Doesn’t “Mineral King Mural Finished” sound like a newspaper headline? My “client” (what a stuffy word) Mrs. Cowboy called a reporter friend from her local newspaper to ask her if she’d like to write up our project, but the reporter was covering a mule packing class that day. Because of the heat and time constraints, I went […]
The First Coat on the Mineral King Mural
This mural is about 6-1/2 feet high and 5-1/2 feet wide. It is a joy to paint a mural that requires no scaffolding or ladders. It speeds things up a bit to be able to simply step back and see how things look. Please appreciate the shade, supplied by the handy and innovative Trail […]
After the Conversations, the Mural Begins
A year passed since Mrs. Cowboy Bert and I decided what to paint on the side of her house. Life (and sad to report, also death) happened, so I just waited until she was ready to proceed. I wasn’t bored, but thanks for your concern. I showed up around 11 a.m. on a Thursday and was in my […]
Murals Begin With Conversations
This mural was painted as a thank you for my friend Cowboy Bert, who built a handrail for the steps up to my studio. Last year we began discussing it, and I posted it on the blog in March. However, when my website broke, lots of photos disappeared, so you don’t get a link here […]
Monarch Trail Revisited
There is a section of the Mineral King trail returning from Monarch Lakes that always catches my eye. It has some gnarly looking junipers, and I photograph it over and over. I painted it once. Turned out pretty well, sold quickly. Monarch Trail, oil on wrapped canvas, size forgotten, painted in 2008 Because I […]
Mineral King on the Easels
Fridays are sort of for Mineral King on this Central California artist’s blog. Can’t get there right now, although people did drive all the way to the valley a week or 2 ago. However, I have many photos, and Mineral King is probably the heaviest category. As a studio artist, I rely on photos. They […]
Juiced-Up Bridge Painting
My favorite thing to paint is my favorite bridge, the Oak Grove Bridge, also known as the East Fork Bridge. That’s the East Fork of the Kaweah River, 6.5 miles up the Mineral King Road. I paint it and draw it often. It is beautiful, particularly because it is such an architectural surprise on a […]
Driving to Mineral King in February!
In the third week of February, people DROVE ALL THE WAY INTO MINERAL KING! Excuse me for shouting. That is just so remarkable, that I had to remark in a loud and shocked and excited voice. I keep remembering back in 1994 (or sometime in the ’90s) that we received almost an entire winter’s worth […]
Eagle Trail Painting: Before, During and After
Before: During: After? I might keep painting over and over and over. This looks better to me, but once it is dry and hanging in the studio or showing somewhere in public, I won’t know for sure. Also, this isn’t a true and fair comparison because I’m using different cameras. Guess you’ll just […]
Odd Job Based on Mineral King
After many years of being an artist in Tulare County, and specializing in Mineral King, people often think of me when they need an artist. I get asked to do unusual things, which I call “odd jobs”. This one was a first for me – drawing in a manner that could be sandblasted onto granite […]