Category: Sources of inspiration

Learning New Skills, Part Two

Yesterday I showed you the tile mosaic work of my friend The Tiling Genius here in Three Rivers.

I learned from him two ways to make stepping stones. I previously stumbled onto each of these methods on my own, but he had all the right materials, tools and techniques. It makes a difference, and I expect to start marching around the yard and tearing apart all my substandard stepping stones in the future.

He is a retired engineer and has built molds for the poured concrete type of stones. These don’t allow for much planning – pound the mud into the mold, and tap your stuff into it! Of course there is much more, but I won’t bore you with the details. The molds are removable by taking them apart – no wonder my version of this was substandard.

Here are my 3 – the large one in its mold, and edges of the other two, which were made on preformed stepping stones. That was my default method, but Mr. Tiling Genius The Retired Engineer had many improved techniques using tools I’d never heard of for making them far superior to my earlier attempts.

In addition, he had zillions of wonderful items from which to choose!

Here are my two on preformed concrete, pre-grouting.

Take a look at all the different ones from the workshop. Mr. Tiling Genius told us we didn’t need to create masterpieces for our first attempts, but I think it happened anyway.

It is sort of a given in The Art World that taking workshops is a great thing. I haven’t attended many and am not sure this is the sort of workshop that will advance my career.

But, it advanced my personal happiness, and that is worth something. I love to learn new things!

Learning New Skills

A handful of years ago I went on a tear making mosaic stepping stones. By “on a tear”, I mean ninja crazy! (In spite of not knowing what that means, it continues to crop up in my vocabulary.) I made about 12 dozen stepping stones, tile-mosaic’ed (no idea if that is actually a verb or how to turn it into past tense) a lamp post, a drinking fountain, several tables, a step, a bird bath and a bowling ball.

I guessed how to do this. Found some stuff and tried it. Tried different stuff and different methods. Sold some. Gave some away. Scattered them all over my yard. Ninja crazy!

Now, many of them have tiles that are popping loose. This is annoying, disappointing and ugly.

There is a man in Three Rivers who is a genius at tile mosaic. His wife was a ceramicist, and after she died, he continued his tiling projects. He began making his own objects in her kiln, continued a project they had begun, and now teaches an occasional workshop.

I attended the workshop in the hopes of learning the right way to do this.

Before I show you what I made, look at what the tiling genius has around his place.

This has symbols for Nancy’s potter’s wheel, her glazing color samples and her kiln.

Oops. Out of time. I’ll show you what I made tomorrow.

Fall in Mineral King

We spent our last weekend of the season in Mineral King over Columbus Day weekend. The weather was beautiful – about time, after all the smoke this summer! It really seemed weird to shutter things up for the winter when we were running around in shorts and sandals, but it certainly is better than closing in a cold storm.

There hasn’t been very good color this year. It could be due to the drought, although there were 15″ of precipitation this summer (mistakenly reported in an earlier post as happening in July – thank you, Trail Guy, for keeping me straightened out on the facts!) The leaves mostly turned brown early and then fell off. Just turned brown and fell off! Sigh.

mineral king

Hey! I painted this scene a few years ago. I sort of lost track of the painting – did it sell? Who bought it? Or is it in one of the places that sell my work and I forgot to list it? (Sounds like someone needs to pay closer attention to her business. . .)

mineral king oil pianting

This is the part of the trail that looks like a yellow tunnel in some years. These are cottonwood trees. The aspens are further up the trail, but we had work to do instead of popping around chasing colored trees. Such responsible adults.

yellow

This was in 2010.

The grasses were sort of yellowish. This coming winter will be a big one, it will end the drought, put lots of white in the mountains and water in the rivers and the lakes and the aquifers and green on the hills. (You listening, God? That is actually a request, not a demand. Amen.)

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. . .

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.

Kaweah Postal Disaster!

UPDATE: The auction will go live at 12:02 on September 29 – I think this means just after noon. Thank you for your patience with my inexperience and ignorance!

As a Central California artist representing the good things of Tulare County, I have painted and drawn the little Kaweah Post Office many times.

It is the longest-operating, or perhaps the smallest operating post office in the United States. Really! Right here in Three Rivers! (But the people who live near it say they live in Kaweah, not in Three Rivers. . . )

KPO X 1410

Kaweah Post Office X, 10×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, suggested retail price $150

See that giant oak tree behind the post office? A HUGE branch broke off and crashed through the roof and front porch!

It can be rebuilt, and there is insurance, but there is a HUGE deductible for the building owner to pay.

I want to help.

So, this painting will be auctioned on eBay, and I will give 1/2 the $ to the owner of the oh-so-cute Kaweah Post Office.

I will begin the bidding at the nail-biting, pearl-clutching price of .01. (Yes,that’s one cent.) That ought to get the bidding wars started! The auction will go for the longest amount of time allowed on eBay.

You can see the painting in person at Anne Lang’s Emporium in Three Rivers, hours Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 4 PM. (And I recommend her hot grilled turkey sandwich while you are there.)

Any questions? (besides my own about how to set this thing up and get the most publicity possible for the Kaweah Post Office, and no, I am NOT on Facebook, so if you are and want to post a link, until you are better paid, I thank you.)

Lazy List of Hardworking Artists

Today I am sharing a list with you of some truly gifted and amazing artists. (Lists are a lazy way to post to a blog.) Because the internet has shrunk our world, I have had the pleasure of corresponding with and becoming virtual friends with these four women.

Diana Moses Botkin (no relation – we looked but did not find) – this link is to her website. Look down the side menu for the blog link, which reads “The Latest at my Blog”

Laurel Daniel – this link is to her website. Look down the side menu for the blog link

Nance Danforth – this link is to her blog. She also blows my mind with her knitting!

Ann Walker – this is linked to her website. To see her art on her site, click the word “Works” on the menu on the left side of her home page.

I didn’t ask their permission to post any of their work, so you will need to click their names to go to their websites. Diana, Laurel and Nance have blogs; Ann does not. Each is an outstanding painter, each painting in a different style; all are outstanding artists and wonderful people.

Lists are lazy, but they can be helpful. Hope these friends’ work brings beauty to your day.

Thank you Mr. Google for giving me the ability to connect with these inspirational and encouraging artist friends!

Random Thoughts

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

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.
Most of my sunflowers escaped the ravages of the voracious deer in the neighborhood.
The same flower looks different at different times of day. I think there may be 2 paintings in this flower.
I looked out the living room window and saw this:
i looked more closely and saw this:
My herb garden is a source of inspiration and a place of solace:
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.

Hiking in Mineral King

White Chief is my favorite place to hike out of (in?) Mineral King. So far this summer, it has rained often, I’ve been preoccupied with family matters, and often I only want to sit, knit and/or split (wood) while in Mineral King.

We have a tradition with a friend who spends time with us at our cabin each summer. This was summer #13. Our traditional visit includes barbecued pizza, Yahtzee (I may have one once in 13 years), M&Ms, and a hike to White Chief. There are other traditions, but they aren’t quite as sacred as our White Chief hike.

White Chief can be 4 miles round trip or it can be as long as 9. No matter how far you choose to go, it is always beautiful, always interesting, and always challenging.

I’ll refrain from further chatter. If you have questions about any of the photos, ask in the comments or use the contact button under About the Artist to ask.

White Chief

Mineral King Mineral King photography

Discovering More in Mineral King

There is more to my life than selling oil paintings of Tulare County scenery.

I spend a lot of time in Mineral King in the summer. It is a great source of inspiration, because it is the most beautiful place in Tulare County. (Go ahead and argue with me – present your case! I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for beautiful places in Tulare County!)

The last time I went to Mineral King, I photographed the official name of my favorite bridge. The sign is wrong, I just KNOW it. It is THE OAK GROVE BRIDGE, because that’s what Trail Guy told me about 30 years ago. So there.

oak grove bridge

Sometimes being in Mineral King is about hanging out with neighbors on their very inviting front porches.

Sometimes it is about discovering favorite flowers in new locations. Your nose often leads you to this leopard lily before you spot it.

Here’s a weird puffy mushroom or toadstool. Whatever it is, it is large. (And yes, I washed my hands after touching it. Thanks for your concern.)

Trail Guy went off trail to look at the “Three Falls Below The Gate”. Nice photo, Trail Guy!

We went off trail together to look at more damage from the flood on July 2.

Always more to see, more to discover, more to inspire in Mineral King.

Mineral King Mineral King photography Tulare county

Long Way There

(Happy Birthday, Melissa!)

Anyone remember the Little River Band? Does the song “Long Way There” do anything for you? I loved it in 1978, and I still do.

Many people think of “Long and Winding Road” when it comes to driving to Mineral King. That is probably a more accurate theme song, but I used up that title on a pencil drawing many years ago.

So “Long Way There” is the title of this series of paintings. The first time I painted the Mineral King Road, it looked like this:

1317mkrd

I liked it a lot. A friend liked it too and commissioned me to repaint it in a much larger size than I was used to. It just flew out of my paintbrushes, and it may have been the first time I really felt as if I was painting, instead of struggling with paint.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

When helping her move a few weeks ago, it surprised me to see that I still like the painting. That doesn’t always happen.

Because I was feeling so confident about this scene, I painted it again, just to have in inventory.

LWT #3

It didn’t sell. It didn’t sell. It didn’t sell.

So, I studied it carefully to see if I could figure out how to make it better. The usual things – brighter colors, more detail, higher contrast, cleaner edges – all seemed necessary.

Long Way There, 12×16″, oil on wrapped canvas, $250

I love the blue with the orange. (Yeppers, I’m a color junkie.)