Images of Home

From 5:30 – 7 p.m. tonight is the opening reception for “Images of Home”, a solo show of my oil paintings. Sixty of them. Many have not been shown yet. Are you even half as excited as I am? Never mind, don’t answer that.

I am a California artist, but instead of representing the entire state, I focus on Tulare County. It is my great hope that in viewing my artwork, you will see that we are more than bad air, high unemployment and other nasty things. We have Mt. Whitney, sequoia gigantea, poppies, oranges, Mineral King and the Kaweah Post Office. That’s here in our county! (And, our air has been quite clear for awhile, thanks for asking.)

Hope to see you at the reception – I’ll be the one with the giant silly grin.

This image is on the postcard for the show. So is the address – 444 W. Tulare Ave. in Tulare, California.

The Big One is Finished!

Remember Ross Perot saying “Measure twice, cut once”? Lots of other people have probably said the same thing, but I remember him the best. Well, good thing a canvas doesn’t require cutting after (not) measuring. Remember my 864 square inch painting? Today I actually measured it and it is only 720 square inches! All that noise about how huge it is, and I never actually measured it! Just thought you might like to know so that when you come see it, you won’t whip out a tape measure and a slide rule. Yeppers, the painting is finished and the title is “One With The Rod”.  Here is a teaser peek:

Images of Home

Tulare Historical Museum, 444 West Tulare Avenue, Tulare, California

Opening Reception – Thursday, May 5

5:30-7 p.m.

And more links to learning to draw

Morro Rock

When I was growing up in Tulare County, I thought the only real beach, the beachest of all beaches, was Newport in Orange County. In fourth grade, we took a field trip to Mission San Miguel and then went to Pismo Beach. It was flat, had giant clam shells, the sand was fine and sort of muddy, and there were no noticeable waves. I was also stunned, just stunned I tell you, to learn there is another Morro Rock! Of course it is spelled incorrectly – the Moro Rock I first knew (and climbed at age 3 I’m told) has only 1 R in its Moro. And isn’t it odd they are both in California, within driving distance of one another? Most convenient for this California artist!

More Links to Learning

If you are here, I’m guessing you have finished the first 8 drawing lessons and are ready for more. Help yourself – I love to teach people how to draw!

Cajon Pass

My maternal grandfather, Eugene B. Maise was a maintenance foreman for the Santa Fe Railroad working in the mountains of San Bernardino. In the late 1940s, he was approached by a photographer who requested help taking photos of the trains as they climbed through Cajon Pass. Note the coal burning engine pulling the passenger cars; the new diesel engines couldn’t quite make the grade. I drew this from a photo from Uncle Frank. That was before I had totally cemented my resolve to work only from my own photos. Besides, I needed a gift for Mom! (Thanks Mom, for rearing me here so I can be a California artist.)

Odd Jobs

My friend Nadi has just finished painting a window. You can see her fabulous work here: Blue Window 4

I have just begun painting one. Literally, not figuratively. (The subject is California poppies, because, as you know, I am a California artist.) I started it on the wrong side, because messing up is often my modus operandi, a little Latin lingo for you. I will scrape it off with a razor, flip the window around, and begin again. Practice, practice, practice. Of course I have warned my customer not to scratch her window because if she does, the paint will go away!

NEWS FLASH! – The customer and I looked at the window in the place where it is to be hung. It looks better with the paint on the back side of the glass than on the front, so no razor-blade scraping will be necessary! Isn’t that great!! Sure surprised me. . .

Please, Spring, Last Forever!

It seems as if  Spring is the whole point of the seasons. The rest are just preparatory or resting stages. Spring is the Real Deal, the goal, the objective, the reason, the. . . I’m out of synonyms. I love spring and this has just been the Best. Thank you God for this incredible Spring and that I get to be a California artist in Three Rivers!

There is a fabulous variety of wildflowers on the bank behind my house.

This is the most famous flowering dogwood tree in Three Rivers.

Its name is cornus florida. We call it glorious, fabulous, amazing, or if you are a teenager, “a-MAYYYY-zing”.

Links to Learning To Draw

In case you are a new reader of this blog and are wondering how to find the earlier chapters of Learning to Draw, here is a convenient clickable list of the first eight.

If you want to click on all these but get tired of going back to this page, just right-click on each one and open in a new tab. Then you can go through them sequentially without wearing out your Back button. How did a California artist become so computer savvy? By asking people and trying stuff!

Ever say a word so often that it ceases to make sense? I just destroyed the word “chapter” for myself!

Fruit On The Vine

Learning to Draw, Chapter 23

Kirby found this photo and it really grabbed her around the heart. I decided they are named Adams and Soldier. Can you tell me why I chose those names?  (besides the fact that I love to name animals) Kirby just smiled when I told her. She’s getting used to me.

When you are deciding what to draw, pick something you love, because you will be staring at it for a long time.

Learning to Draw, Chapter 22

This is Scooter as photographed and drawn by Kim. It is her first drawing. Really! She has been working on it for several months, diligently trying to sort out the proportions and stripes and toes and whiskers. It is upside down because this is the view I have when I am helping Kim. Sometimes I have her work on it upside down so she isn’t distracted by the schooter-ness of Scooter and she can just study the proportions, edges, textures and values.

If you turn both your photo and your drawing upside down, you can often see the angles, proportions, shapes and values more accurately.

When you are learning to draw, you can be fast, or you can be good.

Learning to Draw, Chapter 21

Olivia is drawing this pick-’em-up-truck from a photo of mine. There was a little bit of ambiguity around the door handle. The magnifier/loupe/linen tester/bug identifier is so helpful when the photo isn’t giving up its secrets. I peered through and said – “Oh! The gas tank had a sticky-outy thing with a round cap on top that we are only seeing in profile and it is right next to the door handle”. Good thing I was born in the ’50s so I could explain it to Olivia (although October of ’59 hardly gave me much experience in that decade.)

Know what you are drawing because if you don’t, those who know will know that you don’t know.