We last saw this painting of Alta Peak and the Kaweah River (just “Kaweah River” without any identifying titles because here all the forks have come together) looking hopeful, but with much work ahead. It was time, nay, past time to get this done. (So many distractions!)
Here you can see how I progress from the farthest things to the closest things, adding more definition and detail as I work forward. I’m not saying this is either the only or the right way to paint—it simply is the way I learned and what works best to achieve the level of detail that I prefer.
1. Mountains and hills first, with some definition on the rocks2. Moving closer forward, completng the distant trees.3. Riverbank, rocks4. Water, more rocks
5. Grasses next to last; signature at the end.
I could have kept going, and still wonder if I ought to add a few closer wildflowers, but I signed it and moved ahead. Chances are I will mix some new greens and brighten the closest grass.
We last saw this one of Blossom Peak and the river looking like this:
The river is rockier and even more confusing in this scene, so the work of simplification is the first challenge.
Sky and Blossom Peak first—that was the easiest part.Not sure what I did next—this one is difficult.
The afternoon light was waning while I sat, stared, and contemplated how best to interpret real life into something paintable and believable.
The light is weird on this, so in better light I will study it some more to figure out how to improve it before signing.
You can see that the colors here look different from the 2 photos above. That’s how it goes when painting with natural light. Lots of people use an “ott light”. I don’t understand the word “ott” and only use mine if I’m on a deadline and have to paint when light is low. My approach is based on the fact that no one who buys my paintings will be displaying them under an ott light. They need to look normal and natural and good in regular light.
So this one will have to just hang loose and be cool for awhile longer. That’s what people used to say before “mellow out”, “chill”, “chill out”, and “chillax” came into use. Now I don’t know what people say other than “it is what it is”, meaning you can’t do diddly squat about it. Wait, does anyone say “diddly squat” anymore?
Not gonna bore you with mundane details of life, just the productive and mildly interesting aspects that often fill a workday for me.
First I met some friends early and we slammed out 4 miles on foot. Sometimes I don’t have anyone to walk with, and so I pick shorter steeper walks. On this particular morning there were 3 friends!
Next, Trail Guy and I decided it was a good day to figure out spacing and irrigation for another planting project at church. I’ve been keeping these shrubs alive for awhile for this purpose. (Vitex—doesn’t that sound like a food supplement? AKA “chaste tree” and we call them “lupine trees”)
When we got home, I called a glass shop to make an appointment to have someone come estimate the replacement of 5 broken window panes. Most came with the property and have been ignorable for many years, but last week I broke the pane over my drawing table. The window was stuck, and when I pushed on the frame from the inside, it warped enough to break the glass. Since this one matters, I figured I might as well get them all repaired.
Next, I finished editing a paper? document? report? for someone who has done a bunch of research, created this 160 page document, and may have slept through high school English classes. He did good research, and It could make a good book in the future.
When that was finished, I submitted the reformatted file of The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake and then resized the cover to fit the greater number of pages. Why would I do this? Although Louise and I were quite happy with the outer appearance of the book, the interior was substandard. I used a free standard (Wait, didn’t I just call this “substandard”?) template from the book printing company and it was just ugly. So I successfully fought through my 11-year-old template and got it to work. (I’ll let you know when the book is available for purchase and how to get a copy.)
Of course I dress to coordinate with my book covers—don’t you?
When all my productive procrastination wore itself down to nothing left that could pass for work, I went outside to paint. The mosquitoes make it fairly annoying, so I picked a couple of pieces of lemon geranium and rubbed it over exposed skin. I think it actually worked as a mosquito repellant!
The order of business was to finish the last 2 paintings of the Honeymoon Cabin, getting stocked up for the summer selling season at Silver City.
I forgot to take the final photo of the 10×10” square painting.
The next two paintings are to sell here in Three Rivers, probably at Kaweah Arts or Stem & Stone. This one is a bit challenging with many things to simplify, many textures that would be possible if this was a pencil drawing. However, oil paint is a different media. (Thank you, Captain Obvious)
Same here.
When I left the painting workshop, I took two finished paintings into the studio to scan. I am still holding out that I can keep this scanner going for awhile. I really don’t want to spend a ton of time reading about them on the internet, trying to figure out who is a paid reviewer and who is telling the truth, figuring out what extra stuff is necessary to force it to work with Mac, and then having my laptop bite the dust (it is a 2015 model) and then the new scanner won’t work. Sigh.
The first one is as it scanned; the second is repaired with Photoshop Elements to more closely resemble the painting.
Same thing with this one.
And finally, I put the photos from my inferior phone camera on the laptop and wrote this post.
So many parts to my little life: editing, gardening, doing stuff for church. . . but I was ‘posed to be painting.
Look! This crape myrtle tree isn’t dead after all!
Hey! Why are these iris hiding?
This sign will be repurposed, but first Trail Guy had to scrape off old lettering, and then I had to put forty-eleven coats of paint on it. Now we get to store it until the next volunteer does his part.
What? You want another sign? Okay, fast-horse quality
LOOK! The climbing roses are blooming, and they usually don’t appear until the end of April!
Wait! I’m ‘posed to be painting!
Remember this guy? I thought he looked weird. After studying him upside down with the photo, I made a few adjustments, added a bit more detail, signed it and set it aside. This ain’t no piano I’m building here. . . let’s not get paralyzed by perfectionism, because summer’s selling season approaches.
Moving on, there are 3 more Honeymoon Cabin paintings to complete.
That was quick and easy. Next!
Back and forth between the two, tryna be efficient with the colors on the brush so I didn’t waste either paint or time.
Still, I didn’t finish either one of these. Maybe the next time I can get these both finished and move on to some Three Rivers paintings. Shoulda coulda woulda had them done in time for Easter weekend/First Saturday in Three Rivers, but there were so many other distractions. As you witnessed by the beginning of this disjointed post.
My plan was to get serious about the remaining five Mineral King oil paintings, to focus, finish, and move on.
I started with Sawtooth, the 6×6” version that Reader Sharon expressed an interest in.
Look at this succession of color mixing. My goal was a light brown, something that might be called “taupe” by the more sophisticated person and “beige” by a regular person.
Done! (You can tell by the fact that I signed it). The plan was to paint the edges when I finished the painting session so as to not waste the paint left on the palette.
Shape check! Upside down forces me to see things more accurately. (This technique presents a problem when working on a mural.)
Then back to front, layer by layer, color by color.
Suddenly it was time to leave to teach drawing lessons down the hill! No edges were painted, so no paintings were fully completed.
Suddenly after 2 months of lollygagging, it seems that my life is full of many extracurriculars at the same time that a bit more work has appeared. So, I will squeeze in little sessions of work as I can.
First, we had to go down the hill to Big Town. As a passenger, I was able to absorb all the scenery. The wildflowers were at their peak, although you can’t tell in these drive-by-shootings.
I got a pass on putting away all the groceries and headed out to paint, just wanting to have both a sense of completion and some forward motion in that little stack of Mineral King oil paintings.
I gave this guy a nose-job, “rhinoplasty”, and now am happy with it. (Terrible light—I’ll scan it when it is dry and maybe remember to show you.)
Moving forward on Farewell Gap, or “Mineral King Family Cabin” as I now am titling this scene: the distant parts first, leading to the foreground (the bottom of the canvas). Fortunately, the colors on the palette were still usable from the previous little painting session.
I painted the edges of this one and the edges of the little Sawtooth.
I did a little bit of tiny brush work on the 6” Honeymoon Cabin. All the greenery is still just blurry blobs, so it isn’t finished yet.
I have 2 more to paint of that popular subject; they can wait for another little painting session, and maybe I can finish this one then.
Ain’t nobody bored around here!
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLDER SISTER! (She reads my blog.)
This post is almost entirely personal. My oldest cousin died, and his family and friends gathered to remember him.
He was almost 12 years old than me. I always looked up to him, my big cousin, sort of intimidating, remote, distant. In spite of not really knowing him, I always loved his wife and felt more related to her and their kids than to him.
In 2012, I was doing an art show in Visalia, and out of the blue, Cousin and Mrs. Cousin appeared. I was shocked speechless—they were so out of context. Mrs. Cousin said I looked at them, and said, “Who are you??”
That’s kind of embarrassing. But we got a great laugh out of it and still are laughing.
A little while later, Cousin asked me to paint something for Mrs. Cousin. I was shocked, because family lore has always been that because of our Scottish heritage, we are all cheap. Ahem. Frugal. But more on that later.
Cousin and I had some great phone conversations, and he bought a pencil drawing that I was working on during one of those long visits. (See? All my friends and family feel sorry for me so they keep me in business.)
We saw each other a couple of more times in person, and Mrs. Cousin asked me to paint something for him as a surprise.
He lived 300 miles away, but I gladly made the drive recently to be with my remaining cousins for less than 24 hours. It was worth it. I decided it was a business trip, because Cousin was a customer, but I was planning to go before I figured out that little added benefit, which would have made his frugal heart proud.
Here is some documentation that it was indeed a business expense to pay my respects to a beloved customer who happened to be my oldest cousin.
About that supposedly Scottish trait of cheapness frugality: Cousin had his DNA done and learned that we have zero Scottishness. Zero! Kind of blew his joke that “We’re Scottish and Irish—we like to drink but don’t want to pay for it”. (I possibly could have some “Scotch” from other family sources, but I won’t know because I’m too paranoid and conspiracy-minded to take that test. I DO have Irish, but I don’t drink. So there.)
Dutch iris are my favorite domestic flowers. I’ve painted them multiple times through the years.
Recently, I pulled one out of Kaweah Arts because I thought of a way to make it better. After sprucing it up, I thought you might appreciate seeing all the changes on this painting through the years.
First time
Better
Repaired and scanned:
Repaired, scanned, and fixed on the laptop to look like the actual painting:
Phooey, I think I need to replace the scanner.
Meanwhile, the painting is now looking most totally excellent (because they always looks better in person than on screens) and can be yours for $75 (plus tax if you are in California and shipping.)
This collage in pencil is of several Visalia landmarks.
The other day I had to go to Visalia (AKA Big Town) for the morning. In the afternoon, there were pressing responsibilities on the computer (scan some things, email them to folks who had requested such things, try a few more adaptations to the cover of the book I am working on (as editor and designer, not as author), and finally, I went out to paint.
Why? It was kind of cold out there, maybe 50°. That should be no excuse. I went out to paint, because incomplete paintings don’t sell. I had been studying my photos of Three Rivers the previous evening, thinking about sales, thinking about what I haven’t painted in awhile, and thinking about the local businesses who sell my paintings. There are a few new things I want to try.
No, it wasn’t as cold as this but I thought you might enjoy this pencil drawing of the Pear Lake Ski Hut.
Try? Yeah, as in “can I do a good job?” and “will this sell?”
Most of my current customers are visitors, travelers passing through Three Rivers. They want something indicative of their visit, preferably on the lower end of the price spectrum, small enough to fit into luggage and small enough to not skew their home decor.
Enough bloviating.
First I looked at the unfinished pieces.
While briefly considering what was necessary for completion, I felt a cold breeze on the back of my neck and realized I didn’t want to sit there while concentrating on details.
Instead, I chose to do something quick. Some things quick. Some quick things.
Never mind.
Choosing the photos, choosing the sizes, digging the canvases out of the supply shelves, assigning inventory numbers, attaching hanging hardware, and slapping on a first thin layer.
OUTTA HERE! Back to the house by the woodstove. THANK YOU, TRAIL GUY for keeping the home fires burning.
You may have noticed that I have been lollygagging quite a bit this year. I remember my dad describing himself as “semi-retired” when he was the age I am now. I think that is beginning to describe me. Go for a walk, hang out with some friends, organize some stuff, do a freebie job at church, organize some more stuff, do some errands… What? me work? maybe later… I’m busy.
However, due to the diligence of Stem & Stone along with Kaweah Arts, and a long-time reputation, there have been a few sales in the last several months. These are the ones I have remembered to keep track of.
This is probably the last time I will paint the Kaweah Post Office. It has been closed for several years, and it took several years for this painting to find a buyer.
I think these are the Sequoia Giganteas that was sold by Stem & Stone. If I forget to ask the seller for the inventory number, then I get confused as to which trees have sold. These 3 were actually very small: 4×12”, but I can’t make them proportionately small here on the blog.
I showed you these two while they were in progress. The first was 6×18”, painted for general inventory and the other 12×36”, a commission. I did the first as an experiment to see how it would work; the second one has more details as requested by the customer.
I don’t remember the circumstances of the sale of this one, titled Hiking Mineral King.
This 6×12″ was fun. I titled it Big Tree, Little Cow.
A newish cabin owner in Wilsonia discovered my book The Cabins of Wilsonia and was thrilled to find that the original drawing of her cabin was still available.
Then she discovered my website and found another pencil drawing to go with her cabin.
These sold last fall but I haven’t done a Sold post since last summer.
I thought that nothing was selling except notecards, but I was wrong. Maybe I should go back to the easels and stop with the lollygagging around. I can always put down my brushes and head out to pull weeds or take a walk or read a book (THANK YOU, READER/FRIEND LAURIE FOR ALL THE BOOK SUGGESTIONS!) while the paint is drying.
