Mineral King Will Open This Week

NEWS FLASH – just received an email stating the gates are unlocked TODAY!

This week, probably on Friday, but maybe on Thursday (this is the government we are talking about here), the gates to Mineral King will open. A major source of inspiration for this California artist, that’s Mineral King!

Welcome back, people. Did you bring any new car parts for us?

I was there on May 20, and this is how it looked. Not much snow, not much water. Lots of green.

I love this view. It doesn’t seem like a strong enough composition for painting, but I find it very compelling, every single year. I photograph it every single year. Doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results? Nope, just thinking that one day I will say “AHA! If I just move this tree a bit, or that log, or change the contrast or some other who knows what, then this will make a great painting”.

Nevuh, nevuh, nevuh give up.

 

 

New Mineral King Paintings

Last summer, the Silver City Store sold a pile of paintings for me. This summer I am preparing in advance, so each time I stop by and see one is gone, I can put another in its place.

I had a stack ready to go, and then 2 of them sold. Nope, I don’t mind at all!

Vandever at sunset

Vandever VI, oil on wrapped canvas, sold, sorry, but not really

oak grove bridge oil painting

Oak Grove Bridge X, oil on wrapped canvas, my favorite bridge, and I’m ready to paint it again soon!

Painting Preparation or Procrastination?

It has been about 2 months since this California Artist did any oil painting. When I take a long hiatus*, I wonder if I will be able to paint any more.

I used to have that little niggling worry about drawing when several weeks would pass without my picking up a drawing pencil (unless I was using one to balance my checkbook).

Because the season of Mineral King is upon us, it is time for me to supply the Silver City Store with oil paintings to sell.

This happens in steps:

  1. Inventory existing paintings
  2. Make a list of subjects that should always be on hand and for sale
  3. Go through photos
  4. Choose photos to paint now and ones to paint later.
  5. Write the titles and inventory numbers on the inventory list and backs of the canvases
  6. Turn on the swamp cooler. Yes, in April. This gives me hope that we will have a shorter summer in terms of heat.
  7. Find something to listen to while painting. If the internet is working, I can listen to podcasts online. If it isn’t, I can listen to the radio or to my iTunes music.
  8. Wonder where Perkins is and if he’d like to hang out. Miss Zeke a little. Miss Kaweah a lot. Go back into the house for something or another thing.
  9. Paint! Just do it! I just listened to a podcast on productivity that said if you find yourself procrastinating, there is a problem. OF COURSE there is a problem if you procrastinate – you won’t get the work done! Then there is the Steven Pressfield book called The War of Art in which he discusses something called “resistance”. I’ve listened to podcasts and read blogs about this.
  10. Fix/finish those California poppy paintings I started 3 months ago.
  11. Use the leftover paint on your palette to base-coat canvases for the next painting session.

Any questions?

*Hiatus means pause or gap in sequence. Why use a one-syllable word when there is a great three-syllable word to do the job?

Mineral King Time Already – Early Early Early

It has been a dry winter. Trail Guy has been hiking this week.

Wow. This is early early early.

This is our friend and neighbor Keith. He is eating an orange on the bridge on April 26, 2013. There doesn’t appear to be any snow. Early early early.

The Park is officially opening the gate to the public on May 22. Early, early, early.

 Is “early” really a word? Looks funny. Nothing like a little overuse of a word to destroy one’s vocabulary.

Me? Just painting Mineral King scenes so that the Silver City Store can sell them for me this summer. They sell my Mineral King oil paintings very well. Maybe my prices are too low. Maybe you should pick one up this summer before I decide that my prices are too low. Then you can say, “I got her early work”. Early early early.

I was able to paint this week because I finished my April drawing quota for The Cabins of Wilsonia.  I finished them early.

Next week? Back to the drawing board.

Do you know anyone else who can honestly and literally say that?

Not Much Snow in March in Mineral King

Not much snow on Sawtooth.

 

Not much snow in the valley looking toward Farewell Gap.

No snow on the south-facing slopes; not much snow on the north facing slope on the Sawtooth trail.

Not much snow for March.

Fridays are for Mineral King (tee shirts)

Hey, have you seen this yet?

This is a Trail Guy tee shirt. It matches faded denim, has a custom embroidered Mineral King logo, is 100% cotton, comes in M, L, and XL. It costs $25 with tax and we’ll mail it to you for free. If you buy enough, we might be able to get a more professional model.

Size: Medium
fits chest 40″/Price: $25
[wp_cart:M M tee:price:22.99:end]

Size: Large
fits chest 44″/Price: $25
[wp_cart:M L tee:price:22.99:end]

Size: X-Large
fits chest 48″/Price: $25
[wp_cart:M XL tee:price:22.99:end]

This is the women’s version. I don’t like boy clothes and usually don’t like clothing with words on it. But this is a special case, and I love this color. Besides, it is 100% cotton, tagless, and comes in S, M, and L. It too is $25 with tax, and we’ll pay the shipping.

Size: Small
fits 4-6/Price: $25
[wp_cart:W S tee:price:22.99:end]

Size: Medium
fits 8-10/Price: $25
[wp_cart:W M tee:price:22.99:end]

Size: Large
fits 12-14/Price: $25
[wp_cart:W L tee:price:22.99:end]

Buy a lot so we can pay some decent models, would ya?

Thanks!

What Is This?

Fridays are still for Mineral King, when  I have Mineral King information for you.

Do you remember reading on my blog back in September when I told you that Trail Guy had a great idea? You can refresh your memory here. Go ahead. I’ll be waiting for you to return.

Thanks for coming back!

Here is where that idea is now. I don’t mean geographically. “Where” means how far along in the development phase. “Phase” sounds so important, don’t you think?

 

What are we doing???

More will be revealed in the fullness of time. 

Somebody Went to Mineral King

But it wasn’t me because I was drawing The Cabins of Wilsonia. (I know not to begin a sentence with the word “but”. Thanks for your concern about my writing skills.)

Farewell Gap in Mineral King

And the weird spot on my camera is not there this time!! (Sometimes things do fix themselves, contrary to what my auto mechanic says.) I think this would make a wonderful painting, should I ever finish drawing The Cabins of Wilsonia.

Trail Guy in Mineral King

No, this is not a weird spot. It is Trail Guy, happy to be retired, happy to be in Mineral King, happy to be eating lunch.

Pisten Bully

This is not the Trackster. It is a Pisten Bully. (I am not making this name up.) It is how Trail Guy and Ted got to Mineral King. Ted is in uniform. He is not retired. He gets paid to do the heavy lifting. Trail Guy is just an unpaid volunteer who happens to have tremendous equipment operating skills and experience. Please Ted, don’t run over Trail Guy’s lunch box. (It has happened, but it wasn’t Ted. He might not have been born yet.)

Fridays are for Mineral King

. . . except the snow was too deep and we didn’t get there!

Trackster on the Mineral King Road
This little vehicle is called a Trackster, made by Cushman in the 1970s. It is sort of like driving a lawn mower.

We unloaded the Trackster around mile 12, about 2 miles below Trauger’s. I think that is where we were. It looks so very different under snow!

Trackster track in the snow

The Trackster leaves tracks in the snow.

Mineral King Road in the snow

Wow, there was so much snow! (There was also a weird spot on the lens of my camera.)

snow in the trees on the mountain side

See?

Sawtooth in winter as seen from the Mineral King road

Sawtooth and the stoopid weird spot on the lens.

Alles cabin

This is the historic Alles cabin at Atwell Mill.

It was very pretty and very cold. Remember, I am a California artist, and I live in the sunny foothills where it snows about once every 2 years. This was a wonderful opportunity to wear many of my knitted pieces. No photos of that, sorry to disappoint you.

Our enthusiastic passenger was thrilled to build a snowman. She was amazingly skilled at it for someone who grew up in the sunny foothills where it snows a little bit maybe every two years.

a very unique snowman

This is quite the unique guy. Since we all recently saw The Hobbit, we decided the dude needed ears. Actually I suggested ears like a bear, but these ears seem to be a bit like Gollum, the gross little dude who sort of talks like Donald Duck.

Any questions? ask in the comments or email me via the contact the artist button on the menu bar.