This day’s oil painting session went from an olive grove to a walnut grove. (Grove or orchard? Same thing.) The day ended with a potential cattle ranch. The last olive grove painting session left me with this mess to tackle, layer by layer. I began with improving the trunks and branches. Here you can see […]
Little Things Mean a Lot
It often just comes down to the little things, the details, those finishing touches on a painting that bring the most satisfaction. Here are five paintings that I added little things to on a single morning of painting. Big Oak: I studied this painting for awhile and decided the dirt patch at the bottom might […]
A Three-Painting Day
Three paintings of Tulare County scenery were brought closer to completion on a productive day of painting. Two were fun, and one is still riding the struggle bus. Not a lot to say about this other than I photographed each step. It was fun to detail the unusual barn, and now I need to detail […]
Big Oak Tree
Did you know that Tulare County is home to the largest oaks in the country? The valley oak, quercus lobata is not what this big oak tree is. I found this tree somewhere along Dry Creek Road. I didn’t get close enough to know what kind, but I can tell by the shape that this […]
Layer by Layer, Little by Little, II
Layer by layer, little by little, these two paintings are inching ahead in spite of the Central California artist’s desire to park indoors by the wood stove with a book. The top one is 12×16″, an odd barn along Dry Creek Road, known as the Homer Barn. The bottom one is 11×14″, some perfect oak […]
Green and Orange
Poppies and oranges are two of my most popular subjects. Orange and green, green and orange. Orange is yellow and red; green is yellow and blue. I’m getting more relaxed about the specific shades of each, focusing more on values, which is Artspeak for darks and lights. This painting will take awhile, because I want […]
Another of Tulare County’s Prettiest Places
Maybe “Tulare County’s Prettiest Places” would be the right name for my show at CACHE. But what if I want to paint other places too? Who will want other places? My fan club (fall down laughing) is based here in Tulare County. Enough already with the speculation and analysis—let’s paint. This is Rocky Hill Drive, […]
Returning to My Favorite Subject
Orange groves, foothills, and mountains remain my favorite subject to paint. (It used to be the Oak Grove Bridge, and who knows what it will be next?) I painted this to hang in my dining area, but put it on my website and then, lo and behold, it sold! (off the website—I didn’t open my […]
Bumbling Along With One, Almost Finishing Another, and Finishing a Third
Your Central California artist bumbles along on one Tulare County oil painting, almost finished another, and finished a commission. Let’s start with the bumble. The differences are subtle between the before and the after version. In the after version, the lower left corner makes more sense, and there are more branches on the trees. A […]
Painting Early Summer on a Winter Day
Dry Creek Road is one of Tulare County’s gems. At the bottom of this country road, there are cattle, irrigated pastures, wildflowers in spring, and views of layered hills (beer cans too, but we will ignore those). This painting combines several of these elements, and depicts late spring when a hint of green remains while […]