A few years ago, I was hiking with a friend. She wasn’t familiar with the foothills of Sequoia National Park, so I took her to see the Buckeye Bridge. She exclaimed, “Oh my, that is so beautiful! If you paint it, I will buy it!” Being a realist (both as an artist and in life), […]
What Shall I Paint?
Have you ever wondered how an artist decides what to paint? Me too. What I paint falls into 4 categories: Things I know will sell Things I want to paint Commissions Reworking old paintings Category #1 includes Sequoia scenery, anything Mineral King, citrus, the Kaweah Post Office, the Kaweah River, the Oak Grove bridge and […]
Odd Job, Chapter Four
Finally, I got to the actual painting stage of my odd job. The Blue Moon Nursery got a 4’x8′ piece of very thick plywood, built a frame around it and painted it with multiple coats of white paint. This was a result of walking out to the road and measuring the existing signs. A medium […]
Odd Job, Chapter Three
My odd job of painting a sign for the Blue Moon Nursery in Three Rivers progressed through the decision making progress. This combination of type was our first choice. The style of Blue Moon is a little hippy-dippy, loosey-goosey, whimsical (sorry, can’t think of a rhyme for that word). “Nursery” looks solid, professional, steadfast, here […]
Odd Job, Chapter Two
It is a bit odd for a pencil artist/drawing teacher/oil painter/muralist to be asked to paint a sign. The owner of Blue Moon Nursery in Three Rivers knew we would work well together, so she decided to overlook my lack of experience and hire me for the odd job. (Odd job to me, but sign […]
Odd Job, Chapter One
Is sign painting an odd job for an artist? It depends. If you live in a city where there are sign painters, they would be a logical choice for a sign. If you live in Three Rivers, have a limited budget, would rather not drive 35 miles and want to have input, then choosing an […]
Redbud Festival Weekend
The Redbud Arts and Crafts Festival is a long time Three Rivers tradition. It has been around since I was a little girl, and it is always long after the redbud have finished blooming. This is how redbud looks in bloom, up the North Fork of the Kaweah River. This is a commissioned oil painting […]
Random Thoughts from a Chaotic Mind
We are having an extreme family emergency, and it is causing me great distress and lack of focus. If I don’t go into detail, perhaps I can live in denial. If you are interested, you may read about it here. (my brother-in-law) Meanwhile, random thoughts from a chaotic mind. . . If I dabble in this and […]
Fake Painting on a Garden Tour
“Fake painting”? What means this? It means that I was supposed to be painting plein air, and although I was painting plein air (which means on location), I have no intention of considering those paintings completed. I am a studio painter, and painting on location is a special skill for someone else. It is sort […]
11 Items in My Portfolio Life
“Portfolio life” is a term I found in Jeff Goins’ The Art of Work. Collage of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in 4 Seasons, pencil and colored pencil, private collection Portfolio life doesn’t mean being a jack of all trades, or being the master of one, or being ADHD. It means your work life is full […]