Last week in Mineral King there was only a hint of fall color. Look what happened in one week’s time!
Early Autumn in Mineral King
YEA! My blog is working again! Meanwhile, up the hill, this is how things looked October 8 or thereabouts. There isn’t much color because the early leaves that were yellow blew off in the previous week’s storm, which left a light dusting of snow on West Florence Peak. Regardless, (and that IS the word, not “irregardless”) because it is Mineral King, it is beautiful. Have a look:
These last 2 are from a hike to White Chief. If you are asking yourself, “Self, why are there always postings about Mineral King on an art blog?” – the answer is that much of my inspiration comes from Mineral King. It is not my only subject matter, but it is possibly my favorite. And, it is a favorite of many customers, readers and other Very Smart People! 😎
Sawtooth. . .
. . . is finished!
More Miles of Canvas
Early Timber Gap, painted on board (Hey painting owner, want a touch-up??)
Timber Gap as painted this summer – yes, I know all the little canvas lines show in the photo.
With these 2 Farewell Gap paintings, I can’t decide which was painted earlier. Guess I finally caught up with myself for awhile in terms of painting ability! (But the cropping in photography could use a bit more practice. . . )
Hidden Objects
Men + Mules + Water + Power has multiple hidden objects. Here is the list:
- pick-axe
- fish
- 2 heart-shaped rocks
- 1904
- a real rock
- a real mule-shoe
- 6 varieties of wildflowers – Sierra Columbine, Indian Paintbrush, phlox, Hoope’s Sneezeweed, Golden-beard Penstemmon, Wild Blue Flax.
Here is a little piece of the mural for you to study and identify a few of the objects:
Five Senses of Fall
A few friends accompanied me to Mineral King over the weekend. It was a beautiful fall-ish time – clear air (could have been clearer except that there are fires within the Sierra Nevada), warm in the day, cool at night. I was struck by how fall can be experienced with all five senses.
Taste: the currants are abundant!
Hear the wind in the aspens – it sounds different in the fall!
The colors are beginning to change:
The dried grasses smell different:
The higher we climbed, the more nip we felt in the wind:
A Pair of Minutes
I’m trying to be in the studio/workshop for a pair of minutes instead of always being in Mineral King or at the computer. There is work to be finished, lots of work to be started, and people are waiting eagerly (and politely, thank goodness!) Just a pair of minutes ought to do it, figuratively speaking. . .
The customer brought me a 16×20 photo that he took a number of years ago. We agreed that it would look nice in the panorama format, so I “cropped” it using kraft paper. The sky color of photos is grayish in many cases; one of the benefits of being in the mountains is having an incredibly blue blue blue sky; that is how I’ve chosen to represent this scene of Sawtooth and Mineral Peaks. Have a closer look:
After it dries a bit, I’ll tighten up a few details, paint the edges, sign, and photograph it more accurately.
Labor Day Weekend
Turns out the Park Service granted permission for the show, but didn’t convey the message until I was already off in the Land of No Electricity for the weekend. Hmmm, good or bad? A little of both, but a great weekend was had by all (even those of us who made no $$) Michael and I hiked to the Empire Mine area to return something that was borrowed. We were just finished with the very steep first 1/4 mile of the trail when I heard an exclamation of dismay from my hubby. I knew instantly that he had forgotten something, so I simply responded, “That’s okay, I’ll just wait for you here.” You may recall that with me, waiting is rarely a problem.
Notice how nicely the colors blend with the sky and the green of the landscape.
When Michael came back with the borrowed object, we proceeded onward and upward. We followed the cable and stanchions of the tram line that carried ore buckets during the mining days in Mineral King.
The borrowed object was returned, but this time wasn’t placed in full view as it had been originally found.
We visited the bull wheel at the upper end of the tramline.
Michael explained how it worked – I understood most of it, and appreciated the history lesson.
Would you believe there was a road up there?? I wouldn’t either, if I hadn’t seen and photographed it myself!
This is the remains of the tram tender’s cabin, fully visible from the trail as one heads down (if the light is right and the hiker is paying attention)
Day Twenty-One on the Mural
IT IS FINISHED! That is, it is finished if the Mural Team agrees. What a week – the hottest days and the coolest day of the entire project happened within the 6 consecutive days. Weather is not a cliche or a conversation filler – it matters immensely when working outdoors! Today was marked by the visitation of Bill DeCarteret, who was the packer in Mineral King along with his wife Marilyn for many years. He used to pack the SCE guys up to Franklin Lake to close the dam in the fall, and eventually, SCE just had him do the job himself. His visit gave me a chance to ask him about some old graffiti on the dam. Scratched into the concrete reads “BILL & MARILYN 1949”. The DeCarterets didn’t know each other in 1949; it refers to Bill and Marilyn Reynolds. That Bill worked for either the Forest Service or the Park Service (oops, didn’t retain that vital piece of info!)
Wildflowers were added, as promised, but here are only two:
Golden Beard Penstemmon
“Dirt” was added to the gutter as the base of the mural for maximum 3D effect.
Finally, I signed it! (lower right corner)
Day Twenty On The Mural
Today is only in the 90s – almost sweater weather, compared to Wednesday and Thursday! One day left in my mini marathon run of mural painting – oh yeah, I called it because I am an experienced professional! (love saying that after feeling like a poser for so long) Visited with several people (CK returned with a few more stories – but he is not CJK!) Here is what I did today:
- “Planted” 2 trees (photos below)
- Hid 2 more items
- Finished that bottom strip – thank goodness, because it is not very comfortable to sit on asphalt while painting at worm level.
- Detailed and added many rocks
- Added the white border to historical dam “photo” (“How’d you git them pichers on the wall??”)
- Finished the remaining dirt/rock/ground areas.
To the untrained eye (or to someone who hasn’t been reading this blog), the mural may looked finished minus the signature. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Tomorrow the flowers will bloom in full color and detail!