Mineral King | Cabin Art

The Rest of the (Farewell Gap) Story

I know you are just dying to ask: How did that do-over on the Farewell Gap oil painting turn out?

First, here is Farewell Gap X (that is Roman for ten, the approximate number of times I’d painted this scene of Farewell Gap in oil, approximate because I didn’t number the paintings at first and had no idea I’d keep painting the same thing over and over, and Roman numerals are more elegant than American ones, and “numeral” is more elegant than number, and I’m just one elegant California artist, not to mention eloquent, which might be elegant for “long-winded”)

oil painting of Farewell Gap by Jana Botkin — Farewell Gap X, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas

After Farewell Gap X perished in an unfortunate cabin fire, I painted it again.

Then, I painted it yet again so that the Silver City Store would have something else to sell for me.

Apparently I am incapable of perfect photo-reproduction of anything, even the same scene from my own photos.

And yes, I am repeating myself, but this time I am showing you 3 of the paintings instead of two. Besides, you’ve probably (I’m hoping!) slept since then.

The Rest of the (Bridge) Story

Remember I needed to repaint a bridge painting that burned up in a cabin fire?

The first one was this:

oil painting of Mineral King Bridge by Jana Botkin — Mineral King Bridge, 6×6″ on wrapped canvas

And now (DUM-DUM-DE-DUM, BOOMITY-BOOM!) here it is as a redo:

Mineral King Bridge oil painting by Jana Botkin — Mineral King Bridge, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas

I’m thinking that fire wasn’t all bad. . .

Mineral King oil paintings

Interesting And Random Photos of Mineral King

scarlet monkey flower photo by jana Botkin — I’ve only seen the scarlet monkey flower in my favorite wildflower book but never in person until this year along the Mineral King Road.

Sawtooth Peak in Mineral King, photo by jana Botkin — Some days Sawtooth looks particularly captivating, but I’d rather photograph it than climb it.

Mineral King Bridge photo by Jana Botkin — HEY LOOK! The new Mineral King Bridge has a railing! It is definitely different than the old, but it is easier and more comfortable to sit on than the old one.

horses and mules below Timber Gap photo by Jana Botkin — The Park Service (AKA NPS, Sequoia, and SNP) has used its Mineral King corral quite a bit this year. That is Timber Gap in the not so distant distance. It is much further if you are huffing and puffing your way up the trail than if you are standing beneath it with a camera.

Fawn photo by Jana Botkin — There was a pair plus Mama, but only this fawn paused long enough for me to get my camera. There’s nothing quite like a blue tarp, a piece of my dusty car and a little bit of marmot fencing to set off a wild animal shot.

Mineral King

Sawtooth Has a Story

Sawtooth Peak probably has many many stories. It is visible from Visalia, and when it is viewed in Mineral King, folks are often surprised by its smallish size. “How could that be visible from down there?”, I’ve been asked a time or two. My answer is always the same, “I dunno!”

On July 22, 1976 I was on a backpacking trip with a group of kids and 3 adults. We had a layover day at Columbine Lake, just below Sawtooth. Several of the group decided to climb the peak, but really wanted to make a mark in history by taking a less travelled route.

It was dumb. I got a helicopter ride, a hospital stay and many booboos from that experience. I also learned a number of things.

The main thing that stays with me is that I’d rather look at Sawtooth, photograph it and paint it than climb it.

The last time I painted it, my intention was to take it to the Silver City Store to sell it there. Instead, a man saw it at my cabin while it was still wet, and he bought it!

Thanks, Sawtooth Peak.

Love,

Jana, the scarred California Artist

p.s. I went back and climbed it in 1981. It wasn’t fun. My friends helped me. Otherwise, my scared (and scarred) bones would still be up there.

Painting Farewell Gap Again

Are you asking yourself why I keep showing you the same scene, Farewell Gap, over and over again? I’m asking myself that question. The answer is that I keep painting the same scene over and over. The paintings are never identical, because that would be impossible.

Farewell Gap XII, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $90, available at the Silver City Store AKA Silver City Resort

This isn’t the replacement version for the one that burned, but it is.

Oh please, what is with the doublespeak?

Whenever a painting sells at the Silver City Store, I rush to paint another one to sell. The selling season is very short at that location, and I can’t be lollygagging around. I painted this because Farewell Gap X sold.

Nice creative name, California Artist.

Oh hush. It is my way of painting series. If you stop being so snotty to me, maybe I will show you the progression of paintings of this subject.

Why do you think we’d want to see that?

‘Cuz it is interesting to see growth. Then you can gloat at how horrible I used to paint and ask me for a refund or a redo of the paintings you bought from my “primitive” stage.

But what is with the doublespeak?

Farewell Gap X sold, then it burned up in a cabin fire. I am painting Farewell Gap XI to replace Farewell Gap X for the survivors of the fire, and Farewell Gap XII replaced the sold piece in the store.

Alllll-righty then.

F Farewell Gap Mineral King oil paintings

The Best Flowers in Mineral King

It must be Friday because the California artist is talking about Mineral King again.

You can count on seeing the best variety of flowers in Mineral King in 2 places: along the Nature Trail and at the Farewell Gap/ Franklin Lake junction. The first week of July is when they are usually the most profuse. It is about 4 miles to the junction from the bridge at the end of the road, aka “The Mineral King Bridge”.

Crystal Creek, Mineral King — Crossing Crystal Creek is easy, thanks to a log-jam type bridge. It is one mile up the trail from the beginning of the hike.

along the Franklin/Farewell Gap trail, Mineral King — Trail Guy shows the way at this intersection. The sign also helps, but if you would rather go to Soda Springs, ignore the sign.

blazing star wildflower — There are 2 places I know to always find Blazing Star in Mineral King – the trail to Soda Springs and on the way to Franklin Lakes or Farewell Gap.

The sign says it is 4 miles back to Mineral King at the Franklin Lake/Farewell Gap junction, but I am always a little surprised that it is so far. This is because I love this hike!

Wildflowers of Mineral King — The flowers are this good in a not-so-good flower year at the junction. Last year was better. No, I’m not whining on the yacht.

This is off the trail, because I follow Trail Guy lots of places besides trails. He led me to the best larkspur I’ve ever seen – the boldest color, the tallest, the thickest blossoms on the stems, the biggest clumps I’ve EVER seen in Mineral King, and all this in a not-so-great flower year.

Leopard lilies are Trail Guy’s favorites. We often smell them before we see them. Most people call them “tiger lilies” but I associate tigers with stripes and these are spotted like leopards. Or giraffes. They are tall like giraffes, so perhaps it is time to rename them.

I love to put my feet in Franklin Creek on the way home. It makes them feel good for about 25 steps after putting my boots back on.

Mineral King

Paint it Again

I met some wonderful people in Mineral King WHILE they were buying 2 paintings from me at the Silver City Resort. That is always a thrill! They were so enthusiastic and appreciative of my work, of the area, of everything. Two days later, the cabin they were renting burned down in the middle of the night.

They escaped with their lives, for which we are very grateful. They did not escape with their possessions, including the paintings. I am still stupefied and horrified as I write this, but nothing compared to how they must be feeling.

It is good that I paint from photos (a studio painter composes much work first using the camera), good that I met the customers and know how to reach them, good that I can paint the same scene over and over again. These will be repainted soon for these good people who had a very bad experience.

Mineral King oil paintings

Empire Mountain, Mineral King

Fridays are about Mineral King on this California artist’s blog. Just reminding you, in case you are wondering where’s the art. . . or perhaps you only tune in on Fridays. Welcome! (and Mineral King is a HUGE source of inspiration to this California artist, so it isn’t really off topic.)

Michael, aka Trail Guy, likes to go off trail, which is the only way to get up Empire. There is a great deal of interesting history up there.

empire mt. as viewed from the Mineral King valley — The most visible rock outcropping on Empire isn’t really the highest point on the mountain. Bit of a poser, that outcropping.

trail to Empire and Timber Gap, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — The trail to Empire and to Timber Gap (and Sawtooth and Monarch and Crystal) is full of giant, giraffey steps. These aren’t the worst ones!

photograph by Jana Botkin of Empire Peak in Mineral King — Just follow this drainage up to the bunkhouse, the road, the mines and the peak(s)

view down canyon from Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — That’s Case Mt. in the distance.

Trail Guy is heading up to Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — Be careful, Trail Guy! I’ll just wait right here for you.

knitting with a mountain backdrop, photo by Jana Botkin — Waiting is never a problem with me. This weighed next to nothing in my backpack. I believe it enjoyed its adventure.

mine on Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — There are mine remnants all over the side of Empire.

road between Empire and Timber Gap, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — This is a road, built in the 1870s. I am not making this up. There were horses and mules hauling wagons full of ore, right here.

wildflowers on Empire, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — It was the 4th of July, and I amused myself by looked for a group of wildflowers that contained red, white and blue. Why do we always say it in that order? There are five other ways we could arrange those colors verbally, but they just don’t ring.

Empire Peak, Mineral King, photo by Jana Botkin — Did we really go up there?? Not me, but Trail Guy did. My inner slob prefers to sit and knit, take photos, and contemplate matters of consequence.

California Artist Mineral King

That Mineral King Bridge!

Will the Mineral King Bridge ever be finished? Will the saga ever end?

Retired Road Guy had the camera with him while his former road crew worked on the bridge. Rumor has it that he joined them for an hour or so, wearing shorts instead of green pants and his signature straw hat instead of a marshmallow head. Rumor also has it that he actually enjoyed the work!

2 guys goofing off while working on the Mineral King Bridge photo by Jana Botkin — How could he not have fun working with a couple of marshmallow-headed clowns such as these?

Kirk operating a big yellow machine in Mineral King photo by Michael Botkin — This is a HUGE yellow machine. It doesn’t have a steering wheel. The road crew isn’t very fond of it. That may be why Supervisor Kirk is at the helm. Is it a helm? What’s a helm?

Huge yellow machine on Mineral King Bridge photo by Michael Botkin — I am not kidding when I say this is a HUGE yellow machine. Good thing the bridge was replaced with this strong new one!

asphalt overlay on approach in Mineral King, photo by Michael Botkin — One side almost completed, one more to go.

equipment on Mineral King Bridge, photo by Michael Botkin — See those guys clustered around the smaller machine? It broke. Guess the other side will have to wait.

Announcement:

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 21 is the annual Mineral King Preservation Society Picnic in the Park. It takes place at noon in front of one of the cabins at the end of the road. (Look for the signs, follow the people.) Bring your own lunch and chairs, lemonade will be provided. The program has 2 parts – one by Steve Jones who will tell of his memories backpacking and camping in Mineral King. (Never met him before, don’t know a thing!)

The second part will be Retired Road Guy and the California Artist discussing the Mineral King Bridge project. They will be asking the crowd to share their memories of the bridge, and rumor has it that they may even tell what they REALLY think about it.

Guess you’ll have to attend to learn the rest of the story!

Do you have any Mineral King Bridge memories you’d like to share with the blog readers or me?

Mineral King

Rhyme Time

Or is that Rhyme Thyme? or rime time?

STOP IT.

Because my friend Cheryl Barker does Summer Photo fun on her blog, and I am a monkey-see-monkey-do copyist, I will engage in my own little brand of summer photo fun for your entertainment.