Sorry. That was just dumb. Sometimes I am just a real chucklehead. Honestly, I will try to come up with an appropriate title for this triptych, one worthy of the beauty of the scene.
Once again I ask, “WHY is a California artist painting the tulips fields of Washington?”
Because:
1. They are beautiful
2. I love them
3. It is my hope to one day have a show called “Going Places” and finally paint and show work from my (somewhat limited) travels. I take many many photos, want to paint them, and wonder how to find a market for those subjects. Perhaps putting them all together in a show would really make a great visual impact. (Perhaps it would look like a mess of unrelated images. Maybe I’d even get arrested for visual assault.)
Meanwhile, I will continue to slowly build up my collection of non-central-valley art.
Do you think a show of China, Washington DC, Washington state, North Carolina, Oregon, and Lake Tahoe would look like a mess?
Tulare County grows, sells and eats a ton of citrus. Probably several million tons. I learned to oil paint by using the subject of oranges over and over and over. When an orange would sell, I’d paint another. The last one was #103, I think. There were also a handful that I didn’t title or number in the beginning, so who really knows?
Tangerines and Lemons
A few years ago I was at some art thing with my dear friend D. I introduced her to another friend, one who sells ag real estate. D said, “Oh my goodness, you should be buying Jana’s orange paintings to give to your clients!” (She has been a great supporter and encourager to me in the 13 years we’ve been friends, always looking for ways to promote my work.)
Mr. Real Estate said, “That’s a great idea!” Now he and his partner have placed 3 or 4 orders for 6×6 and 8×10 paintings of citrus since then – mostly navel oranges, and some tangerines/mandarins/Clementines and some lemons. It is fun to do these – bright, simple, not too difficult. (I am THRILLED to paint simple things after Put-My-Parents-In-The Painting, THRILLED, I say.)
What else would you expect from a central California artist, daughter, granddaughter and niece of citrus farmers?
Big Fat THANK YOU to all of you who did my thinking for me to title this piece for the Madera Ag Art show! Here is the complete list. The winner is in red (and the title of this post). The runners-up are in teal. They (Sharon, Don and Sam) will receive a token of appreciation for their witty work.
Unnamed Barn, formerly known as Tulare County Barn, 10×10″ oil painting on wrapped canvas
Choosing was very very hard. I am clearly drawn to things that make me laugh or at least smile. After thinking more about it, I decided that focusing on the barn alone wasn’t true to the image. It is 1/3 barn and 2/3 hay. (If it is wheat, I don’t want to know!)
The submitted names are elegant, gracious, sensitive, picturesque, poetic, appropriate, and dignified. My sense of humor is dumb, unexpected, plebian, and lacking in refinement. The chosen title acknowledged the field and the barn, was dumb and made me smile.
Now, I hope the jurors of the Ag Art Show feel the same!
Vintage Homestead
Vintage Charm
Seasoned Valley Barn
Tools of the Ag Trade
A Loyal Companion to CA Ag
The Farmers’ Loyal Companion
Shadows of the Past
The Grey Ghost
Standing Tall
Forget Me Not
Look At Me
Structured Field
Grassy Barn
Serenity
Rustic setting
Rustic Patina
Rustic Serenity
Grandpa’s Office
Original Jump House
Reliving Farm Memories
A Voice from the Past
Ripe with Harvest
Where’s the Beef?
Acreage
Seasoned Farmstead
Zoological Storehouse
Historical future
Green Waves
Hay, A Barn!
Rustic and Ripe
New Crop, Old Storage
Times gone by
Waiting for Harvest
Field of Dreams
Field of Promise
Testimony of Time
Weathered Barn in Summer
Country Memory Maker
Casa de Bovine
Vanishing Breed
Barn Sweet Barn
Pure Country
Green Peace
Aged Rest
Quite Contemplation
Verdance
Rust Renewed
Spring Harbor
Spring Study
Barn Memories
Do you agree or disagree with my first choice and the runners-up? Talk to me!!
Retired Road Guy had the camera with him while his former road crew worked on the bridge. Rumor has it that he joined them for an hour or so, wearing shorts instead of green pants and his signature straw hat instead of a marshmallow head. Rumor also has it that he actually enjoyed the work!
How could he not have fun working with a couple of marshmallow-headed clowns such as these?
This is a HUGE yellow machine. It doesn’t have a steering wheel. The road crew isn’t very fond of it. That may be why Supervisor Kirk is at the helm. Is it a helm? What’s a helm?I am not kidding when I say this is a HUGE yellow machine. Good thing the bridge was replaced with this strong new one!
One side almost completed, one more to go.
See those guys clustered around the smaller machine? It broke. Guess the other side will have to wait.
Announcement:
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 21 is the annual Mineral King Preservation Society Picnic in the Park. It takes place at noon in front of one of the cabins at the end of the road. (Look for the signs, follow the people.) Bring your own lunch and chairs, lemonade will be provided. The program has 2 parts – one by Steve Jones who will tell of his memories backpacking and camping in Mineral King. (Never met him before, don’t know a thing!)
The second part will be Retired Road Guy and the California Artist discussing the Mineral King Bridge project. They will be asking the crowd to share their memories of the bridge, and rumor has it that they may even tell what they REALLY think about it.
Guess you’ll have to attend to learn the rest of the story!
Do you have any Mineral King Bridge memories you’d like to share with the blog readers or me?
I stole that line from Lily Kreitinger, an online friend with a wonderful blog. It means that I have a guest post today on another wonderful blog (not Lily’s – yet!) Today you can find my writing at my friend Cheryl Barker’s blog. We are also online buddies.
Wild Blue Flax
Why are you reading and talking about all these blogs? I thought you were a California artist!
As a self-employed artist, I work in silence and solitude. Instead of feeling isolated, I listen to podcasts while I paint. They inspire and motivate me to try new things with art, life and business.
I also read other people’s blogs because they broaden my world, and give me a chance to interact with people outside of Tulare County. When I really like someone’s thoughts and writing, and if I have something to say or a question (I ALWAYS have questions!) then I comment. There is a sense of community among the regular commenters and interaction with the blogger himself or herself.
Sometimes I follow the links to those commenters’ blogs, and it is like an interwoven web. (Hmmm, could that be the internet? or perhaps the world wide web?) I think I found Cheryl through Stuff Christians Like, a very goofy and fun blog.
So who is this Cheryl Barker?
Cheryl posts about:
Faith. Family. Friends. Serving God. All of these things are important to me. Being a writer is one of the ways I live out my faith and serve the One who first loved me. My prayer is that you will be refreshed as you join me on my journey. Be blessed!
In the summer she adds some light-hearted things that she calls “Summer Photo Fun”. I’m into photos, and I love to have fun, so lucky me, she asked me to participate!
Head on over there to see what sort of buffoonery I’m engaging in today – share the link with your friends that might enjoy Cheryl’s blog, comment if you are so inclined.
Unnamed Barn, formerly known as Tulare County Barn, 10×10″ oil painting on wrapped canvas
The names have poured in (38 at the time of this writing). I will accept more today, but starting tomorrow I will have to squinch my eyes shut, put my hands over my ears, and loudly recite, “LALALALALALA”.
Then, I will pick one. Or a group of names. Or make up a new one from bits and pieces. Or narrow it down to the top three and put it out for a vote.
Then I will enter the Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts in Madera, informally known as the Ag Art Show. This is an online process with yet another user name and password. The poor old geezers back in the day when this barn was built just had to slog along with pencil and paper and the U.S. Postal Service. Those old guys probably only got to have passwords when they were kids, out playing games in barns like this one!
Because my friend Cheryl Barker does Summer Photo fun on her blog, and I am a monkey-see-monkey-do copyist, I will engage in my own little brand of summer photo fun for your entertainment.
Worm Squirm
Are you kidding me? That is so gross!
Yeah, I know. They are all over the shrubs in Mineral King this summer.
Stuck Buck
What do you mean “stuck”?
He wasn’t moving. It was cold. Maybe he was scared.
Cute Boot
You’ve got to be kidding!
No, they are cute. I’m not talking about the Franken-foot but the boot. They have pink accents on them.
Fern Burn
What is this about?
It got really cold in June and the ferns got frost-bitten.
Thin Skin
Skin??
That’s “Bear Skin”, a snow patch on the side of Vandever Mt. which is the right half of Farewell Gap.
Where do you come up with this stuff?
On long hikes. Michael (Trail Guy) makes good coffee and my brain kicks into over-drive.
I decided it was the best I could make it, so I called The Customer, who drives a big rig all over the country. After lots of phone tag, he left me a message asking me to photograph it with my phone and text it to him. Obviously, he does not know me very well.
No worries – whenever I don’t know how to do something (like kill a Snake or face a dead kitty or operate Trail Guy’s DVD player), I just call S. She knows pertinear everything! She very graciously agreed to handle this task with her great phone and great skill.
The Customer liked the painting! (I think he probably couldn’t see it very well on his magical little phone.) A few more texts came through S, and I decided to preserve the friendship and release her from the misery of being my dispatcher.
I called The Customer and he ANSWERED his phone!! We discussed the painting, and he requested less sky, a higher treeline, and larger rocks in front of the house. He also mentioned a bird house. I scrutinized the photo under my giant lighted magnifying glass and believe the bird house is a figment of someone’s long-distance memory.
The parents are in the painting, the corrections and changes have been made, and Pa’s pants have been toned down.
And here is the painting. As S said, “You can’t see the Dad’s face!” That’s correct. I cannot. That is why you cannot. If I can’t see it, I can’t paint it.
When The Customer returns to the area to retrieve the painting, this California Artist might be hiding in the back of S’s car.
Doesn’t “Nature Trail” sound silly and simple? I’ve pondered it for years and never come up with a better name.
The Nature Trail is about 1 mile long and goes from the upper end of the Cold Springs Campground to the Mineral King Valley.
The trail has a huge variety of things to see – aspen trees, little signs telling about various things along the way, the stream, a variety of flowers, a view of the road, a forested section, a view of Sawtooth, a desert-like area, a view of Timber Gap, and a section that passes through the historic cabins.
The lower end of the Nature Trail in Mineral King, at the upper end of the Cold Springs CampgroundThrough the aspen trees on the Nature TrailWild Geranium on Nature Trail
The Nature Trail goes close to the east fork of the Kaweah River, with Indian Paintbrush in abundance.There are great views of Sawtooth Peak along the Nature Trail.
The Nature Trail takes you through a forested section of red firs and lodgepoles, called “tamaracks” by Cowboy Bert.At the upper end of the Nature Trail is an unobstructed view of Timber Gap and the historical cabins.Don’t bring your dog on the Nature Trail!
The help in the store changes from day to day and doesn’t always know what is available and what has sold. It is dark in the store when the generator isn’t running. It is hard to see in the dark. (You may call me “Captain Obvious”.)
Last week I was dismayed/shocked/disappointed/heartsunk (is that a word?) to learn that only the first marmot painting sold.
So, let me show you what is still (sigh) available because that is good news for you! They are not on the website because if they sell in the store and I don’t know it and then they sell online and I go up the hill to retrieve them and they aren’t there and then I won’t have the internet to tell the online customer that there will be a delay because the item is “backordered”, then the customer will be disappointed.
Not disappointing customers is very important to me also.
Marmot II, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $30
Black Bear, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $30Mule Deer Buck, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $30Black Bear II, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $30Golden Mantle Squirrel II, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $30Golden Mantle Squirrel, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $30
As a customer, what are the most important qualities to you in a business?
