Two miles from home in our little town of Three Rivers, a little art show in a little dining room of a little restaurant and a little space to show a little art on a nice fall day. (A long incomplete sentence!)
This is the view behind the place where the show was. In the trees across the river is the Three Rivers Arts Center, where there will be another show soon.
Another upcoming event for this Central California Artist. November is my busiest month of the year! Who would have guessed this?
The Senior League Holiday Bazaar has been happening for many years at the local Veterans Memorial Building. It used to seem podunk to me, and now I appreciate it as a great low-key event in which there is time to really visit with the visitors. (Department of Redundancy Dept. here)
There is a great variety of vendors, although it tends to be heavy in the jewelry department. Each year there are different folks showing and selling their wares, and others who return faithfully.
Oh wait. This is supposed to be about shopping! Hope to see you there. . .
Hidden in the Leaves is the title of a show sponsored by the Arts Alliance of Three Rivers. At last count there were 17 Three Rivers artists participating. The show hangs in the dining room of Sierra Subs, along the highway in Three Rivers just before you see the Shell gas sign. (Easier to spot than an address!)
Here’s a link to a little thing about it: Fresno Bee Events Page
First Saturday Three Rivers: Its opening reception is Saturday, November 7 and I will be there, set up in the courtyard, showing, and selling from 11:00 until 2:30 . (That’s tomorrow if you are reading this on Friday, November 6.)
Three of my oil paintings are in the show, and one is two are already sold!
Stop by, say hi, order a FABULOUS lunch, sit near the river, look at the paintings, introduce yourself to me, browse through my stuff, hang loose and be cool. Or, buy something. Just have a good time!
Mister Black is the name I give to the ravens I paint. There are two so far, painted because of the Raven Festival in Three Rivers.
Three Rivers does something special-ish on the first Saturday of each month. A new theme is chosen each month, and for October, it is ravens.
The amazing Nadi Spencer had the idea of a raven theme and took it a little further than just a normal First Saturday. October is a busy month for me, so I haven’t been around for the festivities.
However, I have done a painting for 2 years now. This is the first Mister Black.
In this is this year’s version he was looking out from atop that pole (which was actually white and fiberglass.)
At Sierra Subs and Salads in Three Rivers is a show of the raven artwork. You can learn more on the First Saturday Three Rivers page.
Gotta go paint now!
I am perpetually fed up with artists getting asked to donate to good causes. In May of 2014, I posted “An Artist Bloviates about Donations” on LinkedIn. My hope was to encourage fund raisers to find other methods besides asking those who are often at the bottom rungs of the financial ladder.
Under the list of “Reasons to Donate”, #1 was “An artist loves the cause and wants to help.” I currently have a cause I love and want to help.
Tulare County, where I live, is poor, rural, and in Central California. It is far from Los Angeles, San Francisco or the Silicon Valley. We are not rich either in money nor in landmarks.
One of our favorite historic structures is the Kaweah Post Office, a tiny wooden structure just outside of Three Rivers. It is 125 years old and still in operation!
Because we are also not currently rich in rainfall, many of our trees are very stressed. A giant oak above our little Kaweah Post Office lost a limb which smashed the roof and porch of the landmark we love.
The building is publicly appreciated, but privately owned. There is insurance, but it comes with a large deductible.
So, I am auctioning the above oil painting on eBay. In keeping with my principles about artists not giving away their work, I will donate half of the proceeds toward the restoration of the Kaweah Post Office.
A few notes:
1. Kaweah is the name of the rivers of Three Rivers. (South, Middle and North Forks of the Kaweah make up the three. . . never mind about the Marble and East forks – our forebears had to draw the line somewhere!)
2. It is pronounced “Kuh – WEE – uh” (not to be confused with “The River Kwai”)
3. The auction listing is “Original Oil Painting of Kaweah Post Office”.
4. The painting is 10×10″ on wrapped canvas, ready to hang.
5. The auction went live at 12:02 on September 29 and remains up for 10 days.
Now, let’s see how this bloviating artist’s version of raising money turns out!
Each of these drawings are 2-1/4″ x 3-1/4″, drawn directly on the entry form called “Blank Canvas” for the magazine “Professional Artist”.
The 2 colored pictures are colored pencil. It hurts my wrist to use colored pencil over an extended period of time, but these went quickly.
And I love to draw in pencil. Pine cones are one of the hardest, most confusing subjects to draw because of all the repeating shapes, both in the dark spaces and the light places.
This was fun. If any of my pieces are chosen, they will be published in the magazine.
These subjects are definitely all part of a Central California artist’s life.
Yes, I know it is a good ploy by the magazine to acquire new subscribers. So?
It was fun!
Competitions and contests are usually a waste of time for a professional artist. This is just my opinion – there are bound to be those who disagree. One can win awards and not sell a thing. Or, one can sell but not win. I’ve been in both places, and frankly, I’d rather sell than win.
Contests usually have an entry fee, a form or two, a bio to be written, photos to submit, and then involve long drives to deliver the pictures, see the show, and retrieve the pieces. My time is better spent drawing or painting or preparing talks or planning art or teaching drawing lessons or blogging or. . . you get the idea.
HOWEVER, I found an exceptionally easy, fun and FREE contest. It is sponsored by a magazine called “Professional Artist”, and this is how it works.
That’s all. No fee. No photography. No bio. No delivery.
Why bother? Because it was fun! It was so fun that I did 4 entries. My first entry is the sand dollar above, drawn in pencil.
I’ll show you the other 3 tomorrow.
In order to sell books, I need to take them to groups and talk about them. So, I will begin with the Tulare-Kings Genealogical Society on Thursday evening, this week.
My entire point of the book, The Cabins of Wilsonia, is that Cabin Communities Matter.
There isn’t much to brag on in Tulare County in terms of architecture. There’s my favorite bridge (on the Mineral King Road), the Fox Theater in Visalia is quite handsome, and there are various homes around the county that are respectable. What I think is truly remarkable is our cabin communities, particularly Wilsonia.
You knew that already because I spent 4 years making a book about it.
So, it is time for me to begin promoting my book. Here is the first event of that nature:
Relevant Links:
You’d think that when writing of the Fourth of July in Wilsonia that I’d show a cabin with a flag.
Instead, it is the sweet little cabin on a meadow without a flag.
Why?
Because it will be included in Wilsonia’s silent auction on Saturday, July 4.
She-Who-Runs-The-Silent-Auction thought this would have the most appeal, so here we go!
Yeah, yeah, I know I said I don’t give my art away.
Sometimes I do. Wilsonia has been good to me and I want to be good back to them.
The book, The Cabins of Wilsonia, is for sale there and here.
The Redbud Festival is a longstanding Three Rivers tradition. It is an arts and crafts fair, and it happens in May, 2 months after the redbud has bloomed. This was Redbud Festival #41! (There may have been a year or two that it didn’t happen.)
It used to happen at a restaurant at the Three Rivers Golf Course. Both the restaurant and the golf course are closed. It moved to the Lions Roping Arena. Now it is at the Three Rivers Veterans Memorial Building, a mere walk from my house.
It takes 2 vehicles to schlep my stuff. We set up the night before, and then the next morning I just walk to the show. Very cool. Bit longer commute than I normally have when I walk across my driveway, but I’m up for it.
I pass the Presbyterian Church.
The plantings at the Memorial Building are native and drought tolerant and thriving. Is that pop-up tents in the distance?
Indeed, it is. And the building is such an odd shape – see it on the right?
Look – all in place and waiting for the customers.
Nice morning light coming in the windows.
My view out of the windows, but no chance to visit those booths.
Paintings sold better off this side of the booth, highly visible when one stepped into the building. So, as paintings sold, I just rearranged them onto this side.
Such brilliant merchandising, dontcha think?
It was a good Redbud Festival. Thanks, all y’all!