Painting my Obsession

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I thought this painting was finished and was about to scan it when I realized it was missing something important.

Snow covered mountains in the distance! White is the slowest color to dry, so it will be a week or two before this one is ready to scan.

This one needs definition in the distant groves and detail in the foreground branches. 

I am just making stuff up now. As long as it is believable, it’ll do.

This will take awhile, lots of painting sessions to try this, that, and something else.

Saturday night, remember to spring your clocks forward because Daylight Saving Time begins. It isn’t saving any daylight, merely shoving it an hour later so that mornings are dark again. There is talk of making it permanent, but those who think that is a good idea aren’t thinking ahead to waiting until 8 a.m. to see any daylight in the fall and winter months. I say leave the time right where it belongs and quit jerking us around.

So there.



Possibly Walking More Than Working

I really meant to paint. I started detailing this piece.

But holy guacamole, look at this day!

My walking buddy and I spotted some white rocks beneath the bridge. They got heavier as we got closer to home but we made it. 

I added them to my little eccentric project to be arranged later. The iris are starting to appear above the soil now.
Then I went back to work and finished this 10×20″ oil painting of Tulare County’s finest scenery.

Next, I went back to this 10×20″ painting.

Doesn’t look like much, but it was a little progress. Remember, no deadlines, no upcoming shows, no commissions, just the beautiful month of February in Tulare County.

I Have a Feeling that. . .

Are all these posts looking alike to you? (That’s a rhetorical question, one that I don’t want to hear the answer to.)

I decided that this 6×12″ painting is finished. “Citrus and the Sierra #forty-eleven”, perhaps?

Time to put more layers on the 12×16″. Normally I paint back to front, meaning I start with the parts that are farthest away in real life. This day I started with the closest items instead.

After putting detail on the closer trees, I moved to the row of trees that is next, trying to make the perspective look believable.

That looks right to me now.

So Tucker and I sat back and studied the painting. It caused me to do more work on the mountains, not photographed yet because you prolly won’t know the difference. Yes, I wrote “prolly”. The green hills need a lot of attention too. Oops, one of those trees looks like a fuzzy green ball. 

I have a feeling that I will be working on this one for awhile.

Three Edges, Two Layers, One Finish

That title is a description of a whole day of painting.

Trail Guy started the furnace in the painting workshop, turned on the fan to move the warm air to the opposite end of the room where the easels are, and shut the doors to keep the warmth in and the cats out. They were invited to be in, but if you know anything about cats, you know how much they hate closed doors. (Trail Guy turned on the furnace for me because it makes a big POPPPHWHOOOFSSSHH! when starting and sometimes blows out the pilot light.)

Let’s move on before I add more letters to the noise the furnace makes.

It was a brilliantly sunny day, so much that I could not see the computer screen or take good photos of my progress. But, it is warm by the easels in the sun before the furnace does its job. So, I just worked with what I’ve got. . . what? You want me to build an actual studio?? Not a chance.

See the brilliant sunshine?

Pippin liked being inside before he figured out that the doors were closed.

Someone (Hi BW) asked for the 12×16″ painting, so I started there.

Hi Pippin.

Sky first.

Work downward and forward, saving the closest things for last. Not everyone paints this way, but since it is the way I first learned and it ain’t broke, I ain’t fixin’ it.

Next!

Layer, by layer. Same deal, top to bottom, back to front.

I felt like a cog in a wheel, a factory worker. So, I decided to do a 6×12″ from beginning to end. (That is the smallest size canvas in this series of Tulare County citrus with mountains scenery.)

Sky first, moving forward, ridge by ridge.

 

Detail is so engrossing that I forgot to photograph the steps.

This looks pretty good, but not good enough. Remember, I am a pencil artist, and I draw with my paintbrush. (So there, Art World snobs.)

This looked good enough to sign. So, I did. 

There was still time for another layer on this other 6×12″ canvas. 

With the leftover sky paint, I covered edges on three more canvases. Of course there wasn’t enough, so I had to squeeze out about four more times.

I could add that to the title. Four Squeezes, Three Edges, Two Layers, One Finished.

Nah. Trail Guy turned off the heater and I am ready to move into the house.

Favorite Subject, Favorite Month

With apologies to my long distance friends who live where there is real winter, I LOVE FEBRUARY! Along with this being one of my very favorite months (March and April rate very high), I love to paint orange groves with foothills and mountains in the distance. Two favorites, right here in Tulare County. (DON’T MOVE HERE because we are fat, undereducated, unemployed, and don’t have a Trader Joe’s).

I thought this one was showing great promise, wondering if perhaps it should be the scene I paint 18×36″ instead of this measly 6×18″.

Then I realized I used the wrong photo for this size canvas. They do all sort of look alike, and until I get them titled and more detailed, I am prone to making these mistakes.  So, I just smeared everything around to cover the canvas better.

Some of the wet paintings got hung on the board to dry.

Others got piled on the table so I could paint the edges a little bit, mostly just to use up the paint in the brushes and on the palette.

Still haven’t opened that big box. I’m waiting for all the photos to come, because I think that might lessen the chances of further mix-ups.

Next week, I’ll show you a few recent photos of why I love Tulare County so much at this time of year.

 

Painting While Waiting

The project manager for the mural job at the giant Catholic Church in Visalia called me. The mural portion is stalled until the niche project is completed. “Niche project”? I am not very conversant in Catholic, so she explained to me that there will be little compartments (niches) to put people’s ashes, about 2400 people’s ashes, in some granite thing called a columbarium. There are troubles with procuring both labor and materials, so I will just start some new oil paintings until further notice.

After choosing what subjects and canvas sizes, I assign an inventory number and put hanging hardware on the backs. I don’t know what other artists do; none have told me their particular systems, so I just made this up in March of 2006 when I started painting. It has served the customers and me quite well.

Seven of the eight canvases are ready to go; the eighth is in that unopened box from Blick art materials.That’s where I get most of my art supplies; in the beginning, many came from people whose mothers-in-laws used to paint.

After the hardware, I began with the base coat, just the skies first.

Next, I systematically did a very messy application of thin paint in approximately the right colors and places. This keeps little white spots of canvas from peeking through.

They all sort of look alike, and sometimes I got confused while following the photos with the odd titles on my laptop, along with the new inventory list. I’ve ordered printed photos for most of these, and when they arrive, I will secure each one behind its canvas in hopes of minimizing the confusion.

This is only five. Tomorrow, more on this topic of painting the best of Tulare County.

 

Planning Paintings, Part Two

When deciding what to paint, there are several factors to consider. What subjects will sell, which sizes will sell, what do I already have on hand, has anyone expressed an interest in a particular shape, size, or subject, and do I have good photos to work from?

After studying my stack of photos in the Citrus file, I chose eight to paint. You saw four yesterday, and here are the other four.

This will be 18×36″($1200) and I will raise the mountains in the distance, might make the hills more green, and grow those orange trees larger. And, I might hang it in my dining room, unless/until someone buys it.

 

6×12″ for this one, $125, maybe add some distant snow-covered peaks and grow the trees a bit, or crop off the dirt at the bottom so it fits the canvas.

 

This will be 10×20″ ($400), and it is almost perfect, except for needing more oranges on the trees.

 

6×12, ($125) more oranges on the trees, some cropping on the sides to make it fit the ratio of 1:2.

Next, I will wire the backs of the canvases, assign inventory numbers, think of good (or mediocre. . . this gets difficult after awhile) titles, and then start with base layers.

Which one would you like to reserve? Because sometimes your Central California artist needs to remind people that. . .

Using pencils, oil paint, and murals, I make art that you can understand of places and things you love for prices that won’t scare you.

Planning Paintings, Part One

There is a file on my computer named “In Progress”, with one inside of it called “Paint”. Inside that folder is yet another folder named “Citrus”.

“Citrus” isn’t entirely the right title. The right title would be too long: “My Current Favorite Subject to Paint” or perhaps “Orange Groves, Foothills, and Mountains” or we could call it “The Best Things About Living in Tulare County”.

The file has 30 photos, so it takes awhile to study, compare, name them (so that I can find the right ones again), and think about the best proportions and ways to crop.

After I choose a stack that I want to paint, then I inventory my canvases, finding a variety of sizes and shapes that will work best for each of the paintings.

Recently I chose eight new scenes, and then assigned various canvas sizes to them. I price according to size, rather than difficulty, which means the prices are consistent. (I’ve shown them with the sizes in case you want to reserve one or more of the paintings.)

Have a look at the first four photos and canvas sizes:

This one will be 6×18″ ($165), and I will make mountains appear behind the foothills; there will also be a bit of squishing and stretching of the scene so it will fit the chosen canvas ratio of 1:3.

 

This one will be 10×20″ ($400), and the oranges will be more visible on the trees; more trees will be added at the bottom to better match the proportions of the canvas, or some sky added; maybe some of the mountains will be condensed.

 

This one will be 12×16″ ($350), and the oranges will be more visible; I might take away the little avenue that appears in the lower left corner. (Now spoken for.)

 

This one will be 6×18″ ($165), so it will be more cropped than the photo, (which you might be able to tell is a couple of photos melted together with Photoshop in an attempt to widen the scene.)

Tomorrow I will show you the other four photos that I plan to paint.

 

Five New Little Orange Paintings

5×7″ oil paintings of navel oranges on panels, sitting on a mini wooden easel have been selling well at Exeter’s Mural Gallery. One sold, the buyer requested another, and the gallery asked for 2 more. Those sold immediately, and the gallery requested more.

You can see the beginnings here on this post from earlier in November. 

I painted five more, moved them into the house to dry, and forgot about them! They were on a piece of cardboard on top of a cabinet that was above my eye level. They were certainly dry enough to scan when I remembered them.

These sell for $60 each at Exeter’s Mural Gallery. They look better in person, because in spite of a good scanner, the colors are never quite right on the computer screen. (You might have heard that here before.)

Calendars

2023, Mineral King HIKES, still available here: Calendars

To see the back of the calendar, you will need to click on the link.

Lazy Listicle of Distracted Thoughts

  1. The acorns have been raining down from the live oaks in our yard and attracting herds of deer. One morning Trail Guy counted 16 in the driveway. (Deer, not acorns)
  2. This painting needs a title! Any suggestions?
  3. These 2 5×7″ oil paint on panel paintings are drying. There are 3 more, but these are days of distractions,  falling acorns, broken things, a rush pencil commission, RAIN, and yet another odd job.
  4. This big guy was focused on acorns and water. There is a tub on the other side of that rock that the deer come to (and the turkeys and the cats. . . probably some others we don’t know about). Such is life in Three Rivers in rural Tulare County.
  5. My wonderful webdesigner gave up two hours on her day off to begin figuring out what keeps going wrong with my website. This was her only day off in the busiest week she has had since pre-Plague. There are still some mysteries, but it is mostly functional at this time.
  6. Many years ago a former neighbor gave me this juicer. This year it wouldn’t work, AFTER we picked a 5 gallon bucket of pomegranates. Someone told me about a repair shop in Goshen, so I navigated my way to Breck’s in a ferocious rainstorm, and they gave me hope. Now my hope is that it can be repaired quickly, because in spite of not paying for it initially, at $90/hour, I will be paying for it now.
  7. In spite of November being my busiest month, I spent a day on my tookus, watching a live workshop of many demonstrations of art realism. During the boring ones (I KNOW how to draw!), I packaged notecards. During the other sessions, I took notes.
  8. I also took photos. This is how the light looks on one of my studio windows in the afternoon.

P.S. I might have knitted a little bit too. . . it wasn’t Zoom and no one could see.

P.P.S. (that means PS #2) I hit a skunk on my way home the other night. Didn’t know it until I got home. Felt something, but didn’t smell it until the car was in the garage. Well, yippee skippee. A skunk is easier on a car than a deer.