March in Three Rivers

When we get some rain in February or early March, it is so beautiful in Three Rivers that it almost causes physical pain to leave. The brilliant spring days are just a tiny blip on the year long calendar, dominated by heat, drought, and brown. 

The flowering pear tree in front of my studio is pretty 2 times a year. It is a leaning tree, and I wonder if that was caused by 13 years of Perkins scratching his claws while pushing on one side of the tree.

Look at these blooms up close.

Stand beneath the blossoms, get little white petals in your hair, and admire the “lawn”, which isn’t irrigated or green any other time of the year.

What else are we seeing? Flowering quince in the yard, and poppies across the canyon.

Yeppers, poppies!

I love March in Three Rivers.

P.S. Adventures in Boy Scouting

The book “blurb” (certainly there must be a better word for this) is the brief summary on the back of a book. Here is what is on the back of Adventures in Boy Scouting: Tales Told by the Old Scoutmaster.

It’s the third weekend of the month. Where did everyone go?

Start reading and find out. Maybe Boy Scout Troop 323 is kayaking of Point Lobos, scuba diving off Big Sur, camping on Case Mountain, or maybe even at Kirks Creek searching for their inner selves in the “seven pools of enlightenment”. You know wherever these intrepid scouts are, another adventure is sure to follow. 

What is so glorious about sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag during a thunderstorm or a blizzard? You’d have to be there to know, or you can skip the discomfort and read this book to bring the adventure to life.

Do you know this old scoutmaster and newly published author? If you see him, congratulate him, hand him $25, and be the happy owner of the fun new book, Adventures in Boy Scouting: Tales Told by the Old Scoutmaster. 

P.S. Max the dog will be in the back seat of his pickup, along with Jasmine and Violet.

A New Book!

There is another part of my business that I call Cabinart Books.

After I published The Cabins of Wilsonia (2014) and Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names (2019), I had acquired some skills using Photoshop (for repairing and preparing photographs for publishing), InDesign (for book formatting), along with knowledge of how to get a book printed.

While I was painting some indoor murals in December, my customer told me he was writing a book. I asked a few questions, and when he realized that he didn’t have the necessary skills or a plan, he hired me to be both his editor and book designer.

The book arrived yesterday!

This was a fun project! Bob Kellogg is the most eager person I have ever worked with on a book. We had a conversation about the project in mid December, and now the book is in hand, in mid March.

Bob was a scoutmaster in Three Rivers for 12 years, and the book is a collection of stories about the rambunctious troop’s adventures and shenanigans. If you have been a boy scout, had a boy scout in your family, or like books about local people and places, you will enjoy this book! (Or if you just appreciate fun true stories).

Right now the book is available at the Bookbaby Bookshop, and from Bob (rkellogg@kelbro.com) or from me, $25 includes sales tax.

Orange Grove in Pencil

This is a commissioned pencil drawing, custom art, a specific job as requested by a customer. (All that is in case you are only tuning in right now and missed the previous posts leading up to this).

The most difficult part of this drawing is the children. I found photos of children walking from the back, and then put together various elements from these photos to depict something that doesn’t actually exist. The youngest child that this drawing is supposed to represent is not yet walking. By the time she is walking, the other child will be older (duh) than she currently is. Hence, by guess and by golly. 

I started here because if this is impossible, there is no point in continuing. The customer said it was fine. No, that’s not what he said, but I decided that is what he meant.

Then I photographed it with a pencil so the size could be understood. After that, the mountains, and beginning the distant trees.

All this was done at the dining table in the house. I started this on the snow day, because the wood stove puts out better heat than the little wall propane heater in the studio. 

Lighting was a bit of a challenge, so toward the end of the drawing session I turned on the flashlight in the phone to use as a spotlight. This made it possible to work close and make precise leaves and oranges in the upper right corner.

P.S. The customer’s wife weighed in at the end of the day and had a very valid and helpful suggestion to make the smallest girl look younger. I believe this will be a lengthy series of blog posts as I bumble along in new territory of drawing little people without benefit of photos in a size that is ridiculously small. It will all be worth it, because this drawing will be ridiculously perfectly darlingly cute, a brilliant idea! (Plus, there will be some added color)

Orange Grove, Improved

Because my friend liked this little rough sketch enough to mention framing it, it seemed prudent to improve it. I do have a professional reputation to consider, since word-of-mouth is my strongest marketing method.

So, I spent a little time polishing the sketch. This time I photographed it with a ruler so he could see how small it is.

He asked if I had started the real drawing yet. I replied that I was about to start, but first I had to squash a spider. My studio is really out there on the edge of civilization. (Please be impressed by my pioneering spirit.)

With that nasty little job finished, I began the real drawing.

I started the 11×14″ drawing on Strathmore Bristol Smooth 400 series paper WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AT ANY REFERENCE PHOTOS!

Looks like a nothing-burger at this stage. Good thing that you all know I know how to draw. 

I love making custom art for people, especially for friends, ESPECIALLY of orange groves, and ESPECIALLY in pencil.

Using pencils, oil paint, and murals to make art that you can understand, of places and things you love, for prices that won’t scare you.

And More Orange Groves

Remember this painting?

A friend saw it and wondered if I could draw a similar scene in pencil, this time adding in two little girls. Because I love to draw, love to draw and paint orange groves, and really like my friend, I said yes.

Ahem. There isn’t a photo of the two little girls from the back, walking together holding hands, because one doesn’t even walk yet. 

My friend sent me photos of the girls as they look now. Then I went to The Duck (search engine DuckDuckGo) to see if I could find helpful photos. 

From those photos, I did this little sketch.

Good thing my friend knows that I know how to draw. He was very taken with the sketch, so I think this idea will work, IF I CAN DRAW TWO LITTLE GIRLS THAT I CANNOT SEE!

No pressure or any undue stress.

Just shut up and pick up your pencils, Central California Artist.

Coming Home to Orange Groves

I grew up in an orange grove.

That sounds weird. Until I was about 11 years old, we lived in a house in an orange grove, not under a tree with the jackrabbits. After that, we moved to a house in an olive grove. Although picturesque, olive trees are not as appealing to me as oranges trees. That opinion has to do with the scent of orange blossoms, along with the ready availability of food. (Don’t try to eat an olive directly from the tree. You’re welcome.) 

A year or two (probably three—you know how time flies) ago, I developed a strong desire to paint orange groves with foothills and mountains in the background. This isn’t my best selling subject (that would currently be Sawtooth and before that Farewell Gap or the Honeymoon Cabin), but it sells steadily. 

We saw this painting in progress a week or two ago:

Here are a few more stages of development:

It is lacking oranges on the right side, a wind machine, and maybe some blossoms. They might be too small at this scale. I was very careful to get the mountains accurate, so if you know the middle fork of the Kaweah, you will recognize Alta Peak and Castle Rocks.

Why do I love this subject so much? 

Prolly need some counseling.

Definitely need some counseling, but it prolly doesn’t have anything to do with this particular obsession.

“Prolly.” I love this non-word.

Finding My Way Home

It feels as if I am finding my way back home in my art pursuits. Sales are encouraging, commissions are energizing, rain and snow is reassuring, and all of those things reignite my desire to paint, draw, and tell you about it.

We recently saw this oil painting:

It didn’t look right to me. The colors were wrong, and it needed orange blossoms. Back on the easel with you!

Better.

Painting oranges feels like coming home.

February is Over

I don’t have a Learned List for you this month. I learned some things, but they don’t belong here. Instead, here is a list of things for which I am grateful in February.

  1. February remains my favorite month, because it truly is the beginning of spring around here. 
  2. We have access to some fantastic oranges, which are very fun to glean and to share.
  3. Sales of my paintings continue.
  4. Our three cats are still alive and well, 4 years for Tucker, 3 years for his nephews Jackson and Pippin.
  5. My catalytic converter hasn’t croaked.
  6. The wildflowers are terrific.
  7. We had some snow and rain.
  8. We have fantastic friends who step up during times of difficulty to help.
  9. The daffodils are steadily blooming and will continue for awhile including in places that I forgot I planted.
  10. Knitting is a great pacifier, a healthy and productive alternative to smoking. I started and finished one sweater, finished another sweater and a baby blanket, and began a new baby blanket. 

Now, let’s just enjoy some spring time in the foothills of Central California.

The poppies are barely visible below Comb Rocks but I know those are poppies and not fiddlenecks. (In case you care about such details).