A few weeks ago, I went to Tulare. As usual, I chose back roads. There were orchards in bloom, greenery everywhere, and snow on the Sierra Nevada. There is often snow there but it isn’t always so visible from the flatlands. (Smog comes down the Altamont Pass from the Bay Area and collects in the […]
Spring in Three Rivers
In the middle of a day of painting, I took a short walk. Last year at this time, we were preparing for a wedding. I spent a fair amount of time preparing the yard where the wedding was to take place. This year I revisited the site, and the cows remembered me. When they saw […]
Drawing With My Paintbrush
We left off with this painting of a fabulous view from a special place in Tulare County at this stage. Everything remaining to finish falls under the category of Drawing With My Paintbrush. Whether drawing or painting, I often turn things upside down in order to see the shapes accurately. If things are right side […]
Sharon’s Suggestion
When I showed my two orchard paintings, Sharon, a real life friend and most active blog commenter, suggested I paint a stonefruit orchard in full spring color. I told her that those orchards just aren’t in my normal routes. Then, I went to Fresno for a day. The plums (white blossoms) were finished blooming, but […]
Non-painting Topics: a Mental Ramble
This is a bonus post, because I got up too early this morning and have many non-work-related thoughts. No reason, no point, just sharing a mental ramble… I just read a memoir (currently my favorite genre) titled “Holy Ghost Girl“. Holy cow, holy guacamole. I believe in the God’s healing power but am very appalled […]
While the Deer Were Grazing. . .
. . . I was actually painting. The canvas was finally covered, with good detail in the rock faces. (Not real faces—it is just the way to clarify that I am talking about vertical rocks rather than basic boulders.) I didn’t try to match the scene line for line or space for space. It already […]
Watching Deer or Oil Painting?
It’s kind of hard to focus on painting when this is outside the door. Apparently, I’m not the only creature to appreciate spring in Three Rivers. This little herd is just one body short of a baseball team. It looks as if this is a deer park, rather than my lawn. Actually, it isn’t even […]
Painting Spring in Spring
We had a beautiful spring day before spring arrived. Instead of being out enjoying spring, I was inside painting a picture of spring. First, I varnished four newly dried paintings. It was definitely an open-door sort of day. The view was distracting, but I needed to be focused on the scene on the easel. This […]
Compiling and Amalgamating
Sometimes I see a beautiful scene that just can’t be captured with a single photograph. The light is wrong so the colors come out weird, or there are branches obstructing important views. So, I take as many photos as possible and then put them together in a rough manner using Photoshop Junior. (Photoshop Elements is […]
The Way I Remember It
There is a place near me here in Tulare County that is fantastical for spring-time hiking, particularly in a wet year. The views, green, trees, flowing water, and wildflowers are utter perfection, unless you try to get a good photo. Then, all the beautiful things that you remember end up in different pictures. What’s an […]