Forrest’s Dream Cabin

My friend/customer/web designer Forrest requested a large painting of a cabin. He searched for several months, until he came up with a photo that he declared to be “IT”. Alas, he was not the photographer, and I just can’t be copying people’s work without permission. 

No no no no, I can’t copy no more, I’m scared of waking up in the courts. No thank you, please, it only makes me freeze (with fear), and then it makes it hard to face the Lord.

Forrest contacted the photographer and got permission!

So, I started. He said it would be fun to see the progress, and I decided to include you all in on the fun. I also told him to not be scared, because they all start out ugly. Forrest’s Nightmare Cabin, perhaps.

Yeppers, it is sideways. Easier to reach the top of this 20×30″ commissioned oil painting. Remember, 

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

(except that the beginning stages might scare you.)

Cabin Painting in Stages

You’ve seen most of these photos before. I am showing them again so you can see them all on the same page in order of progression on this painting. Besides, it will help me to see them all together because then I will know I have actually accomplished something.

A few more details (including the flag and porch railing), painting the edges, signing, and then maybe this will be finished. 

Making art people can understand of places and things they love for prices that won’t scare them.

More Hard House

Before sending the photo to my friend/customer of the oil painting of her grandparents’ house, I studied it on the computer screen, comparing it to the photo.

The mistakes in perspective and proportion just knocked me sideways.

Some were fixable, some are not. Back on the easel it went with the main problem being the bay window.

My friend didn’t notice any trouble there but asked that window on the balcony to be turned into a sliding screen door, and for some grass to be planted in front of the porch.

After I did those things, I noticed another problem with the balcony and changed the proportions there.

It needs to dry, and I need to figure out when to say when.

And chances are that if you read this far, you are probably yawning and wondering what all the jibber-jabber is about. My friend is very patient, doesn’t understand all my pickiness, and is happy with the painting, now in her possession.

Meanwhile, I will keep working to. . .

. . .make art that people understand about places and things they love for prices that won’t scare them.

(Although sometimes the process scares me.)

 

Custom Oil Painting, continued

First, the sky, then the roof, and next, the details that I can see.

Greenery helps.

I’ll keep working at the details that I can see, then move to the parts that I have to make up, and finally, I’ll ask my Customer/Friend to help me understand the parts that she remembers.

Then, I’ll tighten up the details and correct the color and who knows? Whatever it takes to make it look the best I can make it. I can do this! (Like the Little Engine That Could – “I think I can, I think I can. . .”)

Ran out of daylight to paint during the last session. Hence, the darker photo.

New Custom Oil Painting

Because I can’t start painting on the mural until afternoon, I can work on a new custom oil painting in the morning.

This is for a friend of mine. This house belonged to her grandparents, and she doesn’t have many photos other than the ones taken after the house changed owners. So, I am working from mediocre photos and verbal instructions from my friend/customer. Tain’t easy, but we can do this.

On Leaving California

Not me. I’m never moving again, being deeply traumatized by leaving Lemon Cove and moving 14 miles east to Three Rivers almost 22 years ago.

A friend of a friend is leaving California. My friend would like to give her friend a little something as a token of our native state. Her idea was perfect – a 2×2″ painting of a poppy, the state flower.

Back when I thought I was ordering a dozen 2×2″ canvases to give them a try, I ordered a dozen packages of 10 each. It has taken awhile, but they are now all used up.

I was relieved to find a poinsettia which could be converted to a poppy.

It needs to dry, then it can sit on a cute little easel for the friend of a friend who is leaving California.

I think she deserves a medal of bravery for making such a huge change.

Inching Along the Commissions

Reminder: “commission” is Art Speak for a custom piece of art. Here are two in progress:

No matter how often I paint the Oak Grove Bridge, it challenges my ability to draw with a paintbrush. Drawing with a paintbrush is something that is sneered at in the Art World, but I am hard-pressed to imagine how one of those loosey-goosey painters would handle this subject.

I sent this photo to my customer, and he declared me to be finished. He was actually nicer than that – he said, “As I said before, you are the best!” Aw shucks, thank you, DB. You are a dream customer.

The giant circle continues to develop. The surface of smooth plywood with several base coats of paint is different than canvas and will take multiple layers to cover. That’s fine, because I can get tighter and better with each layer. This is my preferred method of painting, fix, fix, fix some more, and fix again, called “glazing” in Art Speak. That is how I painted the bridge commission.

My customer the citrus grower asked if the trees would be darker, because I sent a photo taken earlier than this one. Then I took this photo, and because the paint is wet here, it is reflective so it still looks pale. I kept painting, and then sent this photo:

I love this subject matter just as much as the Oak Grove Bridge and am quite happy about getting to spend many hours making it look as good as possible.

New Commissioned Oil Painting

I stopped by the Silver City Store to check my paintings and encountered an old friend on the deck. He said how much he liked my bridge painting in the store. I went inside to do inventory and couldn’t find the bridge, so came back out and asked, “Did you say you ‘like’ the bridge or that you ‘bought’ it?”

He said that he “liked” it, and I told him it had sold. He was disappointed, so I offered to paint it again for him, and he said yes.

Wow. If only every sale was that easy. I went home and immediately began painting, because the Oak Grove Bridge is my favorite subject. (If you have been following this blog for awhile, then you already knew that. If you would like to see more, put “Oak Grove Bridge” in the search bar of the blog and it will give you a stack of old posts to read or to just look at photos, paintings and drawings of the bridge.)

Ooh. As soon as I saw the bottom photo here, I saw some things to correct on the painting.

 

 

Finished and Finished

The green looks a bit uneven because it is wet. Those tiny white letters were challenging, nay, CHALLENGING!

The two sided A-frame mural (sign? what is this thing?) needed a few touch-ups.

 

In case you are wondering, yes, I can name all the flowers. They are all foothill flowers, not in my wildflower book Wildflowers of Mineral King: Common Names.

 

Other than getting the quail as close to reality as possible, this side was just lots of scribbling in brownish yellows and yellowish browns. 

Now what am I going to work on??