Painting and Painting

Language is so confusing. “Painting”, a noun (a stretched piece of canvas with a picture depicted in oil paint)? Or “painting”, a verb (the Central California artist at work)?

Both. It means both.

I’ve been painting and painting and painting. Oil painting. Studio Tour is coming, and people like to see new things. I’ve repainted some subjects, painted over the top of others, and begun and completed entirely new oil paintings, some of old subjects, and some of newer ones.

That should have covered it, but just in case confusion lingers, here are some pictures of oil paintings. (I keep saying “oil paintings” instead of just “paintings” in case it helps someone find my blog and website.)

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If this photo doesn’t confuse you, perhaps you are unconfusable.

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Some are finished, some are not. Guess you’ll have to attend the Studio Tour or the upcoming Redbud Festival (unless they all sell at Studio Tour) to see these.

 

Mineral King on the Easels

Fridays are sort of for Mineral King on this Central California artist’s blog. Can’t get there right now, although people did drive all the way to the valley a week or 2 ago.

However, I have many photos, and Mineral King is probably the heaviest category.

As a studio artist, I rely on photos. They are photos I have taken of the same subjects multiple times in a variety of seasons and times of day. Art snobs think that painting from photos doesn’t count. I don’t know any of those people, or if I do, they haven’t shared their bias with me.

Anyway, in spite of the time of year, I am able to paint Mineral King, that oh so popular subject. Here’s what is in progress:

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This is the Monarch Lake Trail, heading back down to the valley. There is a section of trail with some very gnarled junipers that I photograph each time I am there. I’ve painted it before, but not in this square format.

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Sawtooth sells, so I repaint it. Farewell Gap with the Crowley cabin sells, so I repaint it. Sometimes I put hours and hours into these little 6×6 paintings, and then I feel a little yucky about selling them for $50. So other times I put less time into the detail, and then I feel a little yucky about selling them at all. These are NOT finished, or to quote my friend Ron T., “Best viewed from the back of a fast horse.”

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Farewell Gap with the trail heading toward the now defunct pack station. This is the first pass over the canvas. It is also a 6×6″.

I noticed that my friend and fellow Three Rivers artist Nadi Spencer is now charging $60 for 6×6″ paintings. She is light-years ahead of me in experience, so she should be getting more for her work.

I wonder if I should raise my prices. That, along with actually selling the work is the most difficult part of being a Central California artist. I wonder if it is easier if one lives in the land of Art Snobbery. . .?

Juiced-Up Bridge Painting

My favorite thing to paint is my favorite bridge, the Oak Grove Bridge, also known as the East Fork Bridge. That’s the East Fork of the Kaweah River, 6.5 miles up the Mineral King Road.

I paint it and draw it often. It is beautiful, particularly because it is such an architectural surprise on a narrow, winding mountain road.

This time it is a 10×10″ painting with sort of juiced-up (exaggerated) colors because that is fun to paint and fun to see.

Any questions?

oak grove bridge oil painting

Oh, the price! I don’t know yet, because I think this is really really good and makes me want to rethink pricing by size. So, you may have to wait until the upcoming studio tour to find out. (Is it wrong to like one’s work?)

SOUTH VALLEY ARTISTS’ STUDIO TOUR, March 20, 21 and 22, tickets available for $15 at ARTS VISALIA. You can read about it on this link.

Poppy Painting Worth 1000 Words

I began a 6×18″ painting of a field of poppies and showed it to you with just one pass over the canvas. Then I went silent.

Now I will speak 1000 words worth to you:

Poppies #41

Poppies #41, 6×18″, oil on wrapped canvas, $150

On and Off the Easels

Now that I have boxes of books in my painting studio, there aren’t as many places to hang wet paintings. So, these remain on the easels until they dry.

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This is a 6×18″ panorama type painting of poppy fields after one pass on the canvas.

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Morro Rock

Morro Rock is almost dry. It was dry enough to carry outside to photograph in the abundant sunshine.

Lake Kaweah oil painting

And here is the new and improved Kaweah Lake oil painting. I really got involved in the details. I love detail. Did you know that about this Central California artist? (Please excuse the redundancy – I want to appear in those search engine things so have to be sure to include words that may be sought.) Just so you can appreciate the improvements, here is the first iteration. Yes, I know the lake is REALLY bright. I happen to like it. Do you?

 

Painting Better Now

Lake View VII

Why hasn’t this painting sold? Trail Guy loves it. I thought it was pretty good. Hmmm, let’s study the thing, put it on the easel and get tough.

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This now has better detail in the mountains and a different and brighter color in the water.

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Keep painting, Central California Artist. You’ll get it.

Eagle Trail Painting: Before, During and After

Before: trail

During: IMG_0131

 

After?Eagle Trail

 

I might keep painting over and over and over. This looks better to me, but once it is dry and hanging in the studio or showing somewhere in public, I won’t know for sure.

Also, this isn’t a true and fair comparison because I’m using different cameras. Guess you’ll just have to see it in person to decide. Wait, you can’t see the old one in person, because I painted over it. Trust me on this: it IS better now!

Hey Mr. Google, did you know this is in Mineral King? It is actually the trail to Eagle Lake, Mosquito Lake, and White Chief, but I simply titled it “Eagle Trail”.

I Paint Better Now, Again

A painting called “Eagle Trail” wasn’t sitting right with me. I look at it each time I set up a show or rehang paintings in the studio, and something was just not good enough.

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I don’t know what is bothering me.

So, I just began with the upper-most, furthest away parts. As I was taught in one of the classes that I began but dropped part way through (rap music? really?? Couldn’t take it!), the “glazing” method is just repainting, over and over and over.

Here it is after another session on the easel:

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It is a little glossy because it is wet. I’ll keep layering and layering, studying, thinking, trying to paint it more carefully and accurately. When it is dry, it should photograph better. I hope it looks better!

I Paint Better Now

Sometimes progress sneaks up on us incrementally.

I’ve been oil painting since March 8, 2006 (Yes, I remember the date. It was memorable and remarkable and important.)

I pulled out an older painting (haven’t been painting long enough to call anything “old”) that a friend requested. She saw a scratch on the surface, so I said I’d patch it up. When it was time to paint, I realized that an entire area wasn’t good enough for me anymore!

Here is Morro Rock as painted in 2008:

 
Morro Rock

The rock wasn’t good enough for me anymore. I repainted it in 2015.

 

 Morro Rock II

 

Morro Rock II, oil on board, 11×14″, Not For Sale

Yes, the color is different. Last time I photographed it with a camera I no longer own. This time I photographed it with a newer camera, one I bought for Trail Guy so he’ll leave my camera here for me. He preferred the older camera, because it is hateful to try to learn new buttons and switches and digital baloney.

Anyway, I paint better now and wanted you to see the difference so we can be happy together about this thing called “growth”.

Do-Over and other juvenile expressions

When you were a kid, did you sometimes allow do-overs on the playground? You know, you go to serve the volleyball, the class clown belches your name so you drop the ball instead of hitting it, and you get a do-over because it wasn’t fair?

I began a painting of pumpkins several years ago. It was to be a gift for someone who did me a favor, but the favor went south and the friendship did too. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I tried and tried to disassociate the painting from the incident, but every time I looked at it, I felt yucky.

Wow, this is a juvenile sounding post. “Do over” and “yucky”. Wonder what’s gonna sneak out next?

A customer requested a painting of Sawtooth after she saw my cards with that scene. I am always willing to paint something again, so I thought “Do-over? Sure!”

When I went into my canvas stash, I saw that dreaded pumpkin painting. Hmmmm, I wonder. . . Then, I couldn’t find the photo. No problem, because it was part of the first calendar of paintings I had printed (the 2013 calendar).

Look! Something weird is happening to those unfinished pumpkins!

Isn’t that weird?

I think it worked! The colors will be a bit brighter on this second version of Sawtooth because I am working from the printed version, which has exaggerated colors. I think it is funner this way.

There! Got in another juvenile expression!

When this dries, I will detail the branches in the foreground.

P.S. Sawtooth is the name of a prominent peak in Mineral King, the part of Sequoia National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada where I spend the most time.