Like that song by Dolly Parton? Nope. Starting 2 new oil paintings of Mineral King (and finishing one other).

This is 3×9”, a new size I found in Salem at Michael’s. Visalia’s Michael’s doesn’t have any this size (or the 4×12”, which I quickly used to paint Sequoia trees.) This does not surprise me; the Central Valley of California usually gets lesser quality merchandise in its chain stores, of which there is an abundance (EXCEPT for Trader Joe’s, of course). However, we did get the largest Catholic church in North America, right in Visalia, although after a year of asking me to write and rewrite a contract to paint a mural, no contract was signed. In frustration, annoyance, exasperation, and a big injection of reality I raised my prices significantly. They gasped in horror, went searching for another muralist, and now, 2 years later, STILL NO MURAL.

Wait—we were talking about new paintings. This will be titled Mineral King Dusk #??

Here is a 6×12” of the classic Mineral King scene. Yes, upside down.

Layer #1 is now good enough to set aside for drying.

This trail scene, Mineral King Trail III, is now drying, awaiting a scan.

The color will be truer with the scan.

Why is it called “scan”, which is the first syllable of the word “scandal”? And why does it sound so close to “scam”?

I just work here.