Opening weekend in Mineral King in 2018 was cold, drizzly, foggy and not conducive to any photos. Besides, my camera battery was dead.
The skies cleared briefly on Sunday evening. I borrowed Trail Guy’s camera for this:
Monday was glorious, sunny, bright, and warm(ish). I took this from our friend’s porch
Finally, here is the classic photograph.
And thus we begin another summer season in Mineral King.
Painting Drawing of the day:
Have you heard that thing “Sitting is the new smoking”?
Hogwash.
Been thinking about chairs recently. My cabin neighbors are replacing some living room furniture, and it would be awful if their old pieces went to the dump. My couch needs recovering, so why not cover theirs from the ’40s and dump mine from the ’80s? And if I move a chair from the living room to the studio, I can put theirs in the living room. . .
This blue chair from the living room could replace this red one in the studio. The red one is very hard for people to get out of, so this makes sense.
The red chair is outdoor furniture. (What kind of dork puts outdoor furniture inside? This kind of dork, that’s who.) Sorry, the wooden chair isn’t for sale. I could draw it for you. . .
Today’s art is of chairs, all pencil or colored pencil drawings:
I could keep on going, but this is just getting embarrassing. What is the deal? Am I a closet sitter??
Last year about this time I lost my long time friend Jennifer, or “Jennifah” as she said her name, being English. She taught me so much throughout our friendship, including fun words. Among those words, “twee”–cutesy, sweet, precious– was one of the most useful.
When S sent me the photos of the barn where we got the kittens, she told me it was particularly cute when there were kittens in the planters by the barn. A few days later, she sent me these photos. Look closely!
After a bit of thought, I finally decided that kittens are just a bit too twee for my calendar. Here is the finished drawing.
Painting of the day (nothing twee here):
When Trail Guy and I went to our friend’s barn to choose our kittens, I was struck by how appealing the outer wall of the barn looked. Alas, I didn’t have my camera with me. (Just hush up about smart phones, will ya?)
2 weeks later, another friend, the amazing S, emailed me a photo of the very barn wall because she happened to be there and thought I would like a photo. She knows me well and is a very thoughtful friend.
I set aside another drawing that has been putting me to sleep and started on this.
One of the things I continually tell my drawing students is, “Pick something you love because you will be staring at it for a long time.”
This will be an excellent addition to my 2019 calendar.
THANK YOU, S!
Today’s painting:
Whenever someone approaches me about an old drawing or painting, I first hope the picture isn’t too embarrassing. Then I hope that the customer will allow me to repair, replace, and rework anything that is no longer up to my always improving standards.
While at the Redbud Festival, I met Karen, who is a new member of the Lemon Cove Women’s Club. She wanted to know how to get cards reprinted with the pencil drawing I did so long ago that I didn’t even put a date on it. (1988? 1989?). I said, “Sure, of course! I hope I can find the original drawing. . . HEY! IT’S IN MY DINING ROOM!”
I thought this was a good drawing, and maybe it was for my skill 30 years ago. But when I put it on my drawing table under the magnifying light, I was disappointed and thought, “that girl needed drawing lessons”.
I was able to find the photo and the original card. This was something to smile about, along with having the original drawing in my possession. (I haven’t kept very many, and wish I could gather all the old ones back for a do-over.)
It probably wasn’t horrible, but my drawing students would have picked it apart, and I would want them to, because this is how we all learn to draw better. (Where was I when I needed my help back in 1988? The hubris of the young. . . sigh.)
Who knew that naming a chicken pencil drawing could be so mentally taxing? Look at this list of ideas:
Thank you, all who participated. (K, I’ll be in touch because I want to give you a little prize.)
Want to help me name a drawing? First you get to read how the drawing came about.
Chickens are a popular subject in life and in art. They will make an appearance in my 2019 calendar, and I chose these 2 photos to work from.
The black dude on the lower left has too little detail, so I substituted this one. It is called a “Barred Rock”, as opposed to a “Plymouth Rock”, because it has “bars” on it. (Does a Plymouth Rock have plymouths on it? What is a plymouth?)
The drawing was a challenge; my students have heard over and over from me, “Pick something you love because you will be staring at it for a long time”. Can’t say I love chickens, but I do love a good pencil challenge.
YEA! Finished! But what shall I call it?? “Hectic Hens”, “Large And In Charge”, “Do You Know Who I Am?” or something else entirely? (I already used “Busy Flock” on a oil painting.)
What do you think? You may tell me in the comments, or email me at cabinart@cabinart.net. I’ll wait a week or so, and then pick a winner. There will be a prize. Might be an egg or something. . .
The Kaweah Post Office is about 3 miles up North Fork Drive in Three Rivers, California. For awhile it was known as the smallest operating post office in the USA. Now it is operated in a weird little way; the woman who owns the building goes to the Three Rivers Post Office to collect the mail and then brings it to Kaweah to pop it into the boxes.
People who live near the post office are quick to tell you that they live in Kaweah, not Three Rivers, thank you very much. It has its own zip code (93237), so I guess that makes it its own town.
The building is very picturesque and old-timey, established in 1890, but I think the current building was constructed in 1910. It is also sort of falling apart. I don’t know what will happen to it. But, I don’t know what will happen to anything or anybody, and neither does anyone else.
It has a ton of visual appeal, which is why I continue to draw and paint it. Have a look at some of the drawings. I’m not showing you the very first one because it is downright embarrassing.
Tomorrow I will show you the first seven oil paintings of the Kaweah Post Office. Not “THE FIRST”; MY first. I’m sure there must be dozens of other artists through the years that have chosen this little jewel.
While working on the umpteenth pencil drawing of the Kaweah Post Office, I was struck by how stupid it is to guess at what is around and behind the little building. Why am I struggling with an incomplete photograph when all I have to do is drive about 4 or 5 miles and see the thing in person??
This is the photo I was using, and there is green chaos all around the edges. Besides, I took this photo in October of 2010, so I suspect things have changed.
Indeed, they have. I know the biggest oak lost a limb; I helped raise money to replace the roof by selling oil paintings of the Kaweah Post Office, donating half of whatever they auctioned for. But where is the little fence with the gate?
Would you look at that? It is gone! But wait! I think I see it. . .
That’s no help. Guess I’ll just stick to my old photo. The background works, just sort of scribbling in blurry curly growing symbols.
Are you curious about the porch and the inside? Have a look:
After goofing off enjoying a spring morning outing, I went back to the drawing board. (Do you know anyone else who can literally say that?)
Last summer I had a hankering to draw some new Mineral King pictures in pencil. I did four of them without a plan for reproduction or framing. Artists make art, and I am a Central California artist making art of the flyover center of California, my main source of inspiration (along with liking to drive and to eat.)
This spring I decided to test the marketability of these drawings as cards. These are packages of 4 different cards, 5×7″, blank inside with envelopes, $15 per package. There are only 9 5 packages available. Through this blog post and Saturday’s open studio, I will decide if these are popular enough to print in greater quantity.
This sort of thing is just part of the business of art. Make the art I want, and then figure out if there is a market for it. . .
This is the insert that goes inside the package of cards. The drawings are too small to really appreciate on the insert, so I’ve placed them underneath. Scroll on, Gentle Blog Reader.
What?? No Honeymoon Cabin?
Nope – sometimes an artist’s gotta do what she’s gotta do. (But she is willing to listen to customer requests, within reason.)
P.S. I thought at first that $15 was a little high-ish for 4 cards. Then I went inside a real store and looked at real cards that are sold one at a time. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I was astonished at the prices, so believe these are a bargain.