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 […]
Do-Over
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 […]
A Bully of a Painting
The Kaweah Post Office XIV oil painting has been challenging me. By that, I mean it gets in my face each time I paint, and it says, “Whatcha gonna do about me, hunh? Hunh? Can you handle me? Betcha can’t! Besides, you don’t even know how to write 14 in Roman numerals!” How rude. Guess […]
Tiptoeing Along on Several Oil Paintings
Why tiptoeing? Because it feels slow and careful at this stage, like I am just feeling my way along, trying to be as careful as possible. First up, Sawtooth, the commissioned oil painting. Second, rebuild the Kaweah Post Office, also a commissioned oil painting. Third, plant some grasses. (Oil paint grasses, not fescue or bermuda […]
April Distractions in Three Rivers
I tried to oil paint last Friday but the greenery and wildflowers overcame my sense of duty. So, Trail Guy and I drove up North Fork Drive to the end. The road was longer, rougher, narrower than I remembered and all very worth the drive. After we got back home, I painted a little bit […]
More Easel Time
Remember the commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth? I do, really, I do. Please don’t worry, DV! It was a rainy overcast day, and by the time I got to the Sawtooth part of the painting, the light was too poor to mix colors accurately. That wasn’t very important on the first layer, but it is […]
Starting Over Again With Sawtooth
All those paintings of Sawtooth completed over the past several months, and someone wants a different size? Yep. No problem. I am an artist, and artists make art. Here are the beginning steps of the commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth: Wow, it is time-consuming and interruptive to photograph the steps in this much detail. But, […]
Kaweah Post Office Oil Paintings
Every time an oil painting of the Kaweah Post Office sells, I paint it again. That’s a lot of oil paintings of the Kaweah Post Office. But wait! There’s more! Come back tomorrow and see the second set of seven.
The Barn Drawing
Remember the pencil commission of the Michigan barn, drawn from some barely adequate photos? I think the grass and sky took as long as the barn itself. When I finally finished, I scanned it to email to the customer for approval. He saw right away that the 2 tall doors were lighter than the others. […]
Odd Job With a Goose
This is Tony’s wooden goose with a coat of primer on it. He didn’t give me any instructions other than to paint the goose. I found several helpful photos of Canada geese to work from, with visible head, neck, wing tops, wing bottoms, tail and the back.(What did people do before The Google came along to […]