These pieces found homes in February and March. The business of art is such an up-and-down, feast-or-famine way to earn a living; the past 2 months were quite feastish.
Name That Painting
My current favorite subject for painting is classic Tulare County—citrus and mountains, two things I consider to be the best parts of living here.
Today I am asking for a little help. My most current painting is nameless, and I am out of ideas.
Would you like to name this painting for me?
Thanks! (You know it looks better in person, don’t you?)
Here are some ideas that were submitted in response to my emailed newsletter:
Here and There
The Elephant and the Orange
Beyond the Trees
Foothill Bounty
Sierra Oranges
Orange View
Oh Beautiful!
Before 50/50 bars
California’s Peaks and Navels
Spruce Road, East
On a Clear Day
Citrus and the Sierra
Classic Tulare County
The Best of California
Last minute update: the painting was spoken for, the buyer chose the name, and then she measured her wall. Oops. It won’t fit. It is my fault for not publishing the size, 10×20″. It is now available, $375 (this includes sales tax if you live in California or shipping if you don’t), here on my website, or in all the usual ways such as seeing me in person, calling, emailing, etc.
An Orange Grove in Oil Paint
Poppies and oranges and orange groves and poppy fields: that’s what I paint in the winter and spring. (Unless I am painting Sawtooth).
Remember this? It was on the easel until the poppies started selling like hotcakes.
I finished 6 new small oil paintings of poppies, and was so pleased to have paint in the right colors left on the palette to finish this painting.
It is signed, but you can’t really tell in the last photo. After it dries, I will photograph it in good light for you (and my website and portfolio and records, etc.)
This type of painting really says Tulare County to me. Now it needs a title.
Poppies Won’t Put Them to Sleep
Why won’t poppies put them to sleep, and who exactly is “them”?
It is a reference to The Wizard of Oz, a joke that won’t matter if it needs to be explained.
My poppies won’t put anyone to sleep because they are very bright. Here are the latest oil paintings in progress:
These two are finished (the clue is the signature).
These two aren’t finished (the clue is the messiness).
This one is finished (once again, the signature is your clue).
This one is less messy, but clearly unfinished.
Daylight was waning*, so I moved it inside to dry and will put the finishing touches on it another day.
*You can manipulate the clock all you want, but it will NOT create more daylight.
Paint While the Poppies are Hot
Poppies aren’t literally hot; this is my version of “Strike while the iron is hot”. What does that actually mean? I think it has something to do with blacksmithery—taking action in a timely manner.
These four oil paintings of California poppies sold immediately.
The poppies are out in abundance, and interest in them is high. Gotta paint poppies now! These will have to be done quickly and possibly delivered while still slightly wet if I am to tap into the season of interest. Let’s get those canvases ready NOW.
These two (6×6″ and 4×6″) are now available at Kaweah Arts in Three Rivers (unless they sold over the weekend).
This 8×8″ needs some more touching up and a signature.
Chop-chop, Central California artist!
And here is a thought: I do not remember poppies in abundance like this when I was kid. Is it because: a. they just didn’t bloom this way; b. my family wasn’t “into” poppies and wildflowers; c. I was oblivious?
Probably c.
Coming Home to Orange Groves
I grew up in an orange grove.
That sounds weird. Until I was about 11 years old, we lived in a house in an orange grove, not under a tree with the jackrabbits. After that, we moved to a house in an olive grove. Although picturesque, olive trees are not as appealing to me as oranges trees. That opinion has to do with the scent of orange blossoms, along with the ready availability of food. (Don’t try to eat an olive directly from the tree. You’re welcome.)
A year or two (probably three—you know how time flies) ago, I developed a strong desire to paint orange groves with foothills and mountains in the background. This isn’t my best selling subject (that would currently be Sawtooth and before that Farewell Gap or the Honeymoon Cabin), but it sells steadily.
We saw this painting in progress a week or two ago:
Here are a few more stages of development:
It is lacking oranges on the right side, a wind machine, and maybe some blossoms. They might be too small at this scale. I was very careful to get the mountains accurate, so if you know the middle fork of the Kaweah, you will recognize Alta Peak and Castle Rocks.
Why do I love this subject so much?
Prolly need some counseling.
Definitely need some counseling, but it prolly doesn’t have anything to do with this particular obsession.
“Prolly.” I love this non-word.
Finding My Way Home
It feels as if I am finding my way back home in my art pursuits. Sales are encouraging, commissions are energizing, rain and snow is reassuring, and all of those things reignite my desire to paint, draw, and tell you about it.
We recently saw this oil painting:
It didn’t look right to me. The colors were wrong, and it needed orange blossoms. Back on the easel with you!
Better.
Painting oranges feels like coming home.
Seven New Oil Paintings Available
These seven oil paintings are now finished, dry, scanned, and available for purchase.
“Purchase” sounds so fancy; these paintings are ready to buy. (Is that better? Don’t want to get above my raising here.)
Any questions? Maybe the comment feature is working on this blog post. If not, we are probably friends in real life so you can email or call or lean out the door and yell or wave me over on the road or talk to me after church on Sunday. Lots of options for connecting.
Nose to the Grindstone
Doesn’t that sound uncomfortable? What if you also had your shoulder to the wheel, put your back into it, and were toeing the line? How would you get anything done?
Fortunately, I only have to plant my feet in front of the easels. None of these photos do justice to either painting, but when they are finished, dry, and scanned, they will look better. Then when you see them in person, you will really like them.
How’s that for an abundance of confidence?
Finally finished this 8×10″ of the Craig Ranch. It is shiny and wet, not a good look.
Then I began a painting of a subject that I really love to see in person and to paint.
The base coat colors are wrong, but I did begin building the mountains correctly. White dries the slowest of all the paint colors, so this will need to rest awhile before I continue with the mountains.
Productive Painting
You know that I haven’t painted too much this year. The green and orange paintings were a start. Then I got a message about a larger painting that sold, and suddenly I felt energized to paint again. (That painting will appear at the end of the month in a post about sold paintings).
So many artists have way too much inventory and continue to crank out paintings without regard to potential sales. I have a real aversion to too much stuff. When things aren’t selling, I evaluate the paintings to determine if the quality just isn’t there, or if interest in that subject has waned, or maybe I just don’t have quite enough exposure—a likely explanation in this time of no art festivals and boutiques. Sometimes I retouch a painting; other times I paint over the top with a new subject.
If a subject is popular, I will paint it often.
Currently, the most popular subjects are citrus, poppies, and Sawtooth.
Are these finished? Maybe, maybe not. If not, they don’t need a lot more work.