Author: cabinart

Signed, but not titled

Last weekend I was at the Chevron station when a man in a white van pulled up behind me. He asked if I had done the mural; I hesitated until he said he liked it. (Chicken!) Then I admitted it was mine. We visited about it for a bit, and he asked if he could make a suggestion. I said, “of course!” Then, he felt a bit embarrassed, and I had to really work to get it out him.

He suggested having more flowers extend beyond the borders, which I had considered earlier but gave up on when I couldn’t get my paintbrushes to behave in the drying wind. Hearing it from a “fan” caused me to realize that a second try was worth the effort. The man kept apologizing, and finally I had to explain that I am painting for normal people’s enjoyment, and that anything a “normal person” suggested was probably worth considering. He admitted to being a “normal person”, so Mr. Normal Guy, I thank you!!

untitled, Tulare County Fire Station #14, South Fork and Sierra Drive, 7×14′

Mural, Day Four

Am I finished? No, it isn’t signed. Why not? Because I don’t know if I am finished.

You Know You’re A Dork When. . .

. . . you’re in love with a bridge.

We drove our bikes to the 3 mile marker on the Mineral King Road on Sunday afternoon and rode the 3.5 miles to the Oak Grove Bridge. It was up most of the way, but not horribly upical.

The light wasn’t great on the bridge, but it was quite fun to have it be our destination and to just hang out on foot.

Mineral King Road Oak Grove Bridge

Mural, Day Three

The hardest part about this mural is the wind! It makes the photos flap around, my hair flies in my face, and the palette and brushes dry out Very Fast. Wow, this is a windy location! The other surprising thing is that no matter how many days I have worked on it, I always think “2 more days”. More will be revealed. . .

Alta is patched and repainted a bit.

It is actually further along than this, but I had to take the photo before the mulberry tree shadow reached the image.

Today I taped off the edges in order to decrease the hassles. Good policy, don’t you think? One should always decrease hassles if given the chance! (Once again, the color is not accurate in the photo – a field trip is recommended.)

mural Three Rivers Tulare County Fire Station

Fire Station Mural, Day 2

Murals are very social projects. Compared to Exeter, it didn’t seem that social until I began adding up the visitors! TCM DOC brought me some wonderfully welcomed liquid refreshments this a.m. Kristi wondered if I can walk tomorrow and if I had lunch with me. Lieutenant O’Dell bought some gray goo to seal up the divot in the center of Alta Peak. A former drawing student stopped by to say hello and so I could see his dog, which I named “Barney” back when he was a pup! (Handsome Aussie!) A stranger stopped by to say “God Bless You!” (I thanked him and wish I had thought to say “He has and is!”) Shirley the mail lady stopped because I had the flag up on the mailbox (forgot to mail my stuff at home) —we didn’t recognize each other without our knitting in hand! Plus, I met Mike and Steve, 2 EMTs. Best of all, my Other Half stopped by when he finished work! Here is the divot patch waiting to dry:

And here is the day’s progress from a distance:

The lake needs a bit of work. The mulberry tree is casting a weird shadow over the left side, in case you were wondering.

And here it is a bit closer. Next? The lake divot needs snow, the lake needs another coat, and the corners need wildflowers! The colors are sort of pukey in these photos – guess you’ll just have to drive by!

Three Rivers mural

New Mural!

This is at Tulare County Fire Station #14, at the corner of Sierra Drive and South Fork in Three Rivers. When I arrived this morning, this is what was waiting:

Nice prime job, Mike! Thanks! Next, I drew on the design with a small stiff paintbrush in gray paint. It needed a little improving, so I switched to green for the corrections.

Then, I began with the sky and worked my way forward. Had a nice visit with Lieutenant O’Dell – I grew up with his dad and uncle out in the oranges north of Ivanhoe! (Can’t be anonymous in Tulare County!) He was hospitable and helpful, and he likes to draw, so I gave him lots of tips as I painted. At the end of the day, this is what the tank looked like:

In progress

When it is overcast, the light is too low for painting. So, I draw instead! Here is the chosen sketch for this comissioned collage piece:

Looks like a scribbly mess unless you know the photos. I showed the customers 4 options and they chose A with a few minor changes. Here is the beginning of the drawing:

Look what’s next!

This is a concrete water tank at the Tulare County fire station #14 in Three Rivers. Starting Monday, October 19, it will get painted with a mural! Don’t those guys have good taste? It isn’t costing taxpayers a thing – the volunteer fire fighters raise money for extras like this! Aren’t those guys great? Nope, I’m not showing the design yet. More will be revealed in the fullness of time!

Lots of Walking

Perhaps you have puzzled over the reason why I walk so much (or perhaps not. . .) I was training to walk the Lake Tahoe 1/2 Marathon, which happened on Sunday, September 27.

It was hot for Tahoe, and I was all jeezled up from finally arriving at the event after months and months of ground pounding. So, I made the mistake of running the first 2 miles. The second 2 miles were steep steep steep (they call it “Hell Hill”) so I just walked. Had great energy and strength, but couldn’t figure out why my feet hurt so much. By the time I reached the top, I knew I had major blisters, and it must have been the first 2 miles that caused them. I slowed my walk – they hurt. I sped up – they hurt. I jogged – they hurt. So, it seemed the best approach was to get it over with as fast as possible.

3 hours, 7 minutes after starting, I crossed the finish line. This was a great time for me. As I pounded out the miles on my sore feet, I kept repeating to myself, “Shoes off, feet in lake. Shoes off, feet in lake.”

My dear husband showed up to cheer me on for the last 1/2 mile and was surprised when I greeted him with, “Hi Honey! My dogs are barking!” He said “Walk as if you don’t hurt”, and that thought (along with “Shoes off, feet in the water”) pushed me to the finish.

I didn’t carry my camera with me because I knew it would slow me down AND I knew that the mid-day light wouldn’t be very nice for photos. So, here are a few photos from a previous visit to Tahoe.The day was bright and sunny like this. Walking across the sand to the lake was very difficult because of the pine needles!Within the last 2 miles I passed the beautiful Tallac estates (part of the National Forest Service). I said to myself, “Self, when I grow up, I want a house like one of these AND a car so I don’t have to walk 13.1 miles on blistered feet!”

1/2 marathon walking Lake Tahoe Marathon

Thinking like an artist

You know how you just cruise along, living your life, not giving any thought to how you measure up to anyone else? (Maybe you think about other people’s opinions, but I don’t very often.) So you’re just cruising along, doing what you do, doing what comes naturally, and BOOM! Someone tells you that you are weird! Weird? Nope, I’m just unique.

Here is an example: I just finished knitting a pair of socks for a friend. She chose and bought the yarn; I turned it into socks. While the socks were in process, I noticed that the colors on the Mineral King Road were the same as the yarn. That’s not weird, is it? (not that I care if you all think I’m weird – I’m just sort of wondering)