Mineral King oil paintings | Cabin Art

More Mineral King Painting Factory 3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELINDA!! (now entering the S-words)

This is the third day of Mineral King Oil Painting Factory.

This one was drying, taking up valuable easel space.

Here they are with the photos on top that I’ll use, hoping that somehow seeing them there will make me a better painter.

Piper, how did you convince your brother to come out of hiding??

Tuxedo sat there briefly, tiptoed around a bit, heard a noise and returned to the hole. I’ve been thinking that Ansel would be a good name for a black and white cat.

Back to work, feeling happy because perhaps I will have 2 cats after all.

Feeling happy makes for good painting, maybe. When this is finished and dry, I’ll compare it to the earlier ones (unless they have all sold).

Sawtooth. I thought I could set it aside, and then I realized that the telephone pole could use some foliage.

Just kept adding detail, layer after layer, until it seemed as if I was just lifting off what just got laid on.

At the end of the day, I feel tired of standing, staring, squinting and painting. That makes it a good time to do some loose base coats, since my ability to focus has diminished after about 6 hours of painting.

This whole idea of being a painting factory has its good points and its not so good ones. Have you noticed that applies to almost every single thing in life?

The good: Getting things finished well in advance of a deadline is a good way to do business, and focusing on the same subjects and colors over and over should be honing my skills.

The not so good: Focusing to this degree is tiring, I might be boring my readers, and OH NO WHAT IF THEY DON’T SELL BECAUSE I HAVE SATURATED THE MARKET??

Besides these 11 paintings in progress, there are 2 more that have been on stand-by for months – my favorite bridge and Eagle Lake.

I’ll think about all that another day.

P.S. Tony was thrilled with his goose, the black and white cat is definitely gone, and the 6×18 painting has sold.

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

More Mineral King Painting Factory

Are you just bowled over by the clever titles to my blog posts? Some days I just about put myself to sleep with the repetition in titles, but there is always something new to post for you to see and read.

This one only had a tiny mark on it during the last painting session. It will need aspen branches and leaves in the foreground to make it more identifiable as the upper end of The Nature Trail in Mineral King.

These 2 blank canvases were waiting for me; I forgot to start them on the day when I began the other 9 paintings. Forgot! Right there on the table and I FORGOT??

Surprahz, surprahz, surprahz, as Gomer Pyle used to say. This is Farewell Gap with the Crowley cabin.

Now here’s a real surprise – Piper is becoming comfortable. The tuxedoed brother was still in hiding at the time I wrote this post. (Update on tuxedoed brother cat: he ran away.)

This is an entirely new format for a Honeymoon Cabin painting.

I add the next layer with better attention to color and detail, working from back to front and left to right.

At the end of the painting day (and decent light), Piper was still hanging out with me. And you can see that the color of light is distinctly different at this time than when I began.

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

The More I Paint. . .

. . . the more paintings sell.

One Sawtooth, one Honeymoon Cabin, one White Chief, three of the most popular scene of Farewell Gap with the Crowley cabin, and one of just Farewell Gap minus the Crowley cabin. 6×6″ is the most popular size.

Keep painting, Central California Artist Who Specializes in Mineral King.

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

Back to Mineral King Painting Factory

I am back to Mineral King, figuratively speaking, not literally. There is finally some snow up there, and I’m happy to be here in the painting studio, painting summer scenes of Mineral King.

First, look who showed up! Piper and his brother arrived on a Friday, and Piper decided to get acquainted with us on Sunday. He spent most of Monday in hiding with his brother, and when I was finished painting, he came out.

Piper is the name he arrived with. We’ll probably keep it. (the name and the boy cat).

My initial goal was to begin 9 paintings, but then 2 more sold, so I increased it to 11. It feels daunting, so the plan is simply to begin each painting. Then when I paint next, I can choose whichever one rings my bell to focus on. Just need to get some momentum started. . .

Mountain ridge underneath the sky. The squared-off peak is White Chief.

This 6×18″ of the Honeymoon Cabin feels very experimental. I’m making up the missing parts so that it fills the canvas. (The pink line is a strange computer action, courtesy of the Mac photo program. . .?)

Inspector Piper wants to know what happened here today.

P.S. I typed this blog post with Piper on my lap. This is good, but where is his brother??

Mineral King oil paintings

Random Roundup

We got rain and snow and clear bright days.
Three Rivers, as it looks in my neighborhood.
I painted 3 poppies, thinking they would be quick and easy. Fall down laughing. I have had to reshape and reshape and relayer and wait and relayer yet again and on and on and on. . . this is just one of the three poppies that will not cooperate.
I started painting a bear. During our Bear Autumn of 2015, I got a few photos. This is probably the dude who tore battens off the side of my studio while seeking acorns.
After much calculation, I figured out how many more Mineral King paintings are needed, which subjects and which sizes. This is based on numbers sold in previous summers, popularity of subjects, and women’s intuition. Time will tell if I have chosen correctly. (I can always paint roosters over the tops of the ones that don’t sell.)I chose the sizes, paired the canvases with the photos, assigned inventory numbers, titled the pieces, attached the hanging hardware to the backs, and primed the canvases.
The web designer said there is progress being made. Sounds as if I have hours and hours of computer work ahead as I load up all my art (NOT paying someone else to do this!)
March First Saturday in Three Rivers at Anne Lang’s was better than both January and February combined. Some fine folks were waiting for me to arrive (Hi D & B & R & A!!), a friend bought my lunch (T/U, GE!!), and a friend stopped by for a long overdue visit (Hi CHO!). Of course, sales made the day particularly happy, and I did more coloring in the Heart of Ag coloring book, along with lots of explaining to people how to layer with a minimalist box of Black Wing Colors.

And thus we conclude a random roundup of the business of art, as defined by me. I wonder how other artists go about their business? On artists blogs, they all sound so professionally successful, discussing plein air outings (oh shut up, that is so hard and I don’t know how and I am a studio artist and if I am outside it will be to hike, walk, prune or pull weeds), or packaging up things to deliver to galleries (galleries, schmalleries – this is Tulare County), or showing off big deal sales to a local hospital or courthouse or university (Hunh? those places spend money on art, big money on originals?? Not in Tulare County), or fancy commissions (I paint wooden geese and or draw barns), or shows in nice places (I do them in Art Centers without plumbing, the local Remorial Building, or in people’s stores or backyards).

HaHa. I live in Tulare County and they don’t.

Oops. Sold two more Mineral King paintings recently so I may need to recalculate! Customers keep depleting my inventory. . . what’s an artist to do except keep painting??

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings Three Rivers Tulare county Tulare County art Tulare County artist

Finished Mineral King Oil Paintings For Sale

As promised, here are some finished Mineral King oil paintings from my Phactory Phases. Factory Fases? Too much cuteness for you? I’m sorry. Must be the oil fumes.

They are all oil paintings on wrapped canvas, which means the sides are painted so they don’t need frames. The prices don’t include 8% sales tax; if you live outside of California, you don’t have to pay it, lucky you. If you want to order, you can go to the sales page and use shopping cart and Paypal or you can send me a check in the Real Mail, the US Postal Service, my favorite way to reach out and touch.

I love to blog, to post here on my web log, weblog, blog, online journal. Mostly I just run on about the business of art, but sometimes I show you things for sale. I don’t wear plaid pants, assault people, lie or talk fast; instead, I just provide opportunities for my handful of readers to buy the things I make.

It is my hope that you enjoy my blog, and find enough opportunities to buy my work without feeling sold to.

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

Cute Little Things

Cute little things? What is this about?

This is a post about 4 cute little oil paintings of various Mineral King scenes on boards, each one sitting on its own tiny wooden easel. (Well, yes, they are for sale – thank you for asking!)

The rectangular paintings are 4×6″ and are $50; the squares are 4×4″ and are $40.

Such a deal! They are available on this page. (Sort by price, lowest to highest, and they will appear on the first page.)

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

Mineral King Painting Factory Phase II, 2

Now there’s a creative blog post title for you. . . just the facts, ma’am.

I’m almost finished with this phase. Paintings need to dry, get signed, scanned, and varnished. Have a look at the various stages.

Cute little 4×6″ oil painting on board, on its very own easel.

2 scenes waiting for wildflowers, and a bridge awaiting some painterly confidence.

Say buh-bye to the unwanted pomegranate.

Maybe next week I will have a host of completed, signed and scanned Mineral King oil paintings to show you.

Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

Mineral King Oil Painting Factory, Phase II

This year I have set the goal of finishing all the Mineral King oil paintings well before the season begins. The Silver City Store has been selling my oil paintings since 2010, and it is good for them, for me, and for the customers. The past 8 years have provided a good idea of what sells and in what sizes and quantities. Why not look at this information and make a plan?

Phase I was finishing a large quantity of paintings in the month of January, some that were begun in December. The total was something crazy huge, like 2 dozen or so. I hadn’t planned on buying 4×6″ canvases or painting on 4 little boards that used to contain things like tomatoes, so the number went up. All this production forced me to figure out how to use my painting hours more efficiently, and in February, I am continuing with this plan.

(Do you need a nap yet? A cup of espresso?)

Phase II is filling in the gaps – do I have the right quantities of the best subjects in the most popular sizes? Nope, not yet. Here is how beginning another 8 paintings looks. It’s not that pretty, but it is not as gross as making sausage, I guess, although I’ve never witnessed that operation.

Wiring and writing titles and inventory numbers.

Buh-bye, sweet little pomegranate that no one wants.

Skies come second, after I have “toned” the canvas, which is Artspeak for smearing the gunk from the bottom of the turpentine jar all over it and letting it dry.

There are about 6 more subjects I want to paint. These are also Mineral King, but they involve new scenes.

If this seems a little repetitious to you, well, it is. It is a little repetitious to me to. That’s the thing about doing work for a seasonal business – it is repetitious because there are new customers every week, and they haven’t seen my paintings before. Or they saw them last year and want to add to the collection. Or, their friends saw their painting and wanted one too.

Mineral King Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings