Eagle Lake (a painting formerly known as a dog’s breakfast), 7×14”, oil on wrapped canvas, $200, currently drying, destined for the Silver City Store, unless it sells first from this little spot on the interwebs.
Oak Grove Bridge
The Oak Grove Bridge is a bit more challenging. I started with the attitude of “close enough” and as usual when drawing or painting architectural subjects, I ended up measuring and redoing several things.
The width of each arch needed to be the same, and the top of the bridge was too thick.
So I measured, redrew the arches (yes, with my paintbrush—anyone here have a problem with that?), lowered the top of the bridge, and then planted some manzanita on the lower left. I also started locating various rocks.
You’d think that after painting this forty-eleven* times, I’d have all the rocks and the arch proportions memorized. You’d be wrong in that thinking. I could make it up, but I’d also be wrong.
Such a grand little bridge for our slightly down-at-the-heels Tulare County. There are plans to turn it into a pedestrian-only bridge with a stout replacement safe for driving upstream of this classic one. The county had to do the eminent domain thing to acquire the land, and I have a feeling this will be a long, disruptive, and messy construction project.
Change can be so difficult.
Thus, for now we must enjoy the bridge as it was and as it is, and not think about as it shall be.
*This is actually #38, if I kept count correctly, which is doubtful.
The commissioned painting of fields and groves needed more drying time, so I began a new painting of my favorite bridge—Oak Grove, on the Mineral King Road.
It is always difficult. I make it even harder by choosing canvases of non-traditional proportions. This is 8×16”.
It sometimes helps to crop off the unnecessary parts, making the photo the same proportions as the canvas.
But sometimes I do that too late, and decide to just go with the close-enough approach. Can you see that the bridge takes up more real estate on the canvas than on the photo?
Good enough to start.
Is that a Dog’s Breakfast or a Painting?
Next, a 7×14” canvas for another new painting. It might be too ugly for you to tell what it is going to be.
Jackson doesn’t really care what I paint as long as he gets fed.
These paintings are destined for the Silver City Store this summer. Each year I think I have enough inventory, then around early August, I have to slam some out very quickly. I try to guess what subjects, sizes and quantities will sell, but there are no proven formulas.
P.S. Blog reader/author/artist/friend Louise thought I could do a better job finishing the commissioned oil painting. She always tells me the truth, something I value highly, and she was right. Here it is after I followed her suggestion. It is not in my nature to be a perfectionist; instead, I am always wanting to finish things. So, sometimes it takes an honest and wise second set of eyes to make sure a piece of my art is finished well. THANK YOU, LOUISE!
The distant groves and fields are probably finished.
Time to begin the embellishments. I found blueberry photos on the interwebs, AND I have my own from excursions in Oregon.
In my extensive collection of photos, I found one of avocado leaves, pre-digital. I used my inferior phone camera to take a picture so I could flip it on my laptop.
Not really adequate. . . I know where there is an enormous avocado tree, so I’ll go get some better photos to finish the leaves.
Then I’ll retouch some of the other details, paint the edges, sign it, wait for it to dry again, varnish it, and then package it up to ship to the realtor customers.
Reminder
I help people write books and get them printed. The books that I have shepherded from idea to publication but that I don’t sell can be found on this new page: OTHER PEOPLE’S BOOKS. This includes Tales of TB, Springville’s Hospital, The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake, Only the Living, and Adventures in Boy Scouting.
Five step-by-step photos today, mostly painting left to right.
So many parts in the photo were ambiguous and repetitive that I often lost my place. A way to combat this lostness is to first paint the things that are definite, then make up the stuff around them. Some of my sizes are probably definitely wrong, and some of the fields are missing. The customer said accuracy isn’t important—she is looking for conceptual interpretation of the subject. I don’t think there are any Geography Police gunning for me.
Lower left will be blueberries; upper right will be avocado leaves.
I am liking the painting, which is always a relief, especially when it starts out so loose and rough and confusing.
The real estate customers chose the panoramic shape.
Good thing they know I can paint. (Well, duh, that’s why they commissioned me.)
This is similar to my current favorite subject to draw and paint, but there are blueberries and avocados rather than orange trees. There is also a distinct lack of snow-covered mountains and no poppies on the distant hills, but still, it is similar.
View from Wutchumna, 12×24”, private collection
Wait, “current” favorite subject? The painting above was completed in 2022. Here’s the first one I did in 2008.
Family Farm, size forgotten, private collection
Before oil painting, I drew similar scenes in colored pencil in a year I did not record, before I had a scanner, and when I had a web designer who added watermarks.
And before that, I drew similar scenes in pencil.
Spring Citrus, pencil, sold long ago
Enough remembering and bloviating. Get back to work, Central California Artist!
Reminder
I help people write books and get them printed. The books that I have shepherded from idea to publication but that I don’t sell can be found on this new page: OTHER PEOPLE’S BOOKS. This includes Tales of TB, Springville’s Hospital, The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake, Only the Living, and Adventures in Boy Scouting.
Some friends in real estate in a distant place have occasionally asked me to paint something for a customer after a large sale is made. Client. I think “client” is probably more correct here.
Remember these?
Hmmm, was my scanner going south back then too? This is darker than the painting.
I wonder if the clients appreciated the paintings. No one has gotten in touch to thank me or ask for more.
Doesn’t matter. My customers are happy enough to come back to me. (Yes, my people are customers, rather than clients, and no, I don’t actually know the difference except that one sounds more expensive.)
My customers sent me the listing with gorgeously staged photos of the house and some drone shots (also gorgeous) of the giant property.
From these, with a little bit of guidance after I asked all the questions I could think of, I did two quickity sketches. The customers chose two possible sizes, probably based on their budget, and the sketches are proportional to each of the two sizes.
The property is a blueberry farm along with avocado groves. The house, although fabulously fabulous beyond all fabulosity, isn’t that important here.
Good thing they know that I can paint and draw.
To be continued. . .
BONUS: I read this from James Clear’s newsletter: “The problem with keeping your options open is that every option requires energy to hold. And a shelf full of maybes is often heavier than a hand holding one yes. Put something down.”
Not gonna bore you with mundane details of life, just the productive and mildly interesting aspects that often fill a workday for me.
First I met some friends early and we slammed out 4 miles on foot. Sometimes I don’t have anyone to walk with, and so I pick shorter steeper walks. On this particular morning there were 3 friends!
Next, Trail Guy and I decided it was a good day to figure out spacing and irrigation for another planting project at church. I’ve been keeping these shrubs alive for awhile for this purpose. (Vitex—doesn’t that sound like a food supplement? AKA “chaste tree” and we call them “lupine trees”)
When we got home, I called a glass shop to make an appointment to have someone come estimate the replacement of 5 broken window panes. Most came with the property and have been ignorable for many years, but last week I broke the pane over my drawing table. The window was stuck, and when I pushed on the frame from the inside, it warped enough to break the glass. Since this one matters, I figured I might as well get them all repaired.
Next, I finished editing a paper? document? report? for someone who has done a bunch of research, created this 160 page document, and may have slept through high school English classes. He did good research, and It could make a good book in the future.
When that was finished, I submitted the reformatted file of The Crooked Cross of Diamond Lake and then resized the cover to fit the greater number of pages. Why would I do this? Although Louise and I were quite happy with the outer appearance of the book, the interior was substandard. I used a free standard (Wait, didn’t I just call this “substandard”?) template from the book printing company and it was just ugly. So I successfully fought through my 11-year-old template and got it to work. (I’ll let you know when the book is available for purchase and how to get a copy.)
Of course I dress to coordinate with my book covers—don’t you?
When all my productive procrastination wore itself down to nothing left that could pass for work, I went outside to paint. The mosquitoes make it fairly annoying, so I picked a couple of pieces of lemon geranium and rubbed it over exposed skin. I think it actually worked as a mosquito repellant!
The order of business was to finish the last 2 paintings of the Honeymoon Cabin, getting stocked up for the summer selling season at Silver City.
I forgot to take the final photo of the 10×10” square painting.
The next two paintings are to sell here in Three Rivers, probably at Kaweah Arts or Stem & Stone. This one is a bit challenging with many things to simplify, many textures that would be possible if this was a pencil drawing. However, oil paint is a different media. (Thank you, Captain Obvious)
Same here.
When I left the painting workshop, I took two finished paintings into the studio to scan. I am still holding out that I can keep this scanner going for awhile. I really don’t want to spend a ton of time reading about them on the internet, trying to figure out who is a paid reviewer and who is telling the truth, figuring out what extra stuff is necessary to force it to work with Mac, and then having my laptop bite the dust (it is a 2015 model) and then the new scanner won’t work. Sigh.
The first one is as it scanned; the second is repaired with Photoshop Elements to more closely resemble the painting.
Same thing with this one.
And finally, I put the photos from my inferior phone camera on the laptop and wrote this post.
So many parts to my little life: editing, gardening, doing stuff for church. . . but I was ‘posed to be painting.
Look! This crape myrtle tree isn’t dead after all!
Hey! Why are these iris hiding?
This sign will be repurposed, but first Trail Guy had to scrape off old lettering, and then I had to put forty-eleven coats of paint on it. Now we get to store it until the next volunteer does his part.
What? You want another sign? Okay, fast-horse quality
LOOK! The climbing roses are blooming, and they usually don’t appear until the end of April!
Wait! I’m ‘posed to be painting!
Remember this guy? I thought he looked weird. After studying him upside down with the photo, I made a few adjustments, added a bit more detail, signed it and set it aside. This ain’t no piano I’m building here. . . let’s not get paralyzed by perfectionism, because summer’s selling season approaches.
Moving on, there are 3 more Honeymoon Cabin paintings to complete.
That was quick and easy. Next!
Back and forth between the two, tryna be efficient with the colors on the brush so I didn’t waste either paint or time.
Still, I didn’t finish either one of these. Maybe the next time I can get these both finished and move on to some Three Rivers paintings. Shoulda coulda woulda had them done in time for Easter weekend/First Saturday in Three Rivers, but there were so many other distractions. As you witnessed by the beginning of this disjointed post.
My plan was to get serious about the remaining five Mineral King oil paintings, to focus, finish, and move on.
I started with Sawtooth, the 6×6” version that Reader Sharon expressed an interest in.
Look at this succession of color mixing. My goal was a light brown, something that might be called “taupe” by the more sophisticated person and “beige” by a regular person.
Done! (You can tell by the fact that I signed it). The plan was to paint the edges when I finished the painting session so as to not waste the paint left on the palette.
Shape check! Upside down forces me to see things more accurately. (This technique presents a problem when working on a mural.)
Then back to front, layer by layer, color by color.
Suddenly it was time to leave to teach drawing lessons down the hill! No edges were painted, so no paintings were fully completed.
