Oak Grove Bridge | Cabin Art

Fairly Goalless

Is “goalless” a word?

I do set goals – finish X number of paintings, get website redesigned, finish drawings for the next calendar, etc.

But I don’t set big sweeping overarching business goals, or as one of those motivational speakers says, “BHAGs”, which stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

And many of us have heard the acronym SMART for goals, which means goals have to be Specific, Measurable, and 3 other things that I never remember.

In thinking about goals for my art business, all I could come up with is Paint Better And Sell More Paintings.

“Paint Better”? What is this? Better than what? Better than I paint now, but what constitutes better? Tighter and more photorealistic? Looser and flowier? Plein air? Brighter colors? How is this specific or measurable? How is this even attainable when I can’t define “better painting”?

And “Sell More Paintings”? I can count, and set a higher number, but am I supposed to put them in my little red wagon and pull them around the neighborhood? Must I get a smartphone and join FaceBook? (Have mercy – Please please please don’t make me get a cell phone and join FaceBook!!)

I have no earthly idea how to sell more paintings. If I did, I’d be selling more.

Goalless suits me for now.

I wonder what all those motivational speakers would have to say to me . . . probably “Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you”.

I am painting better each time I revisit this oil painting of the Oak Grove Bridge that is too hard for me. I am making up some colors for the background, just experimenting, trying to learn what “better” might look like, outside of my natural bent to just make things look as realistic as possible.

Will it sell? Maybe if I chant to myself while painting, “Paint better, sell more paintings, paint better, sell more paintings…”

Perhaps it is time to listen to music instead of motivational speakers while I paint.

Today’s painting:

Five Poms, 6×18″, $160 with California sales tax

Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

What’s Wrong With These Pictures??

These Mineral King oil paintings appear to be troubled. Sawtooth, the Oak Grove Bridge, and more Sawtooth, all looking topsy-turvy and scribbly.

Nothing wrong here – just letting the bottom edge dry.

Lots of things wrong – spacing, angles, proportions, curves, and can’t see what I need on the photo. Turning things upside down revealed many wrong shapes.

The red lines show how it is supposed to be. Maybe. This angle may be too hard for me. Technically speaking, mechanically speaking, everything I need to know is on that photo – all the shapes and proportions are there. *BUT I CAN’T SEE THEM!!*

Nothing wrong here. Just letting that bottom edge dry. Will I add foreground trees? More will be revealed. Plus, I was working on this at the end of the day, using artificial lighting. In the daylight, it may be clear that the painting needs more layering.

Old Bridge, New Angle

The oil painting, Oak Grove Bridge XXII, sold. This means it is time to paint another view of my favorite bridge. I looked through my photos and found an angle I’ve never tried before.

Is it lunch yet??

Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

In and Out

Happy Birthday, Shirley, Connie and Hailey!!

What do I mean by “in and out”?

These paintingsare now IN my inventory.

“Flock”, 6×18″, oil on wrapped canvas, $150 + tax

“Dinnerbone”, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $125 plus tax.

This painting is now OUT of my inventory. (Does that make it outventory?)

WHAT?? Are you telling me I have to paint my favorite bridge again??

It will be Oak Grove Bridge XXIII. That means #23, although I have painted it more times than that – I didn’t begin numbering them right away, and then I lost track for awhile and may have used a number twice, so who really knows?

Square? Vertical? Horizontal? Small or medium? I have the large one hanging in my dining room, but am willing to sell it. Maybe.

More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

The Rest of the Stories

Remember Paul Harvey? We had to be quiet during lunch so my parents could listen to him every day at noon when we were home from school. He would tell a story sometimes with a surprise ending, and then he would say, “And now you know. . . (long, very long, very very long extended pause). . . the REST of the story.”

Remember the pencil drawing of the walnut grove? The recipient loved it.

Remember the very difficult and (for me) very large painting of the Oak Grove bridge?

It is finished. It now hangs in my dining room, because I am really happy with it. If you want to buy it, it can hang in your dining room.

Oak Grove Bridge IXX, 24×30″, oil on wrapped canvas, $1500 (plus tax)

Remember a painting I did of a trail in Mineral King? I improved on it a bit. Without showing you the old version, you might not recognize the improvements.

Mineral King Trail, 11×14″, oil on canvas, $275

Remember the habañeros? The commissioned oil painting is finished. I still don’t know how to dispose of the peppers themselves. If I bury them in the garden, they might grow new ones. . . can’t be growing toxic waste in my yard that way. . . put them in the green waste bin? But they are red!

Finally, remember the “easy” painting of the bridge?

Oak Grove Bridge XXII, 11×14″, oil on wrapped canvas, $275 plus tax

And now you know. . . .

(very long pause)

the REST of my stories.

commission oil painting commission pencil work Mineral King oil paintings Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

Easy Bridge?

I thought this view of the Oak Grove bridge would be easy.

Fall down laughing. . .

I am enjoying the very tight detail, working from a greatly enlarged photo on my laptop screen. I am “drawing with my paintbrush”, a big no-no in the Art World. Ask me if I care. . .

I am looking for a certain result, and this is the only method I know to achieve it. Layer after layer, brushes getting smaller and smaller. I wonder if I will ever even want to try that thick all-in-one (alla prima) palette knife painting.

Prolly not.

The bridge itself looks empty, missing posts and rails. Some of the arches are a little catty-wompus. Just a little. . . but enough to cause me to take note and find a smaller brush. Here I have added more details, like the oak tree on the left which covers that side of the railing a little. (If something doesn’t show well enough to paint, just plant a tree.) Also worked on the stuff above the three arches on the left. Is there any difference here? Hope so. These photos were taken about an hour apart, so there’d better be improvements! If not, I might have to fire myself.

The next time I show you this, it will be completed and scanned.

Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

There You Go Again . . .

Happy Birthday, Ann!!

Yeppers, here I go again on a painting of the Oak Grove Bridge.

First, the edges of the Big One. I always paint the edges because I think paintings look best without frames. (This photo is before the edge is painted. Duh.) I also added a teensy bit of age spots to the bridge itself, thanks to a very good suggestion from a friend at the Redbud Festival.

Okay, moving along to Oak Grove Bridge #22, this time 11×14″ instead of 24×30″. First, I drew it in pencil. Then I began mapping out the dark areas.

Next, I walked back to the house for something. . . such pretty light.

I was surprised by how much easier it is to paint from this angle. It is because there aren’t as many visible layers and levels of boulders and rocks that seem to echo and mimic one another.

The shadow beneath the bridge is what makes this particular view come alive. While painting the details, I look at an enlarged version of the photo on my laptop. It helps immensely to see what I am painting. Again, duh.

Looks as if 2 more layers will do the trick, with most of the attention focused on the bridge itself.

Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

Speaking of Painting

Who was speaking of painting?

I was, in yesterday’s post, when I told you about the man who said, “You draw better than you paint.”

Indeed, the paintings begin very very roughly, thin paint, general shapes, although I drew the bridge first in pencil, so it isn’t as rough as it sometimes is when I begin.

I didn’t take many intermediate photos of the 10×10″ bridge. After a few layers, I pulled out the 24×30″ painting, dusted it off and dove back in.Getting there on the 10×10″, wondering how much to perfect things. It took a long time to figure out how to interpret the cliffs and the shrubs. By the time I was finished for the day, the light for photography was poor. The bridge itself needs more refining, especially those miniature spaces around the railing.

As always, I have two main thoughts about my beloved Oak Grove Bridge:

A bridge picture is the perfect blend of architecture and landscape.
This is sort of too hard for me, in spite of it being about the 26th time I’ve painted it. I may not live long enough to paint as well as I draw.

Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings

Oil Painting Progress Report

Last week on a very good painting day, I scanned and varnished 5 finished paintings, finished 4 with their details, and signed 3 that were almost dry. That leaves 7 unfinished.

Have a look at the 5 finished paintings:

Ethan’s Eggs, 8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $100

Poppy #50, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, $60

Iris VIII, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $60

Iris IX, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $60

Farewell Gap XXVI, 8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $100

Once again, I forgot how hard the Oak Grove bridge is to paint. Will it ever get any easier? Am I a case of arrested development?

Don’t answer that, please.

Below: The top two and bottom one are drying, the snow scene is inching forward (feels giant at 11×14″ after all the 6×6 oil paintings), the lanterns are low priority (just doing it for the purposes of learning–can you tell that the 4 lanterns on the left are further along than the 3 on the right?). Carla’s Sunflower (on Samson’s window shelf) has been finished since I took this photo.