More Spring in Three Rivers

The lavender started blooming early this year. That isn’t a real lawn; it is mowed weeds that dry out when the rain quits and the heat begins.

The Middle Fork of the mighty Kaweah River, looking downstream and upstream. The white-water is a little less than bright white because of the rain. (Ain’t nobody here complainin’ ‘bout that rain!)

Man oh man, I love me some green!

I was pulling weeds in the yard and heard (teehee, almost wrote “herd”) some funny sounds. These deer were eating weeds mere feet from me, chewing kind of loudly.

The first blue dicks, also known as brodaeia (can’t spell it, gave up trying), with an intense bush lupine behind. This is not in my yard.

Hi Pippin. You are the cutest cat, even if you have an entitlement attitude.

Still Clinging to February

It’s just too short. Of course, by now it is March and there are even more things to photograph. Maybe I should put those pictures on hold until August or September, when it is just ugly around here.

Looking Back at February

Early-ish March isn’t that much different from late February. On an early morning walk, I just wanted to stop time.

This house always grabs my attention, with its quiet simple beauty.

As I walked, I kept smelling something that I couldn’t identify. It was a good smell, and one that I hadn’t noticed before. It was on a route that I only take when my walking partner isn’t with me, chosen because it is shorter than our normal walks. That’s the way I trick myself into going alone.

This is the first time in 26 years that I’ve noticed ceanothus while walking. It is native to this area, and it isn’t very attractive in my book. But I wondered if that was the source of the good smell.

Indeed it was!

With flowering quince and daffodils going gung-ho (that’s a weird word—Chinese origins?**) in my yard, along with mowed weeds that pass for a lawn in spring, I almost felt happy to be alive*.

This one of about nine mailboxes scattered around our extensive yard; they are tool containers so I don’t have to hike a mile for a trowel.
This is flowering quince, not redbud, which is actually pink.

*Fret not. That’s something my dad used to say in his buffoonish way of disseminating wisdom. I was thinking about him a lot in February because that was both his birth and death month.

** Thank you Gnat for sending me that little piece on MentalFloss.com verifying my guess that “gung ho” is Chinese!

Walking in Nice Places

Let’s just enjoy some photos today, no chitchat about going to town, no stressing over prices, no struggling with plein air painting.

That pair of red chairs is so insignificant in a photo but calls to me every time I look across the canyon.
Twenty-six years ago when I walked in this place, it was hard to find the trails. Now everyone who walks here seems to know the place because it has been splashed all over the world wide web.
At least now there are good bridges over the creek.
This would make a nice painting. Not plein air, at least not for me. Too far to schlepp the gear, and the light wouldn’t hold. Too many people hovering too.

Another walk, another lake, in another town.

Peach trees in bloom in mid-January!!
This is one weird plant.

Best Wishes for a Happy 2025

No round-up of the year’s accomplishments, best-of lists, goals for next year—just some photos of another walk in Three Rivers. (Captions are a little bonus for you, or perhaps just an annoyance.)

Will this tree ever finish changing to fall colors? This photo was taken on December 21. HEY, FLOWERING PEAR! DONCHA KNOW IT’S WINTER NOW??
One day this Valley Oak (quercus lobata) will fall and go boom.
People decorate for Christmas in ways that defy taste. I guess that’s why some refer to this as “the silly season”.
See what I mean?
When my neighbor was a little girl, she declared in no uncertain terms, “That’s the wrong color for a church!” She also taught us to say “Remorial Building”.

Thank you for continuing with me in this non-eventful, somewhat mundane life as a Central California artist, using pencils, oils and murals to make art people can understand of places and things we love for prices that won’t scare you.

Shhhh. . . going quiet

I’m going quiet for a little while. Nothing to worry about, just ready for a break. I’ll be back.

No image from Simply Home today, just a few final photos of fall in Three Rivers. (Check CACHE‘s website for hours, and visit the show if you are so inclined, because the paintings ALWAYS look better in person.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Escaping into Fall

Right now I have 2 pencil commissions that both seem a bit too hard for me.

One is a collage, combining multiple photos into one cohesive piece of work. I have done this many times. BUT, these are photos that aren’t fitting together very well with lots of little fuzzy-faced people in them. A hard and fast rule is to Never Draw A Face Smaller Than An Egg. Somehow I got confused as to what this job would entail, and it is growing in difficulty. I’ve done 3 versions now, along with a sample of what the fuzzy faces are going to look like. Nope, not going to show you. Yet.

The other is a single scene, compiled from multiple unrelated photos. What makes this so challenging is figuring out what size each item needs to be in relation to the others, and where they need to be place to make the scene believable. This was so tough that I used Photoshop (the Junior version). Not going to show this either.

So, today we are going to escape into some fall photos. We had lingering heat this fall, then WHAM! It got cold and the colors got bright.

SIMPLY HOME

Swinging Oak, 12×16″, oil on wrapped canvas, $275

CACHE‘S hours are different each of the weekend days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and posted on their website under the “Visit” tab—scroll to the bottom and look on the right.