These “Sold” posts are mostly to reassure myself that I’m not just drawing and painting for the fun of it. They serve a secondary purpose in reminding my tens of readers that I accept commissions (lest you think I am a prima donna who only creates what I “feel like” creating) and that I do […]
Procrastination and Completion
The plan was to finish the 10×30” commissioned oil painting of the two redwood trees. When I set up in the painting workshop, it looked too hard and too big and too daunting. So I indulged in some productive procrastination, opting instead to finish the plein air painting of the pumpkin field. This meant that […]
Back to Work, Central Calfornia Artist
With two Giant Sequoias to paint, I chose to finish, nay, ALMOST finish the painting I started in Gilroy. Why not the Sequoia paintings first? Because I missed Mrs. Texas after spending so much time together. I think it might need a blossom or two and better definition on the closer leaves. Because I was […]
Plein Air Painting in Gilroy
Mrs. Texas is at the edge of a pumpkin patch, a big “patch”. Okay, a pumpkin field. We mistakenly thought it was summer squash, that yellow crookneck stuff that prompted a friend of mine to say, “‘Squash’ is the past tense of ‘squish’, and ‘squish’ is not a food.” (Right on, Ben!) But pumpkins? Yes! […]
Don’t Be Scared—I Can Make These Look Good
Sequoias, Redwoods, Big Trees, Sequoia gigantea—all these words mean the trees which gave Sequoia National Park its name. Paintings of these trees sell very steadily to the visitors in our area. Sometimes it feels a little boring to keep painting the same things over and over. When that feeling comes upon me, I think of […]
Just Another Work Day for Your Central California Artist
Painting To postpone two difficult tasks, I started this 10×30” commissioned oil painting, following the sketch which the customer approved. Just Plain Work This part didn’t warrant any photos. Some friends from Southern California went to my show, bought a drawing, and then hit a snag and couldn’t return to pick it up. I took […]
An Exciting Mineral King Hike
WARNING: very long post Just a few days ago I told you about Trail Guy hiking to the Franklin/Farewell junction and lamented my lack of hiking this summer. Last Sunday a friend and I decided to go to the Franklin/Farewell junction, because I really wanted to see it at least one more time in my […]
Is it Legal to Sell Sequoia Trees?
It is if they are painted. I don’t mean to go out with some spray paint and deface a redwood: I mean make an oil painting of a Sequoia gigantea, AKA redwood AKA big tree. These 6×18” oil paintings sell very steadily. Here is Sequoia Gigantea XXVI from beginning to completion. At the time of […]
Starting over Again
Like that song by Dolly Parton? Nope. Starting 2 new oil paintings of Mineral King (and finishing one other). This is 3×9”, a new size I found in Salem at Michael’s. Visalia’s Michael’s doesn’t have any this size (or the 4×12”, which I quickly used to paint Sequoia trees.) This does not surprise me; the […]
Aaand, Another Day With Oil Paints
All Mineral King oil paintings on this day. This: Became this: This: Became this: And this: Became this: And then it got almost finished and joined its siblings on the drying wall. Jackson didn’t show up.