That again? Yeppers. Now it is a card. You can buy them from me in person or on the cards page of my website. $3.50 each, blank inside, 5×7″, green envelope, packaged in a sealed cellophane bag. Now, I will brace myself for the stampede!
Mineral King Bridge, original oil painting reprinted as card
Say what? Is that some sort of typo?
Now now, let’s not get all worked up here. It is Latin and it means “in position”. We’ve been over this before. IF you were paying attention you might remember! This California artist knows a few Latin phrases, and she isn’t afraid to use them. However, she isn’t a snob about it and always explains them for your learning pleasure.
Remember the oil painting of the Mineral King Bridge? It was happily received by its commissioner, beautifully and appropriately framed, and is currently residing on a granite kitchen counter. This way, its owner can live with it a bit, before deciding its proper place on the appropriate wall.
She photographed it for us.
(Happy Birthday, Deb! Or was it yesterday??)
When I was a child, my sisters and I had to say “May I be excused?” before leaving the dinner table. This was to signal many things: we were finished eating; to give our parents an opportunity to review our plates; to teach us how to be civilized; to consider other people; to become accustomed to decent manners.
So, now I say to my customer, “Please may I be excused?” This is because I believe the oil painting is finished, because I am civilized, and because I am never finished until the customer is happy!
Closing in on it!
Branches and leaves on the cottonwoods, a pine in the right foreground, and some branches added to the red firs back by the cabins.
Sounds like a lesson in native trees of Mineral King. Might be, if I knew what sort of pine that is. Bet it isn’t a pine but is another red fir.
There is more to be done. There is always more to be done.
Sounds like a life lesson.
(Hey Mr. Google, this post is about a Mineral King oil painting, a commissioned oil painting, and I am a California Artist. Just sayin’.)
Getting better all the time (wasn’t that a song by Chicago?)! Certainly isn’t a Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Long Way There is certainly correct for the road, and Long and Winding Road is even better. Wait – it was called Getting Stronger Every Day by Chicago!!
Clearly I digress. This is about visual art, not auditory art. Here, have a look at the painting after round 2:
It will take at least one more layer to get the colors, textures and shapes right, and then I can start the leaves on the cottonwoods. (Those are the trees on the left).
We all know that procrastination is not a virtue. However, I’d like to present a few benefits to procrastination:
1. Sometimes the problem fixes itself.
2. Sometimes new knowledge or skill is acquired so the difficulty diminishes.
3. Sometimes the problem becomes a moot point.
4. Sometimes someone else takes care of it.
I’ve been contemplating an oil painting of the Mineral King bridge for several weeks. In the meantime, I’ve made progress on my Huge (yet unrevealed) Project, finished a pencil commission, assembled a new spinning card rack, finished some other pencil drawings, prepared for the upcoming student art show, decided on and ordered covers for my display screens, completed the application for the next Studio Tour, and many other things that might bore you right off this page.
Finally, I’ve run out of excuses. The real reason for procrastination in this case is a little embarrassing: when I’ve gone several weeks without painting, I get a little fearful that I won’t be able to remember how to paint.
Then, when I begin a new painting, my fears appear to be confirmed. Sigh.
p.s. Don’t worry, CL, it WILL get better. They always do!
This is the final posting of this series, Why I Make Art. READER WARNING: I will talk about God in this so if it bores/irritates/offends you, skip this post.
I am made in the image of the Creator. He, the Ultimate Creator, created me to be like Him, which includes the desire to create. (No, no, no, I don’t think of myself as Godlike!!)
Clearly I do not have the ability to speak things into existence, nor the ability to make something entirely original. “What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, The Message
I also do not have the unlimited ability to make millions of variations of the same item, nor endless items.
My work is imitative, derivative, just a way I have of reflecting back a little glory to God. It is my way of expressing the joy I find in light, shadow, shape, color, texture, scenes, and gratitude for ordinary daily gifts.
(Clearly I am missing the cooler temperatures, brighter colors and higher water of Springtime!)
Mineral King, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50
Waking up in the morning has never been easy for me. Some people wake up energized and ready to go; I am not one of them. My Oh-So-Wise-Dad used to say that when he woke up in the morning, he’d lie there and try to die. Failing that, he’d get up and do whatever had to be done. He was joking, mostly. Now I wonder if he didn’t just struggle with the whole wake-up-get-up thing as I do – hard to tell, because he was a very early riser. And, he expected his daughters to get up at a reasonable time too. (Our definitions of “reasonable time” never seemed to mesh.)
Occasionally, I will wake up and feel refreshed, excited about the day, ready to see what there is to see. This painting is from a photo taken on one of those rare mornings. And, for the record, it isn’t morning I struggle with; it is waking up that is the problem!
This painting is available for sale on my website. Just sayin’.
6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50
Farewell Gap is an unusually symmetrical mountain pass. The elevation is somewhere in the 10,000′ range, and the trail to get there is 6-1/2 miles long, very well graded, with fabulous flowers. I love that hike. (Never mind. Stupid plantar fasciitis.)
This year I am lollygagging about the cabin, enjoying the views from the valley. This is one of the best. This one sold, but I can paint it again. Happily! Love this view.
