Mineral King in February?

Nope, I’m not there. (Where did the word “nope” come from??)  But, it is Friday, so have a look at some Mineral King art from my pencil archives:

Fret not. Summer will return.

Mineral King is one of the treasures of Tulare County, a place I love.

We break for this commercial message: This pencil drawing of Mineral King has sold. If you would like your own original pencil drawing of this (or of something else), I can do it for you. In fact, it would be a pleasure to draw for you!

9×12″ – $200

11×14″ –  $250

Watching Paint Dry

Last week I shared my thoughts about how the world is now wanting things to be juiced up.

Here is the juiced up version of a new Mineral King painting, with enhanced versions of two other paintings, all drying in the painting studio while it is RAINING OUTSIDE!!

It is hard to tell that the 2 top pieces have been enhanced. I might need to work harder at figuring out this juiced-up thing. I am such a pragmatist and a realist. The truth drives me. However, I have been known to exaggerate in the past to make a point or to get a laugh. Perhaps I can direct this ability to my oil painting.

The Mineral King painting (on the bottom) is quite bright. At this oblique angle it is hard to know that it is still missing a great deal of detail.

Meanwhile, I’ll wait for the paint to dry and engage in some productive procrastination.

I just learned how to make chalkboard paint – stir about 1 Tablespoon of UNsanded grout into about a cup of paint. It gets thick and it dries fast and you can write on it with chalk! A person could get carried away with this sort of information.

I don’t know why I wrote those phone #s on the pegboard for drying oil paintings. First, I know those phone #s. Second, if I forgot them and there were wet oil paintings on top of them, they wouldn’t be visible.

Is “productive procrastination” an oxymoron?

Honestly, I just couldn’t figure out what to do because when it is raining, it is too dark for painting. I could draw, but the drawings are finished for The Cabins of Wilsonia. I could draw something else, but it is oil paintings that sell the best.

So, I’ll just watch paint dry and thank God for the rain.

Thoughtful Thursdays – A Juiced Up Life

Now that the drawings for The Cabins of Wilsonia  are finished, I’m thinking about oil painting again.

I’d like to make a 2015 calendar of paintings, and need to decide if I have any that can be used or if I need to do 13 new paintings. Thirteen? A year has 12 months, a calendar has 12 months PLUS a cover.

I’m studying some paintings I didn’t use in the 2013 calendar very intensely. Why hasn’t this or that painting sold? Is it the old “right person hasn’t come along” or is the painting just not good enough to grab those who have come along??

When I wonder about things like this of a philosophical and esoteric nature, I talk to my friend D about it. She and I have decided that we live in a time when we are all used to things being instant and awesome, or as I think of it, “juiced up”. Here are some examples:

Photos

A. regular photo – nice.

B. juiced up photos, like the ones in the link I gave you yesterday.  We are impressed when the light and color are enhanced, or juiced up.

Music

A.  friend playing a song on a guitar – nice.

B. juiced up, hearing it in stereo on our ear buds with all the accompaniment

Movies

A. old movie – entertaining in a dorky sort of way.

B. juiced up – big flat HD screens with stereo sound and special effects and surgically enhanced actors

What does this have to do with painting?

I can paint what I know or see, mixing the colors that match nature and reality. Nice.

Or, I can juice it up – exaggerate the colors, enhance them and show people a scene the way they remember it, because it was a juiced up memory.

Here is a non-juiced up photo:

Nice. Of course it is nice; it is Mineral King!

Here is a juiced up painting:

The colors are brighter, I added a peak, I subtracted a tree. The tree was good, but it didn’t fit the shape of this rolling trunk with a slightly warped lid.

I decided to paint this same scene on canvas. If it turns out well, I’ll put it in the 2015 calendar.

It is very wet and the color doesn’t look juiced up yet. When it is finished and completely dry, I’ll rephoto or scan it so you can see what I mean about juiced up.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, but I don’t dare turn on the comments and be hit by a tidal wave of spam. Sigh. You can use the Contact the Artist tab above or email me if we are already correspondents.

A Dry Winter in Mineral King

Trail Guy went to Mineral King. I worked. He is retired. I am completing a book of drawings. It’s cool – we understand that this is a consequence of our vast age difference. (Calm down, I’m just exaggerating!)

I might be a good influence on him. On the other hand, I might not be.

The fact that he is enjoying photography is the good influence.

He requests the camera regularly.

A radio commercial says this: “Never wear a fanny pack. No really. Don’t ever wear a fanny pack.”

Dude gets weird sometimes. I take full responsibility. (Remember my knitting photos??)

He has always noticed beauty, but now he records it.

He is noticing good light more, actually seeking it out.

Recognize Sawtooth?

Do you pray? How about asking God to send rain and snow? We need it.

P.S. If you see Trail Guy today, wish him a Happy Birthday!

Sawtooth on a Notecard

Anyone out there still hand write cards? Send thank you cards? Send a card just because you ran into an old friend and wanted to tell her on paper in a lasting way how happy you were to see her?

This is one of the best paintings I’ve done in my shortish painting career.  (That’s just my opinion; feel free to disagree!) Now it is available as a little package of note cards. They are 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, so you don’t have to write very much. 😎 The package comes with 4 cards and 4 blank envelopes for $8 + tax.  You can find them by clicking this word:  Sawtooth.

Sawtooth is a prominent landmark mountain in Mineral King, visible from Visalia. I have an up-close and personal history with the peak. It happened on July 22, 1976 and it involved a helicopter. Who knew that one day I’d be painting the place??

My very wise dad used to say (until we were rolling our eyes) “Life’s full of surprises.”

He was right.

Mineral King in Monotones

This is how Mineral King looked on Thanksgiving Day.

Not much water, not much snow, not much color

Not much snow, not much sun, not much color.

Ditto to the above comments. This is looking down from the junction of the Timber Gap/Monarch Lake trail.

Sawtooth, minus much snow, as seen from the Timber Gap trail.

Crystal Creek, not much water, no snow, not much color.

Heading back from Crystal Creek, not much happening visually.

Hey! Sunshine!

Please, God, send some rain and snow.

A Bazaar With Knitting, Calendars, Tees, and a Mineral King Box

That is a bizarre title; please be impressed with the way I incorporated Mineral King into a Friday post. (Tahoe is postponed until next week.)

Would you like to see some of the things I will have at tomorrow’s bazaar?

Great, glad you asked.

The lavender purse is spoken for – please forgive me for taunting you with it. See the bright stripes at the very bottom of the photo? Those are socks,  which are too big for me, dang it. I think a women’s size 7-11 foot would work in them. See those red felted slippers? They are too small for me, dang it. I think a women’s size 5 would work in those.

But what is this box? Yes, I hear you wondering about it.

 

Trail Guy and I are not above scrounging in places where people have disposed of items. I INSISTED that we rescue this box. He said it was junky. I agreed but asked him to shore it up anyway, because storage boxes are functional and cool and it would be great to paint on. He complied with my request. and then added wheels too. The lid doesn’t quite shut, it isn’t completely smooth or totally square but it is clean, has wheels, and will hold lots of knitting or whatever floats your boat.

A functional all-purpose Mineral King painting on wheels! 

And this is the final selection of calendar photos. We did it!! Thanks to you, Tulare County photo calendars are now available!

See you at the Senior League Bazaar

Saturday, November 16, 9-4

Three Rivers Memorial Building

Closing Weekend in Mineral King

There is beauty in the shoulder seasons in Mineral King. There is beauty in all seasons in Mineral King. In spite of that, it is a summer place to me. I feel sad when we close the cabin, when I am no longer there half of every week and not hiking, knitting and reading guilt free, and not turning on the computer but cooking on a wood stove.

On the other hand, it is hard to live in two places. (Now that’s an embarrassing statement – sounds like “It is so difficult to manage a household staff” or “Stupid Rolls got another flat tire” or “My latest hair extensions weren’t quite the right color”.)

We usually spend the final weekend at the cabin chasing the sun. This year was no exception. I’ll let the pictures speak for the rest of this post.

Remarkable Event on the Mineral King Road in September

On Labor Day, there was a car fire on the Mineral King Road. I didn’t write about it then because there were hikes that were more interesting.

We were on our way down the hill when a car coming up stopped us to say there was a fire down the road. The driver said 3-4 miles, but it was 7-8 miles down. When we saw the smoke ahead, we stopped in the shade of an oak tree about a quarter mile above the excitement.

There was a very long line of cars, some with people sitting inside, but most were empty.

We walked down to see what was around the corner. Something about a helicopter is so fascinating. Add a bucket of water and a fire, and you’ve got a happening event!

This was only part of the crowd. We knew lots of people and had all sorts of mini reunions as we watched the action.

When the water was released, we got a bit of spray and a few drops. It was hot out, but not unbearable and the water felt good.

It was caused by something electrical. Bummer.

Isn’t that cool? After the car was no longer in flames, most of the water drops went onto the surrounding area, soaking it in case of errant sparks or embers.

Here is what I found truly remarkable and wonderful:

1. No one got surly about waiting.

2. Everyone was friendly.

3. The help came in time to prevent a horrible wildfire, in spite of no cell phone service.

What an organized place we are privileged to live in! All those skilled and trained and competent professionals and volunteers with fabulous equipment that works, sitting ready for such an unfortunate event. I felt proud to be an American, thankful to live in a place that can handle potential emergencies without incident.