Category: Events

It Is Here!

This is a Christmas card inspired by the ornament that I painted for the White House Christmas tree last year. It was printed from an oil painting titled “Snowy Sequoias II” and will be with me at the Holiday Open House today, Saturday, November 22. (It is for sale, but I’d rather sell it in person than over the internet.) The cards are 5×7″ and blank inside. They are available through my website on the Notecards page https://www.cabinart.net/notecards_new.shtml $10 for 4 cards and also available through Sequoia Gifts and Souvenir.

Event on November 22

Here is the ad that is appearing in today’s Kaweah Commonwealth, the weekly paper of Three Rivers, California. And tomorrow, you will see the picture in complete fullness, living color, the Real Deal!

What IT is

IT is a Christmas card, but I bet you figured that much. . . you don’t get to see IT yet! This is just a little reminder that IT will be revealed on Saturday, November 22 at Sequoia Gifts and Souvenirs, 41727 Sierra Drive, Three Rivers. Please join us from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. for the annual Holiday Open House! There are discounts, 20-30% off store merchandise, but you’ll have to ask at the store how that works, because I’m just the “Guest Artist”. Doesn’t that sound prestigious?? 😎 Have another little peek:

Drawing conclusions?

Just another little peek for you. And remember, you will see the entire picture on November 22, either at Sequoia Gifts & Souvenirs, 10-5, or right here, same bat time, same bat channel!

Another Little Clue

Have I shown you this one yet? Couldn’t find it in the archives, so if I am repeating myself, please excuse me. If not, here you go. And by way of a disclaimer so you aren’t disappointed when it is revealed, this is probably a bigger deal to me than to you. I get a little excited about stuff sometimes. . . probably need to get out more.

something coming. . .

Here is a little hint. More will be revealed in the fullness of time!

The whole picture will be revealed on November 22.

Harvest Festival

This is a 4 foot square sign, photographed in cramped quarters after I finished painting it. It will be displayed much nicer than this at the festival! And, I know the lettering is weak – I am barely a painter, and definitely not trained as a sign painter! Okay, that’s it with the excuses; on to the rest of the blog.

If you own your own business, you are probably fried on getting asked for freebies for raffles, auctions, door prizes, etc. Me too. (more on that later). However, I ALWAYS give to my church, and the annual Harvest Festival is Saturday, November 8. This is a nice evening, not a fund-raiser but a nice time with games for children (and horseshoes for adults) and a place to gather, visit and eat some soup. This is my gift to the Harvest Festival this year:

(Someday I will learn about not photographing wet paintings in the bright sunlight when it makes that wet shine in a corner!)

Okay, about those freebies: I think it is Jack White, my “guru” in painting and the business of art, who advocates that all those non-profits BUY art from us. The non-profits can benefit tax-wise from spending money, and the artists can sell to them at a discount to help. The artists benefit because they are not depleting their hard-built inventory for free. We artists can only write off the cost of the materials, or take it out of our inventory for taxes but CAN NOT DEDUCT THE RETAIL VALUE OF THE ART! (Can you hear me??) One year I gave away more than I sold. That was a good year for the non-profits, but a painful one for me. So, I am trying to be smarter about it all, without causing a kerfuffle among the many very good non-profit organizations who ask (and ask and ask).

That Ag Art Show

Today I visited Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts in Madera. (that’s a long ways away from Three Rivers!!) This is the show in which my ice cream cone called Worth It won a second place ribbon in the category of Dairy. Art shows and judging are a mysterious process. I found my piece and wondered where the rest of the Dairy entries were. Turns out mine is THE ONLY PIECE in the category!! And, I got second place! Is that not the most embarrassing thing in the artworld? Nope, 3rd or none would be the most embarrassing. Sheesh! I asked the director of the gallery, and she said that the judge simply said, “I think this piece should be larger”. The director interpreted that to mean that I hadn’t done enough work to deserve a first! Before I could get huffy (what? me huffy??), she told me that the judge went home and died. He judged the show and died! Knowing this, I wasn’t too puzzled by the fact that I got third in Farm Equipment and Machinery when there was a Very Very Beautiful piece hanging above mine that got nothing! Poor old guy, he was tired. So, here is something new to look at. The only judging it will receive will be whether or not someone chooses to part with cash to buy it. That’s the real test! 8×10 – oil on wrapped canvas – $80

Holding back

No pictures this time, just a confession, sort of. I don’t always show you everything I have painted. Why not? Because surprises can be fun. Because something is coming on Saturday, November 22, and it is a surprise! And that’s all I’m gonna say about that. For now, anyway. (More will be revealed in the fullness of time!)

And the winners are. . .

Worth It – oil – 2nd place in Dairy

Staying Power – pencil – 3rd place in Farm Machinery and Structures

In case you might have forgotten, the show is Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts. It is the Madera County Arts Council annual juried and judged event, at their Circle Gallery. The opening reception and awards presentation is Thursday, September 18, and the show will hang from then until November 7. The pieces that placed will then travel to other locations, including the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California (nee “The Farm Show”).

Of course there are other winners, but unless we attend the show, we won’t know who received awards for which pieces! It is a wonderful show, one I learn from each year that I participate and visit.