cabinart | Cabin Art

Painting Farewell Gap Again

Are you asking yourself why I keep showing you the same scene, Farewell Gap, over and over again? I’m asking myself that question. The answer is that I keep painting the same scene over and over. The paintings are never identical, because that would be impossible.

Farewell Gap XII, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $90, available at the Silver City Store AKA Silver City Resort

This isn’t the replacement version for the one that burned, but it is.

Oh please, what is with the doublespeak?

Whenever a painting sells at the Silver City Store, I rush to paint another one to sell. The selling season is very short at that location, and I can’t be lollygagging around. I painted this because Farewell Gap X sold.

Nice creative name, California Artist.

Oh hush. It is my way of painting series. If you stop being so snotty to me, maybe I will show you the progression of paintings of this subject.

Why do you think we’d want to see that?

‘Cuz it is interesting to see growth. Then you can gloat at how horrible I used to paint and ask me for a refund or a redo of the paintings you bought from my “primitive” stage.

But what is with the doublespeak?

Farewell Gap X sold, then it burned up in a cabin fire. I am painting Farewell Gap XI to replace Farewell Gap X for the survivors of the fire, and Farewell Gap XII replaced the sold piece in the store.

Alllll-righty then.

F Farewell Gap Mineral King oil paintings

Going Places

Imagine you are on a road trip, just sitting there like a knitting machine, and your driving husband pulls over and says “I thought you might want a picture of this”.

Wouldn’t that be grand and thoughtful? It is.

Trail Guy and I like to visit his sister in Lake Tahoe. (Hi Laurie!) On one such trip we were passing Kirkwood, and he pulled over so I could photograph this scene. Kirkwood Meadow is outside of Lake Tahoe (south east? south west? just plain southish?) It is a ski resort, but in October it looks like this:

oil painting of Kirkwood Meadow — Kirkwood Meadow, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×6″

There were several horses in the photos I took. I chose this one and scooted him to a better place. That tiny little horse ’bout done near kilt me off. I had to go paint some nice oversized oranges to recover. Must be a California artist way of getting over the trauma. . . gave me flashbacks to Put-My-Parents-in-the-Painting.

The painting was for several reasons: to see if it is a good subject for a larger painting, because I wanted to paint it, and as a gift for a generous friend who sends me a new book to read almost every month.

California Artist Kirkwood Meadow oil painting oil paintings

How You Can Comment on This Blog

This post is instructional for you, my fine quiet readers, who may want to comment on the blog but don’t know how. It’s really easy. And, all blog entries by a California artist should show some art, or a photo of California, doncha think?? Here is one for you before I get into the instructions.

blue wildflower, now known to be Chicory — This is chicory. I know this now thanks to my friend Rebecca (and verified by Mr. Google, who knows almost everything).

If you would like to comment on my blog (and I’d love to hear from you!), it is really really easy. Really! Click on “No Responses Yet” or “Three Responses So Far” or whatever it says in blue at the bottom of this post. You will get a box that you can type in. Say whatever is on your mind about the post or respond to another commenter.

If you have no email and it asks for one, use mine. (Really!) It is cabinart at cabinart dot net. (I wrote it out that way because smart internet people say not to put it in one’s blog using the normal method.)

The first time you comment, I will get an email allowing me to approve or delete it. I can also fix the typos, which I ALWAYS do. (the Typo Psycho – that’s me!)

Don’t put in personal messages to me about when you are going on vacation and leaving your house empty for all the bad guys on the internet to see. If I think you revealed too much in a comment, I will delete the personal stuff because I am looking out for you.

P.S. It isn’t hard to learn new things. I just learned that the earphones from an iPod work with my MacBook and now I can listen to tunes or podcasts without using the speakers!

blog comment instructions how to comment on my blog

The Best Flowers in Mineral King

It must be Friday because the California artist is talking about Mineral King again.

You can count on seeing the best variety of flowers in Mineral King in 2 places: along the Nature Trail and at the Farewell Gap/ Franklin Lake junction. The first week of July is when they are usually the most profuse. It is about 4 miles to the junction from the bridge at the end of the road, aka “The Mineral King Bridge”.

Crystal Creek, Mineral King — Crossing Crystal Creek is easy, thanks to a log-jam type bridge. It is one mile up the trail from the beginning of the hike.

along the Franklin/Farewell Gap trail, Mineral King — Trail Guy shows the way at this intersection. The sign also helps, but if you would rather go to Soda Springs, ignore the sign.

blazing star wildflower — There are 2 places I know to always find Blazing Star in Mineral King – the trail to Soda Springs and on the way to Franklin Lakes or Farewell Gap.

The sign says it is 4 miles back to Mineral King at the Franklin Lake/Farewell Gap junction, but I am always a little surprised that it is so far. This is because I love this hike!

Wildflowers of Mineral King — The flowers are this good in a not-so-good flower year at the junction. Last year was better. No, I’m not whining on the yacht.

This is off the trail, because I follow Trail Guy lots of places besides trails. He led me to the best larkspur I’ve ever seen – the boldest color, the tallest, the thickest blossoms on the stems, the biggest clumps I’ve EVER seen in Mineral King, and all this in a not-so-great flower year.

Leopard lilies are Trail Guy’s favorites. We often smell them before we see them. Most people call them “tiger lilies” but I associate tigers with stripes and these are spotted like leopards. Or giraffes. They are tall like giraffes, so perhaps it is time to rename them.

I love to put my feet in Franklin Creek on the way home. It makes them feel good for about 25 steps after putting my boots back on.

Mineral King

And Yet Another Post About Oregon

This time the post is about Salem, Oregon. There are 2 main reasons for going to Salem for me. Yes, it is the capital city, but I care little about that. My reasons are family and blueberries. Going in mid to late July means there are you-pick farms with the fabulous fruit just waiting for your labor. At $1/pound, it is hard to resist! We came home with quite a haul.

Here is an interesting factoid: when I visit one of my sisters, we often walk along the St. John’s River. When my family visits me, we often walk along the Kaweah River. When I visit my sister in Salem, we walk over the Willamette River. And, this trip involved the Sacramento, Rogue and Willamette Rivers. Didn’t know I was such a river rat, didja?

piano over the Willamette River in Oregon — Salem Oregon is having a piano event. There are 11 pianos scattered about town, painted up, and inviting anyone to just sit down and play. These strangers didn’t know a California artist was photographing them for her blog.

2 sisters picking blueberries — My sister is a great blueberry picker. I kept eating them, but it wasn’t stealing because I ate them off the ground. No one would be filling his bucket with blueberries off the ground, so it wasn’t stealing, but gleaning!

Picking blueberries is a-may-zing, as the youngsters say. (Have you noticed that the word has replaced “awesome”?) It wasn’t hot or dusty or sticky or thorny. That is unheard of in any sort of fruit gathering in California!

cute baby girl — This is the world’s cutest baby. Her name is Brooklyn and she is my grand niece. If I were going to name a baby after a bridge, it would have to be Oak Grove. Doesn’t quite have the ring of “Brooklyn”, but I think her dad chose it because the Dodgers used to be in Brooklyn.

Retired Road Guy holds a pink baby — Who knew? This is Retired Road Guy, aka Trail Guy. Babies like him. I’m still recovering from dropping my cousin when I was 8 and she was an infant, so I’d rather hold the camera. (She survived; thanks for your concern.)

Leaving California, Enjoying Oregon

Temporarily, of course. Although, whenever I visit the Pacific Northwest, I wonder why I have never moved there. Oh yeah, I’m never moving again. Sometimes I forget that very strong conviction.

The coolest thing I’ve done lately is to ride a jet boat up the Rogue River in Oregon. The company is called Jerry’s Rogue Jets, and it is The Best! Get your tickets soon, and request Kevin for your pilot. He is a grandson of Jerry and has been on the river since he was a wee lad. He knows everything about it, just everything. And, his dog Emma rode next to me the entire trip. Took the edge off missing Perkins, my sweet cat.

on a jet boat on the Rogue River — At the mouth of the Rogue River in Oregon, riding a Jerry’s Rogue Jets boat, going underneath the Patterson bridge. It is designed like my favorite bridge but instead of one arch, it has SEVEN!!

Patterson Bridge over the Rogue River, Gold Beach, Oregon — It was cold, foggy, the boat was very fast, and I was flipping over this wonderful piece of architectural beauty.

Another bridge across the Rogue River, Oregon — I can’t remember what this bridge was called, but we were thrilled to break into sunshine upstream from the very cold Gold Beach.

Rogue River, Oregon — All my river photos sort of look the same, beautiful scenery, eminently paintable. (“Eminently” is a cool way of saying “very”.)

To be continued. . .

Rogue River

Sometimes I Leave California

I hope it isn’t too shocking to you, my fine readers, to learn that the California artist sometimes goes out of the state. She has a penchant for the Pacific Northwest. (“Penchant” means a strong habitual liking.) She also blogs while she is away so that the bad guys on the internet can’t tell that she is gone. Tricky, eh?

While visiting these other places, she takes photos that she hopes to paint one day. She hopes to have a show called “Going Places” to show and sell these as of yet unpainted pieces of art.

And, while she is away, sometimes she gets on a weird roll and begins writing in third person.

unknown blue wildflower — How exciting – lots of these along the roads in Northern California and Southern Oregon. What are they??

natural bridge on Oregon coast — Here is some of the Oregon coastline. Figures I’d show you a bridge, albeit a natural one. (“Albeit” is a cool way to say “although”.)

blue hydrangea — The hydrangeas are blue in the Pacific Northwest because there is so much acid in their soil. I was in blue flower heaven. The acid is also what makes them able to grow blueberries. Acid = blue??

driftwood structure on an Oregon Beach — There was a TON of driftwood on the beach where we stayed. There were also many of these structures, probably built as windbreaks. That is Trail Guy on the beach, in case you were wondering who I went to Oregon with.

Are these pebbles on an Oregon beach? They look like river rocks to me. This Oregon beach was difficult for walking because a beach walker was trying to not freeze to death, clumping along over rocks, or negotiating through driftwood. I loved it anyway.

To be continued tomorrow. . .

blue wildflower Oregon beaches Oregon Coast

Paint it Again

I met some wonderful people in Mineral King WHILE they were buying 2 paintings from me at the Silver City Resort. That is always a thrill! They were so enthusiastic and appreciative of my work, of the area, of everything. Two days later, the cabin they were renting burned down in the middle of the night.

They escaped with their lives, for which we are very grateful. They did not escape with their possessions, including the paintings. I am still stupefied and horrified as I write this, but nothing compared to how they must be feeling.

It is good that I paint from photos (a studio painter composes much work first using the camera), good that I met the customers and know how to reach them, good that I can paint the same scene over and over again. These will be repainted soon for these good people who had a very bad experience.

oil painting of Farewell Gap by Jana Botkin — Farewell Gap, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas

oil painting of Mineral King Bridge by Jana Botkin — Mineral King Bridge, 6×6″ on wrapped canvas

Mineral King oil paintings

Empire Mountain, Mineral King

Fridays are about Mineral King on this California artist’s blog. Just reminding you, in case you are wondering where’s the art. . . or perhaps you only tune in on Fridays. Welcome! (and Mineral King is a HUGE source of inspiration to this California artist, so it isn’t really off topic.)

Michael, aka Trail Guy, likes to go off trail, which is the only way to get up Empire. There is a great deal of interesting history up there.

empire mt. as viewed from the Mineral King valley — The most visible rock outcropping on Empire isn’t really the highest point on the mountain. Bit of a poser, that outcropping.

trail to Empire and Timber Gap, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — The trail to Empire and to Timber Gap (and Sawtooth and Monarch and Crystal) is full of giant, giraffey steps. These aren’t the worst ones!

photograph by Jana Botkin of Empire Peak in Mineral King — Just follow this drainage up to the bunkhouse, the road, the mines and the peak(s)

view down canyon from Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — That’s Case Mt. in the distance.

Trail Guy is heading up to Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — Be careful, Trail Guy! I’ll just wait right here for you.

knitting with a mountain backdrop, photo by Jana Botkin — Waiting is never a problem with me. This weighed next to nothing in my backpack. I believe it enjoyed its adventure.

mine on Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — There are mine remnants all over the side of Empire.

road between Empire and Timber Gap, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — This is a road, built in the 1870s. I am not making this up. There were horses and mules hauling wagons full of ore, right here.

wildflowers on Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — It was the 4th of July, and I amused myself by looked for a group of wildflowers that contained red, white and blue. Why do we always say it in that order? There are five other ways we could arrange those colors verbally, but they just don’t ring.

Empire Peak, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — Did we really go up there?? Not me, but Trail Guy did. My inner slob prefers to sit and knit, take photos, and contemplate matters of consequence.

California Artist Mineral King

California Poppy Rerun

Do you ever surprise yourself with forgetfulness?

Last week I did a little painting of a California poppy. After it was finished, signed, photographed, varnished and dry, I added it to the growing stack of little paintings. (An artist who sells needs to keep up her inventory.)

Well, oops. Guess I already painted that poppy and forgot. SOMEONE needs a better filing system for her photos. Check this out:

4x4" oil painting of california poppy — California poppy, 4×4″ , oil on board, unframed

california poppy oil painting — California poppy oil painting, 5×7″, oil on board

Do you prefer the softer colors of the upper poppy or the stronger ones of the lower painting?

California Artist California poppies oil paintings poppies

Author: cabinart