For the past few years, my favorite subject to paint is orange groves with hills and mountains.I’ve had a large (for me) painting in progress in a time-out for awhile. In that bonus week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I worked on it.
First, I photographed it, studied it on my laptop screen, and circled the parts that were not up to snuff (weird cliché, whose meaning I do not know).
I started with the mushy rows in the red oval. It’s all wet and shiny, so these photos may not appear to be an improvement.
The orange oval was next, and I kept expanding the area around it.
The upper right corner was next. I ignored the pink, yellow, and light green ovaled areas, because I am the boss.
Now let’s look at the painting as a whole.
The usual excuses for photography that doesn’t do justice to the verbal explanations: low light, shiny paint, photographed with inferior phone instead of camera, and of course, there are many areas remaining to be detailed. I can’t tell you that it will look better when it is scanned, because it is too big to scan. But I can tell you that it looks way better in person!
My drawing of tomatoes is completed. Carrie Lewis asked for a paragraph of 100 words or less to accompany the drawing. Here is what I submitted.
Gardening feels like a war. We planted many tomatoes in an enclosed area, protected underneath from gophers, on all sides from deer, and over the top from birds*. We faithfully watered and fertilized all summer. Finally, in mid-October, we began getting tiny cherry tomatoes, many no more than 1/2” in diameter. Every tomato felt like a victory, so I took photos of them as proof that we had actually grown some food.
This was not for a competition. It is just a submission to Carrie’s magazine (digital rather than print) called CP Magic, which is all about colored pencil. Colored pencil is not my main medium, as you know, but Carrie is a friend, and I wanted to participate simply because sometimes it is fun to try different things.
*After I wrote this, I realized that we had left the tomatoes exposed to the birds. I meant to put mesh on top but just never got to it.
Happy Birthday, Trail Guy! (all those years are also a victory)
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My friend Carrie Lewis is fully immersed in colored pencil. At the end of December, she put out a call to artists for their best colored pencil work from 2023. I realized that I had done none all year, but suddenly, I had an overwhelming desire to work in colored pencil. It might have been related to working on multiple paintings that felt too hard for me, wanting to do something easier.
After looking through my photos for something that I could easily complete in the one week remaining in 2023, I chose this photo of our little tomatoes. (Small garden, small crop, even smaller fruit).
I chose Strathmore 500 series Bristol vellum paper. (Won’t mean a thing to most of my readers, but it helps me remember in case Carrie wants to know). In looking at my extensive collection of colored pencils, I decided to keep things simple, so I chose Blackwing Colors, a set of 12. Yeppers, only 12 colors. (For a short time, they offered a set of 24, but as a never-early-adopter of anything, I missed it.)
First I drew the tomatoes. In keeping with the desire for simplicity, I didn’t draw all of the tomatoes in the photo, so it was ready for color very quickly.
To make the darker and shaded reds, I used purple and brown beneath the red. To brighten the red in some places, I used orange and pink beneath the red. I used many layers of red in both instances, keeping a very sharp point (on all the pencils).
It didn’t take long to for the red pencil to get used up. Of course, if the last 3 inches hadn’t been broken inside, I could have kept using it. I don’t remember dropping it, but I could have. New pencils are always a bit of a thrill. (Don’t tell me to get a life—this is my life and it’s a fine one!)
Better add the shadows so the ‘maters aren’t just floating. I used purple and brown, but I may try that silver pencil (or is it gray?) over the top to smooth it out. Later.
That was decent start. The daylight was running out and my feet were cold, but I did one more little thing before calling it a day: I smoothed and sharpened all the edges of the tomatoes.
What’s left: finish the background, correct the color on the stems, fill in tomato color more to get rid of the white specks, sign, and scan.
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When I begin a new painting, there is a sense of “oh boy, this is going to be great!”
When I am in the middle of a painting that doesn’t seem to be improving, I encourage myself that when I can add the details, it will improve. It’s just the Messy Middle.
Here is a look at a hopeful beginning: this is a rose grown by my brother-in-law that just slayed me with its beauty. I took a photo thinking it might be helpful to one of my drawing students, but then I was captivated, captured, mesmerized, gone-zo. (See? hopeful!)
While I worked on it, the painting of the road hovered and lurked in the background, grousing, “What about me? When is it my turn again? HEY, Central California Artist, aren’t you supposed to be getting me ready for a show? Hunh, hunh?”
It was sideways on the easel so that I could visually follow the tip of my brush for more accuracy. I flipped the photo back vertical so you won’t hurt your neck.
Layer by layer, leaf by leaf, branch by branch, I think it is getting better.
What passes for winter in Three Rivers usually involves sunshine and green hills. Do those folks down the hill know that the fog and gray usually ends at Terminus Dam (Lake Kaweah)?
I walked a new route yesterday. It’s been awhile since I went that way, back before peripheral neuropathy when I could actually walk that far. Now I have to drive there, which feels somewhat counterintuitive when one is seeking exercise. It is busier than my normal routes, there is more litter, and sometimes I have to cross over to the wrong side of the road in order to have a shoulder to walk on. Sometimes it is worth extra effort to experience something new.
Pickleball on a private courtA drawable old tractor The hills are not fully green yet.This is a new style of stone pillars.I prefer the old styleSomeone likes retired CHP cars.My friend used to live here. She died in 2015. I still miss her.“Bundel”? Come on, people!A celebrity owns this place.Nice-looking farm stand; I’ve never seen it open.Alta Peak, the Kaweah RiverA shaggy ponyThe oldest residence in Three RiversA loading chute, from when cattle were a bigger part of 3RThis bridge in March 2023The same bridge in January 2024Recent rain really muddied the water.That loading chute again.The oldest residence again.More modern outdoor wallsLots of effort on this mailbox. (Those are cattails.)This barn might be paintable or drawable.
The fountain (hard to see here) is dolphins. With those palm trees, I wonder if these folks moved here from Malibu or Florida or even Pismo.
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When we last saw this most popular Mineral King scene on the easels, it looked like this.
A little more work brought it to this stage.
That big juniper tree needed attention, as did Vandever (the peak).
Next, I worked on the shrubs and the stream bank.
It was time to make sense of the stream, starting the farthest away where it curves to the left. That’s not technically correct, because it is flowing toward us, coming from the left. You know what I mean, yes?
Now, let’s back up and see the whole picture again.
Looking good, except the stream was definitely lacking detail.
Next time I show you this painting, I will back up so you can see the whole thing. Then I will probably start adding more detail to the shrubs. Details are my favorite part, but you knew that already.
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This painting was waiting patiently for some attention. I gave it an entire afternoon, photographing it at 5 stages.
First, I put in some sky patches in the upper left.
Next, I strengthened the trees. They are all sort of skinny in the photo, so I will probably choose a few to fatten up. Later.
I mixed several greens and just danced around all over the canvas without a real plan.
Then I worked on the road, along with a bit more specificity in the greens.
Finally, I paid attention to the details in the closer things off the shoulders of the road.
In conclusion, the photo is mostly a suggestion of shapes and light. The details are murky, so I am just winging it, pantsing it, trying this and that with an occasional peek at the photo. Photos. I have several, and yet have no memory of taking these pictures.
Two titles are under consideration: “Take Me Home. . .” and “Somewhere in Three Rivers”.
If you receive this in your email and want to see the photos, click on the title “Improving One, Fixing Two”.
When a painting doesn’t sell for awhile, I evaluate it, trying to figure out what isn’t resonating with possible customers. Yarn and Dutch iris are two things I love, but something was preventing the sale of these two paintings. Never mind that I kept them in the house instead of putting them out in the public—they started in the public and when they weren’t purchased, I took them home.
The yarn on the left is a favorite color combination of mine. (Doesn’t it remind you of the beach?) Apparently, it isn’t a favorite combination of other knitters. So, I added red and yellow. The teal is still teal, not blue, but the painting doesn’t photograph as well as it scans, and it was wet. I will add some green and some purple next, maybe orange and blue too. People love color. Me too, especially if it is brown with teal.
BeforeAfter
Dutch Iris might be my favorite domestic flower. I’ve sold several of these, but not this particular painting. I studied it awhile and decided it needed a darker background. And as with the yarn, it will scan more accurately than it photographed in low light while wet.
BeforeAfter
Those two paintings were a warm-up session before returning to this painting.
The plan was to detail the ferns, and as I was getting into it, I decided to fill in more in the greenery, improve the distant trees, just dance all over the canvas as I saw things to fix.
It’s better, but not finished yet. For some reason, the paint was misbehaving, making precision more difficult than normal. The paint was either clumping off the brush, or it wouldn’t come off at all. Walnut oil (this is my choice instead of linseed) didn’t seem to make a difference. So, this will need to just dry for awhile before I continue detailing.
If you receive this in your email and want to see the photos, click on the title “Nine New Things Learned in December”.
One of those things is actually a relearning situation. I’ll put it last because it makes my head spin, which makes it hard to type.
Did you know you can order pet prescriptions from Chewy? You need a vet to allow you to connect with them, and the vet has to approve the order, of course. But it certainly beats trying to wrestle this guy into a box or pen for a long car ride, although I did have to restrain him while my vet friend/neighbor examined his boo-boo. Jackson was very displeased with the entire situation.
2. You know all those ads for “miracle cures“, prescription-free supplements guaranteed to fix whatever your health problem is? They all employ the same tactics of “Call now with this special code for this amazing one-time offer”. Then, it turns out that you have to order a 12-month supply of their product in order to get the promised discount. They all guarantee their stuff for 90 days, but it is supposed to work after 90 days, so how are you supposed to get the refund when you don’t know if you have used it long enough? Despite knowing this pattern and recognizing the hard-sell tactics, once again hope has triumphed over experience. I ordered a 3-month supply of a “mystery herb, recently rediscovered” and expect it to fix my peripheral neuropathy.
3. apricity (noun): The warmth of the sun in winter. I find myself seeking apricity during December.
4. Apple cider vinegar is a current cure-all food trend. If it comes with the mother, it is better for you. This means it contains natural probiotics. So, if you want to use “ACV” as it is known by its aficionados, pay twice as much as store brand so it comes with its mommy.
5. The mystery of why some of my blog subscribers can see the photos in their email notifications and other blog subscribers cannot is getting closer to being solved. Those with Apple devices who use either the app that came with the device or use Yahoo to read their mail cannot see the photos. Those who use Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, or AOL are able to see the photos. After spending 1-1/2 hour on the phone with Apple, all they could say was that I need to call the host of my website. Ugh.
6. Kaweah Arts will have a new location. They will close right after First Saturday (January 6, 2024) and reopen in March at The Dome! This is so excellent—I rely on Kaweah Arts to do my selling in town.
7. When I told a bank teller that I was having trouble balancing a checkbook, probably because the ink is too faded on my printing ten-key, she taught me how to change the ink cylinder. I didn’t even know it had such a thing!
A printing 10-key is my only hope to balanceProbably shouldn’t have touched that.It took 5 attempts to get that thing locked in place, but now look!
8. “Lido” means outdoor swimming pool. I learned this while reading the novel The Lido, by Libby Page. I’d heard the term “lido deck” in reference to a particular level on a cruise ship but had no idea what it meant. It’s been 10 years since I went on that cruise, so I can’t remember if the lido deck contained a swimming pool. I do remember a pool on the way to one of the dining areas that was always loud and splashy with children, but I didn’t photograph that one.
Is that the lido deck down there?Or is this the lido deck? Maybe the pools are on the same level.
9. A friend once told me that Adobe and Mac are like 2 people in a bad divorce. This little piece of wisdom came alive again when it took me about 2 hours to design a little sticker using Photoshop Elements. I searched and searched for help online, and every piece of instruction said to use tools that were not there. I finally stumbled across what I needed, no thanks to “Photoshop help”, Adobe, or online tutorials. No matter how many times I have used Photoshop Junior or InDesign, or even Word, each time I return to it nothing makes sense.
10. Reimer’s Candies and Gifts in Three Rivers has sold to Stafford’s Chocolates from Porterville. I know no more regarding name changes or products, although a friend enlightened me to Stafford’s a few years ago, proclaiming their chocolates to be superior to any she had ever had in her well-traveled life. (Good grief—I’ve lived in Tulare County 64 years, and she’d only been here 2 years at the time!)
When I was new to oil painting, I painted several little scenes from Reimer’s.
Did you learn anything in December? (I hope it didn’t include frustrating head-spinning sessions with Adobe programs or non-functioning photos on Apple devices.)
In case you can’t remember what we learned in previous years, here are the past three Decembers for you.
