With the exception of Jeff’s Garden (a commissioned oil painting) and painting a giant sequoia on a wooden panel, I have not painted this summer. This was planned, not accidental. The swamp cooler in the workshopo is loud, fairly inadequate for our summer heat, and has been springing leaks all summer. Kaweah Arts, a great […]
Art from Hume Lake
The first time I drew a Hume Lake cabin, it was for my friend’s parents. Her mom commissioned a pencil drawing. Wait, not true. The first time I drew a Hume Lake cabin, it was the boys staff cabin across the street from the girls staff cabin, in 1978. It was a present for my […]
Four Reasons that Selling Art Makes Me Happy
Now let’s look at the pieces that have sold in the last several months, at Kaweah Arts, Stem & Stone, Exeter’s Mural Gallery, the Silver City Store, and through my website and people I know. Three disclaimers: Thank you for sharing in my happiness, and remember: USING PENCILS, OIL PAINT, AND MURALS, I MAKE ART […]
Honesty, Diplomacy, and Wisdom
I have a wise friend who is both diplomatic and honest. She told me that a few of my paintings didn’t reflect my usual care, or perhaps she said they weren’t up to my usual standards— “lacking in detail and clarity”. (There were a couple of paragraphs so I’m summarizing here.) I blamed the old […]
Who Moved Franklin Falls? (in Mineral King)
Walking in Mineral King (Not a hike because we didn’t take packs) Instead of the now normal down-the-road-and-up-the-Nature-Trail walk, or the wussy turning around at Crystal Creek, we went past Crystal to Franklin Creek. It was a little bit farther this year. Don’t you just hate that? The flowers were most totally excellent. This was […]
Walking to Crystal Creek in MIneral King
The Crystal Creek crossing is about 1 mile from the parking lot at the end of the road in Mineral King. It is relatively flat and easy. We don’t even pretend that it is a hike and it barely passes for exercise. But recently I’ve been thinking that as one ages, one’s body produces and […]
Hey Jeff, Am I Finished With Your Garden Painting?
I don’t think Jeff reads my blog. Marketing and sales people would tell me that I don’t push it hard enough, that I should be linking posts to my Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts. That would be difficult, since I don’t participate in any of those. This may be why I only have tens of […]
This is Fun
I started detailing Jeff’s Garden, the commissioned oil painting, and it is fun! We left it looking like this: Then it began evolving. . . (oops, finger partially over the lens in the first photo)
Planting an Oil Garden
What’s an “oil garden”? Glad you asked! Remember this colored pencil sketch for a commissioned oil painting of someone’s garden? (Let’s call him Jeff, because that is his name.) Jeff approved of the design for his painting and chose 12×24” for the canvas size. Having realized the benefits of starting with a sketch on an […]
Business in the Mountains
The Silver City Store sold two Mineral King oil paintings on opening weekend; a few days later they sold a sequoia tree painted on a wood panel. Luckily for a future customer, I had one more ready to go. So, on the way up the hill last week, we stopped by to deliver it. While […]