A year ago I painted a mural for a store in Three Rivers that had not yet opened. Sequoia Outdoor Sports had a grand vision to supply visitors to the area with the equipment they need for backpacking and camping. It is a great idea, because there are so many folks who fly over here from other places without their gear.
They asked me to paint a trail scene and include Redwood trees.
The store is great, but the mural has already faded.
A couple of oil paintings sold, so I moved them from their pages on the website to the Sold page. In the process, I realized that several paintings are not on the site that should be.
Kaweah River in Fall, 10×10″, $125
They won’t load. Technology confounds me once again. Just when I think I can manage my own website, I have to go running to the web designer.
Kaweah Post Office VII, 11×14″, $175
These are not brand new but they are among my newest paintings. You might remember seeing them awhile ago. But, should you want to buy them, technology might confound you too! So, here is another opportunity to see them.
Kaweah Post Office VIII, 8×8″, $75
Growing up in Tulare County we simply referred to Lake Kaweah, created by Terminus Dam, as “The Lake”.
(and there is still a stupid dark spot on the lens.)
Now that I’ve lived in Lemon Cove (at the base of the dam) and Three Rivers (on the rivers that flow to The Lake), I’ve learned that it is The Lake. Not “Kaweah Lake”, (pronounced “Kuh-WEE-uh”, not the River Kwai!) but The Lake.
At this time of year, there is a lot of real estate at The Lake bottom for camping, walking, biking, and horseback riding.
Our very dear friends, whom I shall call “Cowboy Bert and The Captain”, have horses. They brought them to The Lake and camped and rode for several days. I’d show you a photo but the only one I have shows The Captain bending over to inspect Blue Doc’s feet, and I don’t show photos of friends bending over. Makes you want to be friends with me, hunh?
We joined them for dinner on 2 evenings – we really know how to whoop it up on New Year’s Eve! Ummmm, not.
Going places, even in my own town of Three Rivers, provides inspiration. IF I were painting these days, which I am not unless it is a commissioned piece, I’d probably paint one of the top 2 scenes (minus the weird spot on the lens).
Which is your favorite photo? (and please disregard the weird spot)
First Saturday Three Rivers for December is coming quickly – December 1, to be exact. My studio will be open. Go to Anne Lang’s Emporium for a map. Come see me between 11 and 5. It might be raining. I have a roof and a little heater. It will be fine!
You can ask me stuff about my art and buy Christmas gifts. I don’t accept credit cards but I do accept cash and (good) checks. There is an ATM in town at the Bank of the Sierra.
The Perfect Gift Boutique happened over the weekend. It has become a tradition for the Kaweah Artisans to hold this exclusive event on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Three Rivers Arts Center.
Exclusive? Well, the Arts Center is small, so we have to exclude any exhibitor who doesn’t say “Yes” soon enough to procure a space.
Exclusive? We are all folks who make what no one else makes. That could be more accurately defined as “unique”, but that is such an overused term.
Exclusive? We are from Tulare County, primarily foothill towns, primarily Three Rivers. If an artist from another town with a product that no one else was showing and selling asked, we would consider her. We are all California artists.
Exclusive? We aren’t a bunch of man-haters. We have included men in the past. Just turns out that we are all women.
Artisans? We all make our own products. That includes weaving, soy candles, soaps and lotions and perfumes, jewelry, photography, gourd art including ornaments, wood turned bowls and vases and platters, oil paintings on canvas, ornaments, journals and cards (that would be my work).
Care to join us next year, either as an exhibitor or as a shopper?
The Perfect Gift Boutique is an annual event put on by The Kaweah Artisans.
Can you see the Arts Center? It is over there!!
It is low-key. There are 7 of us showing and selling our work in an old converted house across the river from the main part of Three Rivers on North Fork Drive. I put all my Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music on, and we just hang out and wait for people to come. We talk to the guests, help them choose gifts or just catch up with them and enjoy one another’s company.
The participants this year are: Tina St. John – jewelry, Anne Birkholz – wood turning, Sam McKinney – gourd art/ornaments, Ginny Wilson – Blue Ridge Photography, Nikki Crain – handweaving/soy candles, Janene Laswell – Ja Nene Natural Body Products. and me.
Friday, November 23 and Saturday, November 24. Three Rivers Arts Center, North Fork Drive (just across the bridge, first building on the left), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The annual Three Rivers Senior League Holiday Bazaar happened on a rainy day. This might be the third year in a row, which isn’t really bizarre. I am not complaining – the rain is always welcomed in this part of the world. Central California feeds the world, and it requires irrigation to grow all that food, which requires snow in the mountains.
This is what I saw when I pulled up in the morning. I never did make it outside to see what was under those tents. Hardy folks, those artists!
Since I set up the night before, I was greeted by this sight. Well spaced, missing a banner that says “cabinart” because the pole was sort of falling apart. Lots of space for people to enter and not get trapped by a hungry pushy saleswoman/artist. That wouldn’t be me. I am not hungry, pushy, or a saleswoman. Sigh. Perhaps I should learn how to be. Never mind. I’d rather paint. (I was a little hungry – forgot to eat breakfast that morning!)
Because I was set up, it gave me time to admire the view out the windows.
I was so pleased to have Creekside Yarns as my booth neighbor. They were pleased also, because I offered them the backside of my screens, hooks for hanging, and help hanging their merchandise. If I wasn’t such a disciplined artist, I would spend most of my daylight hours at Creekside Yarns. That is my favorite form of procrastination. They are my favorite shop. Knitting is my favorite thing to do outside of work. Happy sigh.
This is my friend and former drawing student, Nikki Crain. She is a weaver of awesome ability, an artisan extraordinaire, a first-class fiberist. (I just made that word up because I was on an alliterative role, sort of) Look at those trees!! She has the best booth space.
There was steady traffic, but the booths were seldom crowded. This gave lots of opportunities to really converse with the folks who stopped by. The Three Rivers Holiday Bazaar is one of the easiest shows that I do – close to home, set up the night before, one day only, not very expensive, well attended by people sincerely interested in Christmas shopping who are friendly and intelligent. This seems like it should be a common thing, but the more shows I do, the more I appreciate this little event, here in Central California in the rainy autumn foothills. Happy sigh.
p.s. All the calendars sold. I ordered 8 more, and they are now all spoken for. (Yes, Jon and Ralph, you are on that list!)
This used to be called the “Senior League Bazaar”. . . I was walking past the Three Rivers Memorial Building and on the marquee it said 17 HOLIDAY BAZAAR. This means it is happening on Saturday, November 17. The hours are 9-4. You are invited! There is no entry fee. This is a pleasant gathering of crafters, artists, artisans, handy creative folks with neat-o stuff to sell.
I will be there with paintings, cards, 2013 calendars ($15 while they last – just 8 left!) and blank journals with my paintings on the cover ($14 inc. tax). Such a deal! And what a way to combine art with usefulness. . . I amaze myself with own brilliance at times. 😎
You can shop inside and outside. It is a great chance to visit with various artists, learn a bit about their processes, and some years a booth has fudge for sale with little tastes.
But First Saturday Three Rivers December is coming.
This is how my drawing table looked. I was working on a Wilsonia cabin.
This is the painting studio/gym/storage area/Trail Guy’s workshop. Please be impressed by my red chrysanthemums – I think the leaky hose in their barrel is the cause of their gloriousness. But wait! Notice the giant fruitbowl painting drying on the easel! When the three sides of the canvas are dry, I’ll flip it over and paint the bottom edge.
This is the other side of the drawing studio. On the table are cards, journals (blank inside, $14 inc. tax), and the slightest corner of the 2013 calendar ($15 inc. tax). Too bad the air conditioner is so prominent. (So glad to have it during the summer.)
People came. They ate cookies. They bought art. It was good.
Want to come in December?
If you are over 50, you probably are experiencing the rush of time. I don’t mean “rush” as in thrill, but rush as in hurry, fast, speedy-gonzalez. Didn’t I just particpate in First Saturday about 2 months ago? Nope, it was in May. Or was it in February?
See? I sound like an old person, which over 50 used to be.
In addition to the change in how time passes, there are always those questioning conversations, plus the ever-shifting definition of “old age”.
But that’s not why I am blogging today. (See? all those conversational diversions also go with middle-age!)
First Saturday Three Rivers is happening in two days, on November 3, 2012 and MY STUDIO WILL BE OPEN.
Sorry for shouting. I get a little carried away sometimes with the enthusiasm of actually having folks come to my place of normally solitary and silent work.
You’ll have to go to Anne Lang’s Emporium to get a map to find me. I’m not posting directions or my address on the World Wide Web for all those weirdo spammers to see!
The theme is Oak. Or is it Oak Leaves? Maybe it is Oak Trees.
If you come, you’ll have the best selection of my new blank journals with my paintings on the cover ($14 inc. tax) or my first ever calendar with paintings for each month of 2013 ($15 inc. tax, special deal for you only this Saturday.)
Lone Oak, oil on wrapped canvas, 12×16″, $250