Category: Oil Paintings

Non-commissioned oil paintings

So much to paint, so little time. These are new paintings, begun for the joy and challenge of the subjects, in addition to the confidence that they will sell.

Mountain quail are shy. We are so fortunate to have 2 pairs feeding in our front yard in Mineral King. Because of the way the window is situated, I am able to photograph these birds more easily than the California quail in Three Rivers.

This bridge is not shy. It is beautiful and proud, knowing it is an anomaly on such a narrow, winding and rural road. We call it The Oak Grove Bridge, “we” being those who regularly travel the Mineral King Road in Tulare County. The sign says “Kaweah River” or maybe “East Fork”. I don’t know, because I am always either looking at the bridge or at the water beneath.

There is a crazy amount of feathery detail on the bird. No matter how often I paint the bridge, there is a crazy amount of detail on it and on the rocks beneath.

That’s okay. These are not commissioned paintings, so I have time.

Each one is 6×6″. I have been selling that size for $55, but it is time for those prices to go up. The amount of time this sort of detail requires is a little overwhelming. Maybe I should just get a real job.

Nah. . .

Oil Painting Commissions

Commissions – orders to make a custom item, following the wishes of the customer.

I’ve been asked to do 3 custom flower oil paintings, each 6×6″. Three makes it easy to find a place to hang, either vertically or horizontally. Or, they can be set here and there without having to locate wall space.

This is a special commission, but I am not free to share the details until some time in August.

Let’s get started!

Foxglove, Leopard Lily, Jeffrey Shooting Star.

I thought I’d just outline the shapes and wait until another painting session to begin the layering process.

I thought wrong. This is WAY too fun to wait!

These look almost finished, but if you saw them up close, you’d see that the paint coverage isn’t thick enough, the details (leopard’s spots and foxglove’s freckles) are still missing, and obviously, the edges of the canvas need to be painted.

The customer doesn’t need them until August 8. I want them to be PERFECT, signed, dry, scanned, and varnished.

I am not a procrastinator. Deadlines are best dealt with head-on, immediately and without delay. Then, if there is a snafu, there is time to fix things. Often there are snafus, but that is another subject for a different post.

Or not. I’ll just wait on that. . .

Mineral King, Real and Painted

Time for some Mineral King, because I had a rough painting week with all those “Little Bit Too Hards”.

I can paint Mineral King! Yes I can!!

mineral king oil painting

This is the first time I am painting Farewell Gap with that giant red fir on the left gone. GONE. Cut down. Bye-bye, big fir. Hello little red fir behind it that always made the front one look messy.

1529 FG XVIII

Farewell Gap XVIII, 8×10″, oil paint on wrapped canvas, $100

Now, for a look at some Mineral King photos, taken by Trail Guy, because Fridays are for Mineral King.

Sierra Columbine

Penstemmon, AKA “Pride of the Mountains

View from a mining tunnel on Empire Mt.

Mariposa Lily

P.S. We have had some great times with different groups in Mineral King. A class from Western Michigan University about Walt Disney came up to Mineral King and we got to show them where Disney had dreamed of a ski resort. A family from Chicago visited and we got to hike with them (“we” mostly being Trail Guy, since I headed back down the hill to paint things that are a little too hard for me). I choose to not take photos of people for posting in the blog – feels as if it is a violation of their privacy.

Easier a Little Bit Too Hard

That was an awkward title. See yesterday’s title and post about “a little bit too hard” and then maybe this will make sense.

Still a little bit too hard, but not as difficult as The Flower Girl.

This is Grandma’s Creek. It is where my Grandma grew up, outside of Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Oh so very beautiful, and maybe, just maybe, with enough layers I can capture the feeling.

Grandma's Creek

Blobs, big areas and little “landmarks” on the canvas. Holy cow, why am I doing this when the photo itself is a thing of beauty?

A bit more detail, beginning in the upper left corner. Leaves can’t be all that hard – I certainly have painted them many times before. But I don’t even know what kind these are!!

Grandma may have referred to a creek as a “branch”. They talk funny in North Carolina, such as saying they will “carry you to the airport”. Wow, they must be strong there!

Never mind.

Back to the easel. . . feeling inspired by beauty, challenged by the subject matter, wanting to excel in my skill as an oil painter.

Blowing Rock North Carolina

A Little Bit Too Hard

Sometimes I paint things that are a little bit too hard for me. They are not commissions, nor are they subjects that I think will sell.

Instead, they are things that I just want to paint, in spite of my lack of skill or experience. After I have completed paintings that need to be done for sale, working on these types of paintings is my “reward”.

Wow, is this ever difficult!! This is my great-niece, and I think of the painting as The Flower Girl.

The girl is from this photo.

The flowers are from this one.

The girl feels too difficult, so I am now focusing on the flowers. It is fun to find and mix all the colors, and if I get the petals a bit wrong, it isn’t critical like the face is.

Success on the flowers (still not finished) gave me confidence to paint a bit more on the girl.

Her hairbow is better and her arm is a little chubbier. This might need to rest for a month or two while I build my confidence and skill on paintings that don’t matter to my heart quite so much.

This will need about 10 more painting sessions, a decision on the background color, and a whole bunch of do-overs.

But I’m learning. That is what happens when one pushes through something that is a little bit too hard.

Okay, it might be a LOT too hard.

And More New Mineral King Oil Paintings

As promised in yesterday’s blog post, here are more new (and 2 refreshed) oil paintings of Mineral King, a regular source of inspiration for this Central California artist, also known as “A Regionalist from Quaintsville”. However, when thinking of Mineral King, “Gorgeousville” is a better name!

005 MK Valley 010 Mineral King a.m. 1527 Saw XV 1532 Vandever, MK

From top to bottom: Mineral King Valley, 12×16, $200; Mineral King Morning, 11×14, $175; Sawtooth XV, 6×6″, $55; Vandever, Mineral King, 6×6″, 55.

The titles aren’t clever, but they are accurate. I went ninja crazy (WHAT does this mean??) on the painting end of things, but stayed normal (non-ninja?) on the titles.

New Mineral King Oil Paintings

Mineral King is a continual source of inspiration for this Central California artist. I believe it is one of the best places in Tulare County and probably in all of Central California.

Two weeks ago I went on a focused Mineral King oil painting binge. Might even have been ninja crazy, although I still don’t know what that means. (just like the sound of it)

Here are a few of the results:

1528 Saw XIV 1533 MK Stream 1534 Bear 1535 Marmot

From top to bottom: Sawtooth XIV, 8×10″, $100; Mineral King Stream, 8×8″, $90; Bear, 6×6″, $55; Marmot, 6×6″, $55.

All are oil on wrapped canvas, ready for hanging. They are currently at the Silver City Resort, 4 miles below Mineral King (unless they have already been bought and taken home with people of disposable income and excellent taste.)

There will be more – stay tuned for more new and refreshed Mineral King oil paintings tomorrow!

Lost

Sometimes I refer to myself as a “loser” in the true sense of the word. My mom used to tell me that I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached. As usual, Mom was right.

The Mural Gallery and Gift Shop in Exeter sells my oil paintings. We’ve had a good run lately, so I took another batch of paintings to them. I forgot to include something of oranges, so planned to take one down on my next trip. The sweet lady who works there said, “Bring them all – they sell!”

So, I went into the overheated and underused workshop (too hot to paint there in the summer) to retrieve some oranges. Found two oil paintings of oranges.

Funny. I have three. Where is the 11×14″?

1433 Blooming oranges

Blooming Oranges, 11×14″, oil on wrapped canvas, $175, available here

Lost.

Did I sell it and not write it down? Did I take it to a gallery and not write it down?

AHA! It was part of the show at the Visalia Convention Center this spring! It is sitting in someone’s office in Visalia, someone whose hours do not coincide with my trips down the hill!

Found! I wrote it somewhere, but obviously the list is lost.

Oil Paintings at Home

Oil paintings at someone else’s home. Someone else who really likes my work. Someone whom I really like. But, this is the World Wide Web, so her identity will not be revealed.

She has others that are not yet hung, only propped against the wall the last time I was over. As she and I discussed the paintings she was considering, I suddenly had a flash of insight. “AHA! You are a color junkie, just like me!”

When one color junkie identifies another, there is no need to explain. We just get each other. Look at the flowers in her front garden!

When she wants a painting, it doesn’t feel like the business of selling; it is simply helping a friend with good taste, an interest in beauty and some disposable income (“disposable”? Who decided that word should go with the word “income”??). I love to help people choose the right picture, whether it is one I have already painted or drawn or one they ask me to create for them (the fancy word is “commission”.)

color junkie

About Selling Oil Paintings

This post is about the business of art, selling oil paintings, but I only go on about it for a paragraph and then it is all pictures.

In the past month and a half, twelve oil paintings have sold.

TWELVE!

I would say, “I’ve sold twelve paintings”, but it wouldn’t be very true. I am not that good at selling, in spite of reading all sorts of websites, blogs, and books on the subjects. If you really want a painting and have the money, I want you to have it! But I am not going to convince you against your budget or your better judgement that you should buy a painting from me. Not gonna do it! It is fake to say certain “magic” words that will somehow separate people from their money. No phony-baloney-plastic-banana in me.

End of explanation (excuse?). Now, let’s rejoice!

067 SS IXX 1520 Alta Moro II 1525 M's Hen O121 - 1312 Oak Grove Bridge V Poppies XXXII 1403 sunflower 1432 FG Alpen Glow 1448 KaweahR VIII 1519 Orange sunflower

O#120 - 1311

P.S. I wasn’t related to any of the customers and some I didn’t even know!