After the mural, continued further
Crescent Meadow, 10×10″, oil, $125
Tunnel Log III, 10×10″, $125
After the mural, continued
Yes, you have seen this scene before! I love this view of the meadow by Tharp’s Log, so every time it sells, I think about how to repaint it in a little different format.
Happy Birthday, Marilyn and Sylvia!
Just wanted to say HB to 2 dear friends with whom I have shared many wonderful times and am hoping for many more!
After the mural
This may be hard to fathom, but while I was working on the mural, I also knocked out a few paintings. They will appear here one or two at a time for the next few days. The plan was to have them for a show and sale in Lodgepole, but we, The Kaweah Artisans, have not received permission from the National Park Service to proceed with the show. Meanwhile, they will appear here one or two at a time for the next few days.
Got a deal on 10×10″ canvases, which seem to work well with my cropped scenery paintings.
First Saturday, September 4, “Harvest”
Ever heard of The Cort Gallery? It is at 41881 Sierra Drive (river side of the highway) in Three Rivers. It is a little hard to see because the trees obscure the building, but it is worth the time to find. Gary Cort designed this building with rotating walls that swing open to the outside. He is a talented architect and artist with whimsical ink drawings. He invited me and one of my drawing students, Char Prazak, to show our pencil artwork with him on Saturday – a black, white, and shades of gray kind of event! You may remember Char’s work from a previous blog entry; here it is again:
To preview some of the participants in First Saturday September, go here: 1st Saturday in Three Rivers
Day Twenty-One on the Mural
IT IS FINISHED! That is, it is finished if the Mural Team agrees. What a week – the hottest days and the coolest day of the entire project happened within the 6 consecutive days. Weather is not a cliche or a conversation filler – it matters immensely when working outdoors! Today was marked by the visitation of Bill DeCarteret, who was the packer in Mineral King along with his wife Marilyn for many years. He used to pack the SCE guys up to Franklin Lake to close the dam in the fall, and eventually, SCE just had him do the job himself. His visit gave me a chance to ask him about some old graffiti on the dam. Scratched into the concrete reads “BILL & MARILYN 1949”. The DeCarterets didn’t know each other in 1949; it refers to Bill and Marilyn Reynolds. That Bill worked for either the Forest Service or the Park Service (oops, didn’t retain that vital piece of info!)
Wildflowers were added, as promised, but here are only two:
Golden Beard Penstemmon
“Dirt” was added to the gutter as the base of the mural for maximum 3D effect.
Finally, I signed it! (lower right corner)
Day Twenty On The Mural
Today is only in the 90s – almost sweater weather, compared to Wednesday and Thursday! One day left in my mini marathon run of mural painting – oh yeah, I called it because I am an experienced professional! (love saying that after feeling like a poser for so long) Visited with several people (CK returned with a few more stories – but he is not CJK!) Here is what I did today:
- “Planted” 2 trees (photos below)
- Hid 2 more items
- Finished that bottom strip – thank goodness, because it is not very comfortable to sit on asphalt while painting at worm level.
- Detailed and added many rocks
- Added the white border to historical dam “photo” (“How’d you git them pichers on the wall??”)
- Finished the remaining dirt/rock/ground areas.
To the untrained eye (or to someone who hasn’t been reading this blog), the mural may looked finished minus the signature. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Tomorrow the flowers will bloom in full color and detail!
Day Nineteen on the Mural
- Katie and Paul at Mineral King Publishing rescued the crying kitten today! I named it Franklin, but since I am over my quota of stray cats for the year and won’t be taking it home, I have no right to name it.
- It is very very hot (111 in Three Rivers yesterday!) but should be cooler tomorrow
- The Las Vegas Review-Journal is in town because 2 of Nevada’s governors grew up in Exeter – I may have been less than gracious to the photographer who appeared as I was almost ready to go and asked if I was working on a new mural. John, I’m sorry for being cranky and sarcastic.
- A nice man gave me a tee shirt – guess I looked like I needed something better (cleaner) to wear! Thank you, nice man!
- I hid 2 more things today.
- Betsy and I came up with a plan for a mule shoe (thanks, Bert!) and a rock (thanks, Betsy!)
The names of those who helped project (plus a couple of hitch-hikers) have been painted out.
Two more days ought to do it! (Louise, I toned down the roof, but it doesn’t show in this photo)
Day Eighteen On The Mural
Progress is being made despite the fact that today was unspeakably hot and I bailed early. Today was marked by three things:
- the hottest day yet
- the saddest day – heard a kitten crying off and on the entire time
- the weirdest guy came by and told me Exeter has the most murals per capita of any town in the world. . . I questioned him as to his source and he said “that tv show”. Umm, thanks.
For comparison, here is 3 days from the same angle:
