This is getting to be a bit long. I’ll continue it next Friday. . . same bat time, same bat channel.
Don’t you just love finding out what happened? Ever read the last chapter of a book before (or instead of) finishing? That’s okay – you don’t have to confess anything here!
Remember this pale poppy?
Now look!
It was an easy fix. Thank you to everyone who shared their opinion – turns out we all thought it was pale and wussy looking. And thank you for being so polite about it all – all who remarked on it simply said they preferred the brighter colors rather than insulting the poor anemic thing.
Do you ever surprise yourself with forgetfulness?
Last week I did a little painting of a California poppy. After it was finished, signed, photographed, varnished and dry, I added it to the growing stack of little paintings. (An artist who sells needs to keep up her inventory.)
Well, oops. Guess I already painted that poppy and forgot. SOMEONE needs a better filing system for her photos. Check this out:
Do you prefer the softer colors of the upper poppy or the stronger ones of the lower painting?
The names have poured in (38 at the time of this writing). I will accept more today, but starting tomorrow I will have to squinch my eyes shut, put my hands over my ears, and loudly recite, “LALALALALALA”.
Then, I will pick one. Or a group of names. Or make up a new one from bits and pieces. Or narrow it down to the top three and put it out for a vote.
Then I will enter the Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts in Madera, informally known as the Ag Art Show. This is an online process with yet another user name and password. The poor old geezers back in the day when this barn was built just had to slog along with pencil and paper and the U.S. Postal Service. Those old guys probably only got to have passwords when they were kids, out playing games in barns like this one!
Doesn’t “Nature Trail” sound silly and simple? I’ve pondered it for years and never come up with a better name.
The Nature Trail is about 1 mile long and goes from the upper end of the Cold Springs Campground to the Mineral King Valley.
The trail has a huge variety of things to see – aspen trees, little signs telling about various things along the way, the stream, a variety of flowers, a view of the road, a forested section, a view of Sawtooth, a desert-like area, a view of Timber Gap, and a section that passes through the historic cabins.
. . . and the chosen titler will receive a token of my appreciation! (That means a prize, but not a huge one.)
You might remember this painting from last year’s show called Images of Home. It was titled “Tulare County Barn”, because the show was about Tulare County images. Duh.
This painting will be entered in the Madera Ag Art Show. Madera is 2 counties away. (They might not even know how to pronounce “Too-Larry” there!)
Titles matter. particularly in a juried (Shall we let this piece in our show?) and judged (Hmmm, that looks like a first place!) show.
The last time I entered the show, you helped me name my pencil drawing of a barn and tractor. Your choices were wonderful, better than what my mind could conceive.
Will you help me choose the new title for this painting? The suggester of the winning title will receive a prize. Haven’t decided what. I should be able to figure that out on my own. . .
THANK YOU, THANK YOU in advance for your help!
Contests need deadlines – how about July 18? That’s a Wednesday.
The triptypch of Washington tulip fields does not have a deadline. Why should a California artist be painting Washington tulip fields? Because sometimes an artist just has to follow her heart.
Other paintings do have deadlines, so these just get fit into the painting schedule as there are opportunities. Specifically, this is when everything else is too wet to work on, or too dang hard. (see Monday’s post. . . sigh)
The top one is almost finished. When I look at it in bright light, I see parts that could be improved.
The middle piece is still needing more definition.
The bottom piece is clearly in its infancy. Oh, sweet baby tulips. . . sigh of happiness. This takes a bit of the sting out of Put-My-Parents-In-The Painting.
This list of comments was started just after Mother’s Day weekend, when I was recovering from the Redbud Festival. Now that I read them after a snowy Memorial Day weekend, I’m slightly climatically confused. Just sayin’ (which is the popular vernacular that means “I talk to hear the sound of my own opinions”)
Little Brown Church© 2012, oil on board, 4×6″, private collection
Any comments (not complaints) you’d like to add?
As promised on May 24, here is the first peek at the commissioned oil painting spoken of in two previous blog posts.
Cowboy Bert told me he has a shirt that color. I said, “It’s called wheat”.
He said, “That don’t look like wheat to me.”
I said “It is wheat as viewed from the back of a fast horse.”
He said, “I’ll buy that”.
When cowboys say “I’ll buy that”, it doesn’t mean they plan to purchase an item. It means that they agree with you. It is the cowboy equivalent of city folk saying “Word”.
Aren’t you glad I am around to explain the English language to you?
My pleasure.
And, in case you are wondering about this painting, remember the commissioner/client/customer/friend/drawing student said she loved “loosiosity”.
Bet you can figure that word out all by yourself!
Any other words you’d like the California artist to ‘splain to you?