Lots of Sawtooths (Sawteeth? Nah)

Painting the same complicated and difficult picture multiple times doesn’t seem to make it any easier. But, since I have done it before, I know I can do it again (and again, and yet again).

This is the 16×20″ version.

These are the two 11×14″:It takes some discipline to not get too far ahead on each one. Even if I am on a roll, I have to move to the other 2 canvases to repeat a successful rock, tree, texture, or stretch of water. When all are finally finished, I will evaluate each part, decide which painting is the best in that area, and then bring the other two up to the level of the best.

P.S. Who’da thunk that the plural of “Sawtooth” would be “Sawtooths?”

Oil Painting With Friends

Today I will be at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery from 11-3, oil painting with friends. You are welcome to stop by!

Why will I be there when I could be painting at home? 

  1. My friends don’t have as much experience in oil painting as I do, so I can help them.
  2. Sometimes it is fun to paint with friends instead of painting alone at home.
  3. I HAVE A SHOW HANGING AT THE GALLERY WITH MY ART FOR SALE!

I might bring this trail painting or maybe a stack of Sawtooth paintings.


Department of Redundancy Dept.

I have become a (temporary) Sawtooth painting factory.

First, sky and clouds on all three.

Second, Sawtooth on all three.

Third, trees on distant ridges on all three.

Fourth, work on the distant trees that are somewhat distinct.

Fifth, scribble in some layers of green on all three, because it is getting too dark to see, there is green paint on the palette that can be used to add another layer to the canvases, and that’s all I can take today of the repetition of these custom Mineral King oil paintings. 

Next painting session: figure out the confusing rocks in the stream on one painting, and then use it as a guide for the other two. This will be more effective than repeating a rock three times and then realizing it is in the wrong place. Who cares if a rock is in the wrong place? If it makes the stream flow look unbelievable, all three customers might care.

What’s Happening Now

The first painting to sell at IMAGES OF HOME was Sawtooth Near Sunnypoint.

To clarify the title for you: Sunnypoint was the name of a campground in Mineral King, closed by the Forest Service some time before 1978. The Nature Trail runs through it, and this view is how I wished it actually looked. Instead, Black Wolf Falls isn’t fully visible in this exact position, and Sawtooth only shows as a little point. Nonetheless, this is what we remember when we think of those 2 places, along with a full and curving stream. “We”? That would be me, myself, I, and the 4 people who bought this painting.

How can 4 people buy the same painting??

I’m glad you asked. When Person #2 said, “Oh, wow, I would love that but it is sold!”, I replied with, “I can paint it again for you.” 

This happened 3 times after the first sale.

This is what is happening now:

The top one is 16×20″; the bottom two are 11×14″.

This is also happening now:

I’ll ‘splain these to you later.  Meanwhile, my show IMAGES OF HOME is also happening now at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.

A Word From Captain Obvious

The blog series “How I Designed a Logo” is temporarily postponed while I keep you updated about the show, “IMAGES OF HOME” at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery. We will resume the story tomorrow (unless something show-related happens that cannot wait.)

I am painting as if I have a deadline because I do. One of the customers at Images of Home wanted to take his painting with him rather than wait for the show’s indeterminate ending. This left a blank space on the wall. 

Since it was a 12×12″ orange grove scene which sold, I wanted to replace it with something similar. (We didn’t just arbitrarily tack paintings and drawings to the wall, but instead, we grouped them somewhat by subject matter.)

This painting was already started:

I spent an afternoon refining it, doing the forbidden and frowned-upon (by The Art World) drawing with my paintbrush. (That is my preferred method of painting, and clearly, the attendees of the art show agree with me, so take that, Art World!)You can see that I ignored the eucalpytus trees in the background in the photo and substituted my favorite foothills and snow-covered Sierra.

The painting is too wet to scan (Captain Obvious speaking here), so I photographed it, carefully carried it into the somewhat warmer house (we’ve been having very mild weather this week) to get a bit drier, and then will deliver it still somewhat wet to the gallery. Since the gallery isn’t open again until Saturday, the degree of dryness doesn’t matter. I will put a “Wet Paint” sign near it.

The title is “Picking Time”, the size is 10×10″, the price is $150, and the medium is slow-to-dry oil paint.

Because I fully anticipate further sales in the next weeks building up to Christmas, I am working on these other 2 paintings to fill holes on the walls.

First, this one has been troubling me. I keep studying it to figure out how to make it better.

Okay, bye-bye stump. Yes, it tells me where I am on which trail, but it doesn’t enhance the painting. In case you are wondering, I like deer in Mineral King; I dislike them eating my plants in Three Rivers. 

This is better, but I am still not convinced that it is finished. These little adjustments are probably only discernible to me. 

Okay, enough of this painting that feels too hard for me. Time to work on something I know how to paint.

When this stage is dry, I will start the detailing that I so dearly love to do. This is the classic Mineral King scene; this time it is titled Mineral King Dusk, because it is dusk in Mineral King. (This is your captain speaking). It is 6×12″, and the price will be $125.

Do you think I should raise my prices? What would Captain Obvious say?

Never mind. Here is an updated flyer about Images of Home; both of the pieces shown have sold. (Sawtooth on the left sold four times, which I already told you, but again, this is your captain speaking).

 

Special Painting for a Special Person

Remember when I painted a Farewell Gap oil painting and wouldn’t tell you why? I said it had to be the very best painting I had ever done. The Best Version of the Classic Mineral King Scene

The painting was commissioned by the Mineral King Preservation Society and the Mineral King District Association to be a gift for Louise, someone who has been very instrumental in both preserving the history of Mineral King and developing a good relationship between the cabin owners and Sequoia National Park. 

She also happens to be one of my dearest friends, someone who coached me through my first murals, got me my first paid public mural, and has been more encouraging than anyone I have ever known. She is also an author, and I had the privilege of editing and publishing two books for her: Trail of Promises and The Visalia Electric Railroad. We work together like a well-oiled machine, one that laughs a lot while producing good results.

Here are some photos of the presentation of the painting.

I love this lady.

P.S. These came via email:

1. What a beautiful post, beautiful painting, and beautiful lady.  How is Louise doing?  She looks well. – Jon S.

2. Your “Louise gift” in this morning’s post brought tears. what a touching tribute to my very special cousin.
three cheers for a beautiful exhibit! – Bev

Well Received (Successful Opening Reception)

The opening reception to my solo show, “Images of Home” at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery was amazingly well attended. No one was counting, but I think there were at least 100 people, and everyone did NOT come at once. It was most totally excellent! 

This is the first thing you see when you step into the entryway.

This is what you see when you step into the gallery.

Here is a comfortable corner for contemplation.

These three pencil drawings of Mineral King look just right on this wall. (How would they look all together on a wall in your home?)

Sold!

These are still available.

This child was too cute to not photograph. (Her mom gave permission).

There were a few opportunities to photograph people in the gallery, but that wasn’t my real mission.

Sold!

Sold!

Sold!

Sold!

Sold twice!

Sold four times!

Yeppers, you read that right. I have to order some canvases, and then get painting. If someone expressed disappointment at having missed out on a painting, I simply said, “I can paint it again for you”. (Do other artists do this??)

 

Back to the Easels, the Sawhorses, and the Big Chair

Oil paintings generally happen on an easel; acrylic mural paint goes onto panels of scrap wood resting on some sawhorses. What’s “the Big Chair”? Glad you asked. Keep reading.

Sawhorse Project

Kaweah Arts requested a panel with a single redwood where the entire tree is visible. I have 2 different sizes of these panels, and instead of waiting to hear which size the customer wants, I will paint them both. These sell steadily to people passing through while visiting Sequoia. Eventually, The Park will be reopened, and those customers will resume stopping by Kaweah Arts while on their way to The Park.

I don’t think this is quite finished but I was running out of daylight.

On the Easels

These were on the easels. The top one is a bit of a do-over and the others are just the first pass over the canvas. They will help resupply Kaweah Arts after I rob them of the large paintings to take to the Courthouse Gallery for the show Images of Home.

These are ready to be varnished.

The Big Chair

A friend makes these giant redwood Adirondack chairs; I painted an indoor mural to earn a few of these. This one was in the perfect position to hold 5 paintings while they dried in the sunshine after I varnished them. Can’t even see the chair, can you?

Okay, here comes the announcement. I hope it doesn’t become invisible to you from too much repetition.

Images of Home

Exeter Courthouse Gallery

November 14 – December 30, 2021

Opening Reception – Sunday, November 14, 1-4 p.m.

Not Boring To Me

I spent a day at the easels. To anyone else, it would probably be boring. There wasn’t anything really photo worthy, but I took 2 at the end of the day so you could see that I made progress.

Here it is in a list:

  1. I put a final layer on the Hume Lake ornaments, but only on the lake side. The photos looked very terrible. I didn’t even send them to the customer, because they were so non-representative of how cool these little things will be.
  2. When I walked back to the house, there were EIGHT deer on and around my little front lawn. Yes, EIGHT. I didn’t have my camera in my pocket.
  3. I worked very diligently on the 11×14 “In The Orchard II”. When it is drier, I will add a wind machine, more oranges, and orange blossoms.
  4. It was an easy transition to keep making oranges and leaves on the giant painting that probably won’t go in my dining room.

Are you yawning yet? It really was a wonderful day! Thank you for sticking with me to the end.

Three Pears and Two Orange Groves

Three Pears

As a full time artist, it is automatic to notice subjects that might make good paintings. Experience helps me recognize these subjects, and it also helps me to recognize potential.

A friend gave me three pears, and before I took a bite or put them in the fridge, I recognized their potential as a painting subject. So, I set them up in various ways on 2 different surfaces and took a few photos. The variation in color is more noticeable now than in person, and it was that variation that first caught my eye. (Why do we say “caught my eye”? I have 2 eyes and am fairly certain that you do too.)

Since I have stopped doing boutiques, fairs, and festivals, there hasn’t been much call for “kitchen art”. But, I still gather reference material because one just never knows what might be coming next.

Two Orchards

After photographing the three pears, I returned to the two orange groves. (Orchard, grove, same thing.)

(E, is the ground looking rough enough for you yet? Fear not – the painting will keep getting better!)

I am using quite a bit of artistic license here, making this painting into something I would want to hang in my dining room because I want to hang it in my dining room. But I am going to put it in the Courthouse Gallery show in November and December with a reasonable, non-scary price-tag of $1200 instead of $10,000.

It is a little hard to tell the difference between the second 2 photos of this painting. For the curious reader, I don’t remember how long I worked on this before taking photo #2; there is 1/2 hour between #2 and #3, and another 1-1/2 hour before #3.

Then my neck tied itself into a pretzel, so I put plastic film on the palette, moved it to the freezer of the little fridge that we bought from that horrible big box store (the freezer isn’t freezing anymore, but why would it? The fridge is 3 months old already. . .), and headed back to the house to wash my brushes.

P.S. I also went to the bank and Post Office today, lest you think all I do is photography and painting. It’s all part of the business of art.