Did you notice I stopped the series “Thoughtful Thursdays”? That’s because I ran out of thoughts. There is a song by Don Henley called “You Might Not Be Drinking Enough” ; in my mind the word “drinking” has become “Thinking” because it seems to fit. If I’m not thinking, what am I doing?? Let’s just contemplate this beautiful bridge for awhile and maybe the answer will come sneaking around the corner.
Mineral King may just be the jewel in the crown of Tulare County. It certainly is for this California artist!
Eagle Lake Trail, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $350
Not meaning to taunt you – just want to show you what summer looks like in Mineral King, should it ever arrive.
Aspens IV, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $350
This is along the Nature Trail in Mineral King. It looks like this in July; right now there are probably no leaves on the aspens, and the ground will be muddy, with flowing water and snow patches. But summer IS coming – always does!
Here is a continuing peek at the new paintings in the Tulare Historical Museum. Of course they look better in “real”, but for Cousin Maggie and other long distance friends, this is the fulfillment of my promise to show the paintings.
Tulare County Barn, 10×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $125
When I was a kid, I assumed this was the shape of all barns. At age 16, I visited Oregon, Idaho and Washington, and was AMAZED to see the different architectural styles of barns. Didn’t take much to impress an Ivanhoe orange grower’s daughter, who grew up to be a California artist in Tulare County. (Hey Mr. Google, are you paying attention?)
North Fork Drive, 10×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $90
Regardless of the time of year, this is such a scenic little part of this Three Rivers road. The people who own this building probably refer to it as their “barn”!
This is the traditional opening weekend for many people in Mineral King. While the gates will be unlocked, the road is still blocked by snow from about Highbridge on up. If you are up for a walk, you can go into the valley. Here are a few more pictures from my show at the Tulare Historical Museum, this time of Mineral King in the summer to just whet your appetite. If you are planning a visit to the area, stop by the show!
Vandever V, 8×10, $90
Mineral King Morning, 14 x 11″, $175
It has been almost a month since the show opened. Is that long enough to have waited before showing you the pieces created specifically for the show? Hope so, because here goes!
Autumn Sycamore, sold
Farewell Gap Afternoon, 16×12″, $225
The wage-earning husband found himself with the afternoon off. The self-employed artist wife has a hard time saying no to fun interruptions when there are no pressing deadlines. We took a bikeride.
We stopped on the bridge. Looking upstream, the eagle-eyed husband noticed a raft coming; see it?
Looks downright scary to me!
We continued uphill for about 2-1/2 miles until there was a gate. Sometimes I will climb them and go trespassing. Michael is more law-abiding than I am. Besides it is a pain to toss a bike over a gate. When it was time for us to head back down the road, Michael said he was in sight-seeing mode. Me? I hate to waste a good gravitational pull, so I flew down, stopped, went back, flew down, stopped, went back, etc. My sight-seeing-eagle-eyed husband spotted this next, probably a red-tail hawk’s. No one was home.
The man who made my throne also makes lovely granite benches. We sat on one for awhile, and this is the view:
How is a self-employed artist supposed to get any work done with all this lovely diversion? Perhaps Three Rivers isn’t such a good place to be an artist after all!
I hate to say it but “Here I go again”. The window looked brighter with the paint side toward the wall, but of course it hid the detail of the poppies. Now I am repainting it on the side that will be out. Live and learn, live and learn. (If I’m going to repeat the window, I need to repeat the maxim.) Ahem. (I am a California artist, painting California poppies – are you listening, Google?)
Rose-colored glasses, everything’s coming up roses, bed of roses, roses and lollipops, a rose by any other name. run for the roses, looking rosy – wow, that flower has really captured our language! Since a picture is worth 1000 words, here are 18000 words worth for you to feast your eyes on today. Because of the great quantity, I made them smaller than the usual photos. I’d love to hear which are your favorites!
BTW, Happy Birthday, Bert!