Category: Oil Paintings

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!

Poppies Will Wake Us Up!

Poppies are popular. Poppies pop off the canvas. Poppies pop up on the hillsides in spring.

Poppies are a good choice for oil paintings.

I had begun a painting on an 8×10″ canvas. It was putting me to sleep. I changed it to poppies and it woke me back up, contrary to the popular belief of “Poppies will put them to sleep”. I felt happy to work on it in spite of the beginning sloppiness.

Poppy Field oil painting

Poppy field, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $100

Click THIS to buy. (Is that like saying “when” to get someone to stop pouring your iced tea so it doesn’t overflow?)

Painting Rehab

“Painting Rehab” sounds as if my painting is on drugs and has to be locked up for awhile to detox. Or, perhaps it sounds as if an artist is needing to undergo recovery from a painting addiction.

Or, it could mean that a painting needs to undergo some rehabilitation from an injury.

Sometimes I move my paintings from the studio, a gallery or a store into my house. I live with them for awhile, and then I begin to see that they aren’t as good as they could be.

I could get all bummed out about how much work everything is, but I try to look at life from a positive perspective.

So, my attitude is “YEA! I’m getting better!”

Good thing. If I wasn’t improving at my line of work, I’d need to find something else to do.

This oil painting is one of my earlier attempts at oil. “Attempts”? That makes it sound as if it were a failure.

Nope, it is an experiment, and an experience. It is on the easels for about its 4th make-over.

Maybe I should say it is at the spa instead of in rehab. . .

Here is how it looked before I went after it again.

Generals Highway

Not that much different on the screen. Definitely better in person. I might even rename it The painting formerly known as General’s Highway will become “Entering Giant Forest”.

When I am done with its make-over and it is dry enough to photograph without a shiny glare (when its stitches are out and the scars have healed?), I’ll show you the 2 versions.

Wanna Paint What I Wanna Paint!

Sometimes I paint the things I want to paint and just hope they sell. Sometimes they do. Usually when I paint what I want, I spend twice as much time as I would on others, aiming for a level of perfection and truly enjoying the process.

Kind of a bad business decision. . . maybe.

Don’t know. Get tired of business decisions. Wanna paint what I wanna paint!

The Shepherdess is a friend of mine. A very dear friend in the perfect light is a hard subject to resist, even when it isn’t showing off the beauty of Tulare County.

I think this will sell without any trouble. Even in this embryonic state, this one is beginning to have some appeal.

The shepherdess has some beautiful chickens.

Wow, this looks like a mess. It will take an extraordinary amount of time, but I wanna paint what I wanna paint! Nope, not Tulare County, and not even California.

My favorite bridge might be finished here again. I don’t know what number it is. I’ve lost control of the numbering of the series of the Oak Grove Bridge.

I wanted to spend more time with the shepherdess but had to settle for painting her instead. In the painting (and real life), she is not actually wearing highlighter pink. And there is no ray of sunshine on the painting except around 8 in the morning coming through the painting workshop window. The sheep still appear to me as if they need a good veterinarian. That’s okay. I wanna paint this!