Mineral King Coloring Book Has Arrived!

Yesterday, the Mineral King coloring book arrived. Heart of Mineral King is the title, and it has 12 pages to color, plus some wildflowers on the insides of the covers. (One of the 12 pages is the title page, and 4 of the pictures are from the previous book, Heart of the Hills.)

mineral king coloring book

A friend called me when I gave her a sample page of wildflowers from Heart of the Hills, because she wanted to know what color to make each one of the flowers. This made me laugh, because she had been coloring in another book, decorating owls in purples and pinks.

It also made me think that perhaps people would appreciate a hint. So this inside back cover page has a hint on the wildflowers.

MK 27 inside colored list

Here is a peek at a brand new drawing. This is Empire Mt. (actually it is just the rock outcropping which is very visible but isn’t the peak) with some of the very charming Mineral King cabins.

Empire

Heart of Mineral King is available at the Three Rivers Mercantile and Kaweah River Trading Co. in Three Rivers. It is also available here on my website, and if you see me around, from the trunk of my car. On Memorial weekend it will be available at the Silver City Store, 21 miles up the Mineral King Road.

This one is smaller, so it is $12 rather than $15. Such a deal – a custom coloring book of everyone’s favorite mountain place in Tulare County. (Unless your favorite mountain place is Wilsonia)

 

How to Order a Coloring Book

Heart of the Hills

Ordering a coloring book from my website is a bit of a project. If you have ordered, you know that I email to ask for your address, even though you entered all the info while ordering. My website is a little out of whack, and I don’t know why. Sigh. It just happens. Today I learned that it will cost $300 to update my website to make everything work properly.  Big heavy sigh.

 

If you want a coloring book and don’t want to go through all the steps, a check in the mail is fine – $15, and I will pay the mailing costs. I appreciate so much when shipping is free that I do the same for my customers/clients/collectors/friends.

 

Okay, just in case you decide to order from the website, here is the exact order of clicking steps.

 

  1.  Click on my Website
  2.  Under the For Sale tab – click Heart of the Hills Coloring Book
  3. Click on the coloring book. (If there are 2, click on the one on the right with the price beneath it. If it says there are no products available, hit your refresh button. If this doesn’t work, put down the computer and walk away.) This takes you to a new page (Why is this necessary?? Don’t ask me – I just work here.)
  4. Click on the purple Add to cart button. It takes you to a cart page.
  5. Click on Proceed to checkout. It takes you to a checkout page where it asks for your details. This is where you then go to Paypal, and it accepts your credit card even if you don’t have a Paypal account.

I don’t know what happens next, because I stopped there because I didn’t want to buy a coloring book from myself because I have them already.

 

Sounds as if I am babbling to myself. This is because I am babbling to myself. Technology often affects me that way. (Ick – that stupid “easy to use” Square at the Redbud almost turned me into a raving lunatic at the Redbud Festival, right there in public.)

 

I have a wise friend who reminds me from time to time that if you have a problem but you have money to fix it, then what you have is an inconvenience rather than a problem.

 

THANK YOU, EVERYONE WHO ORDERED COLORING BOOKS! This means I have the money to get the website tuned up.

 

But when do I have the money to get ahead??

 

Never mind.

 

This new coloring book will be available very soon, and I hope you will be able to order it easily from the website.

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Coloring Book Report

Whole lotta reporting going on this week.

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While preparing for the Redbud Festival, I decided to add a few more oil paintings and finish the giant painting of the Oak Grove Bridge. Then I wisely decided my time was better spent elsewhere.

So, I began working on a new coloring book design. No telling how long this adult coloring craze will last, so I’d better make hay while the sun shines.

Here is the cover, version #1:

heart of mineral king

This is too hard to read, so I redesigned the cover.

MKcolorcover

Then, I finished all the crazy-making computer work, and sent it off to be printed.

NEW COLORING BOOK COMING SOON!

It will have fewer pages and thus will cost less than Heart of the Hills. THIS ONE WILL BE CALLED HEART OF MINERAL KING.

Please excuse me for shouting at you. This is very exciting and fun.

It should be available in two weeks.

Redbud Report Continued

Heart of the Hills

Yesterday I told you that fifty-eight coloring books, Heart of the Hills, sold during the annual Redbud Festival in Three Rivers.

Lest you think I could have just skipped the booth set up and plopped myself at a card table with a stack of coloring books, plenty of other items also sold. I even had the privilege of seeing some new friends from Fresno who came specifically for pencil drawings, which I had to race home and retrieve. So glad I live close, and that Trail Guy delivered my car to me, since I had walked to work that morning.

Cards, small oil paintings and tee shirts remain popular. But the coloring book stole the show.

My booth was busy almost the entire time, and sometimes I’d see someone sort of hovering around the edges. While I’d be talking with someone else, I’d just pick up a coloring book and pass it over the the hoverer, who invariably said, “How did you know that is what I was looking for?!”

I lied and said I had read her mind. (I hope no one got freaky about that.) It was just obvious to me, taking into account the tremendous popularity and publicity the coloring book is receiving.

Besides, I’ve been doing this show off and on since 1987, so I can read people pretty well.

Wow. It was a busy busy weekend, and I am so thankful to have had this pleasant and peaceful walk to work each morning of the show.

It is truly a blessing to live in Three Rivers.

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Redbud Report

Redbud is shorthand for The Redbud Festival, an annual arts and crafts fair in Three Rivers. It happened this past weekend. Because I live nearby, I was able to set up my booth on Friday afternoon with the help of Trail Guy and the trusty Botmobile. (That is his 1986 Toyota pickup with 300,000+ miles. If you need a fabulous mechanic, I HIGHLY recommend Foreign Autoworks in Visalia – Toyota, Honda, and their derivatives only. 559-734-8285.)

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I purposely brought fewer oil paintings than usual. Just wondering and experimenting with how the booth looks to see if less is more or if less is a bore.

IMG_2816I knew that coloring books would be the big deal, so I hung the somewhat cheesy sign where it could be seen from each entry. And I brought the finished commissioned painting of the Three Rivers house, along with the in-progress version of the Oak Grove Bridge.

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I liked the uncluttered look of the screens. Along with oil paintings and coloring books, I had Mineral King tee shirts (now sold out enough to be removed from my website), notecard packages, and Wilsonia cabin books.

It was all mostly a backdrop, a little gallery for the purpose of selling coloring books.

FIFTY-EIGHT COLORING BOOKS SOLD!

Heart of the Hills is available here and at Kaweah River Trading Co., Three Rivers Mercantile, and the Three Rivers History Museum, all in Three Rivers.

 

 

 

Redbud Festival is Coming!

Redbud Festival in Three Rivers is an annual arts and crafts show at the Veterans Memorial Building.

This year it will be on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8. (Yes, that is Mother’s Day).

I’ve been painting a few pieces to add to the collection for sale, in case anyone is interested in anything besides coloring books.

 

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Are You a Colorist?

Are you a colorist? This is a word invented for adults who like to color in coloring books.

About 10 years ago, a friend in a high-powered, high-stress job confessed to me that she liked to color at work when it all got to be too much. I went online to find coloring books and found 2 books with very intricate geometric designs for her.

Within the last 6 months or so, coloring books for adults have taken off like a rocket. Many friends told me of either giving or receiving coloring books for gifts. Women in particular get a goofy happy look when they say, “I LOVE to color!”

I have many theories as to why coloring has become so popular with adults:

  1. Everyone has the desire to be involved in a creative activity.
  2. Coloring is a creative activity that requires no skill outside of what we learned as children.
  3. It involves simple decisions with instant gratification.
  4. The repetitive nature of it is peaceful and meditative.
  5. Life is complicated and stressful. Coloring is fun and easy.

Want a coloring book of Three Rivers and Sequoia and Mineral King?

I have one called Heart of the Hills.  There is a tiny heart hidden in every picture.

It is available at the Three Rivers Mercantile, Kaweah River Trading Company, Three Rivers Historical Museum, and on my website. (It is also available from the trunk of my car if you see me around.) $15 + tax.

first drawing

Doesn’t this little picture make you want to color? Go ahead. Become a colorist.

Three Rivers Spring Mini-Tour

The last several weeks have been full of coloring books and an oil painting commission of a Three Rivers house. Meanwhile, it is BEAUTIFUL out. Spring is fabulous in Three Rivers (everywhere, yes?) so I took a little tour. Come see these things with me.

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Climbing roses are hanging upside down. See? They are on this archway.IMG_2779 IMG_2775IMG_2777Time to do a little bit of work on our tour. This is the traffic-stopping, attention-getting sign at Kaweah River Trading Co., the excellent gift shop in town that pushed me to make the local coloring book. Soon they will also be selling colored pencils.  You can buy Heart of the Hills there or at the Three Rivers Mercantile or the Three Rivers Historical Museum or here.IMG_2770 IMG_2769

My friend has stunning and unusual flowers in her yard. This is what I recorded before my camera battery quit. Sometimes it is good to just be in a place, taking it in without recording everything. IMG_2767 IMG_2763

Remember When Life was Simpler?

Life used to be simpler. We have gizmos, devices, technology now that is supposed to make our lives easier, but think about these things:

  • Remember when your phone didn’t follow you everywhere, demanding continual response?
  • Remember when you could just go to the doctor and get help without filling out reams of papers, and wondering if you would be able to afford the visit?
  • Remember when you didn’t have to know the name of medicines and their possible side effects?
  • Remember when you just ate food and didn’t think about glycemic index, cholesterol, gluten, veganism, or happy chickens?
  • Remember when you had never heard of identity theft?
  • Remember when people didn’t cuss on TV or talk about private body functions and then try to sell medicine for them?
  • Remember when you had never heard of a “carbon footprint”?
  • Remember when you never considered whether something was organic or local or sustainable?
  • Remember when you could have a lawn without feeling guilty about it?
  • Remember when a fire in the fireplace was a normal guilt-free way to add warmth and comfort to a cold evening?
  • Remember when you only needed a password if you were playing a spy game with a friend? Something common, like “open sesame”?
  • Remember when “carbs” were called “starches”?
  • Remember when the only thing you backed up was your car, and you did it by putting your arm across the back of the seat and actually turned your head instead of watching a little television?
  • Remember when you could ride in the back of a pick-up? Or drink from the garden hose?
  • Remember when there were drinking fountains and no one carried around expensive bottles of water? You drank when you were thirsty, not when you needed to “hydrate”. . . “Hydrate”?? What is the matter with everyone?
  • Remember when you wore sneakers for every activity?
  • Remember back before you had heard of “plantar fasciitis”, “carpal tunnel syndrome”, “irritable bowel”, “acid reflux”?
  • Remember when you got home from vacation, and all you had to do was collect the mail at the post office?

Yeah.

That’s why people like to color. It returns us to a simpler activity that we enjoyed in simpler times. It requires no special skill, no guilt, no medical terminology, no technology or user name.

This is why I made a coloring book. Easy. Simple. No password required.

Heart of the Hills

Heart of the Hills: a Three Rivers and Sequoia Coloring Book  is available at the Three Rivers Mercantile, Kaweah River Trading Company, Three Rivers Historical Museum or here.

That last one probably will require a user name and password. If you see me around, I’ll have a few in the trunk of my car. We can do business that way. Simple.

$15 each plus tax. Easy.

List of Slightly Related Items

I’m not sure how these 4 items on this list are slightly related other than they pertain to Three Rivers, sort of.

  1. This is my 8th blogiversary!!

  2. I sent an email to the people who have bought or expressed an interest in my work during the past year or so to ask if they’d like to be on my mailing list. Occasionally I sent an email telling of new things or shows or just to say hey. If you would like to be on that list, leave a comment below or email me using the contact button beneath About The Artist in the menu above.
  3. The coloring books are here! You can order from this link: Heart of the Hills. If you order using this link and Paypal, please send me an email with your mailing address because Paypal always tells me “no shipping information available” or some such baloney.heart seekers Look at these heart seeking students from Westmont College in Santa Barbara. Who would think that about-to-graduate seniors would be so interested in a coloring book?? Lovely group of folks, and I was very honored to have them stop by my studio. 
  4. Have a look at some spring photos around our place in Three Rivers because it is beautiful, and because Trail Guy was Builder Guy for me this week.

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This is in my herb garden, where I think of stuff and Builder Guy makes it for me. Don’t you wish you had a cute hanging thing like this? Don’t you wish you had an herb garden? Don’t you wish you had a Builder Guy in your life? Don’t you wish I’d shut up and just show you the photos?

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