Quail Confusion

Mountain Quail are different from California Quail. One is in the mountains, one is in the lower elevations. I don’t know the specific elevations. Both are in California, but one is the state bird and one is not.

I painted a California Quail working from a photo that I took right out my studio window. Apparently I have been sort of distracted, not paying attention with all my focus.

1536 California Quail

California Quail, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $60

Trail Guy carefully appreciates “his” quail, and pointed out my mistake while reading my blog. Yep, my husband reads my blog. (I might be more interesting on the screen than in person.) Thank you, Michael!! You catch my mistakes and I appreciate it.

Silly me. I should have figured out that dry brownish-yellowish grasses are a sign that the bird is down the hill, not in Mineral King.

You are probably wondering what a Mountain Quail looks like. I haven’t painted one yet, but do have several photos.

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It would be easier if they would assume the same position, hold the same pose, so we could carefully examine their differences. But, like their California cousins, they are very skittish, and so far I can only photograph them from indoors right through the window.

Hence, quail confusion.

Mineral King Photography

Trail Guy has really become quite the Mineral King photographer. He was back in the olden days of 35mm SLR cameras with film (remember those??). After we married, I stole his camera because I needed 2 going at all times. (black and white in one, color in the other, or prints in one and slides in the other) He didn’t mind, but I sort of wished he’d take photos too.

Now he carries a little digital camera with him on his hikes. Without my hogging all the good scenes, he is finding his own photographs of Mineral King and the surrounding trails.

If you want specifics, you can ask in the comments or email me using the contact button under the About the Artist menu item.

Mineral King photo by Michael Botkin IMG_6207 IMG_6219 IMG_6220 IMG_6222 IMG_6225 IMG_6226 IMG_6228 IMG_6230 IMG_6231 IMG_6238 IMG_6247

 

Hiking in Mineral King

White Chief is my favorite place to hike out of (in?) Mineral King. So far this summer, it has rained often, I’ve been preoccupied with family matters, and often I only want to sit, knit and/or split (wood) while in Mineral King.

We have a tradition with a friend who spends time with us at our cabin each summer. This was summer #13. Our traditional visit includes barbecued pizza, Yahtzee (I may have one once in 13 years), M&Ms, and a hike to White Chief. There are other traditions, but they aren’t quite as sacred as our White Chief hike.

White Chief can be 4 miles round trip or it can be as long as 9. No matter how far you choose to go, it is always beautiful, always interesting, and always challenging.

I’ll refrain from further chatter. If you have questions about any of the photos, ask in the comments or use the contact button under About the Artist to ask.

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White Chief

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Discovering More in Mineral King

There is more to my life than selling oil paintings of Tulare County scenery.

I spend a lot of time in Mineral King in the summer. It is a great source of inspiration, because it is the most beautiful place in Tulare County. (Go ahead and argue with me – present your case! I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for beautiful places in Tulare County!)

The last time I went to Mineral King, I photographed the official name of my favorite bridge. The sign is wrong, I just KNOW it. It is THE OAK GROVE BRIDGE, because that’s what Trail Guy told me about 30 years ago. So there.

oak grove bridge

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Sometimes being in Mineral King is about hanging out with neighbors on their very inviting front porches.

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Sometimes it is about discovering favorite flowers in new locations. Your nose often leads you to this leopard lily before you spot it.

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Here’s a weird puffy mushroom or toadstool. Whatever it is, it is large. (And yes, I washed my hands after touching it. Thanks for your concern.)IMG_6195

Trail Guy went off trail to look at the “Three Falls Below The Gate”. Nice photo, Trail Guy!

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We went off trail together to look at more damage from the flood on July 2.

Always more to see, more to discover, more to inspire in Mineral King.

Long Way There

(Happy Birthday, Melissa!)

Anyone remember the Little River Band? Does the song “Long Way There” do anything for you? I loved it in 1978, and I still do.

Many people think of “Long and Winding Road” when it comes to driving to Mineral King. That is probably a more accurate theme song, but I used up that title on a pencil drawing many years ago.

So “Long Way There” is the title of this series of paintings. The first time I painted the Mineral King Road, it looked like this:

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I liked it a lot. A friend liked it too and commissioned me to repaint it in a much larger size than I was used to. It just flew out of my paintbrushes, and it may have been the first time I really felt as if I was painting, instead of struggling with paint.

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When helping her move a few weeks ago, it surprised me to see that I still like the painting. That doesn’t always happen.

Because I was feeling so confident about this scene, I painted it again, just to have in inventory.

LWT #3

It didn’t sell. It didn’t sell. It didn’t sell.

So, I studied it carefully to see if I could figure out how to make it better. The usual things – brighter colors, more detail, higher contrast, cleaner edges – all seemed necessary.

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Long Way There, 12×16″, oil on wrapped canvas, $250

I love the blue with the orange. (Yeppers, I’m a color junkie.)

Unusually Wet Summer in Mineral King

It has been an unusually wet summer in Mineral King (along with measurable, puddle-making rain in Three Rivers 3 times in July!)

Most of the times I have gone up the hill, it has been wet. Rain, hail, drizzle, fog, overcast. It’s all good. It’s all very good. I pray for rain every day, and I am very very thankful for water.

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One long weekend, this was the only photo I took on the only walk I took on the only time I got out when it wasn’t raining!

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I had to leave at 7 a.m. one morning. This is how things looked, sort of. When it is really beautiful, the camera doesn’t usually do the trick.

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This is Squirrel Creek, just below the Park boundary. It hasn’t had much water in it this year, so when I saw this in the morning, I pulled over to take a picture. I “YESSED!” a couple of times, too.

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Not much light on the bridge itself in the morning. It is getting so overgrown around it that there is now only one good place to get photos.

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And when I got home to Three Rivers, the ground was WET and there were PUDDLES AGAIN!!!

Non-commissioned oil paintings

So much to paint, so little time. These are new paintings, begun for the joy and challenge of the subjects, in addition to the confidence that they will sell.

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Mountain quail are shy. We are so fortunate to have 2 pairs feeding in our front yard in Mineral King. Because of the way the window is situated, I am able to photograph these birds more easily than the California quail in Three Rivers.

This bridge is not shy. It is beautiful and proud, knowing it is an anomaly on such a narrow, winding and rural road. We call it The Oak Grove Bridge, “we” being those who regularly travel the Mineral King Road in Tulare County. The sign says “Kaweah River” or maybe “East Fork”. I don’t know, because I am always either looking at the bridge or at the water beneath.

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There is a crazy amount of feathery detail on the bird. No matter how often I paint the bridge, there is a crazy amount of detail on it and on the rocks beneath.

That’s okay. These are not commissioned paintings, so I have time.

Each one is 6×6″. I have been selling that size for $55, but it is time for those prices to go up. The amount of time this sort of detail requires is a little overwhelming. Maybe I should just get a real job.

Nah. . .

Mineral King, Real and Painted

Time for some Mineral King, because I had a rough painting week with all those “Little Bit Too Hards”.

I can paint Mineral King! Yes I can!!

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This is the first time I am painting Farewell Gap with that giant red fir on the left gone. GONE. Cut down. Bye-bye, big fir. Hello little red fir behind it that always made the front one look messy.

1529 FG XVIII

Farewell Gap XVIII, 8×10″, oil paint on wrapped canvas, $100

Now, for a look at some Mineral King photos, taken by Trail Guy, because Fridays are for Mineral King.

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Sierra Columbine

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Penstemmon, AKA “Pride of the Mountains

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View from a mining tunnel on Empire Mt.

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Mariposa Lily

P.S. We have had some great times with different groups in Mineral King. A class from Western Michigan University about Walt Disney came up to Mineral King and we got to show them where Disney had dreamed of a ski resort. A family from Chicago visited and we got to hike with them (“we” mostly being Trail Guy, since I headed back down the hill to paint things that are a little too hard for me). I choose to not take photos of people for posting in the blog – feels as if it is a violation of their privacy. 

And More New Mineral King Oil Paintings

As promised in yesterday’s blog post, here are more new (and 2 refreshed) oil paintings of Mineral King, a regular source of inspiration for this Central California artist, also known as “A Regionalist from Quaintsville”. However, when thinking of Mineral King, “Gorgeousville” is a better name!

005 MK Valley 010 Mineral King a.m. 1527 Saw XV 1532 Vandever, MK

From top to bottom: Mineral King Valley, 12×16, $200; Mineral King Morning, 11×14, $175; Sawtooth XV, 6×6″, $55; Vandever, Mineral King, 6×6″, 55.

The titles aren’t clever, but they are accurate. I went ninja crazy (WHAT does this mean??) on the painting end of things, but stayed normal (non-ninja?) on the titles.

New Mineral King Oil Paintings

Mineral King is a continual source of inspiration for this Central California artist. I believe it is one of the best places in Tulare County and probably in all of Central California.

Two weeks ago I went on a focused Mineral King oil painting binge. Might even have been ninja crazy, although I still don’t know what that means. (just like the sound of it)

Here are a few of the results:

1528 Saw XIV 1533 MK Stream 1534 Bear 1535 Marmot

From top to bottom:  Sawtooth XIV, 8×10″, $100; Mineral King Stream, 8×8″, $90; Bear, 6×6″, $55; Marmot, 6×6″, $55. 

All are oil on wrapped canvas, ready for hanging. They are currently at the Silver City Resort, 4 miles below Mineral King (unless they have already been bought and taken home with people of disposable income and excellent taste.)

There will be more – stay tuned for more new and refreshed Mineral King oil paintings tomorrow!