Starting Two New Oil Paintings

Favorite Bridge

The commissioned painting of fields and groves needed more drying time, so I began a new painting of my favorite bridge—Oak Grove, on the Mineral King Road.

It is always difficult. I make it even harder by choosing canvases of non-traditional proportions. This is 8×16”.

It sometimes helps to crop off the unnecessary parts, making the photo the same proportions as the canvas.

But sometimes I do that too late, and decide to just go with the close-enough approach. Can you see that the bridge takes up more real estate on the canvas than on the photo?

Good enough to start.

Is that a Dog’s Breakfast or a Painting?

Next, a 7×14” canvas for another new painting. It might be too ugly for you to tell what it is going to be.

Jackson doesn’t really care what I paint as long as he gets fed.

These paintings are destined for the Silver City Store this summer. Each year I think I have enough inventory, then around early August, I have to slam some out very quickly. I try to guess what subjects, sizes and quantities will sell, but there are no proven formulas.

P.S. Blog reader/author/artist/friend Louise thought I could do a better job finishing the commissioned oil painting. She always tells me the truth, something I value highly, and she was right. Here it is after I followed her suggestion. It is not in my nature to be a perfectionist; instead, I am always wanting to finish things. So, sometimes it takes an honest and wise second set of eyes to make sure a piece of my art is finished well. THANK YOU, LOUISE!

Am I Finished Now? Commissioned Oil Painting Saga…

Avocado Leaves

My single photo of avocado leaves was inadequate, so I stopped by the largest avocado tree I’ve ever seen in my life and took these photos.

I didn’t copy any of the leaves or branches exactly. These are all too thick and overlapping for me to untangle. So, I just studied them awhile until I thought I could make up my own that would look convincing.

Blueberries

I also tightened up the blueberries.

I sent this to the customer (there are 2 partners in the business but I am now just dealing with one—hence, the switch from plural to singular) to say that I wanted to do a bit more detailing on the fields and groves, and to verify if there was anything I missed.

A Little More Work

She agreed that some of the fields could use some tighter detailing and requested that I plant an orchard on the barren hillside on the right and add some avocados to the framing branches.

This one passed, so I photographed the entire painting again with the requested improvements and additions.

It is quite wet, but we are having a warm spell and I expect it to be dry enough to ship on Monday.

This has a been a thoroughly enjoyable commission, working with someone who communicates well, is open to suggestions, trusts my abilities, and provides me with a bit of artistic license (but not too much).

Close to Finishing the Oil Painting Commission

The distant groves and fields are probably finished.

Time to begin the embellishments. I found blueberry photos on the interwebs, AND I have my own from excursions in Oregon.

In my extensive collection of photos, I found one of avocado leaves, pre-digital. I used my inferior phone camera to take a picture so I could flip it on my laptop.

Not really adequate. . . I know where there is an enormous avocado tree, so I’ll go get some better photos to finish the leaves.

Then I’ll retouch some of the other details, paint the edges, sign it, wait for it to dry again, varnish it, and then package it up to ship to the realtor customers.

Reminder

I help people write books and get them printed. The books that I have shepherded from idea to publication but that I don’t sell can be found on this new page: OTHER PEOPLE’S BOOKS. This includes Tales of TB, Springville’s Hospital, The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake, Only the Living, and Adventures in Boy Scouting.

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Further Development on the Commissioned Oil Painting

Five step-by-step photos today, mostly painting left to right.

So many parts in the photo were ambiguous and repetitive that I often lost my place. A way to combat this lostness is to first paint the things that are definite, then make up the stuff around them. Some of my sizes are probably definitely wrong, and some of the fields are missing. The customer said accuracy isn’t important—she is looking for conceptual interpretation of the subject. I don’t think there are any Geography Police gunning for me.

Lower left will be blueberries; upper right will be avocado leaves.

I am liking the painting, which is always a relief, especially when it starts out so loose and rough and confusing.

It’s May!

Pencil drawing of Kaweah Lake, 11×14”, $375, unframed. (This is the May picture in my 2026 calendar.)

Reminder

I can help people write books and get them printed. The books that I have shepherded from idea to publication but that I don’t sell can be found on this new page: OTHER PEOPLE’S BOOKS. This includes Tales of TB, Springville’s Hospital, The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake, Only the Living, and Adventures in Boy Scouting.

Beginning a 10×20” Commissioned Oil Painting

The real estate customers chose the panoramic shape.

Good thing they know I can paint. (Well, duh, that’s why they commissioned me.)

This is similar to my current favorite subject to draw and paint, but there are blueberries and avocados rather than orange trees. There is also a distinct lack of snow-covered mountains and no poppies on the distant hills, but still, it is similar.

View from Wutchumna, 12×24”, private collection

Wait, “current” favorite subject? The painting above was completed in 2022. Here’s the first one I did in 2008.

Family Farm, size forgotten, private collection

Before oil painting, I drew similar scenes in colored pencil in a year I did not record, before I had a scanner, and when I had a web designer who added watermarks.

And before that, I drew similar scenes in pencil.

Spring Citrus, pencil, sold long ago

Enough remembering and bloviating. Get back to work, Central California Artist!

Reminder

I help people write books and get them printed. The books that I have shepherded from idea to publication but that I don’t sell can be found on this new page: OTHER PEOPLE’S BOOKS. This includes Tales of TB, Springville’s Hospital, The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake, Only the Living, and Adventures in Boy Scouting.

Long Distance Oil Painting Commission

Some friends in real estate in a distant place have occasionally asked me to paint something for a customer after a large sale is made. Client. I think “client” is probably more correct here.

Remember these?

Hmmm, was my scanner going south back then too? This is darker than the painting.

I wonder if the clients appreciated the paintings. No one has gotten in touch to thank me or ask for more.

Doesn’t matter. My customers are happy enough to come back to me. (Yes, my people are customers, rather than clients, and no, I don’t actually know the difference except that one sounds more expensive.)

My customers sent me the listing with gorgeously staged photos of the house and some drone shots (also gorgeous) of the giant property.

From these, with a little bit of guidance after I asked all the questions I could think of, I did two quickity sketches. The customers chose two possible sizes, probably based on their budget, and the sketches are proportional to each of the two sizes.

The property is a blueberry farm along with avocado groves. The house, although fabulously fabulous beyond all fabulosity, isn’t that important here.

Good thing they know that I can paint and draw.

To be continued. . .

BONUS: I read this from James Clear’s newsletter: “The problem with keeping your options open is that every option requires energy to hold. And a shelf full of maybes is often heavier than a hand holding one yes. Put something down.”

MURAL “UNVEILING” TODAY

In case you are curious, this is some of the area around Ivanhoe. I really love it there, which you may have figured out. Of course I also loved living in Lemon Cove, and now I love living in Three Rivers. (Don’t move here—remember that we are fat, have diabetes, the air is bad, and there is no Trader Joe’s. Or 4 year college. Or most of whatever else people are used to in more populous areas.)

I didn’t know (or care) that Alta Peak is visible from Ivanhoe when I was living there. It was all simply “The Mountains”. Only people from far away said “The Sierra”, and people from cities said “The Sierras”. My dad taught me that it is simply “The Sierra” which is shorthand for the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Dad said it, I believe it, and that settles it.

This sort of view is probably in my blood and why I love to paint orange groves and mountains, none of which are listed on my website currently because I may be quietly hoarding them in my studio and house.*

The golden hill is part of Venice Hills, known locally as “Venice Hill”, singular.

*See?

Sold
Tulare Co.’s Best II, 24×24”, $1700
In the Orchard, 11×14”, $300
Behind Wutchumna, 18×36”, $2000
Groves, Hills, and Mountains, 10×20”, $450
Alpenglow on Homer’s Nose, 8×16”, $275

Oil Painting Some Local Stuff

What word did people use before “stuff” became so ubiquitous?

A little more work on these quail made it good enough to sign.

Quail Pair, 8×8”, $150

More work ahead on this one:

The scanner could not do this justice, so I put it in the sunshine and took a photo with my inferior phone camera.

Looking Up the Kaweah, 10×10”, $2,000,000*

And this one was photographed with my point-and-shoot Canon Elph pocket camera. Sure wish I could get all this techie stuff sorted out.

8×10”, Blossom Overlooking the Kaweah, $200

REMINDER (Because I know you all are just dying to go to Ivanhoe):

*I just put that price there to see if anyone would notice.

De-egging a Mural

Never before (as far as I know) has one of my murals been messed with. I can’t say that anymore.

A couple of weeks ago, some stupid hon-yock threw an egg into the sky of my Ivanhoe mural. So, I told the librarian to have county maintenance see if it would wash off first, and if not, I’d go retouch it.

Eggs harden and that’s that, so I took a trip to Ivanhoe.

The damage was pretty subtle.

Have a closer look at the shiny streaks and drips:

All better now

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KH!

P.S. The sign also got spruced up, AFTER the stump and log it refers to got cut down and chipped up. (“We’re from the government and we’re here to help you”.)