Doing Business with a Friend*

This post is lots of jibber-jabber before the photos, but without the gab, you might wonder why these photos are here.

A longtime (not going to say “old”) friend expressed an interest in a couple of my paintings. I brought them to her so she could see how they looked on a recently refurbished wall in her home.

After thinking it over, she asked if she could bring them back to me and see more. Of course I said yes, because A. I really enjoy her company and B. it was business.

I asked her to send me photos of the wall, and/or measurements. She did, but I do my best to not mess with people’s privacy here on the world wide web.

Before I even knew she was coming, I spent a morning vacuuming the studio. I might even have dusted a little. When I learned she was coming, I pulled most of the pencil drawings off the wall and replaced them with any painting that she might be interested in.

We spent about an hour discussing, rearranging, even designing a new painting. I drew the wall from her photos and we tried different shapes and sizes to see what arrangement was the most pleasing. This was a big decision, or perhaps several big decisions, and these things take time. It really is part of the business of art, and at the same time, it was part of friendship. If she had asked, I would have helped her figure this out even if it wasn’t my art.

The vertical shape on the left in each sketch represented the painting that she was sure about. We experimented with a square one, and with a couple of sizes and shapes of others. When she asked for my opinion, I honestly said that I was clearly not objective and am accustomed to seeing all my paintings together so I can’t tell if two paintings are better than two others when side by side in terms of subject matter.

She chose three paintings, we put them in her car, and I reassured her that if she wants help hanging them, wants to trade them for one of the others, or even wants me to paint something new, I am willing. (Another excuse to hang out? Maybe.)

I filled in the gaps, rearranged the paintings and drawings, and was so pleased with my studio that I took a couple of photos.

Here are the three paintings that she chose:

Classic Mineral King
Honeymoon Cabin
Alpenglow on Farewell Gap

*Because if your friends won’t do business with you, who will??

P.S. There are 2 fabulous quilts on the chair in my studio that this friend made. I didn’t put them out because she was coming; they are always there, except when I take one to the cabin with me each summer.

Forget Watercolors; Where are my Oil Paints?

The last painting of a lemon sold the day I took it to the gallery*, so I painted another one. This is Lemons on the Tree IV, 6×6”, $75. It needs a few blossoms.

Now it is time to start painting Mineral King subjects to sell at Silver City this summer. This is Sawtooth #64, 8×10”, $150. It isn’t finished. (Were you nervous there for half a second?)

The Honeymoon Cabin is very popular; this cabin is from the resort which ended up in the hands of Mickey Mouse and is the only remaining one from the big teardown after the avalanche in 1969. It is now a mini museum, operated by the Mineral King Preservation Society.

Now it is finished. Unless I change my mind. Honeymoon Cabin #49. Hmmm, I guess it isn’t as popular as Sawtooth. And fret not—this is a poorly lit photo of a very wet painting. It will look much better when it is dry and scanned. And as always, everything looks better in person (except perhaps celebrities). This is 6×12”, $145.

This will be the trail leading to Farewell Gap. The method of beginning the painting is clean-out-my-brushes-at-the-end-of-the-painting-session. It is 8×8” and will be $145.

This is not a painting. These daffodils are so heavy-headed that they fall over, so Trail Guy picked a few off the ground and put them on the kitchen window sill.

It is still April, and my daffodils are so varied and beautiful that tomorrow I will show you the immense variety scattered around the property.

*Those quick sales are a thrill and I do NOT take them for granted.

A Drive on the Mineral King Road

There was an overcast day in Three Rivers this week. Maybe more than one, but we are only concerned with one of them for purposes of this post. We drove up the Mineral King road, as far as the Conifer gate. (That’s the upper gate, which is below Atwell.

Brrr
Good to know that the temporary bridge is still in place. . . hoping it is still there when we drive back down the road.
We broke into the sunshine around mile 4.5-ish.
Hello, Oak Grove Bridge! (mile 6.5-ish)
We were in that muck down there, temperatures in the 50s, and now in the sunshine, it will reach 70.
The Sweet Ranch in the sunshine. I wonder if it is called a “ranch” because of cattle in its history, cattle in its present, or just because what else does one call a spread in the foothills? (My uncle used to call his orange and avocado grove “the ranch”, which I always found peculiar.)
We think that if someone drove to this gate, then all the way back to the Foothills Visitor Center, he would be disappointed and surprised by the complete ignorance about this gate or sign on the part of personnel at the Visitor Center. Just conjecture on our part, but probably true.
Often we are above this stuff in Three Rivers, but not so on Wednesday.
Everyone recognizes Sawtooth. (I’ve painted it at least 60 times, and drawn it in pencil many other unnumbered times.)

Now the gate locks are consistently secured, we got a little sunshine, and you are up-to-date (but only as far as Conifer.)

Final Weekend of the 2024 Mineral King Season

Business first

First, an ad. I hope to see you all (my tens of readers) on Saturday!

Mineral King

Many people enjoy Mineral King in summer; fewer make it there in the fall, and a very few make it up in the winter (for many good reasons, beginning with the locked gates). I think of it as a summer place, and with this year’s extended heat, the season seemed lengthy. The added time was a gift, because we thought it was toast with that stupid Coffeepot fire.

Lots of photos for you to enjoy today. . .

Pink stuff from the fire, severe pruning, and a few smokes.
Crews are still working, and there are many many dropped trees.
We got mail! (Thank you T & L P)
The water is low; the colors are fading.

I went out with my dying camera battery to capture a few photos in the sunshine.

It was good to see that work has gotten done on several cabins in spite of the rude interruption of the stupid Coffeepot fire.

3 new roofs are in this photo… prolly too small to pick out here.

The next day began overcast. We went for a walk past Crystal Creek to see if we could discover any fall color. Nothing to see. Hiking Buddy and I went out a bit later, thinking it might be our only chance. However, the sun came out later, so we went back out. Look at the difference the sun makes! (And please excuses the dark spots from Trail Guy’s camera, which I borrowed due to forgetfulness on my part to bring the backup battery.)

While hanging out with my little friend, I showed her something peculiar.

That was there all weekend and no one knows why. So, we added a pair of found sunglasses. We are easily amused at our cabins, always finding something fun to do.

There is such a nostalgic feeling to the season’s final stay at our cabins. Although we see our neighbors throughout the year because we are real life friends, closing is a bit melancholy.

While we made one final stop at the community dumpster (managed by Trail Guy, the all-purpose mayor), I took the borrowed camera for one final look at some fall color. Turned out to be more fall light than actual autumn-type colors.

And finally, it is a huge relief that the temporary bridge allowed us to come and go all season.

I never did figure out the necessity of this sign. The word “temporary” made me want to drive much faster than 5 mph.

September 27 in Mineral King

I wasn’t there, but Trail Guy brought back good photos of fall color for you. Do you have a favorite?

If plein air painting really floated my boat, I’d be there chasing down fall color. Instead, I am probably there packing up for the winter.

Next fall, perhaps. . .

Back to Mineral King: Two Gentle Walks

Along the Nature Trail

The recreation restrictions were lifted, so Hiking Buddy and I took a stroll down the Nature Trail, where some fall colors were beginning to show (this was last weekend).

Up to Crystal Creek

We also took a walk across the bridge (oh my, how my walks have shrunk this year), past the pack station, and up to the much diminished Crystal Creek.

Heading Home

Driving home, we were stopped around the Conifer Gate because there were lots of tree-fallers at work. The 3-man crew on road closure duty was from Tennessee, and it was delightful to talk to them.

The next crew on the lower end of the tree-falling segment was from Montana, also delightful.

We made sure to tell all of these guys to be sure to drive to the end of the road, and also to have lunch at the Silver City Store.

So, after a three week interruption, we return to the normally peaceful and beautiful fall season in Mineral King.

But not me. I’m heading to Monterey for a week-long plein air painting retreat. I will be reporting on this radical new adventuresome opportunity next week. These are photos I took in 2009 when a friend and I went snooping around Asilomar, a fabulous conference grounds with buildings designed by Julia Morgan.

Back to Mineral King: This and That

The parking lot was empty on Saturday morning, because the restrictions on the road and on recreation weren’t officially lifted until 10 a.m. Most people didn’t learn of the restriction removal until the end of the day on Friday. This doesn’t really make it easy for people to plan for the weekend, but the Park is in charge, and we are not.

It was so nice to see Timber Gap again.

This cabin might actually be repaired before winter.

The wood was a regular sight; many trees were dropped and bucked up along the road, due to a contracted tree removal crew.

It felt good to swing an ax; we burned quite a bit of wood because it was chilly in the evenings and the mornings.

Here’s another sign of neglect. Literally.

Ranger Mary was lonely at the Ranger station. Backcountry permits are set up on the porch for self-registration now.

Tomorrow: two gentle walks.

Back to Mineral King: The Road

On Friday, September 20, we headed up the hill. The Park restrictions were still in place, so we made sure we were on the road during the permitted hours, which were quite illogical. Whatever. They are in charge; we are not. We only met 3 vehicles, all part of a construction crew on a cabin.

That pink stuff was all along the road, mostly on the uphill side. It is fire retardant called “borate”. The idea was to widen the road as a barrier to fire, should it climb up to the road.

Follow the pink road.

This is the view upcanyon, just above Lookout Point. The fire made it to Lookout and then crossed the road a bit, but we didn’t stop to figure out the particulars. We only stopped to chat with the Park employee, on loan from some Southern California park, to be sure that she made an opportunity to drive to the end of the road.

You can see borate across the canyon, along with swaths of burned areas.

The road is in terrible shape. No surprise, that. The air was clear and clean and it was a great relief to arrive at our cabin.

More tomorrow. . .

News on Four Topics

Painting

I finished these two oil paintings, to be held in reserve for when the Mural Gallery in Exeter needs to be resupplied with citrus paintings.

Navels on the Tree I, 6×6″, $65
Navels on the Tree II, 4×6″, $45

Mineral King

The Mineral King road and recreation restrictions were scheduled to be lifted on Saturday, September 21. By now people who need to know will know for sure if that has happened.

This is how Mineral King looked in September of 2023. At the time of composing this blog post, I hadn’t been up there in almost 3 weeks.

The Book About TB

The TB book index problem is not repaired but we now have a plan. Instead of an index that can adjust itself to repagination, we will have a static index. This means that after the manuscript is formatted, I get to go through the index word-by-word and make sure the right page numbers are listed.

This is my favorite photo in the upcoming book. (Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2022.4.6. (Courtesy of the Trudeau Institute)

2025 Calendar

Is it a good idea to show you the calendar now? They have arrived, are now for sale, and here is the part I am unsure of: they are a sneak peek into my upcoming show, Simply Home, which opens on October 19, a month from now. Wait, this isn’t truly a “spoiler”, because I have been showing you the progression of paintings for almost a year now!

2025 Calendar Front Cover — Simply Home, $25

The Mineral King road and recreation restrictions were lifted at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 21.

Fix ’em Up, Make ’em Better Than Before

Yesterday I told you that the paintings retrieved from Silver City will be heading to Exeter’s Mural Gallery, which reopens September 19 (TOMORROW!) after a summer-long renovation. (I don’t think they have a website, but their physical address is 121 So. E Street (next door to the former Wildflower Cafe, at the edge of Mixter Park, home of Exeter’s first giant outdoor mural.)

These 5×7 oil paintings on panels got freshened up and will be sold with little easels. I didn’t photograph the process out of respect for my readers who have no interest in miniscule improvements to paintings.

And here is a table full of Mineral King paintings. I painted them quickly, in order to hustle them up the hill for the usually excellent selling month of August at the Silver City Resort. Alas, we had a thunderstorm which caused a lightning strike which began the Coffeepot fire on August 3. So, I brought them home.

They aren’t terrible, but I studied each one and found at least one thing to improve. I started at the bottom left, and here is a photo for comparison. Prolly a useless exercise for you to discern what got improved, but here goes anyway.

And now the entire table-full has been renovated.

You’ll just have to trust me that they are all a little bit better than before. By the end of the day, the light has changed significantly enough that they look different in photos, whether or not they’ve been retouched.

Now they must dry and I must rescan them in order to have a good record of each painting, because OF COURSE they will sell.