I went to Mineral King. Literally, this time. It was interesting to see in person what I have been painting, the winter version instead of the summer scenes.
Back to the easels. . . thanks for stopping by this week!
P.S. Last year at this time I was repainting the Mineral King mural and it was HOT out after a very wet winter; this year winter didn’t arrive until March. Weird.
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.
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.
That’s me, talking to myself. Keep painting, Central California artist, keep painting!
I messed up and ordered 4×6″ canvases instead of 6×6″. This means I have some adjusting to do and some decisions ot make.
The first step is to see how it is to paint on this size and shape.
This is an 8×8″ of my tied-in-second-place Mineral King oil painting subject, the Honeymoon Cabin. It was part of the resort; then Disney bought up parts of the resort in hopes of building a ski area. That didn’t happen, and now this little cabin is a museum of artifacts and photos of Mineral King.
You saw it yesterday hanging on the wall drying. In my normal manner, I got things a little mixed up, posted yesterday as #4 and had today as #3. Then I switched things a few times and finally corrected it, but here is the Honeymoon Cabin at an earlier stage. I might be a bit dizzy from the oil fumes, or maybe the turp. Could be the propane, but I doubt it; the oil painting workshop room is extremely well ventilated (read “drafty”).
Oil paintings don’t dry very quickly; that is both the good thing about oil paint and the bad thing. Trail Guy set up this handy little shelf in front of the heater in the painting workshop/studio, and that will help things move along.
Last Friday, Trail Guy and I went to Mineral King.
Our first idea was to take the trail down to the river behind Lookout Point. It was steep steep steep and slippery too, and then it was completely unmaintained. We spent 30 minutes on it total – 19 down and 11 back up. 
Nice view from Lookout, the first glimpse of Sawtooth. Mostly we were thrilled by clear air!
The next stop was Trauger’s, a water trough along the road, decorated by sweet peas in early summer. They were planted by Mary Trauger, “the angel of Mineral King” who homesteaded up above the road with her husband Harry during the mining era. The site is up in the cedar trees above the road (not the trees at the top of the ridge).
We have to go up this?? We decided it would be prudent to come back down another way.
The home site was farther than we expected along a sort of road that was very overgrown. There wasn’t much to photograph except the cedar trees and the fireplace. Isn’t it weird how that photo looks black and white, or maybe sepia toned??
We toodled on up to Redwood Creek (the 2 redwoods sometimes known as “Aunt Tillie and Uncle Pete”) for a quick lunch; the face flies were annoying because it was in the high 60s and low 70s out. Weird on December 28.
Trail Guy suggested that we go on up the hill to the Mineral King where there are no face flies. There is also no snow.
Crystal Creek has ice but is still flowing.
Sawtooth looked nice on the way back down the hill. It isn’t that nice – it simply appears to be nice. Wait, I mean it has a nice appearance. (I have a not-nice history with that peak. . . )
The upper half of the Mineral King road has potholes. The lower part has potholes, more potholes, crumbling edges and overgrown borders. The public’s frustration is expressed on the sign – look closely, and you will see so much frustration that the writer used a double negative, which contradicts his intent.
Trail Guy has made 2 more trips to Mineral King, AFTER I posted “Final Mineral King”. Before there is snow, when the weather is balmy and the air is clear up the hill, it is possible to still enjoy Mineral King (if one is retired).
On the first visit, he found penstemon in bloom!
He went again on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, when I was at the Arts Center having a boutique. (It’s okay – I love what I do; no need to express any sympathy here.)
Being Trail Guy, he headed up the Timber Gap trail (that’s the same one that takes you to Sawtooth, should you be so inclined.)
He didn’t go the whole distance; the days are short, and he is very faithful to help me break down, load and haul my stuff back home after my shows, so he was back in Three Rivers by 4 p.m.
This may be the second most photographed cabin; it is near Cold Springs campground and gets great sun in the fall and winter. (Probably in the summer too, but we are further up the road, taking pictures of the first most photographed cabin instead.)
These two were below Redwood Creek, above Slapjack. First sighting of the year in late November!
One last visit was made by Trail Guy; I was in Visalia at a backyard boutique. He had some final things to finalize, finally.
Here are his best photos from a very clear and sunny morning.
These paintings sold through the Silver City Store* over the summer. Most were 6×6″; a few were 8×8″, 8×10″, and 10×10″. (It is probable that I was slightly careless in my record keeping, because all of these are square – where is that 8×10″??)
It is possible I could have sold more, if I had stayed home and painted instead of being out on the trails, chasing down wildflower names.
Choices and consequences.
*4 miles below the Mineral King valley
Samson didn’t think it was such a great summer. Don’t worry, Little Buddy. We’re home now for a long long time.
This will be a long post with lots of photos, and then I might run out of things to post about Mineral King for awhile.
It didn’t have to be the final Mineral King weekend, because the Park gates stay unlocked until October 25. But, life down the hill beckons, fall is very full of events for us, and we need to close things up when the weather is still good during a season of unpredictable weather.
We have taken on the responsibility of closing the Honeymoon Cabin for the past several years. This is a little cabin left after Disney destroyed the resort in advance of building their ski resort, which never happened. The cabin is now a mini museum of Mineral King history, open all summer to anyone who wanders in. It is at the beginning of the Eagle/Mosquito/White Chief trail.
This is the interior. It is about 10×10′.
After our chores, we had time for a final walk.
And then we made time for one final pass down the Nature Trail. It goes through so many changes in such a short season. . . in July it was packed with all variety of wildflowers. Now, just look at this:
This was an unusual summer in Mineral King for several reasons. Perhaps I’ll make a list for you next Friday.