On my most recent excursion to Mineral King, Fernando and I took our time getting there. (I drove myself so as to not cough on other people.) I didn’t take any road photos, lost track of how many potholes, dirt sections, and flower varieties, and thoroughly enjoyed the drive. (The radiator was replaced last summer, […]
While I Was Getting Gas
At The Four-Way, right next to the Chevron station, there is a classic red barn with an enormous Valley oak tree, quercus lobata. It’s just part of the landscape, and one day while I was getting gas, I realized that this barn could just tumble, or the excess pavement near the tree could prevent it […]
Ad-libbing, Guessing, Winging It
On my first day back at trying to be fully human, I resumed detailing this piece. This Mineral King painting was a big challenge on many levels, and I am now quite happy with it. Feeling accomplished, I chose the next painting to work on, thinking it would be a piece of cake. This is […]
A Situation and a Recovery
A week ago, I had a situation to deal with: I got sick. Such a disruption. I was only able to paint a little bit before the need to lie down took over. While reclining, I used the laptop to look carefully at the paintings finished and paintings needed for the upcoming solo show at […]
Assorted Photos with Chit-Chat
If you look in the shadows between (and beyond) the 2 chairs, you might be able to discern a doe with 2 fawns, probably born that very day. While getting gas at the Four-way (local vernacular for an important intersection), I snapped this photo. Barns this classic and oak trees this majestic, quercus lobata, are […]
Trail Guy Goes to Ranger’s Roost
Do you know “Ranger’s Roost”? It is the higher ground to the west of Timber Gap. I didn’t go. I was at home, dealing with a situation. More on that next week. . . Trail Guy was gobsmacked by the abundance of phlox, as evidenced by the abundance of photographs of phlox. Timber Gap has […]
Painting Mineral King with the Swamp Cooler
On another hot day with my brave swamp cooler, I focused on the giant oil painting of the classic Mineral King scene. I was thankful to have the sky finished—well, finished unless I decide later that it isn’t finished. It is just too tall for me to reach, so some logistics must be addressed each […]
Back to Painting Mineral King.
Thanks for taking a detour with me to Hume Lake. I came home and went straight to the easels. Mineral King is my main subject this time of year, a short season with no time to lollygag around. (Imagine taking a vacation FROM Mineral King!) This piece got sky, and I started shaping the mountains […]
Cabin Time at Hume Lake
This is a cabin. It’s a real cabin, not a fancy house in the mountains. We didn’t just sit around the cabin. We had to figure out why the BBQ wouldn’t light and why it smelled so strongly of propane that the Hume Lake Fire Department showed up at 11:30 one night, sniffing around to […]
Short Tour of Hume Lake
Compared to Mineral King, Hume Lake is a city. It is a city with some subdivisions I didn’t know about, in spite of having spent 1-1/2 summers living and working there, along with a handful of days each year for the past 7 summers. It is a growing city. Let’s ease into our Hume Lake […]