Category: Custom Art

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By “Somewhere North of Tahoe, Explained”, I mean the painting, not the location. Having received permission to show you the photos supplied by the customer, I thought you might like seeing what I had to work with and the final outcome, all together in one post.

The first photo is too dark but has a dramatic sky, snow on the distant peaks, and the meadow portion is green. The second shows better detail so that I can understand the landscape.

Both appear to have been taken using a wide-angle lens. This means that distant mountains seem farther and smaller than they probably look in person. 

Neither photo is the same proportions as the final painting needed to be.

Since both photos seem to have been taken from the same spot, I figured the log must be an important element. I can tell that the close shrubs are sagebrush, and the distant shrubs across the meadow are probably willows.

Most of my guesses are based on having painted similar scenes of Mineral King, but because they are guesses, I did this sketch for the customers to approve, or improve so it suited their vision.

I got lucky on two counts: 1. they liked everything; 2. they weren’t scared off by the scribbly sketch.

You saw all the steps; here is the gussied up photo when it was dry enough (and sunny enough) to take one for my records. (For some reason, the meadow appears fluorescent here, but fear not, it looks fine on the painting).The painting was picked up by the customer on Saturday. She sent me this photo of it in place.What a terrific solution for a window that looks out onto someone else’s cobwebby wall!From this:

To this:
. 

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This painting felt too big and too hard, so I broke the process down into steps. First, I decided that the sky couldn’t be beyond my abilities, and I mixed up the blues.

It didn’t seem beyond my grasp to shape the tops of the distant peaks.

How hard could the rest of the sky be?

Not wanting to waste the blue paint, I used it up on the 12×36″ commissioned oil painting without a deadline (THANK YOU, DM!)

I’ve painted plenty of clouds before, and they are very forgiving. That seemed like a good next step. Just mix some gray, and put it where the clouds might be darker, then put white on the bright places and smooth the two together. 

By this time, I was cold and wanted to go in the house. Instead, I turned on the stereo and put in a couple of CDs that I used to love but haven’t thought about in years. With Selah singing to me, I tackled the mountain with all its detail.

The music was going, and I forgot about being cold, forgot about wanting to go inside, forgot about thinking it was too hard, and I painted as if inspired, because maybe I was.

Time flew, I was having fun, and when it was time to quit for the day, I didn’t want to. However, the two CDs were done, and my knees hurt from standing so long.

Selah helped so much that I ordered a new CD from them. (2020 was the release date of “Step Into My Story”; sounds new to me). Yes, I put actual Compact Disks on an actual stereo and listen to it through actual speakers, actually. Why wouldn’t I? I have these items and they work beautifully. I can crank the volume without injuring my ears, and sing along without injuring anyone else’s.

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My current odd job is simply a painting of a mountain landscape. The odd part is that I am painting it 16-3/8″ x 29-7/8″ on a piece of Masonite.

After Trail Guy cut it, I covered it with 5 or 6 coats of flat white housepaint, sanding between each layer for a smooth surface.

Meanwhile, I studied the two photos, provided by the customers.

Neither one is the right proportions. Each has its own good points, so I combined them into a rough sketch, the proportions of the window opening and board. This is what I sent to the customers for approval.

The customers were very happy, so I sketched it onto the board.

Then, I put a very thin first layer over the white primer.

When that is dry, I will continue layering, building up color, tightening up detail, until eventually I won’t be able to think of any way to make it better.

Then I’ll do the usual finishing steps: sign, photograph, varnish.

Because I know you want to know, all I know is that this is somewhere north of Lake Tahoe.