Analyzing, Thinking, and Walking

A week or so ago, when explaining the thought that goes into planning for a show to a friend, he said to me, “You are too analytical!” I asked why he thought that was a problem, and he said that women aren’t usually analytical. Well, if I don’t analyze what to paint, then when it is showtime, I might end up with too many pieces all the same subject and all the same size. (He just shows up for work, does what he is told, and collects a nice paycheck. Sounds boring.)

This painting was a little too wet, and the workshop was a little too cold to dive back into this. Since I am working from multiple photos, it is taking a lot of concentration and focused thought to get the right elements in the right places at the right sizes.

So, I used my powers of concentration and focus to do some analyzing in preparation for the upcoming solo show. I went into the studio and made lists. How many blank canvases of which sizes do I have? How many paintings of which sizes are either finished or in progress? Where am I lacking in sizes? How many paintings of each subject are either finished or in progress?

Next, I moved to the file of reference photos—kind of a mess. I organized them into groups: Finished (but keep handy just in case), Nope not gonna do these after all, and then put the remaining ones into proper order: citrus, Mineral King, Sequoia, Three Rivers, foothill scenery, Exeter and ag. These were photos that I had selected a few months ago thinking they were the best ones to work from for the show.

I thought about the subject matter: plenty of citrus, could use a few more Mineral King, people don’t care that much about Sequoia at an Exeter show. Do people at an Exeter show actually care about Three Rivers? How many foothill scenery paintings do I need? And finally, what will fill the bill for Exeter and ag?

I chose the next four paintings to work on, two foothill and two agricultural and “drew” them onto the canvas.

I looked at the poppy painting again, looked out the door, and decided to go for a walk. The flowering pear is starting to show buds, and the green looks fake.

The flowering pear across the highway from the Remorial* Building is always the first to bloom and the last to hold its color.

There’s plenty of time to finish another 15 to 20 paintings before October.( Let’s not think about the paintings needed to sell at Silver City, the possibility that the Ivanhoe liberry** might suddenly be ready for me to begin their murals, the trips I have planned, the fact that it is too hot to paint here in the summer, and time at the cabin.)

*”Remorial” is how our neighbor taught us to say “Memorial” when she was 9.

**”Liberry” seems to go with “remorial”. Prolly.

Green and Orange

Poppies and oranges are two of my most popular subjects. Orange and green, green and orange. Orange is yellow and red; green is yellow and blue. I’m getting more relaxed about the specific shades of each, focusing more on values, which is Artspeak for darks and lights.

This painting will take awhile, because I want it to be perfect. Do I always say that? Prolly not. I’m not a perfectionist. It takes discipline to keep returning to the same painting over and over when I just want to cross it off my list and keep going on to the next one. BUT, I have learned that it is better to be a little annoyed during the process than embarrassed later.

This one has been very fun. It seems finished now, but chances are that I will see small things to correct once it is dry.

Finally, this one has orange trees that are green but the ones on the right are really wet and shiny.

This is an excellent example of how to not photograph a painting.

All three paintings show the beautiful parts of Tulare County at the prettiest time of year. When these are finished, I will begin one in the fall season. It won’t be orange or green.

Another of Tulare County’s Prettiest Places

Maybe “Tulare County’s Prettiest Places” would be the right name for my show at CACHE.

But what if I want to paint other places too?

Who will want other places? My fan club (fall down laughing) is based here in Tulare County.

Enough already with the speculation and analysis—let’s paint.

This is Rocky Hill Drive, probably the most popular outdoor place to run, walk, and bikeride in Tulare County.

WAIT—”Popular Pretty Places”?

Stop it and just get on with the painting, will ya?

You can’t go up on Rocky Hill itself, only up between Rocky Hill and Badger Hill. But in the very flat land of the flatlands, this is the only place for walking uphill or downhill.

This 6×18″ oil painting needs better detail on the orange trees, the shoulders of the road, and maybe even some work on the center line once all this paint dries a bit.

One of Tulare County’s Pretty Places

Remember seeing this 16×20″ mess first layer?

I think it will be a good one. I combined about 4 photos on Photoshop Junior* to see if my version of this scene was better than reality and concluded that yes, indeedy it is, or it will be if I can execute it with excellence.

Let’s go!

I am choosing to not show the beginning photos for a couple of reasons.

  1. I don’t want any input as to whether or not I have chosen the correct elements in the correct sizes and placements. Sometimes I do want input; this time I do not; that could change. . .
  2. I want you all to judge the painting on its own merits rather than whether or not I can accurately copy a photograph.

Phooey. I can see 3 shapes that look wrong right now. “Wrong” in that they don’t look fully natural or believable, because I am only judging this painting of one of Tulare County’s pretty places on its own merits, not while looking at any photos.

*Photoshop Elements is the “easy” version of Photoshop.

Steadily Oil Painting

How many paintings can I work on at one time?

ONE!

How many can I have in progress at the same time?

As many as I have space for.

How many are drying in the house at the time of this writing?

Six!

But how many are you working on right now?

Just four.

Will this painting ever be finished? It has now been improved a little bit more.

Before
After

Maybe this one is ready to sign! All the edges will take awhile to paint too, but maybe the actual scene is actually finished. Actually!

It looks pretty good in person, if I do say so myself. Yep, just said it.

This is fixin’ to get some real paint so it can look like more than a mist of its future self. The green hill in the distance is the other side of the close green hill in the painting above.

It looks tiny here, but in reality, it is 16×16″.

These poppies are really fun. I put it off for awhile because it seemed too hard, too fussy, too small. I was wrong.

This little field of poppies (6×12″) only needs a bit of drying time and some final touch-ups. Well, that plus signing, edges, drying, scanning, and some varnish.

And the steady progress of building up a body of work of Tulare County oil paintings continues, in anticipation of the solo show at CACHE in late fall, 2024.

Recently (ish) Sold Paintings

Seeing a collection of paintings that has sold provides fuel to keep me painting during a season of slow sales. This is a season of producing; November-December was a season of selling.

Painting Steadily at Many Stages

Sometimes people wonder if I work on more than one painting at a time. Yeppers, for sure! Today’s post is a look at several paintings at various stages of completion.

This one is getting close to completion. I like it better with each new iteration.
This will go quickly. I mean the painting process will go quickly; selling is an unknown in terms of speed.
The poppies look good but the painting needs more. . .
. . . lupine and popcorn! Now it is drying in the house.
The Four Guardsmen, as you head up to Giant Forest.
This will definitely need another detailed layer.
8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, The Big Trees, FINISHED!

There are more in various stages, but this is enough for today. Thanks for stopping by.

A Mess of Deer and Three Paintings

Trail Guy and I took a walk. As we were approaching home, this is what we saw.

After this excitement (plus the usual mess of turkeys in the yard), I went into the workshop to work on three paintings. One needed finishing, one needed more detail, and one needed the first layer.

This one got some wire on the fence, a signature, another cow, and the edges painted. This is a photo taken with the phone, but when it is dry, I will scan it for a more accurate representation.
The leaves and oranges on the front row might be finished. There are orange blossoms on the tree at the far right, but the idea of adding them to the rest of the row was a bit daunting (boring, actually).
I bet you can figure out what this 16×16″ canvas will be. Almost looks like a watercolor at this stage.

Returning to My Favorite Subject

Orange groves, foothills, and mountains remain my favorite subject to paint. (It used to be the Oak Grove Bridge, and who knows what it will be next?)

I painted this to hang in my dining area, but put it on my website and then, lo and behold, it sold! (off the website—I didn’t open my front door to customers)

No problemo—I just started another painting.

Then, I just left it on the easel for months.

After starting all those small paintings for Kaweah Arts, I finally went back to this painting. If I don’t get it finished soon, suddenly it will be October and then it will go to the solo show and then it will sell without ever hanging in my house first! The urgency. . . !!

Details, details. All those close trees needed details. Of course, once I’ve put all those leaves on, the oranges will need more color or shaping. Then I’ll decide to add blossoms. After that, the ground will need some debris. Next, I’ll decide to put cows on Wutchumna (the hill). Maybe all the distant rows will need refining, the hills reshaped, the mountains improved. . .

Never mind. How about starting another one?

I do love me some orange groves in the foothills with the Sierra in the distance. These subjects are a real benefit of life in Tulare County. (But DON’T move here. It is in California, where people are leaving in droves. Wait—what is a “drove”?? Aren’t people leaving in U-Hauls?)

Seven New Oil Paintings, Assembly-line Style

When Kaweah Arts closed in early January for a couple of months, I retrieved all my paintings. Kaweah Arts sold well for me in its three year span despite serious hardships: a plague, a fire, another fire, and a flood, each one leading to the closure of Sequoia National Park, which meant the flow of visitors to Three Rivers ceased. I went through my records of sales, and came up with a list of sizes and subjects that sold the best.

The average price was $145, and the most popular subject was sequoia trees, Sequoia gigantea, AKA redwoods (the common name) or “big trees” (local vernacular). Two other popular subjects were mountain range views and poppies.

I gathered seven blank canvases from 8×8″ ($100) up to 6×18″ ($165) and then went to my oh-so-lovely newly organized photo files. The efficiency. . .!

After pairing the photos with the right canvases, I then did some preliminary sketching. This isn’t something I normally do, but in the interest of painting quickly, this seemed like a prudent move. (Remember, I also need to produce 20-30 larger paintings for the solo show in October AND paint for the Silver City Store, which sells well for me in the summers when Mineral King is open to the public.)

Next, I did the boring tasks of assigning inventory numbers, and putting the hanging hardware on the back. (This is the sort of task that makes me wish I had an apprentice or an intern.)

All-righty, then! Let’s start with the assembly line style painting of the first layer to establish where colors will go and to cover the canvas.

Painting back to front means starting with the sky. The order of colors and placements doesn’t really matter at this stage, but it is wise to practice good habits whenever possible.
Green next, just using whatever is on the palette, but occasionally making dark/light adjustments.
Browns and oranges, same color family, plus yellow.

Looks like seven little messes that vaguely suggest what they will become, but with almost 18 years of oil painting, this is no longer alarming to me.

I hope you are not alarmed either. This is the most efficient way I know to paint, and these seven paintings will be finished, signed, dry, varnished, and scanned by the time Kaweah Arts reopens in March.

It’s all part of the business of art. (Just in case the Art World is checking in and judging my use of photos, let me explain that I took great care in composing those photos and have taken great care in cropping, blending, adjusting, and arranging the parts of each one of these paintings. So There, because working from photos is not wrong.)