Random Topic Round-up

Here’s a catch-all, catch-up post for you on random topics. My blog post ideas are triggered by pictures, and these were just languishing in the file without purpose.

This painting was very difficult. I worked on it from real life, and from several different photos taken at different times of year. This is the final iteration (unless someone has a suggestion for further improvement).

1509 Barn
Three Rivers Barn, 8×10″, oil, $100

 

We are in year #4 of a drought. In spite of 15″ of precipitation in July, there was no snow on Bear Skin, the almost-year-around patch on the side of Vandever, which forms one side of Farewell Gap in Mineral King.

Bear Skin on Vandever

My favorite bridge was built in the 1920s and is supposed to be replaced. This fills me with dread. The current plan is to keep this one as a footbridge/landmark and push the road further up the canyon with some sort of newfangled, modern, probably-not-very-attractive contraption that will destroy the simple beauty of this scene. But I am neutral to the subject, keeping an open mind. . .

IMG_1615

Sometimes when I drive down the Mineral King Road, I am struck by new scenes. You’d think that after 31 summers of driving it almost weekly that I wouldn’t notice a thing. You’d be wrong.

Mineral King Road

At the end of the Mineral King Road is a bridge. (It was rebuilt in Sept. and Oct. 2011 and the process was documented fully on this blog.) The abutment gets a lot of water abuse on one side, and was piled with rocks to protect it. However, kids love to use rocks to build dams in the stream, and most of those rocks got scooted away! So, the men in uniform and heavy equipment had to come redo the rocky protection underneath the bridge.

Minearl King bridge

Some new friends joined us in Mineral King early in the summer. Mister New Friend was an outstanding photographer, and he took this photo of Trail Guy and me. (Thank you, MAK!)

J+M

Perkins and I thank you for joining us in the random topic round-up.

Perkins
Perkins is now sweet sixteen.

 

 

Goodbye, Steve

fire chaplain

1961 – 2015

STEVE was charismatic, confident, intense, competitive in many sports, and my brother-in-law for almost 30 years. It’s hard to imagine our family without him.

Random Thoughts

Random is a good word for unrelated items piling up in my head.

  1. Thank you for visiting my other blog this week. I hope you poked around and discovered things that interested and entertained you a bit while over there.
  2. Most of my sunflowers escaped the ravages of the voracious deer in the neighborhood.sunflower photo
  3. The same flower looks different at different times of day. I think there may be 2 paintings in this flower.IMG_1483
  4. I looked out the living room window and saw this: IMG_1476
  5. i looked more closely and saw this: IMG_1477
  6. My herb garden is a source of inspiration and a place of solace:IMG_1403
  7. I am in need of inspiration and solace these days while we navigate rough waters as a family. Here is a link to a video of my brother-in-law talking about his future: Neighborhood Church Facebook.

Steve made the video around August 1, but I have been taking refuge in drawing and gardening rather than talking about reality. (If you know him, you probably already saw the video.) Thank you to all who have been praying and expressing your kind concern.

A Little Bit Too Hard

Sometimes I paint things that are a little bit too hard for me. They are not commissions, nor are they subjects that I think will sell.

Instead, they are things that I just want to paint, in spite of my lack of skill or experience. After I have completed paintings that need to be done for sale, working on these types of paintings is my “reward”.

Wow, is this ever difficult!! This is my great-niece, and I think of the painting as The Flower Girl.

IMG_1356

The girl is from this photo.

IMG_1355

The flowers are from this one.

IMG_1357

The girl feels too difficult, so I am now focusing on the flowers. It is fun to find and mix all the colors, and if I get the petals a bit wrong, it isn’t critical like the face is.

IMG_1366

Success on the flowers (still not finished) gave me confidence to paint a bit more on the girl.

IMG_1376

Her hairbow is better and her arm is a little chubbier. This might need to rest for a month or two while I build my confidence and skill on paintings that don’t matter to my heart quite so much.

 

This will need about 10 more painting sessions, a decision on the background color, and a whole bunch of do-overs.

But I’m learning. That is what happens when one pushes through something that is a little bit too hard.

Okay, it might be a LOT too hard.

 

A Very Happy Day

This will be a very personal post, not about my art or Tulare County or Mineral King or Three Rivers.

In the past week or two, I have alluded to a family crisis. In short, my brother-in-law has been diagnosed with a glioblastoma, the very sort of brain tumor that took out my dad 15 years ago.

His oldest daughter had her wedding planned for August 1. She made a very mature and exciting decision on May 3 to have the wedding on May 9. Yes, a wedding was planned in SIX DAYS, and we even received an invitation in the mail so we could ask Mr. Google how to find the location!

There was a team of AWESOME people who made this all happen. Words cannot express our gratitude and awe and admiration for those who pulled off this incredible event.

So, I’ll show you a few photos. Just a few, because this is the World Wide Web, not a private session of friends sitting around my dining table.

setting

The setting was the most stunningly beautiful and perfect private backyard I have ever had the privilege to experience.

audrey and steve

This is the moment that undid the entire group of those of us in attendance.

3

My niece, grand-niece and new nephew. No words. . .

creative people

And, lest you think my nieces and nephews are normal, nope. They are uninhibited and creative and full of fun. Used to be 5 of them, now there are 7, plus 2 more in the next generation. (Some wise adult protected them from this moment of foolishness and frivolity.)

Thank you for listening, reading, looking and caring.

Love,

Aunt Jana

Special Interruptive Post

Please excuse me for bombarding you with 2 posts in one day. There are two pieces of news that cannot wait:

  1. The book printer notified me that the book binder will be shipping the books (The Cabins of Wilsonia) to me on Friday. That means they get loaded onto pallets and into a truck on Friday for a long road trip from Tennessee to Three Rivers. Maybe. Anyway, it is the first definitive news I’ve had since I sent the book to the printer in JULY!!
  2. Today my dear online blogging friend Cheryl Barker is featuring my art on her blog in a give-away. She and I have so much in common and would probably be attached at the hip if she wasn’t in Kansas while I’m in Central California. Here is the link to her blog post: Cheryl Barker.

Now, as an apology for bothering you twice in one day, here is a nice painting on which to rest your eyes:

Red Leaf, oil on wrapped canvas (ready to hang), 6×6″, $50