Oil Paintings | Cabin Art

Valley Oak Tree

Valley Oak trees are part of life in Central California. Growing up, we saw them out in the middle of a cotton field, or centered in city streets that suddenly veered around one in an otherwise straight road. Now that I am a grown-up, I realize that these oak trees are special. They are the largest American oak, and the Latin name is quercus lobata.

No speakie Latin. Lobata sounds like “lobotomy”, which brings to mind One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Never mind.

After I mostly/sort of/might have finished the oil painting “Tulare County’s Best”, I taped my 2019 calendar to the top of the easel and began working on the oak tree again.

My pencil drawing of the oak up Yokohl Drive was Miss March 2019, not Miss February. Didn’t matter – the drawing is more helpful than the photo in untangling all the knotted up branches that are the signature of a quercus lobata.

Sure starts out dreadful but it is sort of fun to slap paint around without the pressure of Get It Right The First Time.

Don’t be scared. With enough layers and time, this will turn out. I just listened to a podcast where the interviewee said that time can make up for lack of skill. This means that no matter how weak my painting skills might be, if I paint slowly enough, I will get it right.

oak tree painting valley oak

Tulare County’s Best

Mountains and citrus are two things that make Tulare County special. Having grown up in an orange grove (don’t worry, we lived in a house, and thank you for your concern) with an almost daily view of the mountains, this scene is one of my favorite things about living here. The combination is a regular source of inspiration for my art; although I don’t paint it very much, I want to. (It isn’t all that popular in Mineral King. . . fancy that!)

We* went looking for the same view in order to see the detail more clearly. Although we didn’t find the same exact viewpoint, the day was clear and I got enough information to complete the painting.

Well, oops. Moro Rock was in the wrong place. It didn’t actually show in my original reference photo, so I just made it up. The lower one is the correct placement.

We’ve had snow in the high country, so I changed that most distant ridge to a snowy situation.

I think it is finished now. Time will tell. I might just keep getting ideas about how to improve it. I might not want to finish it. I might want to hang it in our dining area.

Figuring out how to photograph these large paintings is a challenge.

*Trail Guy and I, not the royal “we” or a mouse in my pocket.

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Chasing a View

This painting is still on the easel, waiting for more visual information so I can properly detail the distant hills and mountains.

Trail Guy and I went driving around, looking for the spot where the original photo was taken. We couldn’t figure it out, but found several that were close.

Castle Rocks appeared quite clearly, and although they aren’t in my painting, they could be.

There’s Alta Peak with the same next level of hills as in the photo.

Here’s Alta Peak with the same 2 next levels.

Never mind. I want to paint this as a new one.

Although we didn’t find the same view (I was elevated above the grove – where was this??), I now have some helpful details and a whole bunch of new photos from which to work.

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Another Big Tree

While I was in Georgia last spring, when people asked me where I was from, I was very specific and replied, “CENTRAL California; no one knows about us, no one cares, but we feed the world.” The unspoken part was “I am NOT from Los Angeles or The Bay Area, so assume nothing about me”.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (just a euphemism, don’t worry, I haven’t moved), I am thinking about what to paint on those large canvases.

As I think about my self-ascribed descriptor, “The Central California Artist”, I want to be painting things that truly represent Central California, specifically Tulare County.

Not only does Tulare County have the largest trees by volume (Sequoia Gigantea), we also have the largest of the American oak trees, our valley oaks (quercus lobata).

All-righty then!

Don’t be afraid. I can do this!!

P.S. Did you get my 2019 calendar, “A Touch of Color”? This tree was Miss February. It was a horizontal rectangle, but the painting will be a square. I untangled the branches in the drawing so it will serve as a helpful guide in the painting.

oak tree oil painting valley oak

Inching Along Layer by Layer

I’m guessing that I took the reference photo for this painting as a passenger in our pick-’em-truck as we returned home from a road trip when the Rough Fire was dwindling in 2015. I wish I knew where I was, because I’d like to take more photos of the same scene in various seasons and lights.

These giant oil paintings aren’t really too hard for me, but I do run into difficulties when my reference photos are smoky, blurry, from different angles, in differing light, or too small. A tiny blur in a picture becomes a large blur in a larger painting, so I NEED to know what I am painting in order for it to be believable.

Now I have to figure out what to put in the various ridges that will pass as believable texture.

Never mind. I’ll just work on the orange trees in the foreground.

I’ll keep dabbing, layering, and searching for this scene in real life. There is no deadline on this painting.

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The Juniper Everyone Loves

A friend/customer requested an 8×8″ oil painting of the juniper tree on the trail to White Chief in Mineral King. Everyone* loves this tree. I even talked to someone who said she performed a wedding beneath the tree several years ago. I’ve painted this tree several times, different sizes and different shapes.

This is not the same one but it is on the same trail. It doesn’t have quite the same visual impact. Besides, it is on a steeper section of the trail and not quite as visible.

Here is the sixth time in steps:

Every time I paint this, I am determined that it will be The Best Juniper Painting I Have Ever Done.

*I know not “everyone” loves it; not “everyone” has seen it. Besides, maybe we love it because it gives us an excuse to stop on the the steepest trail in Mineral King.

juniper oil painting Mineral King oil painting White Chief

A Situation

A customer/friend bought a painting off my website. She requested that I paint in an animal so the size of the trees is truly evident.

OH NO! It already sold, and I didn’t take it off my website!

I can’t find the original photo so have to work off the photo of the sold painting. It is always best to start with the original, but sometimes stuff just can’t be helped.

Pippin was happy to have me in his house. He lets me borrow it for a painting workshop.

Here it is with a bear this time. When it dries, I will scan it and it will look better than this semi-reflective photo while it is wet.

Dry enough, scanned, heading to the Post Office today!

oil painting sequoia oil painting Sequoia painting

Kaweah Lake Oil Painting

Yesterday I doubted whether anyone would be interested in oil paintings of Kaweah Lake, which led to an email correspondence with a friend who has a friend who just might be interested. I sent this photo to her of the most recent (and only) painting I have of Lake Kaweah, Kaweah Lake, or as we say around here, “The Lake”.

The Lake, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×6″, $50

While looking for my photo of The Lake, I realized that I’ve painted it quite a few times. Why didn’t I remember? Because I have so many other subjects crowding it out of the limited space in my top-of-mind memory.

P. S. It’s official – Lake Kaweah, not Kaweah Lake. Thank you SD!

Kaweah Lake Lake Kaweah

Tightening Up Plein Air Paintings

This past summer I painted plein air (on location) in Mineral King for the first time in about a dozen years. The results were mixed; I wasn’t fully satisfied with 2 of the paintings.

So, I put them back on the easels last month and tightened up the details. Can you see the difference?

After – Crowley Cabin, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $125

After – Empire and Cabins, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, sold

There are always more things I could have done. (Time for me to stop looking at these.) And be assured, they always look better in person.

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings plein air plein air painting

Decisions and Completions

If these recently completed paintings are dry enough, I will bring them to the Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, November 23, at the Three Rivers Memorial Building, 10-4. Paintings ALWAYS look better in person – come see for yourself!

Category: Oil Paintings