Five of these pencil drawings sold at my solo show in Tulare, “Around Here (and Sometimes a Little Farther)”. The others were pencil commissions, which I showed you with all the slow developments in painstaking detail.
I love pencil. Did you know that?
Thus we conclude another post about the business of art, because. . .
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 sell my work (lest you think I just prefer to cover my walls with my own art.)
Most of these sold at the Silver City Store, four miles below Mineral King. The sequoia paintings mostly sold at both of the stores which sell for me in Three Rivers (Kaweah Arts and Stem & Stone). One sequoia painting was a commissioned piece for a long time friend and customer, and another was to some new friends/customers.
If it weren’t for all those folks passing through town on their way to Sequoia National Park, I’d be sure that only my friends and relatives buy from me. It is thrilling when a stranger likes my art enough to part with their hard-earned pieces of green paper with dead presidents’ faces on them.
Tomorrow I’ll show you all the pencil drawings that sold. You’ve seen most of them already, so it will be reruns for you.
We had an overcast day, with the typical over-promise-and-underdeliver weather forecast of rain. Oh well, at least we didn’t have lightning to worry about.
Since it was too dark to paint, I spent my working hours in the studio, drawing this pencil commission piece.
Sometimes this feels as if I am racing along at a good pace; other times it seems that I sit and stare without a clue as to how to proceed. The difficulty is the same as the Texas drawing: combining many photos into one (hopefully) coherent and believable scene.
I’ve been drawing agriculture subjects for so many years that I have forgotten many of them. I didn’t used to be diligent in photographing my work, back in the days of film cameras, weak copy machines, no home scanners or computers, and certainly no Photoshop.
An old friend sent me this card, which I wrote to her and her husband in 2001 (along with a sweet note because that is just how she is). When I flipped the card over, I saw that I titled the drawing “Tulare Cownty” and included a completely unfamiliar phone number with a 703 area code.
That was many studio locations ago. I’ve been working from home since 2002, and life has changed significantly in many ways.
One constant is still drawing agricultural scenes with pencils. Glad we can count on something to hold steady.
To postpone two difficult tasks, I started this 10×30” commissioned oil painting, following the sketch which the customer approved.
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 it home to package it for shipping, started to clean the glass, and I pushed the glass through the frame. WHAT?? It had to be taken apart and resecured. However, AFTER I had the back resealed up, I saw that the two mats were not aligned. WHAT?? I took it apart again, got everything in position, flipped it over, and saw that there was a tiny little chud (technical term I learned during a brief stint in college working at a frame shop for miscellaneous crud, which shows up usually after a picture has been framed). I took it apart again, cleaned it again, secured and sealed it again, and then had to protect it for shipping. Two hours later, it was finally sealed up with about a mile of tape, a box inside a box, surrounded by every piece of bubble wrap and foam wrap that I could scrounge, and filled with packing paper and those bubble pillows. Phew. (I also cleaned out our box department, where those cardboard containers have been multiplying in the dark, because finding 2 appropriate boxes was a project in and of itself.)
Since I was hot and dirty, I decided to face the mess in my studio, where we unloaded boxes and stacks of paintings after bringing it all home (except for 4 pencil drawings, a few books, and a large stack of cards).
I went through the paintings and drawings, chose my favorites, and began hanging them. There was a loud crash, and I turned back to see that the wire on the back of a pencil drawing came out of the frame. I guess the screw hole was stripped. The glass didn’t break, so it wasn’t all bad. (Yes, I know I am not storing the flag correctly. I also need to vacuum again. Probably need to dust too, and clean the windows.)
Then I had to pack all the rest into the painting workshop, which has a swamp cooler, and a lot of shelves, which all need to be rearranged and cleaned. Never mind. I’d rather draw.
Finally, I was able to do some artwork. I chose the colors that seem to best match Texas bluebonnets, colored one, and then decided to show the customers before I finish the flowers. I can lighten the colors a bit, but I cannot erase. (I think that this photo is a bit exaggerated in its darkness.)
Everything felt too hard, too full of obstacles. So, I ran away for a few days. Maybe I’ll tell you about it later.
Still want to be an artist when you grow up?
P.S. The studio only looked like this for a day because one of the stores that sells my work suddenly had a lot of space to fill!
My solo show, Around Here, in Tulare was originally going to consist solely of oil paintings. However, I asked the director if she also wanted pencil drawings, which normally attract attention but not sales, and she said, “Sure, why not?”
So, I gathered up my best framed pencil pieces and added them to the mix.
The director hung them on their own wall.
Well, saw off my legs and call me Shorty; shut your mouth and slap your grandma*, all that sold from the show was pencil drawings!**
*Heard that on a country song
**And many packages of notecards plus a few books.
P.S. J.C. I can draw Sawtooth again for you if you’d like one of your own.
In case you were wondering if all I do is yammer on about the beach or Mineral King, let me remind you that I am a working artist. Sure, maybe I’m only working part time these days, but I AM working. Here’s a list of upcoming projects (remembering that until money exchanges hands, it is only conversation):
The list format doesn’t allow for photos to be inserted, so here are a few to keep you from thinking TLDR, which means Too Long, Didn’t Read.
#1 —I didn’t waste time doing sketches when the potential customer hadn’t come up with a budget. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.
#2 This is the mural that I designed, submitted to the competition, was chosen, then put on hold. I sure do hope I get to paint it!
#3 Texas porch view photo to be turned into a 14×17” pencil drawing
#4 Front porch view (but change the trees to a vineyard)
#5 This is just a photo of his amazing Japanese maple. This will be a very challenging painting but I’m up for it!!
#6 After photographing them countless times, I could only find one shot, which is horizontal rather than the desired vertical format. For now it is just conversation, so there is time to get new photos.
Finally, here are the specifics about the show AROUND HERE in Tulare.
The reception was well attended by people from all different parts of my life. I was especially touched to see several of my drawing students there (no extra credit for attending; no demerits for skipping.)
Here are some photos provided by attendees.
Why is this chick so smiley? Because: A. Her favorite dress still fits after 30 years and she rediscovered that it has pockets; B. She is going quiet on the interwebs for a week or so; C. She will be with her first friend from Three Rivers and her very dear friend from Texas next week.
P.S. It is ALL FOR SALE.
The gallery director and her granddaughter hung the show with my eager and curious assistance.
This gallery seems dark inside, but the lights on the art are terrific. Carpet on the walls looks odd at first glance, but it is surprisingly effective in preventing the need to continually patch and repaint holes.
It’s a great gallery and I hope you can come.
Tony finished my steps. That man is an artist, in addition to knowing how to make these the most comfortable for the situation while incorporating existing elements.
I will be showing some pencil drawings in Around Here and Sometimes a Little Farther. Pencil drawings require framing. Although I prefer drawing over painting, that framing business is not fun.
Remember when I painted a bunch of 5×7” beach scenes on panels? Some will be displayed (and sold, one always hopes, “one” being me in this case) on natural colored easels and some on blue easels.
My dear friend Louise is so helpfully honest when I think there is trouble with a painting. (She helped me with my first mural here at home!) She encouraged me to shrink that stack of haybales, so I did it first with Photoshop and sent it to her. It passed inspection by her excellent eye, so I fixed it on the painting. When it is dry again, I’ll scan it again. (This version is before I finished fiddling around with several parts.)
A friend sent me a photo of his country property. I thought it was so beautiful that I painted it on one of those little 5×7” panels. It’s too wet to scan.
I love working at home. Jackson and Pippin like it too. (Tucker prefers to play hide-and-seek in the lawn.)
I had a stack of 8×10” paintings from my various plein air sessions last fall. It’s taken awhile, but I am finally accepting that my plein air attempts will probably always require several touch-up sessions in the painting workshop. When people who know me or my work see my unretouched plein air paintings, they say things like, “That doesn’t look like your work,” or “Are you finished with that painting?”
Therefore, I studied each of these paintings without looking at the photos of the scenes. What could be improved?
The answer was usually more color, brighter color, more detail, and/or cleaner edges. Only one had a signature.
This is the most satisfying aspect of painting to me. Those tiny little changes take a painting from “meh” to “nice!” (I hope that ’s what they do.)
The day was great for drying outside by the wood stack on those hot-from-the-sun metal panels. (old roofing?)
They are fairly light-weight and tend to blow off the adirondack chairs. Those chairs work just fine for the wrapped canvas, larger canvas panels, and masonite panels.
Looks as if you’ll have to wait for the scans or come to my show opening (August 7, Tulare Historical Museum, 5-7 PM) to see them right-side-up. Well, not Sawtooth or the Sequoia tree, because those are for stores to sell to visitors passing through.
Looks as if Tony is almost finished with the steps. I went spelunking in a box of found and saved random treasures to locate something to make the steps a little more special.
That Tony does great work! He is going to add another step at the bottom, where the concrete is sloped and gets slippery and treacherous. It is always wise to listen to an expert tradesman and consider his ideas.