Three Rivers | Cabin Art

Sanctioned Graffiti

A friend in Three Rivers has a rock in her front yard (well duh, most people in Three Rivers have rocks in their front yards) and for a few years, she has wanted some words painted on the rock. She mentioned it to me and I said, “I can do that!”

After she explained her idea, I spent time messing around with typestyles, looking for something I could imitate. After experimenting awhile, I realized the only choice was Papyrus, the type that graphic designers love to hate. I love it. What do you expect from an unsophisticated, marginally educated, DBO* from Tulare County?? It was the best choice because it has ragged looking edges, and I was painting on a ragged rough surface.

I forgot to bring my chalk to mark the borders, but was able to scratch in the lines with a rock, then put a first layer down to see if I could control the paint and a brush.

Yeppers. I can do this. A new brush helped.

Layer layer layer. Watch out for drips.

Remember to step back and see if it is readable.

My friend wanted it subtle, and liked the light color. I asked if I could add shadows, she was good with that, and we both liked the results.

Voila! Sanctioned graffiti (or sanctified graffiti?) My friend said, “Tell your people that I am thrilled, filled with happiness and joy over this!” I said, “We are ending this year proclaiming the truth.” She said, “Amen”, and we were both quite satisfied.

*Ditch-bank-Okie is supposed to be a pejorative term, but I view it as a compliment.

custom art odd job

Mural, Final Day

I could have titled this “Mural, Day Thirteen” because I am not superstitious; however what if someone reading my blog is superstitious? Where in the world did that fear of #13 originate? Never mind, we have a mural to see.

After staring at this photo for awhile, I made a list of things to fix.

My plan was to go in the morning for the bright sunlight so that I could really see details. The parts I wanted to fix were small enough that the direct sun drying paint too quickly was only going to be a nuisance rather than a hindrance.

Alas, I was trapped at home for 3 hours. Southern California Edison is very proactive about replacing wobbly poles and cutting interfering trees.

I still made it to St. Anthony’s with bright sunshine on the wall.

An employee was present and asked me what was left to do. It was a good chance to articulate the parts that were not quite right and to cement the idea that they needed a bit of polishing. He was surprised by all my criticisms, and we had a good conversation in which he told me about a book titled “Beauty Will Save the World”. He said that the premise of the book is that people want to get rich in order to protect themselves from ugliness! That was an entirely new concept to me, and it certainly makes sense.

Working all over the mural meant lots of ladder moving and climbing.

A partial list of what needed to be fixed: more branches above, 2 trees were too narrow at the top, one of the big trees was lacking in texture and was too red, more ferns at the base, and many more things too boring to burden you with.

The shade moved quickly, and it went from tee shirt weather to jacket time in very short order.

Most of the changes are too small to see in this format and probably could have been skipped, but that’s not the way I work.

You can see that the too-red tree is calmed down and has more texture now, but I will need to return to photograph it in bright sunlight.

I lay on the ground to sign, and as careful as I tried to be, my brush bounced all over the stucco. Thanks to my friend Jon, I was spared writing “www” before my web address. He recently taught me that “www is so last year”. I depend on my friends to haul me forward on those important trends.

Thank you for following along with my sequoia mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat (Santa Teresita Youth Center) in Three Rivers. No new murals are planned at this time, but I am always interested because:

I make art you can understand of things and places you love for prices that won’t scare you.

Mural, Day Twelve

The last time I worked on the mural was about 2 weeks ago. Trail Guy stopped by and took this photo. This mural is one of the least social I’ve painted, other than the ones at my house. Now you have proof that I worked on it.

I thought I would be able to finish the mural yesterday. Instead, I held back a little, with the intention of spending time today really studying it, making the little improvements that make me proud to put my name on the mural. I am more motivated to finish things than to perfect them, so this is a matter of professional discipline.

It has been a few weeks since I was at the mural and there are quite a few leaves on the ground. Doesn’t matter – just an observation. This photo was taken with a phone rather than a camera.

I wonder why the camera’s pictures are more dull than the phone.

I stood there a bit, studying the mural, trying to remember what I had planned to do next.

That’s right – too much empty sky.

Over the archway too – too empty.

Better.

This is how it looked at the end of the painting session yesterday. I will study this photo and make some notes to take with me today.

Variety of Irrelevant Items

All these topics are irrelevant to the business of art; I’m showing you anyway because they are mildly amusing and even slightly interesting. If you just came here for the art, you will leave disappointed today. If you just enjoy visiting because you can, then welcome.

We have animals in our yard in Three Rivers.

We have animals at our windows.

You may have noticed that I have a curious mind. There is a gloriously beautiful glowing tree in front of the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter, and I’ve never seen one anywhere else. A red oak of some sort is the best guess my students, Mr. Google, and I could come up with.

Do you know what this tree is?

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

In spite of having more work at once than I can remember in years, I do take time off when I can. Trail Guy and I went trespassing last week.

There is a tiny bit of green grass, but it is due to a leak, not to rain.

We were trespassing and I don’t want to say where, because pretty soon everyone will figure it out and flood the place and then it will get really locked down. This is what has happened to the Bureau of Land Management area above our neighborhood. It used to be so seldom used that I had to be very very careful when exploring because the trails weren’t clear. 21 years later, the place is crowded.

I photographed the grassy hillside so that when I finish the custom jobs, I can return to the painting of some cowboys on a grassy hillside. My photos of that scene have blurry grass. Yes, it matters. This isn’t something I have much experience painting, so I need to study these things and figure out how to render this stuff believably.

There isn’t much water in the flume, but there are many acorns.

We are ready for rain and snow around here. Really really ready! (My mural can wait for a few storms.)

Mural, Day Eleven

On Day Eleven, I arrived when the sun was bright on the wall. It was difficult painting. The worst part is that my brush dries when I step back to view my work or contemplate my next move. If I toss the brush in the water bucket, then it is too drippy to use again and takes awhile to shake out. If I don’t toss it in the bucket, it goes solid. (So get another brush! But if I did that each time I stepped back, it would take me an hour at the end of a painting session to wash them all.)

Everything has trade-offs. The good side of bright sun on the wall is that it makes for better photos.

A list of work remaining: too much blue sky needs branches, more ferns at the bottom, background behind the tree to the right of the arch, more white fir trees in the foreground (the little bluish tree to the right of the far left tree), one of those medium trees gets too narrow too fast at the top, and I could keep going, but it is time to paint.

More before, but it was too dark to get a decent photo of the after version on this section.

This is an example of that blue sky that wants branches. It will have to just wait awhile.

Plenty of detailing remains undone; I could work on perfecting things for days. Instead, I need to return to custom artwork with tight deadlines. St. Anthony’s Retreat is very flexible and have no deadline in mind for the mural.

This is the end of Day Eleven. I will spend some time studying the mural and then do my best to finish it in one more day of painting. “One more day”, not because anyone is pressuring me, but because I think the end is that close.

That probably means two more days. I want to keep drawing with my paintbrushes.

Mural, Day Ten

It was a little bit overcast on Monday, so I decided to try painting earlier in the day. I wanted to make up for the short days of painting last week when I got sidetracked into gardening and squeezing pomegranates.

It is time to figure out the background to the left of that tree.

I stopped for a mini lunch break (both the lunch and the break were miniature), a chance to study the mural and make a mental list of what is needed. While sitting there, I decided that the large tree I just detailed is too heavy at the base.

Meanwhile, I was captivated by the view.

There. The tree now has a more believable shape. I took some off of each side.

I’ve been planting ferns for awhile, so maybe I’ll climb back on the ladder. There is too much sky on the left side of that tree.

Whoa – dark already? Definitely cold, and it is hard to paint when one is shivering and can’t see.

My next painting day is Friday, so I’ll show you the progress on Monday, Lord willing, the creek, etc.

Mural, Day Nine

Thursday was a short day. My good friend works at St. Anthony’s, and she is a fabulous gardener. We got caught up inspecting plants, discussing deer repellent and deer resistant plants. We also discussed my juicer, which I lent to her; it is perfect for pomegranates, which she grows.

Friday was also a short day. I had to dig some plants before I started painting. After I painted for about 1-1/2 hour, my friend came to find me because the juicer wasn’t behaving. I went back to the kitchen with her, and we spent the rest of the afternoon juicing pomegranates.

Friendship can trump work when there is no deadline.

Maybe this tree? (the weird pink line is a mysterious thing that my computer occasionally does to random photos.)

No, I think I’ll do the tree on the far right.

This big tree was next. I was mixing paint colors when my friend showed up.

When I returned to the mural, it was getting dark, so I just painted a few lines, sort of a map. That way I won’t waste time wondering where to begin when I return to work on Monday.

Mural, Day Eight

The usual – get there, stare, wonder where to begin, take a photo or two, spread out the tarp, wonder how missing 2 afternoons of painting could have so severely impaired my professional confidence.

Think think think (like Winnie the Pooh)

I’ll start here, working on the ladder. It needs more upper greenery, and the medium tree on the right is clearly unfinished. I can paint sequoias. This will get me back in the groove.

Better, but it is missing the natural light filtered through the adjacent oak tree.

This. I can do this while standing on the ground.

Better, but I’m cold and it is getting dark.

Mural, Day Seven

Monday was a short afternoon because the snowy sequoia oil painting needed more time, longer than just the morning. It has a deadline; this mural doesn’t.