Author: cabinart

Spring in Three Rivers Oil Painting Commission

Spring in Three Rivers just might be an appropriate title, although there is little evidence of any river, much less three of them in this picture. But, we are in a canyon that follows the North Fork of the Kaweah, and the presence of sycamore trees indicates a source of water near by. (Can you tell which trees are becoming sycamores?)

oil painting of a road in spring in progress — Spring in Three Rivers, 24×18″ oil painting commission

Getting that fence the right size and in the right place really was difficult. I kept painting out the rails and repainting them, all in a very rough and messy fashion. Oil painting can stay rough and messy for a long time, with each successive layer showing signs of improvement. Of course, in art “improvement” can mean different things to different viewers. Many painters in recent history have a huge following and reputation while making a ton of money with paintings that I’d call rough and messy!

Meanwhile, I choose to refine my own work with each successive layer. When the background of the photo just seemed too rough and messy for me to sort out and then enlarge, I just detailed the closer parts. Normally I work back to front, top to bottom, left to right and dark to light. For this painting, I just do what I am able to do, when I am able to do it.

With those messy types of sections where the detail in the photo isn’t helpful, I paint what I can see and hope it trains me to fake (i.e. make up) the parts that I can’t.

spring in Three Rivers oil painting in progress — Spring in Three Rivers now has a few redbud blooms

I think the fence placement is almost correct, but with all that painting in and painting out and painting over, it is too wet to continue.

This means I get to use a new color! It is some sort of magenta, and I’ve veered from my primary colors only palette because I know from experience that I cannot get to the color of those redbud blooms from those primaries.

Another Oil Painting Commission

If you’ve known me for awhile, you may have heard me say that it is all my friends and relatives who buy my work because they feel sorry for me.

Another friend used to tell me this: “If your friends and family won’t do business with you, who will?”

A long time friend asked me to paint something for her home. She lost her husband about 2 years ago, and now she is slowly changing things to fit her tastes rather than their joint tastes.

She borrowed a book of my photos called “Spring in Three Rivers” (sometimes I just amaze myself with cleverness), and found a photo that rang her bell.

I took paintings to her house so we could determine the most appropriate size and orientation (that means vertical or horizontal).

She decided, and I began:

Now that just gets you all excited, doesn’t it?

How about this view? Painting upside down usually means I have the photo also turned upside down, but I reversed it so you could see what the goal is.

I think this is going to be beautiful! “Spring in Three Rivers” might even become the title, because of that cleverness I mentioned earlier.

commission oil painting oil paintings Three Rivers Three rivers oil paintings

Trail Guy in Mineral King

About half of today’s Mineral King photos are by Trail Guy, AKA Michael Botkin AKA The Husband of The Artist (who has been too busy painting a mural in Exeter to take time off to go to Mineral King as often as they’d prefer.)

A stellar jay and 2 mountain quail

Stay back there and Do Not Come Near The Cabin.

Farewell Gap, the Crowley Cabin, and the headwaters of the East Fork of the Kaweah River.

In White Chief Canyon or Bowl, depending on who is doing the describing.

Climbing out of White Chief, looking out over the top of Timber Gap

The trail leading into White Chief – Vandever is the peak on the left, with Bearskin visible (that patch of snow).

Deer. Whoopee. They eat my geraniums at home.

WHAT IS THIS??? New to us, a 2003 Toyota Tacoma with matching “truck cap” (used to be called “camper shells”). But where is the Botmobile?

Right behind the Sequoia mural, resting from a drive down the Mineral King Road. 314,000 miles, Trail Guy bought this 1986 rig brand new, a year before we got married. (Good thing, because if we were married, I would have told him to buy a used one.) He doesn’t dive into things too quickly. He doesn’t dispose of things too hastily either. Makes me feel quite secure, actually.

Mineral King Mineral King photography

Rocky Hill Antiques Mural, Chapter 8

Look at this photo and guess what it means:

Give up?

It means I am finished with the Rocky Hill Antiques mural!!!

This is how it looked when I began. There was much less traffic – because it was Saturday, or because there was a sign on Spruce that said “Road closed at Ave. 276”? Who cares? It was much nicer. AND, there were many more people stopping by the store and saying hi while I painted. That is so nice after working in silence and solitude for many days in my studio.

This is the finished product. It contains a hidden image, known only to me and to Trail Guy. The first person who spots it gets a prize. Not a huge prize, so don’t get overly excited. And I’m sorry to my friends and blog readers who live far away, because it would be quite extraordinary if you were able to figure it out from this photo. So, come visit, already!

I also refreshed the ENTRANCE sign so it matches the mural. AND you may have noticed that the PARKING sign is gone. It was fun to mix the right yellow to cover that faded thing up. More pictures, fewer words. Sounds like building improvement to me!

Exeter murals mural Rocky Hill Antiques

Rocky Hill Antiques Mural, Chapter 7

When I got to Rocky Hill Antiques, I was so pleased to see the truck in its new position. Keith is a guy I can count on to do what he says he will do – that is an outstanding character quality.

Because he is so quick to help, I wanted to be able to complete everything that uses the truck on this day and the next one. He isn’t clamoring for the truck back, but I feel a little (self-imposed) pressure to get ‘er dun. This is because of the commute (SOOO annoying – all those slowpokes until the passing lanes), the heat (not too bad on Friday at all!), the NOISE, the rough wall surface, and perhaps the general wussiness of this California artist.

Ever since I agreed to do this mural, I’ve been ever so slightly worried about the lettering. I have about zero experience and knowledge of how to letter well, and when you throw in the bumpy bricks and mortar – ay-yi-yi-yi.

No worries! The wall surface gives me the excuse to have the letters be less than perfect.

It was really satisfying to mix up the right blue for the outline of the letters and the “pinstripe”. I love to mix colors!

Now all that is left is the base on which the statue rests, finishing the re-bluing at the bottom, the words at the bottom, and the lower parts of the little light blue stripe. Plus, I want to hide something in the mural. That is really fun. I put an old fashioned fireman’s hat in the mural on the fire station tank and a hiking boot in the Sequoia Outdoor Sports mural.

I wonder what belongs in this one. . . I think there are 2 more afternoon’s worth of painting, so I have a little bit of time to figure out what to paint and where to paint it.

California Artist Exeter murals mural Rocky Hill Antiques

Rocky Hill Antiques Mural, Chapter 6

Many thoughts go through my head as I paint on this wall. Have a look:

1. Monrovia Nursery’s trucks are quiet for big rigs.

2. When 2 trucks pass going in opposite directions by the mural, it isn’t twice as loud as one. They sort of cancel each other’s noise out a little bit.

3. Some trucks use their Jake Brakes – WHY??? It is flat, flat, flat on this road – why use a compression brake at all?

4. Cars travel in packs.

5. People tailgate as if it will cause someone else to go faster and as if it isn’t the main cause of wrecks. I actually thought a car was being towed by a big rig for a moment. . . it was just tailgating to a crazy degree.

6. My long time friend Jim and other friend Keith-The-Generous-Man-With-A-Flatbed-Truck both stopped by. I really appreciated it. We shouted at one another a bit, smiled, waved, and moved on.

7. Maybe new earplugs would help.

8. The traffic diminishes after 6:30 p.m. until the very moment I want to pull out on the road. Then there are multiple wolf-packs of cars coming in both directions, but few big rigs at 7 p.m.

This is what I see from the back of the truck when my back is to the wall. You can see part of Rocky Hill. Hard to believe this country road gets the amount of traffic that it does.

This is looking south from the back of the truck. Those things on poles are wind machines. That is an orange grove of youngish trees. The sky is polluted. Welcome to California (Now, go home.)

Next, finish repainting the blue, paint a border, paint the wording, and finish the base. Can I do it in 2 days? I’m so ready to be finished with the rough wall and the NOISE.

I still love painting murals, seeing it come together, getting the big impact, mixing the colors, figuring out how to tackle things that are a little too hard for me. It is my opinion that Rocky Hill Antiques should do at least 2 more of these packing label murals. After all, their building says something about “the old packing shed”, which is exactly what it is. I wonder if they could all be from Rocky Hill Farming. Maybe they should all be blue!

1. Exeter murals mural Rocky Hill Antiques

Rocky Hill Antiques mural, Chapter 5

I was in Wilsonia for the morning and then had to blast down to Exeter to get to Rocky Hill Antiques because I knew there was a great help awaiting my arrival. (Little did I know I’d have a visitor, the wonderful Diane who has been following and commenting on my blog for years now – bless you, my Orange County friend! THANK YOU for making time to stop by!)

Check this out! It is the Perfect Height and location for working on the Indian Outlaw. I can back up to see how it looks from a distance without climbing off the ladder!

First, I mixed a better (more accurate) blue. It matches the label more closely, although I think the old navy color is beee-yooo-teee-ful. (Check out the color of the background of my website and this blog – obviously this color makes my heart sing.)

The first layer on the horse head is a little rough. The first layer on anything is a little rough.

Better! Tomorrow I’ll probably add a few more details or see other parts to improve. and the colors aren’t entirely accurate on the computer screen. Let’s back up for a fuller view:

You can see the 2 shades of blue. I’m saving the painting of that part for a day when it is too hot to mix and blend colors, or maybe when a friend stops by and asks to help (you never know. . .!)

Isn’t this truck THE BEST THING EVER??

Exeter murals mural Rocky Hill Antiques

Trail Guy In (Mineral King on) Friday

These photos are all by Trail Guy. He was in Mineral King while I was down the hill painting. That’s because he is retired. Don’t feel sorry for me – I love what I do! And he keeps me current on Mineral King until I can get back up there.

This is in White Chief Canyon. The peak called White Chief is the flat top on the far right. Vandever, the right side of Farewell Gap, shows on the left (3rd bump from left). Bearskin, the patch of snow that is shaped somewhat like a bearskin rug is visible below Vandever and to the right.

Looking down from just above White Chief, there are a few small ponds and Timber Gap is in the distance.

Isn’t that green fabulous?? It is some mossy stuff, watered by snowmelt. In the foreground are skunk cabbage, which really are not skunk cabbage – they are Corn Lily, but resemble skunk cabbage that grows in the East.

There is still some snow in Farewell Gap. The peak on the left side of Farewell Gap is called “West Florence” or sometimes “Little Flo”. It is NOT Tulare Peak, as mistakenly noted on some maps. Tulare Peak is a different one, and don’t you forget it! (I keep forgetting which one it is, in spite of being told multiple times while painting it on my first big mural in Exeter.)

See? Snow, and water flowing down from Farewell Gap.

Can you spot the 2 marmots?

Mountain Quail are beautiful and very very shy. They show up at dusk when it is hard to photograph them, and they skitter off if they sense you are there.

Mineral King Mineral King photography

Rocky Hill Antiques Mural, Chapter 4

A few weeks ago, Pastor Alex preached about complaining. It is a sin. Really? Really. The opposite of complaining is gratitude.

So, instead of telling you how difficult it is to paint this mural on Rocky Hill Antiques, I will give you a short list of things I am thankful for as I work in what are possibly the most difficult and uncomfortable circumstances yet for mural painting.

1. earplugs!

2. shade

3. accurate projection

4. Funny songs by Kathryn, who has a song for everything. When we were projecting she was singing “I’m An Indian Outlaw”, and then she moved on to “Stairway to Heaven”.

5. Ice water

6. Being able to spike a brush from 10 feet up a ladder into a bucket of water on the ground below.

When my drawing students work on a person or an animal, I usually suggest that they tackle the face first.

I usually work just from the primary colors. The yellow is the only one here that fits that description, because these are from previous mixing sessions. The tan has the mysterious name of #1 on its lid. The brown is actually burnt umber, from when I did sepia tone insets into previous murals.

Who knew that this reproduction of a painting from a bronze sculpture had so many colors? Wow, this looks rough. It is rough.

When the people working at Rocky Hill Antiques left for the day, I put the ladder away and worked on the ground. It was a relief to be able to step back and see my work and to be able to reach all my supplies.

This is how we left our Indian Outlaw when I moved to ground level.

It is photographing darker and not as yellow as real life. When the blue paint arrives, I will mix a lighter batch and redo all the blue. Maybe.

Exeter California murals Exeter murals mural Rocky Hill Antiques

Rocky Hill Mural, Chapter 3

Wow, nothing like a little commute down the hill to remind me why it is REALLY GOOD to work at home. Roadwork delay, long line of traffic with slowpokes (40-ish) until the passing lanes (up to 60+), finally see clear to pass at another passing lane, and the slowpoke pulls into the left (passing) lane to block anyone from going around!

When I arrived at Rocky Hill Antiques, there wasn’t quite enough shade yet. I knew it would take about 1/2 hour to set up, so I really did arrive at the right time.

The tape was flapping in the wind. I wonder why it wouldn’t stick. . . isn’t blue masking tape was supposed to be the best?

It was hot, dusty, noisy, windy, and I was wondering why I thought it is fun to paint murals.

After fighting the tape a bit, I pulled out an old very sticky roll of normal masking tape. It was so sticky that it was hard to pull off without tearing. I remembered that the superiority of the blue tape is that it doesn’t remove the surface on the wall. I looked at the crummy old paint on the crummy old bricks and the crummy cracking mortar, and decided old masking tape was just what the situation calls for. I retaped off a little area and decided i’d just do a little paint mixing.

That’s when I remembered why I think it is fun to paint murals. The main color in this old Rocky Hill Farming packing box label is BLUE. I love blue! I mixed it up and got the right color, I thought. Then I decided it needed to be ever so slightly lighter, because this acrylic paint dries DARKER. Can you believe that? It really does dry darker!

It really looks dark here. I painted until I ran out of blue, then went into Rocky Hill Antiques to ask if they have the internet so I could look up the number of the paint company. No internet! I’ll order it tomorrow – it comes from NovaColor in Culver City, which is LA, so it won’t take long to arrive.

Then I started messing around with the colored base of the statue. That will be fun – lots of interesting colors to mix in that thing. I think it is supposed to be a painting of a bronze statue.

Exeter California murals Exeter murals mural Rocky Hill Antiques