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 […]
The Kaweah Post Office Goes to New Jersey
Remember I was struggling with finding the oomph to paint this? Once I got to the finishing details, I wanted to paint and paint and paint some more. I finally stopped so the nice lady with my favorite name in New Jersey could get her painting. Elizabeth looked through my photos and chose this view […]
The California Artist Finds Her Big Girl Pants
I got serious about working on this commissioned oil painting of the Kaweah Post Office in Three Rivers for a nice (and hopefully patient) lady from New Jersey. Now, this is more like it. layers, details, contrast, texture. It needs to dry so I can paint the words on the signs – KAWEAH, POST OFFICE. […]
Kaweah Post Office and Big Girl Pants
Dabbling, thinking it might be good to finish this before it gets hot again when I’d rather be in the drawing studio with its A/C unit instead of in the painting studio with its swamp cooler. Dabbling, deciding, doodling. . . Has anything even changed from yesterday? Get going – drink some coffee or eat […]
Painting the Kaweah Post Office Again
Commissions are good! They mean I get to paint something that has a definite buyer. They are the opposite of speculation painting. Contractors build “spec houses”. It means they build a house like the Field of Dreams philosophy, in anticipation of a buyer. (“Spec” is short for speculation, not specifications.) Very few artists admit to […]
More about lavender
My amazing friend Barbara grows lavender. She opens her lavender gardens (or is it a farm?) to the public each June when the lavender is at its peak. People can harvest bunches of lavender. The dates of this event are a little squishy, because the bloom is dependent on the weather. This year, it is […]
My Amazing Friends, Chapter Five
Back when I had a list of 80 people waiting to get into my drawing lessons (dang, what happened??), I met Nikki Crain. She eventually became one of my drawing students, and we became friends. Not only does she draw very well, she is a master weaver. We have done many shows over many years […]
Still Goofing Off Instead of Working
How does a California artist goof off and get away with calling it “business”? It’s all business. Everything is a source of inspiration. Everything is inspirational when one lives in a beautiful place. Sorry to rub it in. Forgive me? Thanks. Glad I got that cleared up between us. A California artist gathers her two […]
My Amazing Friends, Chapter Four
Tomorrow is the Three Rivers Hidden Gardens Tour. I think you can still get tickets here. My favorite spot on the tour is my amazing friend Barbara’s lavender garden. (Your favorite might be Anjelica Huston’s place, which I’ve only seen from the road or in Architectural Digest a few years ago.) Barbara and I have […]
My Amazing Friends, Chapter Three
Hmmmm, this is a continuation on my amazing friend, Barbara. Should it be chapter two or chapter three? Who cares? You’ve got to see her gardens on the Three Rivers Hidden Gardens Tour. Here are a few photos from 2 years ago to whet your appetite.