In July and August, I don’t teach regular drawing lessons. My students often say “enjoy your vacation” or “have a nice summer” as they are leaving (and several cannot resist the urge to sing “See You In September”).
Although I do spend much more time in Mineral King in those 2 months, I am still working. Sort of. There was the show Art: Inspired by Mineral King on June 30. I deliver paintings to the Silver City Resort (AKA “The Store”), work on commissions (both pencil and oil), blog, keep track of what is selling, work on my new website design, work on the upcoming calendar, plan for any upcoming shows. That’s sort of working, isn’t it?
Sometimes the kittens become a tad bit distracting.This subject matter is getting easier in its architectural parts, but I still struggle with the rocks beneath the bridge. This is because they are hidden.This commissioned oil painting got a few licks on the canvas, but those rocks beneath the bridge really hang me up.The smaller bridge is drying and awaits more layers. Sawtooth and the river are also both drying, and are now for sale.
Sawtooth #33, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $65 includes sales tax (welcome to California)
The oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose With the Oak Grove Bridge felt too hard. Was I low on sleep? (That was both my parents’ question and/or conclusion any time there was a problem both growing up and as an adult.) Distraction was present in the form of some cats, a friend or two stopping by, the heat, lots of unfinished projects. . . but the main problem might have been fear.
So, I listened to the song “Fear is a Liar” by Zach Williams on repeat for an hour or so, and then I started a new painting of the same bridge from the same angle.
When I don’t know how to do the next step on a project, I often begin a new project. This may be the first time I’ve started a second painting of the same subject, the very one that has me handcuffed.
This 10×0″ painting of the Oak Grove Bridge is serving as a warm-up for the larger version in the commissioned oil painting of Homer’s Nose with the Oak Grove Bridge.
During this time of unfocused indecision, all my Mineral King paintings were crated up, ready to go to Silver City for the Art: Inspired by Mineral King show. This gave me a sense (albeit a false one) of not having enough paintings to sell. On top of that ridiculousness, I began the magical thinking of “What If Everything Sells and Then I Have Nothing of Mineral King?”
My response to that was to begin another 6×6″ painting of Sawtooth. Here they are on the drying wall in their sloppy scribble stage, along with the completed river painting.
Yep. Good decision. When you can’t get your work finished, just begin more work.
Aren’t you glad you stopped by for this uplifting, realistic, encouraging piece of artistic wisdom?
I worked for awhile on the oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose With The Oak Grove Bridge (WHAT shall this one be titled?? Snozz Rock? Sue’s View? The Nose And The Bridge? The Bridge and the Nose? Don’t Blow Your Nose On My Bridge?)
Second layer finished!
And thus, we have successfully covered the great desert of a scary semi-empty canvas with another layer of oil paint.
Remember that long list of things to do a few days ago?
I began with the oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose/The Oak Grove Bridge because it wasn’t too hot yet in the painting workshop with the swamp cooler running, there will be a check when I am finished, the heat is coming and will dry my beginning layers, and it had been a long time since I had done any painting.
When the day heated up and the decisions on the painting felt overwhelming, I switched to the studio where I draw.
In spite of having an October deadline on the calendar, I chose to work on it. Drawing calms me down, reminds me that I am a capable artist, and it feels better to inch toward a large distant goal than to just procrastinate.
The tree smack-dab in the center of the photo is not good placement. I am growing another tree (also a sycamore) in a better location.
This gave me confidence to tackle a pencil drawing commission that is definitely too hard for me. The customer requested a pencil drawing of the Mineral King Pack Station. After learning why he wants the drawing, we determined that the pack station as it looked in the 1980s would be most appropriate. He had no photos. I asked around for about 6 months and finally found someone with photos from that era. Alas, they are almost illegible.
After showing the customer and discussing it further, we determined that only one of these has enough information to be of any value.
Whoa. This is going to be crazy hard. I did a little cropping, a little measuring, a little pre-sketching, and finally decided to begin shading the things I know how to do.
Today’s painting for sale is not a painting for sale – it is an advertisement.
Art: Inspired by Mineral King
A showing of work by 4 artists on the deck of the Silver City Store, 4 miles below Mineral King
Not talking audibly to myself anymore, decisions made, work begun on the oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose with the Oak Grove Bridge.
Scary Scribble State mitigated by nice sky
Madame Customer stopped by my studio to retrieve her photos and saw the scary version. She made another change to our plan, and I was eager to try it. Her suggestion was to forget about the green hills below Homer’s Nose and extend the greenery above the bridge up closer to Snozz Rock.
Nice sky with some mountain colorSome mountain color and rock shapeSome rock shape with some lower foliage, extended upward toward the snozz.This painting might turn out well – Madame Customer, once again I salute you for your good ideas and suggestions! (and good thing I’m not a contractor who charges for those dreaded things called “change orders”)
Today’s oil painting for sale:
This is a sweet little 4×6″ oil painting of Sawtooth, on a board, sitting on an easel, $45.
“What are you doing?” is a question directed to me, not to you. Some days I don’t know what to do. It results in talking to myself, occasionally in an audible voice. This isn’t because there isn’t anything pressing; it is because I can’t figure out how to prioritize.
What would you do first? What am I doing??
Begin painting the oil commission of Homer’s Nose with the Oak Grove Bridge
Work on the oil painting of the South Fork of the Kaweah
Work on my bookkeeping to be ready to pay quarterly sales tax
Work on “populating” my web site renovation
Scan a drawing for a student and do the photoshop prep
Photograph a completed painting and do all the computery things necessary to make it good for the website
Sometimes the business of art is just a quagmire of decision making. There is some study somewhere out there in some book that explains “decision fatigue”, how the more decisions we have to make in a day causes us to be less able to make good decisions.
When I am figuring out what to work on next, I factor in weather (is it too hot in the painting workshop room?), deadlines (what is coming up next?) and finances (what activity will generate income when it is finished?).
#1 will generate income; #2 is just a speculation painting; #3 will generate income; #4 has an October deadline; #5 has a June 30 deadline; #6 has a deadline that I have forgotten about and ignore until an email reminder comes; #7 has been dragging along since January, my blog subscription button is gone, there are paintings listed for sale that have already sold and new paintings and cards that aren’t listed. Finally, #8 and #9 are just meh.
What did I decide to do?
Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you.
Today’s painting for sale:
Never mind. Can’t decide. Decision fatigue, you know. . .?
The commissioned oil painting combining two Tulare County scenes feels like a mini-mural. 18×24″ is HUGE when I am accustomed to 8×10″ or 6×18″.
Often I have pondered why it is that a mural feels sort of easy because of its large size when a large oil painting feels daunting. Is it the number of layers? the level of detail? An oil painting certainly takes longer.
My customer approved of sketch #2.
Sketch #2
She is gracious and told me there is no rush. However, I am a bit of a “precrastinator”, a made-up word that is the opposite of “procrastinator”. It is much better to begin, to act as if there is a deadline, to be ready for contingencies, interruption, opportunities, and other emergencies than to just lollygag along, figuring it will get done when I FEEL like it. And losing momentum is a real risk – a customer can change his mind, or it could get too hot to paint. Besides, the sooner I finish a commissioned job, the sooner I get paid.
(There was a sign in a print shop where I used to work that said, “I work for money, not for fun; I want my money when my work is done.” I work for both.)
First, a little fun with Scout. She is sitting on Samson’s shelf. (He doesn’t need it any more. Sigh.)
Now it is time to get to work.
Such a basic beginning. I just draw the general stuff with my paintbrush.
To be sure of the shapes, sizes, proportions, and angles, it is easier to be objective when everything is upside down. The goal is to get a first layer on the canvas, something that I can correct with each successive layer.
That’s enough for the first second third fourth step of this commissioned oil painting. (The first was a conversation, the second was an exchange of photos and a sketch, the third was the second sketch with the approval to begin painting).
This is Chapter Two in the story of figuring out how to design one commissioned oil painting of two different Tulare County landmarks. As a Tulare County artist, I am pleased to have been chosen for the task.
The customer requested a different view of Homer’s Nose, and I have 5 photos from that point of view. This is the one we selected:
Homer’s Nose, from the Yokohl curve on Highway 198
She also requested a view of the Oak Grove bridge with more visible rocks (i.e. less water). If you have followed this blog or my art for very long, you know that the Oak Grove bridge is my favorite thing to draw and paint, even when it is a little bit too hard. So, I have plenty of photos to choose from for this very specific request:
Oak Grove Bridge photo by me from the same point of view, lower water so rocks more visible.
I know Spice Bush, but never heard of Mock Orange. Good thing I have friends with great photos who know far more than I do about many things.
Mock Orange, from a friend’s photo, flipped.
And a photo I have of Spice Bush, but will probably take more because it is in bloom right now and is beautiful.
Spice bush bloom
With all these visual aids, I drew this:
Sketch #2
What will my customer say in response to this second sketch? More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . . Tune in tomorrow, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.
And here are today’s paintings, both commissioned pieces of Homer’s Nose, painted in 2014, each one 6×6″.
Homer’s Nose, oil on canvas, 6×6″, private collectionHomer’s Nose, oil on canvas, 6×6″, private collection
Isn’t “figuring things out” a strange grouping of words? But we all know what that means. . . puzzling over something, trial and error, plan A and plan B, lots of conversation. . .
A long time friend asked me to do an oil painting of two significant Tulare County landmarks in her life. This is not two oil paintings; it is one painting with 2 separate scenes, a true piece of Tulare County art. I am a Tulare County artist, so why not?
I’ve been doing collage type pencil drawings for many years, but have never thought about this for oil paintings. This friend has challenged me before with other unusual ideas, and I’ve learned from her. So, here we go.
This is what she sent me first:
Homer’s Nose, a granite formation, from an unidentified magazine cover Homer’s Nose, a granite formation as viewed from another angle (from a book called To Find the Biggest Tree by Wendell D. Flint)The Oak Grove Bridge with a significant pickup crossing it.
This is what I drew for her, using colored pencils so she could get an idea of how the two subjects would blend together into one painting.
Sketch #1
Her response was that she likes the view of Homer’s Nose from another place, likes to see lots of rocks under the bridge, and would like to see some wildflowers, preferably Mock Orange or Spice Bush.
Good thing I know what she is referring to on all these subjects and have 29,000 photos on my laptop that include most of what she is wanting.
To be continued. . . meanwhile, here is today’s painting. It no longer exists, but is the first oil painting I ever did of Homer’s Nose from that other place.
Homer’s Nose from Yokohl Curve, 12×16″, oil on canvas, gone.
Whenever someone approaches me about an old drawing or painting, I first hope the picture isn’t too embarrassing. Then I hope that the customer will allow me to repair, replace, and rework anything that is no longer up to my always improving standards.
While at the Redbud Festival, I met Karen, who is a new member of the Lemon Cove Women’s Club. She wanted to know how to get cards reprinted with the pencil drawing I did so long ago that I didn’t even put a date on it. (1988? 1989?). I said, “Sure, of course! I hope I can find the original drawing. . . HEY! IT’S IN MY DINING ROOM!”
I thought this was a good drawing, and maybe it was for my skill 30 years ago. But when I put it on my drawing table under the magnifying light, I was disappointed and thought, “that girl needed drawing lessons”.
I was able to find the photo and the original card. This was something to smile about, along with having the original drawing in my possession. (I haven’t kept very many, and wish I could gather all the old ones back for a do-over.)
3-1/2 x 5″ snapshot – how could anyone draw from this??The card printed in 1988 or 1989.Retouched with pencil, scanned, but not photoshoppedPhotoshopped to printing perfection!
It probably wasn’t horrible, but my drawing students would have picked it apart, and I would want them to, because this is how we all learn to draw better. (Where was I when I needed my help back in 1988? The hubris of the young. . . sigh.)
