It is time to get some paintings finished for the upcoming Three Rivers Studio Tour. This is what is taking place in the painting workshop these days.
It’s a start to a picture that might work in my 2015 calendar, in addition to being available for the studio tour. Besides, it is just fun to paint with such brilliant colors!
I’m a California artist. What else would you expect me to paint? Oranges? Sequoia trees? You wouldn’t be disappointed. . .
Poppy I, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35
Poppy II, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35
Poppy III, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35
Poppy IV, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35
I used to have that little niggling worry about drawing when several weeks would pass without my picking up a drawing pencil (unless I was using one to balance my checkbook).
Because the season of Mineral King is upon us, it is time for me to supply the Silver City Store with oil paintings to sell.
This happens in steps:
Any questions?
*Hiatus means pause or gap in sequence. Why use a one-syllable word when there is a great three-syllable word to do the job?
Last week I had an explosion of California poppies in the painting studio. They landed on top of my stereo. (Yes, that is duct tape on the stereo – You can ask Retired Road Guy, but I doubt he’ll remember.)
Who knew that canvases came in 2×2″? They are so cute, and can be painted quickly. Of course I need my mega-strong magnifying glasses to see what I am painting, just in case anyone under 45 years of age looks at them.
Don’t you just love finding out what happened? Ever read the last chapter of a book before (or instead of) finishing? That’s okay – you don’t have to confess anything here!
Remember this pale poppy?
Now look!
It was an easy fix. Thank you to everyone who shared their opinion – turns out we all thought it was pale and wussy looking. And thank you for being so polite about it all – all who remarked on it simply said they preferred the brighter colors rather than insulting the poor anemic thing.
Do you ever surprise yourself with forgetfulness?
Last week I did a little painting of a California poppy. After it was finished, signed, photographed, varnished and dry, I added it to the growing stack of little paintings. (An artist who sells needs to keep up her inventory.)
Well, oops. Guess I already painted that poppy and forgot. SOMEONE needs a better filing system for her photos. Check this out:
Do you prefer the softer colors of the upper poppy or the stronger ones of the lower painting?
What is the visual equivalent of an echo? A shadow? A reflection, perhaps. . .
Is there a reflection in this studio? A reflection of Mineral King, to be exact? Because I see an awful lot of Mineral King Oil Paintings drying on your wall!
Seems that way. Mineral King is de ja vu all over again.
Same scene, different viewpoints.
Same bridge twice, different paint jobs, different directions.
Same cabin, different times of day, different times of year.
Same place, favorite view, over and over and over. Mineral King oil paintings, on miles and miles of canvas. Mineral King, Farewell Gap, over and over and over. Instead of the California artist, I am the Mineral King artist. Perhaps I should change my tagline in this blog.
Nope. Oranges and poppies don’t grow in Mineral King.
Are you tired of this view yet? (that question is for you, the reader, not me, the California Artist!) Tell me about it here.
The year was 2008, and the California poppies were stunningly abundant in Three Rivers. People still talk about it.
This is one of my photos from that most memorable year.
My postman brought me some photos he took, and I painted from them. You saw the results of one such painting here.
I promised to show you this when it was finished, and I keep my promises. If I remember. This larger version contains more detail than the 8×10 version. The mailman’s photo was easier to paint from than mine, because the solid mass of poppies almost makes my head spin. Hard to paint with an almost-spinning head.
Great Poppy Year©, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $360
The Redbud Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 at the Lions Roping Arena in Three Rivers. Saturday is 10-5, Sunday is 10-4.
Redbud Festival is named after this flowering tree which grows wild in Three Rivers. It blooms in March, so the name of the Festival doesn’t correspond with nature. However, it does coincide with Mother’s Day, so here is something to do with your Mom this year.
My space looked like this 2 years ago. (I didn’t participate last year because all my work was in the Tulare Historical Museum for a solo show.) It will look different this year.
As I continue to read art marketing sites and blogs and to interact with other artists, I continue to make changes to the way I display my work.
The changes won’t be huge, but the hope is that my work will look better.
If my work looks better, you will stay in my booth longer. If you stay in my booth longer, you will study the work more. If you study the work more, you will get attached to something. If you get attached to something, you will want to buy it. If you want to buy it, I will sell it to you.
Oh great. Now you will be afraid to come see my booth at the Redbud Festival because you will get sold! No, I won’t sell to you unless you want me to. I don’t know how to “hard-sell” stuff, much less my own art. If I did, I’d, ummm. . . no, I love my life. It would be the same as it is now!
There will be a new painting of the Kaweah Post Office, 2 of fields of California poppies, a Sequoia painting in a new shape, and maybe, just maybe a new painting of the Kaweah River. And there will be oranges, of course. And some small paintings of California poppies that sit on easels on a table top.
See you at the Redbud Festival?
This is another painting of California poppies, working from a photo supplied by my thoughtful and generous mailman. I painted it as an 8×10, loved it, and decided to repaint it 16×20. Practice makes perfect, someone said. It is not a commission. The 8×10 hasn’t sold yet, so maybe I am just getting ahead of myself. (Sometimes I’m just dying to paint something, and then no one else thinks it was such a good idea.)
This is after 3 layers. When this dries, I’ll add lupine.
Stay tuned – I’ll show you when it is finished!
Here is the 8×10 version:
Great Year For Poppies©2012, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×10, $90