After looking at Western typestyles, sketching out some ideas, and turning a pencil drawing of a citrus scene into a circle, I began refining the five design ideas.
Time to mull it over, chose three, and show the customers. I sent the first three and scrapped the other two. They might have been workable, but enough already!
To be continued. . .
I have become a (temporary) Sawtooth painting factory.
First, sky and clouds on all three.
Second, Sawtooth on all three.
Third, trees on distant ridges on all three.
Fourth, work on the distant trees that are somewhat distinct.
Fifth, scribble in some layers of green on all three, because it is getting too dark to see, there is green paint on the palette that can be used to add another layer to the canvases, and that’s all I can take today of the repetition of these custom Mineral King oil paintings. 
Next painting session: figure out the confusing rocks in the stream on one painting, and then use it as a guide for the other two. This will be more effective than repeating a rock three times and then realizing it is in the wrong place. Who cares if a rock is in the wrong place? If it makes the stream flow look unbelievable, all three customers might care.
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.
The blog series “How I Designed a Logo” is temporarily postponed while I keep you updated about the show, “IMAGES OF HOME” at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery. We will resume the story tomorrow (unless something show-related happens that cannot wait.)
I am painting as if I have a deadline because I do. One of the customers at Images of Home wanted to take his painting with him rather than wait for the show’s indeterminate ending. This left a blank space on the wall.
Since it was a 12×12″ orange grove scene which sold, I wanted to replace it with something similar. (We didn’t just arbitrarily tack paintings and drawings to the wall, but instead, we grouped them somewhat by subject matter.)
This painting was already started:
I spent an afternoon refining it, doing the forbidden and frowned-upon (by The Art World) drawing with my paintbrush. (That is my preferred method of painting, and clearly, the attendees of the art show agree with me, so take that, Art World!)You can see that I ignored the eucalpytus trees in the background in the photo and substituted my favorite foothills and snow-covered Sierra.
The painting is too wet to scan (Captain Obvious speaking here), so I photographed it, carefully carried it into the somewhat warmer house (we’ve been having very mild weather this week) to get a bit drier, and then will deliver it still somewhat wet to the gallery. Since the gallery isn’t open again until Saturday, the degree of dryness doesn’t matter. I will put a “Wet Paint” sign near it.
The title is “Picking Time”, the size is 10×10″, the price is $150, and the medium is slow-to-dry oil paint.
Because I fully anticipate further sales in the next weeks building up to Christmas, I am working on these other 2 paintings to fill holes on the walls.
First, this one has been troubling me. I keep studying it to figure out how to make it better.
Okay, bye-bye stump. Yes, it tells me where I am on which trail, but it doesn’t enhance the painting. In case you are wondering, I like deer in Mineral King; I dislike them eating my plants in Three Rivers. 
This is better, but I am still not convinced that it is finished. These little adjustments are probably only discernible to me. 
Okay, enough of this painting that feels too hard for me. Time to work on something I know how to paint.
When this stage is dry, I will start the detailing that I so dearly love to do. This is the classic Mineral King scene; this time it is titled Mineral King Dusk, because it is dusk in Mineral King. (This is your captain speaking). It is 6×12″, and the price will be $125.
Do you think I should raise my prices? What would Captain Obvious say?
Never mind. Here is an updated flyer about Images of Home; both of the pieces shown have sold. (Sawtooth on the left sold four times, which I already told you, but again, this is your captain speaking).
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
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??)
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. . .
Exeter Courthouse Gallery, 125 South B Street
Oil paintings generally happen on an easel; acrylic mural paint goes onto panels of scrap wood resting on some sawhorses. What’s “the Big Chair”? Glad you asked. Keep reading.
Kaweah Arts requested a panel with a single redwood where the entire tree is visible. I have 2 different sizes of these panels, and instead of waiting to hear which size the customer wants, I will paint them both. These sell steadily to people passing through while visiting Sequoia. Eventually, The Park will be reopened, and those customers will resume stopping by Kaweah Arts while on their way to The Park.
I don’t think this is quite finished but I was running out of daylight.
These were on the easels. The top one is a bit of a do-over and the others are just the first pass over the canvas. They will help resupply Kaweah Arts after I rob them of the large paintings to take to the Courthouse Gallery for the show Images of Home.
These are ready to be varnished.
A friend makes these giant redwood Adirondack chairs; I painted an indoor mural to earn a few of these. This one was in the perfect position to hold 5 paintings while they dried in the sunshine after I varnished them. Can’t even see the chair, can you?
Okay, here comes the announcement. I hope it doesn’t become invisible to you from too much repetition.
Exeter Courthouse Gallery
After thinking over the title Heart of Rural Tulare County, I wasn’t satisfied.
I looked at the original coloring book, Heart of the Hills, and realized that this one needed to be Heart of the County. 
That’s the ticket! My Shadow Consultant agreed, after suggesting a couple of tiny adjustments.
The idea to do this came quickly, and the retail places that sell my work want it in time for Christmas. That’s why most of the drawings are gleaned from the previous coloring books, compiling them into a broad portrait of the county’s rural places. I thought you might need to know that. It is sort of like buying a “Best of” album from your favorite music group, and then you either say, “Oh I love this song” or “Wait, I already have this”.
Like all the previous coloring books, each page has a tiny hidden heart.
The coloring book is $20 and is available here on my website.
Upcoming Solo Art Show:
Exeter Courthouse Gallery
The reasons for choosing this drawing for the cover of my new coloring book of rural Tulare County were because it is representational of the subject matter, appealing, and has enough blank space for words.
I looked at the previous coloring books and did a draft for the cover. These things don’t fall into place for me in one shot – I have to think things over, and usually send them to my Shadow Consultant in Bellingham who has a great eye for design. Ooh, weird, there’s that single “eye” again, just like when something “catches your eye”.
Good enough to know that things will fit here. I got out my colored pencils, put on a good podcast, and dove in. 
When you are listening to something good, even simple mundane tasks like coloring go quickly. I think it was Mike Rowe’s podcast. Great vocabulary, intriguing stories, nice voice, excellent sense of humor.
UPCOMING SOLO SHOW:
Exeter Courthouse Gallery