Mural Celebration!

It was hot, reallly really hot.

If it hadn’t been my mural, I doubt I would have braved the heat, but these folks were hardier than that!

Mickey gave a thorough history on the Mt. Whitney Power Co. and the dams in Mineral King. I hadn’t settled in yet and was hanging out in the back with my friend from the Three Rivers Post Office, so I had this nice view of the group.

When Mickey passed the mike to me, I asked the crowd if I could photograph them for the blog. I love doing that – it always makes people smile. Besides, who would have the courage to say “NO DON”T DO THAT”?

I told a few things about how the mural idea happened, a few facts about the dam at Franklin Lake, and a few stories about painting the mural. I said a pile of “Thank Yous” to the wonderful folks who helped make this mural happen. We ate some REALLY good food (that tri-tip from Exeter Meats was so tender it was easy to eat with a plastic fork!!). We even square-danced a bit – it was much cooler standing up away from the tables after dark, and Paul Pfeninger is a terrific caller! I got to catch up with lots of friends (including Ron Hughart, famous local author) and made a new friend, Matthew, who is also a painter. Despite the heat, it was a lovely evening!

Another Long Walk

This walk was on Sunday. We took a load of firewood to my sister-in-law, who gave us a nice soft bed, fed us very well, and watched a bunch of baseball with Michael. I did a lot of knitting, waiting for the long walk to begin.

Told you so!

Kind of intimidating to be with all those athletic people. . . no worries, because they all took off and left us walkers in the dust.

This man got us started and then showed up again about 4 miles later. I’m thinking he had a ride.

The scenery was beautiful, of course.

This was a welcome sight!

I walked as fast as my short fat legs would go on short fat feet that kept going to sleep, got blisters, and finished #29 of 39 women in my age group. And, I finished 7 minutes slower than last year – prolly from all the stopping to adjust my shoes! I’m done with these expensive organized athletic events. Perhaps I’ll  even let the Inner Lazy Slob have free reign for awhile.

So there.

Studio Tour

Since the show at the Creative Center ended, First Saturday September is over, and the show at Lodgepole didn’t happen, my studio looks full and good! Thought you all might like a peek inside:

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I sure can cram a lot of items into an 11×14 square foot room! Incidentally, if you would like to visit, you can call or email for an appointment. I will even sweep up the dead scorpions in preparation for your visit. 😎

A Pair of Minutes, continued

Amazing how much work can be accomplished when one sits down, removes distractions, picks up the tools and works for just a pair of minutes! You can see how this very large drawing is nearing completion:

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The right side of the water wheel, brick pavers, some ground cover and a few detailed flowers in the foreground are all that remain. But wait! There’s More! – the final step in all drawings is the “nit-picking”, also known as the refinement stage. This is when little changes are made that cause a significant improvement – darkening the darks, lightening the lights, increasing contrast in the important places, sharpening the edges on some areas and blurring out others.

Labor Day Weekend, Part 2

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Labor did happen over Labor Day weekend, all projects not requiring electricity, of course!

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A birthday was celebrated – note the gift wrap appropriate to the area.

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This guy and several of his relations kept us entertained throughout the weekend. The busy-ness of the Golden Mantle squirrels always signals the end of summer.

After the mural, continued

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Yes, you have seen this scene before! I love this view of the meadow by Tharp’s Log, so every time it sells, I think about how to repaint it in a little different format.

After the mural

This may be hard to fathom, but while I was working on the mural, I also knocked out a few paintings. They will appear here one or two at a time for the next few days. The plan was to have them for a show and sale in Lodgepole, but we, The Kaweah Artisans, have not received permission from the National Park Service to proceed with the show. Meanwhile, they will appear here one or two at a time for the next few days.

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Got a deal on 10×10″ canvases, which seem to work well with my cropped scenery paintings.

All grown up

While at the family reunion in North Carolina, I had a most interesting conversation with Cousin Don. He said his dad, Uncle Lank (derived from Langston), managed apple orchards at the Moses Cone estate. It is now a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park (or is it a monument?).  There are miles of trails that used to be carriage roads. Cousin Don told me the apple orchards aren’t there any more and that it is “all grown up” so one can’t recognize where the orchards used to be. I thought about it, and asked him what he meant by “all grown up”. He  said that the orchards had reverted to the native trees and other growth. I told him that “all grown up” in California means there is now a subdivision or a mall or a freeway where an orchard used to be. Isn’t North Carolina refreshing?? Here is one of the apple barns where Uncle Lank worked:

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(told you it was foggy!)