Orange you glad you live in California? Or perhaps you aren’t so glad – the state is way over its head financially, we have both sales tax and state income tax, our gas is almost the most expensive in the country, and it is stinkin’ hot. But we can grow oranges, and we can paint […]
Squeezing Out Some Citrus (Paintings, that is)
A good customer requested 14 paintings of citrus. He specified a certain number of Tangerines (aka Clementines or Mandarins), Lemons and Navel oranges. Among the excitement of replacing paintings burned up in a cabin fire and replenishing the stock at the Silver City Store, I’ve been squeezing out these paintings. Come on! You KNOW that […]
Orange You Glad I Can Paint Citrus?
Tulare County grows, sells and eats a ton of citrus. Probably several million tons. I learned to oil paint by using the subject of oranges over and over and over. When an orange would sell, I’d paint another. The last one was #103, I think. There were also a handful that I didn’t title or […]
Is There An Echo In Here??
What is the visual equivalent of an echo? A shadow? A reflection, perhaps. . . Is there a reflection in this studio? A reflection of Mineral King, to be exact? Because I see an awful lot of Mineral King Oil Paintings drying on your wall! Seems that way. Mineral King is de ja vu all […]
2012 Redbud Festival
The Redbud Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 at the Lions Roping Arena in Three Rivers. Saturday is 10-5, Sunday is 10-4. Redbud Festival is named after this flowering tree which grows wild in Three Rivers. It blooms in March, so the name of the Festival doesn’t correspond with nature. However, it does […]
Four Benefits of Learning to Draw Before Learning to Paint
As a self-confessed color junkie, I’ve pondered the question of why pencil? Was I just a chicken? That’s all water under the bridge, and now I am just accepting the fact of 13 years of drawing with a late start to oil and mural painting. It ain’t all bad! Drawing in pencil helped me develop […]
California Art
(Tomorrow I will have a guest post on Brendon Wilson’s blog. It will probably cause you to think “Who is this preachy chick and where is Jana The California Artist?” The subject is gossip. . . not related to my blog at all, but a subject that really triggered many thoughts in my pea-brain.) Our […]
You Know You’re A California Artist When. . . Part 3
It was getting a bit long yesterday so here is the rest of my pencil version of California artist. 5. . . . the houses you draw often have palm trees. 6. . . . sometimes you draw poppies. 7. . . and you keep drawing oranges because everyone likes them. 5×7 reproduction with color […]
Over And Out
The show, Images of Home, is over, and I’m out of these paintings. The museum tells me that was a very good response. If you feel disappointed because your heart was set on one of these, I can paint any of them over again. Won’t be exactly the same, but it will be close. (There […]
Orange You Glad!
I am, because I got an order for 12 paintings of oranges. There are a couple of realtors who specialize in ag property. Whenever they sell an orange grove, the buyer receives one of my paintings. Isn’t that just the best idea? Thank you, Diana, for thinking of it and suggesting it to Matt, and […]