As a Central California artist, there are certain subjects that dominate my painting life.
If you have read this blog for any amount of time, I bet you can guess.
If you are new to this blog, welcome! You don’t have to guess because I am about to show you.
These two 11x 14″ paintings, citrus (or oranges, if you prefer) and poppies (or poppies and lupine) are drying on the wall in my painting workshop. I think the poppies painting wants more foliage. I could ask it, but instead, I’ll ask you. My chances of hearing something useful are better coming from you.
The commenting process on this blog is annoying. I think if you comment, it will tell you it didn’t go through. This is because it lands in a spam folder and then I have to “moderate” the comment.
I am the daughter and granddaughter of citrus growers. I thought I might become a citrus grower myself, but I became an artist. Still self-employed, but in a much less risky and less regulated business. Still, I am inspired by citrus.
Usually I paint oranges as a still life, which means an orange or two on a table-top. Now I am painting 4 or 5 oranges on a table top, but it is the easel that is on the table top.
never mind. . . worry does strange things to my writing ability
If the colors look juiced up to you, it is a combination of the fancy-pants lights and the fact that the colors are indeed juiced up a bit.
“Juiced up” is the term I’m using to mean a bit over-bright or exaggerated. I’m finding it fun to do this. Just a phase or a new way of painting?
Dunno. Just looking for some fun.
Don’t worry. Be happy. Happy happy happy.
There! Don’t you feel better? A California artist has got to paint oranges!
Two years ago I printed and sold a calendar of oil paintings. Last year there was no time to paint because of work on the upcoming (Please God, may it be upcoming soon) book The Cabins of Wilsonia. This year I decided to do a calendar painting each month so that when it is time to print another calendar, I will have 13 new paintings for it.
Thirteen? I thought there were only 12 months in a year.
Twelve plus a cover!
I fell behind. Now I am trying to catch up.
I wonder if this painting will look weird in natural light. I have halogen lamps on, in addition to this magical ott-light (or whatever it is called). Who cares? It is air-conditioned in the little studio, and all the book drawings are done and sealed up, so if I get paint on stuff, it won’t be a disaster.
But what is this on the easel?
Why, it is Mineral King, of course! Farewell Gap to be specific. After it is dry and signed, I’ll scan it so you can see the completed piece. Maybe you’ll want to buy it. Maybe you’ll want to buy a calendar too.
Did you think all I do is run away to Mineral King? Close, but I finally had time to paint again.
This time I decided to risk the messy business of oil painting in the air-conditioned studio, instead of the swamp-cooler “cooled” workshop.
They got moved out to the workshop for quicker drying.
Of course I painted Mineral King – isn’t it my main source of inspiration?
Have a closer look. They need more detailing and a signature, but this is a good solid start to good solid subjects.
And what was that picture at the top?
It is the Generals Highway, the road that leads into Sequoia National Park. When it is drier, I’ll add yucca in bloom. It wants more detail and a signature. I almost always think paintings need more detail. I am a pencil artist who is prone to drawing with my paintbrushes. So what? I like love to draw!
I hit a bit of a bump in the road with the book The Cabins of Wilsonia and I don’t want to talk about it. So let’s put our hands over our ears, shout LALALALA in a loud monotone and run away to Mineral King. These are not in any particular order – I’m just speed slamming Mineral King photos, sort of like I do M&Ms or chocolate chips in times of desperation.
Hey! I painted that! Back in the olden days when I had time to paint because I didn’t have a book at a printer with a bump in the road LALALALALALALA!
Maybe tomorrow I will be able to talk about it. If so, it will be on my other blog, www.thecabinsofwilsonia.com Meanwhile, LALALALALALA.
Customer? Client? How about a long time friend who commissioned me to paint for her? Commissioner?
Never mind.
I delivered “Spring In Three Rivers” to my friend and hung it on the wall where she had planned for it to go. We looked at the pictures around it and knew it wasn’t the best combination.
Being slightly self-focused, I suggested that we place one of my pencil drawings on either side of the painting. Now, lest you think I am more than slightly self-serving, she already owned these two drawings, and they truly looked right together. Lighter, a touch of pink in one, and all places around here. Please forgive me for not taking my camera and documenting the wall.
You know how it is if you move a thing or two. . . it means you have to move another and yet another. We had a great time placing pictures around the room, and the results made us both very satisfied.
“Spring in Three Rivers”, commissioned oil painting, 24×18″ on wrapped canvas
Is that a funny title for a post during the hot time of year? I love spring. It isn’t hot. This painting in progress reminds me of the beautiful season.
I’m juicing up (exaggerating) the colors a bit and it is fun. I love dabbing on little specks of different shades of pink. These redbud are so fabulous up the North Fork of the Kaweah River in Three Rivers. I’m so glad that my customer chose this subject for her commissioned oil painting.
Spring in Three Rivers just might be an appropriate title, although there is little evidence of any river, much less three of them in this picture. But, we are in a canyon that follows the North Fork of the Kaweah, and the presence of sycamore trees indicates a source of water near by. (Can you tell which trees are becoming sycamores?)
Spring in Three Rivers, 24×18″ oil painting commission
Getting that fence the right size and in the right place really was difficult. I kept painting out the rails and repainting them, all in a very rough and messy fashion. Oil painting can stay rough and messy for a long time, with each successive layer showing signs of improvement. Of course, in art “improvement” can mean different things to different viewers. Many painters in recent history have a huge following and reputation while making a ton of money with paintings that I’d call rough and messy!
Meanwhile, I choose to refine my own work with each successive layer. When the background of the photo just seemed too rough and messy for me to sort out and then enlarge, I just detailed the closer parts. Normally I work back to front, top to bottom, left to right and dark to light. For this painting, I just do what I am able to do, when I am able to do it.
With those messy types of sections where the detail in the photo isn’t helpful, I paint what I can see and hope it trains me to fake (i.e. make up) the parts that I can’t.
Spring in Three Rivers now has a few redbud blooms
I think the fence placement is almost correct, but with all that painting in and painting out and painting over, it is too wet to continue.
This means I get to use a new color! It is some sort of magenta, and I’ve veered from my primary colors only palette because I know from experience that I cannot get to the color of those redbud blooms from those primaries.
If you’ve known me for awhile, you may have heard me say that it is all my friends and relatives who buy my work because they feel sorry for me.
Another friend used to tell me this: “If your friends and family won’t do business with you, who will?”
A long time friend asked me to paint something for her home. She lost her husband about 2 years ago, and now she is slowly changing things to fit her tastes rather than their joint tastes.
She borrowed a book of my photos called “Spring in Three Rivers” (sometimes I just amaze myself with cleverness), and found a photo that rang her bell.
I took paintings to her house so we could determine the most appropriate size and orientation (that means vertical or horizontal).
She decided, and I began:
Now that just gets you all excited, doesn’t it?
How about this view? Painting upside down usually means I have the photo also turned upside down, but I reversed it so you could see what the goal is.
I think this is going to be beautiful! “Spring in Three Rivers” might even become the title, because of that cleverness I mentioned earlier.
On Wednesday, I left you with this cliff hanger of a picture:
This is the next view:
And this is how it looked when it was getting a little too dark to see out in the painting workshop.
Now it is time to show the customer before I do any more detail work. That large tree on the right needs more work, and I’m a little fuzzy about the foreground. The photos don’t offer much help. I also want to add lines to indicate shingles on the roof.
More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . .
