Three Rivers | Cabin Art

Oak Tree Mural, Day Four

Life’s full of surprises. I went to paint on Day Four and found the parking lot full of cars. Hmmm, I wonder if something is happening in my painting area.

Yeppers. Good thing I’m only one mile from St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Three Rivers, because I went back home and did other things that day.

Day Four finally arrived, and here is a series of progressive shots of the oak tree mural.

Here is a list of thoughts and decisions throughout the day:

That’s the wrong color of green on those first leaves – better fix that.
Extension ladder? Nah, I can do this.
Will I ever finish these twigs and does it matter of they’ll be covered with leaves?
Maybe I can finish in 5 days.
A group of guys came into the chapel to set up for the weekend, and it took hours, nay, HOURS, to get their sound system working. They stopped and prayed for wisdom, and right after that a guy said, “This cable isn’t plugged in here!”
The sound system made a terrible surprising and deafening noise, as sound systems do; I yelled from around the corner, “You aren’t allowed to do that when I am on the top of a ladder!”
Maybe I can finish it on Day Five. Maybe it will be quiet in there.
Even if I finish on Day Five, I’ll have to return to photograph it in the morning because the afternoon light coming through that window erases the entire left edge.
Maybe I can time Day Six of photography to be there for lunch.
I love lunch at St. Anthony’s.

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Oak Tree Mural, Day Three

On Day Three of painting the oak tree mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Three Rivers, I showed up and stared at the mural for awhile.

Which ladder? Keep spreading around the corner? Go as high as possible with the taller ladder? Ask for the extension ladder? Stand on the floor and add leaves from the bottom up?

I decided to keep building up, adding to, and detailing the branches to the left of and over the door as high as the taller ladder would allow.

Because I was doing the same thing I did on Day Two, it didn’t seem as if I was making any progress. Lots of ladder climbing, and then later, a decision to change the color of green for the leaves.

I thought this would be a 3 day project and now I know it will be 5-6 days.

That’s fine. St. Anthony’s Retreat is one of the best places I have ever worked: 1 mile from home, all the staff are friends, perfect conditions, quiet, WiFi, and LUNCH!! (coffee too).

At the end of Day Three, visible progress has been made. Incremental, but still visible. In order to make a believable tree, much staring, evaluating and thinking is required.

You can see how much fuller it is above the door compared to the first photo in this post. You can also see that an extension ladder will be necessary.

Weird. Afternoon sunlight has erased some of the left side branches in this photo.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Two

Oak Tree Mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers, Day Two.

After studying my photos on the laptop, I saw things to correct from Day One. Why didn’t they show up in person??

Most of Day Two was spent on bulking up Day One’s branches and adding twigs. I also put in some trial leaves at the bottom and learned they should be larger, which I fixed and liked. And, I turned the corner.

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Painting an Oak Tree Mural

Behind that door is the mural that I painted in October.

Can you catch a glimpse of it?

This is the map to guide me through putting a tree on the wall surrounding the door.

Dark brown, dark gray, light brown, and light gray are probably the only colors needed in the tree. (I’m stalling because putting the first lines down feel Very Important Don’t Mess This Up.)

Now I am committed to continuing.Life’s short – eat dessert first.

Here’s what’s left:

Finish blocking out the tree, including around to the wall on the right side.
Detail all the branches from about the door top upward.
Decide if there are enough branches, and add more if needed.
Add leaves.
Look it over carefully before declaring it finished.

mural oak tree mural st. anthony's retreat Three Rivers mural

Winter Walk

What passes for winter in Three Rivers would make a Minnesotan weep. On Trail Guy’s birthday, we went to a foothill area of Sequoia National Park that most visitors don’t know about. It feels like trespassing, but it isn’t.

We parked at the Rec Building near Ash Mt. He said, “We had a lot of good parties there.” I replied, “Yep, and a lot of boring ones too”. This is the place where I used to attend retirement parties for Park people that I didn’t know until I figured out that attendance wasn’t mandatory. The building is long, narrow, and very loud.

Next area was a boneyard of equipment and non-photogenic stuff, then the corrals.

I appreciate the signage at the corrals. (Cowboy humor reminds me of Cowboy Bert. It’s been a little over a year since we lost him. Heavy sigh.)

We stayed on the road until we got to this little creek, appropriately named Sycamore Creek. From there, we took another road that led down to who knows where. Trail Guy said, “Do you think we can make it back up this?” I said, “It might be too hard, but we’ll have to do it anyway.”

He noticed that thing in the tree and said, “There’s a bar – I wonder what it’s for?” I said, “You want a beer? Or maybe you need a lawyer?” Turns out it was some sort of a microphone with a solar powered box, maybe to record animal noises. I don’t think we accidentally uttered anything subversive.

These little plants will turn into irises in about May. It will probably too hot to go find them then.

We saw a few mules doing what mules do. Horses too. This is a horse. (Thank you, Trail Guy, for straightening me out.)

I found this round thing and decided it must be a tuit. Might come in handy.

While Trail Guy poked around in the boneyard piles of old Park equipment, I studied oak branches, preparing for my next mural.

This might make a nice painting, although I never know quite how to handle the gray matter of leafless oak trees massed together.

This might be a better view.

There I go again, turning every outing into a business trip. That’s the way it is when one is an artist.

Sunny in Three Rivers

The Central Valley of California is known for its heavy winter fog, often called “tule fog”. I haven’t seen it as bad as I remember growing up. My sister would be driving the family wagon, and after the intersection of the closest avenue, we’d roll down the window and count the reflector bumps on our road. Exactly at bump #17, we’d do a hard left to turn into our driveway. That was the only way to find home.

Three Rivers is usually above the fog. One day last week, it was brilliantly sunny at home, but I had to go down the hill. I pulled over to the usual overlook vista point for this one last look at the sunshine.

Wowsa. This wants to be painted, but I’d emphasize Alta Peak with the snow more than it appears in this photo.

Then I looked down canyon to see what was ahead.

Oh boy. Looks like sweater weather down there, never a bad thing for a Knitter with more sweaters and scarves than there are days to wear them each year.

Three Rivers

Mildly Interesting

Happy Birthday, Trail Guy!

Trail Guy and I drove down to Lake Kaweah (The Lake) to take a walk one morning in December before the rain turned it into a quagmire. At one point as we bumbled along, Trail Guy said to me, “Isn’t this exciting?” I responded, “No, but it is mildly interesting”.

The day was overcast and the colors were dull.

In spite of being the last day of Autumn, the sycamores were holding their color in the various drainages that lead down to The Lake.

Cockleburs are abundant and obnoxious. They are native to many places in the US but I didn’t care enough to find out which areas.

Cockleburs love socks. (Yes, I did knit those – thank you for your interest!)

I always notice blue things. There are many blue caps to various beverage containers.

I only photographed these and left many others undocumented.

It’s pretty trashy in the lake bottom. I never remember to bring a sack; maybe it is because it feels hopeless and because it will be too heavy to drag around.

Trail Guy likes to go poking around in the boulder clusters; he says he thinks he might find a body there. I think most bodies found in Tulare County are in orange groves.

There were no bodies, only a pair of abandoned socks. I didn’t inspect them for cockleburs but I wonder if that is why they got left behind.

Kaweah Lake

Neighborhood Beautification Project, Part 4

Day Three was a little bit cold in the shade, but cold is better than hot, especially when it comes to painting a mural. Direct sun dries out the palette and the brush, even while it is trying to do its job on a wall.

I had a mental list of what the mural needed. The lower half wasn’t detailed.

But first, why is that rock floating in the water? That is unacceptable.

But wait – why is this middle part unfinished? The lower 1/3 will have to wait.

Finally, I began working on my day’s assignment of detailing the lower 1/3. Then, I rediscovered that the oak tree was too high to reach. Fortunately, Trail Guy stopped by to see if I needed anything, so I requested the stepping stool from my studio.

Trail Guy brought the stepping stool so I could reach the oak tree.

Then I walked home for lunch. (Is it still called lunch when it is 2 p.m.?) The air and the light were so perfect that I stopped for a photo at a neighbor’s place.

The bottom third got detailed, after I stopped finding unfinished parts all over.

It got colder in the shade, and suddenly I felt ready to go home. Because there is no deadline, no commute, and no check waiting at the end, I can return to this mural any time I have a better idea.

The light was a little low and a little flat for a good final photo. The morning light is better, but it casts too many shadows. So, the next overcast day, I’ll return in the morning for a more accurate picture.

Mural completed, building dressed up, Three Rivers neighborhood beautification project finished.

Merry Christmas, Alta Acres!

This is my final post of 2019. I’ll be back on January 6, 2020. Happy New Year, Blog Readers!

mural Three Rivers

Neighborhood Beautification Project, Part 3

Because Day 1 of the neighborhood beautification project was packed so full of mural goodness, I split it into 2 posts. So Part 3 is actually only Day 2.

I started the day’s work with both adding and subtracting detail on the upper hills. I’m not fully satisfied yet but it can wait until the mid and lower parts are further along.

Because I am not working on scaffolding or ladders, it is easy to keep backing up and looking at it the way the public will be viewing it most of the time.

White water, a first layer that will need more detailing, and an oak tree on the left which will need more branches and leaves.

The pencil drawing is serving as my guide for most of the placements, textures, and darks and lights (“values” in ArtSpeak). It was a made-up scene in 2001, using many different photos, none of which I can find now.

This is the way it looked at the end of the day.

If you drive past or run fast by it, it looks finished. It’s not.

Here is a list of thoughts about painting this mural:

I am quite happy about this mural. It’s been on my list to do for several years while I waited for an idea, an opportunity, and the right attitude.
One more day ought to do the trick.
I hid something in this mural.
Two voices were warring in my head over all the other noises: one said, “What do you think you are doing, you faker?” and the other said, “Keep painting, chickie-babe, you’ll figure it out”.
Why are kids so noisy? They are continually crying and yelling. (There is a day care nearby.)
The equipment inside this building runs all day long, sounding like a dishwasher or washing machine.
The noisiest vehicles in the neighborhood are the ones that drive back and forth, all day.
Whole lotta barking dogs around here.
People are very encouraging and complimentary.
I didn’t post on Instagram or put the mural on the blog while I was working on it, because it is a gift for my neighborhood, not a publicity feat. (I don’t ever do the Facebook*.) It has been fun to just quietly do the thing and let people discover it on their own.

*”The Facebook” is said the same way I say “liberry”, “prolly”, “Mr. Google”, and “Remorial Building”. I’m not as dumb as I sound, in case you were worried. Thank you for your concern.

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Neighborhood Beautification Project, Part 2

The last post of this blog showed the beginnings of a mural on the neighborhood water treatment plant doors. I put some blue in the sky and knew there was only one direction – forward.