Trail Guy in Mineral King

About half of today’s Mineral King photos are by Trail Guy, AKA Michael Botkin AKA The Husband of The Artist (who has been too busy painting a mural in Exeter to take time off to go to Mineral King as often as they’d prefer.)

stellar jay and mt. quail

A stellar jay and 2 mountain quail

black bear

Stay back there and Do Not Come Near The Cabin.

Mineral King

Farewell Gap, the Crowley Cabin, and the headwaters of the East Fork of the Kaweah River.

mineral king

In White Chief Canyon or Bowl, depending on who is doing the describing.

timber gap mineral king

Climbing out of White Chief, looking out over the top of Timber Gap

white chief mineral king

The trail leading into White Chief – Vandever is the peak on the left, with Bearskin visible (that patch of snow).

deer

Deer. Whoopee. They eat my geraniums at home.

toyota tacoma

WHAT IS THIS??? New to us, a 2003 Toyota Tacoma with matching “truck cap” (used to be called “camper shells”). But where is the Botmobile?

Right behind the Sequoia mural, resting from a drive down the Mineral King Road. 314,000 miles, Trail Guy bought this 1986 rig brand new, a year before we got married. (Good thing, because if we were married, I would have told him to buy a used one.) He doesn’t dive into things too quickly. He doesn’t dispose of things too hastily either. Makes me feel quite secure, actually.

Trail Guy In (Mineral King on) Friday

These photos are all by Trail Guy. He was in Mineral King while I was down the hill painting. That’s because he is retired. Don’t feel sorry for me – I love what I do! And he keeps me current on Mineral King until I can get back up there.

White Chief canyon

This is in White Chief Canyon. The peak called White Chief is the flat top on the far right. Vandever, the right side of Farewell Gap, shows on the left (3rd bump from left). Bearskin, the patch of snow that is shaped somewhat like a bearskin rug is visible below Vandever and to the right.

Timber Gap, Mineral King

Looking down from just above White Chief, there are a few small ponds and Timber Gap is in the distance.

green in Mineral King

Isn’t that green fabulous?? It is some mossy stuff, watered by snowmelt. In the foreground are skunk cabbage, which really are not skunk cabbage – they are Corn Lily, but resemble skunk cabbage that grows in the East.

Farewell Gap Mineral King

There is still some snow in Farewell Gap. The peak on the left side of Farewell Gap is called “West Florence” or sometimes “Little Flo”. It is NOT Tulare Peak, as mistakenly noted on some maps. Tulare Peak is a different one, and don’t you forget it! (I keep forgetting which one it is, in spite of being told multiple times while painting it on my first big mural in Exeter.)

Farewell Gap, Mineral King

See? Snow, and water flowing down from Farewell Gap.

Mineral King Marmots in wood stacks

Can you spot the 2 marmots?

Mountain quail in Mineral King

Mountain Quail are beautiful and very very shy. They show up at dusk when it is hard to photograph them, and they skitter off if they sense you are there.

TG Friday in Mineral King

Trail Guy – Friday in Mineral King. You thought I was referring to a restaurant? Not this little gray duck.

The white snow (thank you, God!) blends with the white (gray?) sky.

Trail Guy skied up to Crystal Creek.

Look – something that isn’t like a black and white photo.

A little break in the clouds made it prettier in person than in this photo.

And thus we conclude our  late winter check-in with Mineral King. Summer is much more visually inspiring to this California artist than the snowy landscape and gray (white?) sky.

 

Thoughtful Thursdays – A Juiced Up Life

Now that the drawings for The Cabins of Wilsonia  are finished, I’m thinking about oil painting again.

I’d like to make a 2015 calendar of paintings, and need to decide if I have any that can be used or if I need to do 13 new paintings. Thirteen? A year has 12 months, a calendar has 12 months PLUS a cover.

I’m studying some paintings I didn’t use in the 2013 calendar very intensely. Why hasn’t this or that painting sold? Is it the old “right person hasn’t come along” or is the painting just not good enough to grab those who have come along??

When I wonder about things like this of a philosophical and esoteric nature, I talk to my friend D about it. She and I have decided that we live in a time when we are all used to things being instant and awesome, or as I think of it, “juiced up”. Here are some examples:

Photos

A. regular photo – nice.

B. juiced up photos, like the ones in the link I gave you yesterday.  We are impressed when the light and color are enhanced, or juiced up.

Music

A.  friend playing a song on a guitar – nice.

B. juiced up, hearing it in stereo on our ear buds with all the accompaniment

Movies

A. old movie – entertaining in a dorky sort of way.

B. juiced up – big flat HD screens with stereo sound and special effects and surgically enhanced actors

What does this have to do with painting?

I can paint what I know or see, mixing the colors that match nature and reality. Nice.

Or, I can juice it up – exaggerate the colors, enhance them and show people a scene the way they remember it, because it was a juiced up memory.

Here is a non-juiced up photo:

Nice. Of course it is nice; it is Mineral King!

Here is a juiced up painting:

The colors are brighter, I added a peak, I subtracted a tree. The tree was good, but it didn’t fit the shape of this rolling trunk with a slightly warped lid.

I decided to paint this same scene on canvas. If it turns out well, I’ll put it in the 2015 calendar.

It is very wet and the color doesn’t look juiced up yet. When it is finished and completely dry, I’ll rephoto or scan it so you can see what I mean about juiced up.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, but I don’t dare turn on the comments and be hit by a tidal wave of spam. Sigh. You can use the Contact the Artist tab above or email me if we are already correspondents.

A Dry Winter in Mineral King

Trail Guy went to Mineral King. I worked. He is retired. I am completing a book of drawings. It’s cool – we understand that this is a consequence of our vast age difference. (Calm down, I’m just exaggerating!)

I might be a good influence on him. On the other hand, I might not be.

The fact that he is enjoying photography is the good influence.

He requests the camera regularly.

A radio commercial says this: “Never wear a fanny pack. No really. Don’t ever wear a fanny pack.”

Dude gets weird sometimes. I take full responsibility. (Remember my knitting photos??)

He has always noticed beauty, but now he records it.

He is noticing good light more, actually seeking it out.

Recognize Sawtooth?

Do you pray? How about asking God to send rain and snow? We need it.

P.S. If you see Trail Guy today, wish him a Happy Birthday!

Mineral King in Monotones

This is how Mineral King looked on Thanksgiving Day.

Not much water, not much snow, not much color

Not much snow, not much sun, not much color.

Ditto to the above comments. This is looking down from the junction of the Timber Gap/Monarch Lake trail.

Sawtooth, minus much snow, as seen from the Timber Gap trail.

Crystal Creek, not much water, no snow, not much color.

Heading back from Crystal Creek, not much happening visually.

Hey! Sunshine!

Please, God, send some rain and snow.

Closing Weekend in Mineral King

There is beauty in the shoulder seasons in Mineral King. There is beauty in all seasons in Mineral King. In spite of that, it is a summer place to me. I feel sad when we close the cabin, when I am no longer there half of every week and not hiking, knitting and reading guilt free, and not turning on the computer but cooking on a wood stove.

On the other hand, it is hard to live in two places. (Now that’s an embarrassing statement – sounds like “It is so difficult to manage a household staff” or “Stupid Rolls got another flat tire” or “My latest hair extensions weren’t quite the right color”.)

We usually spend the final weekend at the cabin chasing the sun. This year was no exception. I’ll let the pictures speak for the rest of this post.

Your Opinion Sought

Greetings, oh Gentle and Faithful Blog Readers.

Last year I printed a calendar of paintings.

This year I have only been working on The Cabins of Wilsonia drawings and a few commissioned paintings. I don’t have any new paintings for a calendar.

On my computer there are 21,500 photographs. With the help of my husband’s honest and strong opinions, I have chosen 12 of those photos.

Now, I seek your opinion.

Shall I turn these into a calendar? Or are there enough calendars out there in the world? You all know me as a pencil artist, a painter, and a portrayer of the beauty of Tulare County. But, will anyone care enough to buy a calendar from me of photos of Tulare County?

It includes Sequoia, Mineral King (duh), and Three Rivers. Yes, I occasionally go to Visalia or Exeter, but please forgive me for not including either of those locations.

Thank you for reading, for considering this question and for responding!

LATE BREAKING NEWS – Great positive response from you all! The calendars will probably be between $20-25 and that will include shipping. They will have staples for the center instead of the spiral thing. The paper might be stronger than last year. They will have squares for writing. The folded size will be 8-1/2 x 11 (like copier paper). And Mary Jo, I will look through my photos and see if there is something that fits your very good suggestion. Katie, I’m with you – would love to do a year of nothing but fall photos. . . might be a bit too odd for normal people. (We’re special, don’t you know?)

Fridays Are For Mineral King

You’ve been polite while I sell you pencil drawings of Mineral King cabins.

Today, let’s rest our eyes and minds with this photo of Mineral King:

Trail Guy will be leading a hike up to the Empire Mine area on July 27, 9 a.m. Depending on the state of my plantar fasciitis, I may be stumbling along at the back of the group. I don’t know yet where the hike will begin – Sawtooth parking lot? ranger station? bridge? More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Would you like a tee shirt to go with that hike?

You can get yours here.

Oops. Still selling! No, I’m offering you the opportunity to own quality, custom Mineral King items.

Wildlife and Wildflowers in Mineral King

Today I will try to be quiet so you can enjoy some photos in peace.

Okay, I cannot contain myself. This guy was RIDING A BIKE down the Mosquito/Eagle Lakes trail. Strictly forbidden. Bad photo, but I wanted to let you all know to not do this. (ride your bike on a trail, not take bad photos) Now, shhhhhh (me, not you)