The heat backed off a little and two places that sell my work requested more.
I started with the river painting do-over.
It sat on an easel with its buddy non-selling river painting. . .
and got a facelift. . .
…but we will wait until the bruising subsides and the stitches get removed.
I mean we will wait until it is dry enough to be scanned before doing an actual comparison.
This will be a long post.
The end of the season in Mineral King is approaching quickly. We had a weekend of preliminary closing tasks, interspersed with walks to appreciate the clear air and fall colors.
First, we closed a neighboring cabin and had our usual debate about which water bottles might freeze, split, and leak during spring thaw. We ended up putting several in a washbasin inside so we can finally learn and stop wondering.
Then I split some kindling, after which I split the piece of wood I was using as a chopping block booster. However, the real chopping block split in the process. 
Trail Guy came to the rescue with another chopping block, which I had to try.
I know, you came here for fall colors, and instead, you read the mundane details of cabin life. We headed out the next morning to see the sights, and ran into people we know over and over, so got a very late start.
We were finally on the trail toward Aspen Flat when we encountered 3 women, 2 that we know. One of them was wearing a pack on her back and one on her front. Oh-oh, someone needed help. Trail Guy stepped up to the task, and we all turned back. The idea was to be out and about, not that we had an important destination.
Next, we headed down the road and up the Nature Trail, just like the previous weekend.
Steak, anyone? This rock is along the road, one I noticed a few years ago and then couldn’t find until recently. What a thrilling discovery. (Yes, I know, easily thrilled here.)
We had a friend with plans to climb Sawtooth that morning, so Trail Guy and The Farmer kept pulling out their binoculars.
We trudged onward, with Hiking Buddy and I commenting that we were fine with just a walk rather than a hike. The colors are decent, but there have been much brighter falls. It’s the contrast to two autumns with smoke and fire that make this year seem spectacular.
Where is that Sawtooth Soldier?
(Sharon, this shot of Iron Falls is for you.)
This is the view next to the Honeymoon Cabin.
The Spring Creek bridge has been removed for the season.
This is the view up toward Aspen Flat. The brightest trees on the left are the section I call The Yellow Tunnel. The more distant trees on the right are not quite yet yellow: that’s what we call Aspen Flat. We didn’t make it there. Maybe next week.
Even heading down the road was nice because it wasn’t in the 100s or even the 90s for much of the drive. This is the final view of Sawtooth (very distant – just squint at this photo) on a day with clear air.
P.S. About 6 potholes got patched on the road. That leaves about 600 more.
Sometimes when a painting has been hanging around for awhile, I have to ask myself a question that is hard to answer: What is wrong with this picture?
This painting has been hanging around too long. It is the North Fork of the Kaweah River in Three Rivers, looking downstream from what used to be known (maybe still is) as The Airport Bridge with Blossom Peak(s) in the distance.
This is what might be wrong:
Stay tuned to see if those changes fix the painting.
List Lady, that’s me. They help me think and prioritize. (I like charts too… doesn’t everyone?)
This list is all the things that I can do instead of making lists when this very busy week is in my rearview mirror (figuratively speaking).
While figuratively twiddling my thumbs and waiting for responses, I took advantage of the empty schedule to do some necessary tasks. These sorts of things don’t normally come to mind when people think about an artist’s work.
And thus we conclude another lazy listicle of another day in the life of your Central California artist who would rather be…
Today is a peek into the life of a professional artist. A working artist. A self-employed artist. A rogue, solo, maverick artist. Something.
So many jobs on hold. Time for a listicle:
*UPDATE: THE DRAWING OF THE GATEWAY BRIDGE IS NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE THREE RIVERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM.
The Visalia Times-Delta has an article in the Saturday edition about the Mooney Grove murals. This is the link. Maybe it works without a subscription. You’ll have to try it. (Thank you, J.C. for letting me know!)
It was clear by the colors that fall has arrived in Mineral King. We missed fall the past two years because of fires, so this year we are soaking it in.
This is more of our walk down the road and back up the Nature Trail last Saturday.
The next day we took a walk up the valley to Crystal Creek, where we took in more of the bright colors of fall, a real gift after the smoke of the past two falls.
The Sierra Gentian at Crystal Creek from last week were now fully opened.
But that looks a bit too summery for a post about fall, so let’s conclude with this bright little leaf, whose name I do not know. (Want to name him? How about Rufus?)
Since I am currently working on a project that is not ready to be publicized, this week will have two days of Mineral King.
Last weekend it was clear that fall has arrived. It didn’t feel like fall, but the colors were evidence enough.
A friend had left his sweatshirt along the trail to Timber Gap, so we headed up to see if it was still there. I only made it a little past the junction before giving up. Trail Guy went to the place where the sweatshirt had been, looked carefully all around, and finally concluded that someone new is now wearing a gray sweatshirt with the words “Grove City College”. (If you know who, please let me know!)
The next day we walked down the road and up the Nature Trail to enjoy the colors. These photos are what we saw while heading down the road.
And I’ll show you the rest tomorrow!
What does “drawing on the side” mean? Is that like salad dressing on the side?
In this case, it means that I have a pencil drawing in progress that I keep with my drawing lessons supplies. That way, if I get to lessons early or if no one shows up for class (REALLY?? Yeppers, it has happened), there is something I can work on instead of just knitting.
You thought what? That I would play on my phone? If you thought that, you don’t know me very well.
The back tree needs to be darker and there is a little patch of unfinished background.
No rush. It isn’t a commissioned pencil drawing. It is just a way to A. indulge my love of drawing, B. show my students a piece in progress, C. give them a chance to evaluate my work because we must tell one another the truth, and I want to know if they have been paying attention, D. be productive in otherwise empty time.