Waiting Around, Chapter One

Last October, I met with the project manager and the priest of the Catholic church under construction in Visalia. They chose me to paint 2 outdoor murals, to complete them by the end of December. Now it is January and I am still waiting for them to sign the contract and allow me to begin.

So, I am just enjoying life at a slower pace, getting little things done, hanging around while waiting. We finally had a day of sun and Trail Guy and I went for a short walk around the neighborhood.

First we stopped by a neighbor’s house where I stashed a ziplock of old documents on his front porch, took a photo and texted him. You are curious? My 4th-grade best friend married a guy whose dad built that house; he recently found some old papers that pertain to the place. (Yep, still friends with my 4th grade best friend!)

This is such a perfect view of Moro Rock and Alta Peak with another neighbor’s flag that I am sure I have taken this photo and shown you in previous posts.

Here is another great view of those two landmarks.

Sometimes I look Northwest toward Comb Rocks, because it is so very green. Maybe in a couple of months it will be bright orange. Don’t be alarmed: I am thinking about poppies, not fire.

We walked up to the Catholic church (nope, not the one where I hope to be painting murals—that one is 36 miles away). I remembered a joke my dad told me, one that involved a merger of 4 companies, 2 of which I had never heard of, so the joke was wasted on me. The 2 companies I had heard of were Mary Kay and Fuller Brush. The punchline to the joke was “Hale Mary Fuller Grace”. Does anyone out there know about those other two companies, Hale or Grace?

My mural on the water treatment plant doors has a weird spot where I must have used the wrong color of teal and thus, the yellow faded away leaving just a strong cobalt blue. Can you spot it?

Looking downstream on the middle fork of the Kaweah River

Look—a gift from the high water. We went down below the bridge to retrieve this thing: a Christmas tree stand bolted to a chunk of wood. Good thing there is a dumpster near the bridge.

Looking upstream.

And thus we conclude our Walk While Waiting.

 

Twelve (Non-Thank You) Reasons to Hand-write Notes

This is the most current drawing of the no longer open Kaweah Post Office. This card is now available on my website; the older version is only available only in person IF any remain. (The original drawings have sold.) 

Reasons to write notes besides saying “thank you”

  1. Here is the $11 you spent on postage sending my sweater to me.
  2. This magazine article reminded me of you.
  3. Here is the recipe you asked for; I wrote it out so you won’t have to waste printer ink.
  4. I found this old photo of us in which we look like underfed children.
  5. I made you a bookmark.
  6. Isn’t real mail fun? 
  7. I forgot to tell you this when we talked last and it is so important I want you to have it in a format you will keep for awhile.
  8. Wish you weren’t moving to Colorado/Kentucky/Texas/Oregon/Angola.
  9. My printer is out of ink so I decided to use a pencil.
  10. I miss you.
  11. Our post office is terrific and it is good to buy stamps from them so they stay in business because if they don’t where will we mail things that need to be weighed first, like calendars, and packages of notecards for sale, so here is a note just because.
  12. Here is a happy surprise for you—real mail in your mailbox! (Thank you, Louise!)

This is the older version of the Kaweah Post Office drawing. When these cards are gone, this design will be retired, just like the post office itself. 

I bet you can think of a few other ideas yourself.

Let’s keep this quaint method alive of showing people that we care!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, Chapter Three

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. Oregon is known for its blueberries, in the same way that California is known for our oranges. There are U-pick farms, so we chose one, took 6 buckets to fill, loaded up my grandniece and nephews, and headed out of the city.

Blueberry farmers plant grass between the rows, blueberries have no thorns, and it (usually) isn’t hot in Oregon, at least not hot in the way I am accustomed to.

In the afternoon, I went to another blueberry farm with my brother-in-law, this time just to glean. There I learned that it is normal to plant grass in the rows to hold down dust and allow for driving between rows during muddy times. I also learned that piling sawdust around the base of the plant is normal. Finally, I learned that they harvest the berries by a very specifically designed machine. I didn’t learn if you call the place a field, a grove, an orchard, or something else.

This is part of the haul. I filled many gallon ziplock bags and 4 salvaged berry boxes, ultimately filling up 2 ice chests.

Obviously, I had to leave the next day, because one cannot expect 2 ice chests of blueberries to just be fine indefinitely.

Little Pale Beige Dots

If you can’t see the photos, go here: cabinart.net/blog. 

I asked the customer of this commissioned oil painting of an orange grove with his urchins if he wanted a wind machine, and he replied, “No, let’s go old school”. 

I asked him, “What? You want smudge pots??”

After we laughed, I told him that I just needed to add orange blossoms and do a bit more work on the urchins. He is very easy to work with, and was pleased with the progress.

These little blossoms are indeed little.

One would think that white would be the right color. One would be wrong.

These look white, but they are more of a pale beige. White was much too stark. (This is why I get paid the big bucks.)

Hours later, still a lot of real estate on this canvas to be covered in little pale beige dots.

Closing in on it. . .

Finished and signed.

And ready for the customer, once it is completely dry!

Another piece of custom art for the archives. . . because. . .

I use pencils, oil paints, and murals to make art that people can understand of places and things they love for prices that won’t scare them.

 

Bouncing Project

If you subscribe to the blog and read the email on your phone, the photos might not show up. (Some people get them, some do not; it isn’t a problem I know how to solve.) You can see them by going to the blog on the internet. It is called cabinart.net/blog, and the latest post is always on top.

The South Fork Estates sign project was a biggie, one with some unresolved questions, but I did my part and then passed it back to the customer. Being a fine artist (an artist who makes art to put on the walls) doesn’t qualify me to understand the chemistry of paints, sealers, varnishes, stains, or how to treat wood. It is easier to just state that fact up front.

However, the customer for those signs decided they needed to have the background wood painted. Initially, in 1990, the entire signs were painted a burgundy, then overpainted with the colors. This was evident after the 32-year-old signs were sanded and scraped. The customer only asked me to refresh the colors, or I would have first (reluctantly) coated them with a burgundy or dark brown. I say “reluctantly”, because I thought it was bare wood, and it pains me to cover bare wood with paint.

Alas, the customer was concerned that my 2-3 coats of paint were insufficient, and requested that I paint the background, so he brought them back to me, for quite a bit of discussion. I told him that he was the boss.

This is a tricky situation: is it me guaranteeing my work, or is it a “change order”, as contractors refer to extra requests? I decided that the extra layer of color was on me, and the meter would be running for the background.

After adding another layer to the colors, I sent him this email:

“Before I begin painting the background dark brown, I am hesitating in order to give you a chance to reconsider whether this is really what is best for the signs. 
 
“I am reluctant to dive in because:
1. I don’t believe this is the best solution; the two sign painters I talked to each recommended wood stain or oiling, not paint, saying that wood needs to breathe.
2. Once the paint is on the signs, there is no going back to the natural wood.
3. Because of the rough surface, it is not possible for me to do the outlining of the letters or the narrow channel between the gray-blue border and the narrow yellow line, so the signs still won’t be completely dark brown on the non-colored parts.
 
“I can do this but want you to be absolutely certain it is the right next step, because there is no undoing it.”
 
It was a relief when he replied and asked that I stain them dark brown. I did a tiny section and sent him a photo for approval (with no idea what I would do if he didn’t like it).
He liked it!
This sign is stained:
This one is not:
Now I need to remember to detour past the subdivision in order to see the refreshed signs in place.

Listening, Learning, Thinking, and Applying

This photo is apropos of nothing; I just put it here because I like it. 

Recently I had the privilege of an honest discussion about some blog posts with three wise friends. It made me realize a few things:

  1. Sometimes my posts need an editor. Blog posts are meant to be spontaneous and heartfelt, and a little bit of fun is always welcome. “Blog” comes from “web log”, which is essentially an online journal. And what is journaling if not spontaneous? But when work is public, editing is a good idea. A person can only self-edit so much, so sometimes things don’t sound as intended.
  2. These are the three posts we discussed: 1. Quick Quick can you help us? 2. Did Mineral King Need a Paint Job? and 3. Messing with Other People’s Art. I reworked them a little bit, so if you are curious, reread them, and if inclined, tell me what you think (because I love an honest discussion where I can learn).
  3. Sensitive people will find things to be upset about; blunt people will tell it like they (Ahem, “we”) see it. Neither type is right or wrong; we are simply different.
  4. Listening, learning, thinking, and applying will help prevent us from mowing over, blowing past, or dismissing one another (although that is an easier method in the short run).
  5. Not everything has to be talked about, but when someone you care about is bugged, it is good for the relationship to pay attention.

Phew. I need a cigarette.

JUST KIDDING! NEVER SMOKED, NEVER WILL.

How about a nice picture to wrap this up?

(Heh-heh-heh)

Early Season Mineral King

This post comes to you courtesy of Trail Guy. He took the photos for us to all enjoy.

This is Empire Peak. 

This is Timber Gap, to the left of Empire. Farewell Gap isn’t entirely visible in the next photo, but you can see Little Florence Peak, which is on the left side of the gap.

This is the view from the Timber Gap trail.

These are five-spot, an early flower.

And these are violets. Yes, I know they are yellow, but I didn’t name them.

Another view from the Timber Gap trail.

And these deer are just now remembering that people start showing up this time of year. 

Trail Guy Rushes Summer

Whenever we have a lean winter, Trail Guy gets ahead of the calendar and tries to start the summer season. He went to Mineral King, spent a few chilly days, and came home again. 

I stayed quite busy with work and life, while it was still beautifully springlike in Three Rivers. Plus, I got to see the photos, and now you do too. (Appropos* of nothing, that yarn would probably match the now finished Dutch iris.)

According to Trail Guy, also a huge fan of wildflowers, there were fabulous poppies in the burned areas along the road.

*Apropos is pronounced “aa-pruh-poe” and is French for “in regards to” or “with respect to”. It means that one is inserting a non sequitur, which is Latin for “it does not follow”. You’re welcome.

More Green and Orange

The daylight was waning when I got the poppy paintings to this point.

I don’t like to waste paint. Life was full of unexpected and urgent interruptions while I was working on these paintings, and I didn’t know when or if I would get back to painting before my palette was ruined. There are ways to keep the paint fresh, but it is never as good as when I first squeeze out. 

Instead of wrapping it up and hoping for the best, I decided to use it up.

The photo shows a tangle of leaves but I can redesign those when I work on this painting again.