A Day of Variety

Sometimes it is a little hard to work from home. There are many other things requesting attention, opportunities to be productive in other ways, chances to just lollygag around or find other occupations. Last week I had such a day.

It began with wandering outside while drinking coffee and seeing a bit of pruning, and then finding Tucker in my herb garden.

See why I want to be outside this time of year?

Notice that these flowers are in the primary colors.

Next, I made plans with a friend for a walk at the lake early in the afternoon, and that made me willing to dive back into work, knowing my time was limited to paint. Sometimes deadlines help me to focus.

This was dry enough to begin detailing until it was time to gather up my friend and head to Kaweah Lake. (Oh-oh, I can’t remember if it is Kaweah Lake or Lake Kaweah again; what’s with the mental block on this subject? This may be why we’ve always called it “The Lake”.) We just walked in the lake bottom, not close to the lake except where it covered the pretty bridge.

The lake level is rising slowly. We walked to beneath the Horse Creek Bridge, and the mustard was striking.

After our walk,  I was able to paint a bit longer on the Mineral King cabin oil painting commission. I think I can get even more detailed on this, but it needs to dry a bit more.

And thus we conclude a day of work combined with distractions.

The Juniper Everyone Loves

A friend/customer requested an 8×8″ oil painting of the juniper tree on the trail to White Chief in Mineral King. Everyone* loves this tree. I even talked to someone who said she performed a wedding beneath the tree several years ago. I’ve painted this tree several times, different sizes and different shapes.

 

This is not the same one but it is on the same trail. It doesn’t have quite the same visual impact. Besides, it is on a steeper section of the trail and not quite as visible.

Here is the sixth time in steps:

Every time I paint this, I am determined that it will be The Best Juniper Painting I Have Ever Done.

*I know not “everyone” loves it; not “everyone” has seen it. Besides, maybe we love it because it gives us an excuse to stop on the the steepest trail in Mineral King.

Recently Completed

See? I have been working, despite the all the travelogue posts. (It takes more days to show and tell about a trip than the trip actually lasted).

“First Granddaughter” (no, not mine!), 8×10″, pencil, private collection
Mineral King Alpenglow, 6×18″, oil on wrapped canvas, private collection

Finishing a Painting in Mineral King

I set up the easel in the backyard of the cabin and worked on the painting from memory and the “visual notes” I had made the day before. That’s what Marty Weekly did, so I figured it must be a good plan.

Wait! He didn’t set up in my backyard; he took it home to finish in his studio. His plan was 2 sessions, using little examples of colors and textures that he placed on the canvas during his plein air session.

Not done.
Done, but not signed. I forgot to bring my signing tool.
The obvious Mineral King solution was to use an old square nail.

It made me happy to look out the window and see a plein air painting that I liked. Being familiar with the scene, having seen Marty’s way of tackling it, and adding the details I love all made the difference in my confidence and ability.

Of course, if it doesn’t sell in about 15 minutes, I will be questioning my confidence and ability.

And there was a third session to paint the edges.

There will be a fourth session to write the title on the back and add a hanging wire.

A fifth session will be after it is dry: scanning the painting.

But wait! There’s more: it will need varnishing.

Mineral King Valley, 11×14″, $300 (+tax – welcome to California)

Watching a Master Paint in Mineral King, Part 4

This is the scene we were viewing.
This is the painting at the end of the afternoon.

Watching Martin “Marty” Weekly paint plein air in Mineral King was a huge privilege and a great learning opportunity. It is one thing to take a workshop in Georgia, where everything is unfamiliar. It is another thing to watch someone paint a landscape that I know very well, so I can understand how decisions are made to include some items and simplify or ignore others.

Here are some of the many things that Marty taught me in the 3 hours we stood there together:

  1. If your brush feels comfortable, try the next size up. (Why? I try to do this so that I get the painting finished in a timely manner, but I think Marty does this so he doesn’t get overly detailed.)
  2. Cobalt blue with white mades a very accurate sky color.
  3. All paintings look terrible in the beginning, even if you are as terrific as Marty Weekly!
  4. Adjust the parts of your painting to suit you and make the best composition possible, while retaining the recognizable characteristics of the scene.
  5. No one finishes on location; almost every plein air painter knows there will be finishing required in the studio.
  6. Turpentine from the hardware store is good enough – no need to pay for overpriced art supply turpentine.
  7. There is a brush cleaner available from the hardware store that will salvage any dried-out brush (I can’t wait to try this!)
  8. Try Permanent Rose instead of Alizarin Crimson for one of the mixing reds. (Why? I have this color, so I will find out!)
The sky can be finished in the studio, along with the various vegetation in the foreground. We talked about Goldenrod, Sage, and Asters, which are all present in September; he made visual reminders. We also talked about the stream, getting at least the lay of the land so there is a sense of the stream.

I am looking forward to seeing the finished painting! Since the intended recipients are friends of mine, I will ask to see a photo, and hope I can show you.

Watching a Master Paint in Mineral King, Part 3

Marty and discussed the weirdly shaped juniper. The light on the edge of it was compelling, and he decided to put it in, but not the same size as it is in real life. The trouble with that scene in real life is that there are 4 trees, all in a line, all the same height and evenly spaced. If it were painted that way, it might look like a sad little orchard rather than a natural scene.

When he added the light on the edge, the tree came alive (not literally on the canvas but you know what I mean, yes?)

We discussed the Honeymoon Cabin. Marty didn’t know what it was, and his wife and I convinced him it was important to include, especially because the painting is to be a wedding gift for a couple who knows Mineral King.

He worked his way down into the lower reaches of the painting, which looked like a daunting amount of real estate to me.

We discussed the snow patch on the side of Vandever, which is important enough to have a name – Bearskin. It is often speculated about during the summers as we wonder how long the snow will last. The addition of Bearskin made it necessary to add the remaining snow right below Farewell Gap. He also added in Falcon Peak, which is really just the headwall of White Chief Canyon (to the right of Vandever).

Marty also did some reshaping and tightening up of the accuracy of some of the shapes. Because he paints in a loose and impressionist style, this surprised me. But, his scenes are always recognizable, so of course he wants the shapes to be correct. We talked about the top of Vandever, which wasn’t visible from where we stood, and I was able to tell him that the top is jagged and it is taller than West Florence on the left side of the gap.

We discussed the vegetation, and he made some visual notes so he would know how to finish things later in his studio.

On Monday, I’ll tell you some of the many things I learned from watching Martin Weekly, master plein air oil painter paint in Mineral King.

Watching a Master Paint in Mineral King, Part 2

As Martin Weekly set up his painting, I stood in the shade of the juniper, took photos, and just listened and watched. As a Questioner, I bit back many questions, and waited for him to either talk to himself or to address me directly. He shared a tremendous amount of experience and information, which I wrote down when he was finished for the afternoon.

The second roughed in sketch.
Blocking in begins.

There is great comfort in knowing that even the work of a master begins looking scribbly and worrisome.

See those bright orange dots? That is the way Marty checks his values (the darks and lights) because orange is a strong middle value. He can compare any color to see if it is darker or lighter, because a painting needs all the different darks and lights to be good.

This is the scene we were viewing, but of course our eyes take in so much more when standing on location than can be captured by a camera lens.
Marty sees colors differently than I do.
We joked about how paintings look so dreadful in the beginning stages. I always say, “Best viewed from the back of a fast horse”, and he said, “Might look good at midnight with the lights out while wearing sunglasses”.
To the right side of the scene is a weirdly shaped juniper tree and the Honeymoon Cabin. I wondered if he would include those 2 signature items that tell exactly where we are.
It was time for sky so the top of the peaks could be defined. Marty uses a different color of blue than I do for skies, and I thought it was perfect! Why haven’t all the various instructors I’ve had ever mentioned Cobalt blue for skies?? Everyone else swears by Phthalo or Cerulean blue!
We talked about the weird juniper, and Marty thought about it. He decided to not have any trees shooting up above the line of the peaks. This was a concept I never considered; I thought if you made the trees too short, the perspective would look wrong. Not so when Marty does it!

To be continued tomorrow. . .

Mineral King, Plein Air #4

I liked sitting by the stream to paint, so I set up the next day in the morning so it would be shady. The idea was to paint the same scene with different lighting, but I ended up leaving out the juniper this time. Why? Because I wanted to, and I am the boss of my painting.

This time I used the lid of the palette to balance, because the less stuff I have to juggle, the better.

But wait! Before I started this painting, I decided to try one from my memory and a sketch I had made the evening before. Because we are fairly social on our road, evenings, especially on holiday weekends, are for neighbors, not for working. So it wasn’t convenient or friendly to disappear to work when people had braved that road and wanted to socialize.

Ummm, no. This will need some work in the studio.
Vandever & Stream, 8×8″, sold.
There is a theme here.

There. I’m done with plein air in Mineral King posts for awhile. I just wanted you to know that I am still working, even though it seems as if I just goof off in Mineral King in the summer.

Plein Air in Mineral King, #3

After painting Empire and Vandever with the Crowley Cabin in Mineral King, plein air (on location), my confidence built. But, I didn’t like schlepping the easel around or setting it up, so I tried it sitting down by the Honeymoon Cabin (at the beginning of the Eagle/Mosquito trail). This was most pleasant, right by the stream. But in the afternoon, it was not in the shade, and there was no convenient place to put my palette. If it ain’t one thing, it’s anuthuh.

This scene?
No, I think this way with the juniper instead.
I had company.
Trail guy borrowed a sign from inside the Honeymoon Cabin (a mini museum) to rest the canvas on.
There was a root that made a perfect foot rest.
“Vandever, Stream, Juniper”, 8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $100

Plein Air in Mineral King, #2

A number of years ago (feels like 6, must be 10) I tried painting on location from the bridge in Mineral King. I had no instruction and no idea of how to proceed.

Painting in Mineral King in 2007 – it was TWELVE YEARS AGO! (I still have that shirt.)

Trail Guy and I walked to the bridge and inspected the views and possible areas to set up. The bridge is narrower now, so setting up on it is asking to be hit by someone’s rearview mirror, or moving every time a car comes.

This is from the bridge, a perfect scene, but one that can only happen via photos or with lots of trotting back and forth across the bridge. (There is no bridge troll, so it could work.)
This was about the only option, in spite of the uneven ground.
The stream didn’t really show despite being on a bridge. Too many willows.
The juniper blocks the top of Vandever, so I moved it.
Once again, I relied on the sketch to tell me what to include and what might fit.
First, the underpainting.
Second, the greens. Looks terrible, but has promise at this stage.
Better.
It’s kind of interesting to see the evolving canvas and the scene in one shot.
Suddenly, I was tired of dealing with uneven ground, people stopping by, and painting outside, so I packed it up and walked back to the cabin to finish.

I’ve painted this scene about 50 or 60 times, and drawn it in pencil at least a dozen more. So, I felt confident finishing it up at home.

Almost finished.
“Crowley Cabin”, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $125.