorite flower – this is Crimson Columbine.

This is not his favorite flower either. I don’t remember seeing it before. I don’t know what it is.

wild blue flax

This is not Trail Guy’s favorite flower either. The color is washed out here, but it is Wild Blue Flax. I took this photo because this was taken in June, and normally this flower doesn’t appear until August.

Mariposa Lily

This Mariposa Lily might be Trail Guy’s second favorite flower. It is one of the few white flowers that I’ve bothered to learn, because usually I think white flowers are boring.

Mineral King

This is one of my favorite views, but it rarely photographs well and has never looked good enough to paint.

This is an almost invisible little bitty purplish blue flower that our friend Sue got all excited about. She called it an “Alpine something-or-other”. I’ve never seen it before and don’t think Sue had either.

Leopard Lily

LEOPARD LILY AKA TIGER LILY is Trail Guy’s favorite wild flower.

Leopard Lilies in Mineral King

 

They smell very very fragrant. Trail Guy thinks if it could be bottled, the bottler would be a zillionaire.

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush grows at most elevations. This is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.

penstemmon

I love penstemmon, particularly this purply-blue version. I don’t know its real name.

This blog post got long. I’ll tell you about the rest of our walk next Friday.

 

Label Mural Afterthoughts

Ever heard it said that a camel is a horse designed by a committee?

Rocky Hill Antiques mural

The Rocky Hill Antiques mural is in danger of becoming a camel. Three owners, a former owner, vendors within the organization – many many people have opinions.

I will paint until the one who writes the checks is happy.

More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Meanwhile, only TWO people have told me what is hidden in the mural. There have been many imaginative guesses; I think people are very very creative!

Happy Customer

Customer? Client? How about a long time friend who commissioned me to paint for her? Commissioner?

Never mind.

I delivered “Spring In Three Rivers” to my friend and hung it on the wall where she had planned for it to go. We looked at the pictures around it and knew it wasn’t the best combination.

Being slightly self-focused, I suggested that we place one of my pencil drawings on either side of the painting. Now, lest you think I am more than slightly self-serving, she already owned these two drawings, and they truly looked right together. Lighter, a touch of pink in one, and all places around here. Please forgive me for not taking my camera and documenting the wall.

You know how it is if you move a thing or two. . . it means you have to move another and yet another. We had a great time placing pictures around the room, and the results made us both very satisfied.

Spring in Three Rivers
“Spring in Three Rivers”, commissioned oil painting, 24×18″ on wrapped canvas

Want to Know What is Happening to the Book Project?

What book?

pencil drawing of Wilsonia cabin

So glad you asked! It is The Cabins of Wilsonia.

I’ve proofed the book in every way that I can think of. Until every possible proofing method has been exhausted, I don’t want to send it off to the printer. Besides, it takes money before they will print, so. . .

. . .I will be pre-selling it and selling the original drawings in Wilsonia on July 5, gathering the dollars needed to pay the printer and binder and shipper.

To learn more about the proofing configurations, calisthenics and craziness, you are invited to visit my Cabins of Wilsonia site today. (It will open in a new window so you won’t lose your place here.) You are invited to visit that site any day. Did you know that?

Hanging Around the Cabin in Mineral King

I was lucky, smart or blessed enough to marry into a cabin in Mineral King, the most beautiful and peaceful place in Sequoia National Park.

One would think this would mean spending every possible hour out on a trail.

One would be wrong.

Sometimes cabin time means catching up on things that just fall through the cracks at home. Sometimes these things are just not all that urgent at home, or maybe it is just too hot to do them at home.

Cracking walnuts is much more enjoyable in Mineral King.

Splitting wood is certainly more necessary in Mineral King!

Refinishing chairs? Definitely more enjoyable in Mineral King!

Knitting is enjoyable anywhere.

Knitting is especially enjoyable when it is this yarn – the colors and texture are magical.

Sometimes we hang out and help neighbors. Mostly it is Trail Guy, because they need the kind of help that only he knows how to provide. However, I can trot back to the cabin for a tool or make a phone call.

Sometimes we don’t see some neighbors because they are hanging out at their cabins, working on their own projects. If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with cracking walnuts, I might have come over and taken a “before” shot of these steps. They did a beautiful job of cleaning them out and resetting the rocks.

If this was your view, maybe you’d be content just hanging out too.

Next Friday, I’ll share photos from a walk in Mineral King.

Spring in Three Rivers is a Beautiful Memory

Is that a funny title for a post during the hot time of year? I love spring. It isn’t hot. This painting in progress reminds me of the beautiful season.

oil painting commission of spring in Three Rivers

I’m juicing up (exaggerating) the colors a bit and it is fun. I love dabbing on little specks of different shades of pink. These redbud are so fabulous up the North Fork of the Kaweah River in Three Rivers. I’m so glad that my customer chose this subject for her commissioned oil painting.