What’s Happening Now

The first painting to sell at IMAGES OF HOME was Sawtooth Near Sunnypoint.

To clarify the title for you: Sunnypoint was the name of a campground in Mineral King, closed by the Forest Service some time before 1978. The Nature Trail runs through it, and this view is how I wished it actually looked. Instead, Black Wolf Falls isn’t fully visible in this exact position, and Sawtooth only shows as a little point. Nonetheless, this is what we remember when we think of those 2 places, along with a full and curving stream. “We”? That would be me, myself, I, and the 4 people who bought this painting.

How can 4 people buy the same painting??

I’m glad you asked. When Person #2 said, “Oh, wow, I would love that but it is sold!”, I replied with, “I can paint it again for you.” 

This happened 3 times after the first sale.

This is what is happening now:

The top one is 16×20″; the bottom two are 11×14″.

This is also happening now:

I’ll ‘splain these to you later.  Meanwhile, my show IMAGES OF HOME is also happening now at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.

Special Painting for a Special Person

Remember when I painted a Farewell Gap oil painting and wouldn’t tell you why? I said it had to be the very best painting I had ever done. The Best Version of the Classic Mineral King Scene

The painting was commissioned by the Mineral King Preservation Society and the Mineral King District Association to be a gift for Louise, someone who has been very instrumental in both preserving the history of Mineral King and developing a good relationship between the cabin owners and Sequoia National Park. 

She also happens to be one of my dearest friends, someone who coached me through my first murals, got me my first paid public mural, and has been more encouraging than anyone I have ever known. She is also an author, and I had the privilege of editing and publishing two books for her: Trail of Promises and The Visalia Electric Railroad. We work together like a well-oiled machine, one that laughs a lot while producing good results.

Here are some photos of the presentation of the painting.

I love this lady.

P.S. These came via email:

1. What a beautiful post, beautiful painting, and beautiful lady.  How is Louise doing?  She looks well. – Jon S.

2. Your “Louise gift” in this morning’s post brought tears. what a touching tribute to my very special cousin.
three cheers for a beautiful exhibit! – Bev

Well Received (Successful Opening Reception)

The opening reception to my solo show, “Images of Home” at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery was amazingly well attended. No one was counting, but I think there were at least 100 people, and everyone did NOT come at once. It was most totally excellent! 

This is the first thing you see when you step into the entryway.

This is what you see when you step into the gallery.

Here is a comfortable corner for contemplation.

These three pencil drawings of Mineral King look just right on this wall. (How would they look all together on a wall in your home?)

Sold!

These are still available.

This child was too cute to not photograph. (Her mom gave permission).

There were a few opportunities to photograph people in the gallery, but that wasn’t my real mission.

Sold!

Sold!

Sold!

Sold!

Sold twice!

Sold four times!

Yeppers, you read that right. I have to order some canvases, and then get painting. If someone expressed disappointment at having missed out on a painting, I simply said, “I can paint it again for you”. (Do other artists do this??)

 

How I Designed a Logo, Chapter 2

When my customers told me that they liked Western type, I started digging through the internet to see what was available. In general, Western typefaces are very easy to recognize, but after studying them, I realized there are many variations. (Remember when I told you a list of the goofy names of some of the typefaces?)

Those websites selling typefaces allow you to put your info into them and see what it might look like. Here are a few:

This last one is the prettiest, and it has the surprising name of “Eastwood”. I don’t associate old Clint with the description of pretty.

To be continued. . .

Coming on Sunday:

Images of Home

Exeter Courthouse Gallery, 125 South B Street

November 14 – January ?, 2022

Opening Reception – Sunday, November 14, 1-4 p.m.

Okie Dokie, Much Less Smokie


The air was really good on Thursday, only unhealthy instead of hazardous. I was able to paint!

Let’s have another look outside:

I thought about skipping work and going for a walk.

Nope, I have customers who are patiently waiting for their work, and those custom Christmas ornaments are beginning to nag at me a bit (the ornaments, not the customer).

Oops. Somehow my 8×10″ photos of Hume Lake got all glued together. I tried to soak them apart, but whatever substance is uniting them into a solid clump will not respond to water. I will just paint using photos on the computer screen.

Here they are awaiting more work on the lake side of each ornament, but instead, I need to get the other side, the secret side, up to date.

I will show you one blurry photo of the other side. If you recognize this cabin, just pretend as if you don’t.

Happy Birthday, Reader Anne!

Focusing on Drawing Instead of Smoke

When the air is hazardous as it was at the beginning of last week, I just closed myself into the studio and focused on a large commissioned pencil collage. It made 9 hours fly by, and I forgot about the smoke outside.

You last saw the drawing at this stage:

This is what happened In 2 days of drawing.

Wow, sometimes I impress myself. 

Excuse me. That was obnoxious. You probably are interested in a bit of a story about this drawing rather than some puffed up bloviation by a Central California artist who complains about smoke unless she is tooting her own horn.

This drawing will be a gift (not from me but from the customer) to a lady pilot who lives in this house along an airstrip, has her own hangar, and a view of a lake. Her husband was also a pilot, designed the house and hangar, and he recently died. Our lady pilot will be selling and moving away, and her friend commissioned me to do this piece for her. 

These are remarkable people, both the giver and the recipient, and it is a privilege to participate in their lives, even on the outer fringes.

Happy Birthday, JG!

A Little Cat Trouble

First, nothing is wrong with Tucker, Jackson, or Pippin.

Second, the cat isn’t little; the trouble was little. It involved the cat named Chaos, or more accurately, the drawing of Chaos.

You last saw it looking like this, with a question about whether or not to include the man’s hand.

The customer and I decided to skip the hand in the drawing. She sent me extra photos of Chaos at younger ages, but of course none of them were at the same angle. Since I have drawn many cats, helped drawing students draw cats, and have had too many cats to even count, I figured I could do this drawing without further photos.

I finished it.
My customer is an excellent communicator and sent me some instructions for correcting things that kept this drawing from looking like Chaos. I followed those instructions:

She sent me further instructions, this time with visual aids:

I followed those instructions:

She sent me further instructions with more visual aids.

I followed those instructions:

This time, she asked if she should send a check or use a credit card.

The only time I have had trouble with commissioned drawings is when I don’t have adequate photos. When the customer can help me through the unknowns, we come out fine on the other side. 

P.S. Did you notice that Chaos has color in his eyes? He is a ginger/marmalade/orange cat, with coloring like Pippin. Who is Pippin? My stubby tailed Orange Bob Square Pants!P.S. Many of you are wondering about the fires. We are still in unhealthy to hazardous air; the fire has crossed the Mineral King Road and working its way down to the East Fork of the Kaweah; we don’t feel in danger in Three Rivers; rain is forecast for Thursday. (Nope, we are not having any fun.) You can follow the updates on inciweb (KNP Complex) or the Sequoia Kings Canyon Facebook page. 

An Extraordinarily Good Day

An interviewer once asked me, “What does a good day look like in your life as an artist?” 

(This post is just a bit of reminiscing about life before the fire took over our lives and thoughts.)

Rachelle brought her new lungs and her husband to see us, first time in person since the end of April. I fed them cookies. (They love my cookies so much that I spent $10 mailing some to them in LA. Yes, me, Frugal Queen of the San Joaquin!) Rachelle and I were so happy to see each other that our eyes may have leaked a little bit. Our hubbies were pretty happy to see one another too. 

Then, I finished this painting. (You have seen it on the blog by now).

I was on a roll so I pulled out this canvas.

I thought it was finished, and then I remembered that it needs a wind machine. You have also seen this one after it got scanned.

But wait! There’s more! A former drawing student (from 20+ years ago) emailed with the usual “You probably don’t remember me but. . .” My response was something like, “OF COURSE I DO!!” She came to my studio with her parents, husband, and baby who is too cute for words (yes, this from me, All Babies Look Alike). Out of respect for their privacy, I will just show you this one photo of me with L at my studio. We were both beside ourselves with delight.

To top it off, I sent invoices to 2 customers for recently completed commissions. Sometimes it feels as if I work for fun or for free, then a customer will remind me to send a bill. 

That was an extraordinarily good day.

P.S. I started designing a calendar for 2022, appropriately titled “Places and Things We Love” because. . .

Using pencil, oil paints and murals, I make art you can understand, of PLACES AND THINGS WE LOVE (for prices that won’t scare you).

A Cat Called Chaos

A Chat Called Chaos? A Cat Called Caos? Never mind. Here is the story.
 
In 2004 I drew a cat for some folks who actually brought him to my studio. This was in the days of film cameras (Nope, not an Early Adopter of anything), so I didn’t save a photo of the drawing. Snowcat’s people recently asked me to draw their current cat, Chaos, and although I remembered Snowcat, I couldn’t remember the drawing. They sent me a photo.That was one alert cat!! When I was taking his photos, I reached out to touch him. He pulled away in a very subtle but arrogant manner. Made me laugh.
 
Their current cat spent the first 2 years of his life in a dog grooming shop and used to create chaos there. He is getting up in age, so they asked me to draw him, sending a handful of digital photos.
Chaos looks more alert in the lower photo, but the man appears to be strangling the cat. I asked for a few more photos with a different hand position.
This is less worrisome for the cat’s survivability, but the hand appears larger than the cat’s head. That won’t do.
 
I decided to just start drawing and figure it out as I go.
The weird orangish tint is due to the smoky light coming through the window over my drawing table.
This time to photograph it, I carried it outside for better light.
To be continued. . .
 
 

Still Smoky, Still Drawing

This sort of smoky light means it is hard to see to paint, but if I open the doors for better light, then it is hard to breathe. So, I get to spend another day in the studio with my pencils. (I love to draw – did you know that?)

This is a large collage drawing, a commissioned piece 14×18″, that will incorporate 3 different scenes. In designing, I tried something new – I used photoshop instead of doing sketches. I sent the customer 2 versions and she chose this one.

Here you can see the faint outline where things will go. I started at the top on the left, because as a right-hander, this helps to cut down on excessive smearing.

Setting it up took as long as getting it to this stage.

I had enough time to begin the next segment.

Next, I heard from the customers on the lengthy logo design project. Calling it “lengthy” is not an insult; this is a very challenging job, because the customers have been without a logo since 1980, logo design isn’t my strongest skill so I am slow, and together we are carefully working out the best design possible. This is the next piece in the puzzle.

I used an old (1997) drawing as a place holder, drew a new picture for them, and then we discovered that the old drawing was a better match. Alas, it wasn’t very well done. Well, it was fine for back then, but I was barely out of my Primitive Era in the last century. So I drew it again, and this time I added lemons, along with other improvements that probably only my drawing students will be able to appreciate. But I want this to be The Very Best Possible for my customers and not an embarrassment to my artistic reputation.

Hey look! It is clearing up! I could tell that something was taking place outside because there were some helicopters overhead, and they made the drawing table vibrate.

See? Clear as a bell! 

Not. But clear enough for air support as the fires continue to rage through Sequoia National Park and fill Three Rivers with worry, smoke, ash, fire equipment, and fire personnel.

If you are someone who talks to God, please keep praying for good slow soaking rain without any lightning.