Today I want to share photos of Three Rivers in Fall with you because in spite of the drought and the sense of endless summer, there is seasonal beauty here in this fine corner of Tulare County.
Happy Birthday, Shirley Goodness!
(Why do I say “Fall” instead of “Autumn”? Because I witnessed leaves falling from a tree today.)
The veteran I am thanking today is my friend Bob, who served in Korea.
Bob, THANK YOU for your service to our country and happy birthday this month!
The new calendar for 2015 has arrived!
These are my best oil paintings. Sort of. My best oil paintings that fit the calendar format and fit the months. Sort of. The best blend of my best oil paintings that sort of fit the calendar format and sort of fit the months.
It is called “Beautiful Tulare County”. (Stop laughing – there is lots of beauty in this rural place in Central California and it is my job to find it and paint or draw it!)
Want one? There are several ways to get one.
A dear friend manages vacation rentals. A few years ago, she was asked to take on a home that needed a ton of loving care, and she had to provide it on not just a shoestring, but a frayed shoestring. (This means she had almost a zero budget.)
Because we love to do projects together, she asked for my help. Together we figured out how to rearrange furniture, do things with paint, color, pictures on the wall, fabric, rocks and pine cones.
It was an amazing transformation, and the house became a successful vacation rental.
Now the same owner has handed over another house to my friend. Of course she called me and of course I said yes. (HEY! Does this mean I am a Vacation Rental Consultant?) As a Central California artist, I am used to people needing help and not having much to spend. I don’t know what I’d do if someone actually had a real budget with real money in it!!
The upstairs loft resembled a dorm in an orphanage (not that I’ve ever seen such a room, but I read plenty of orphan stories as a child.)
I sketched layouts, wondered if we could dump various pieces of furniture, lose a few beds (there were seven or eight), get better bedspreads, buy a trunk for the foot of each bed, rip out the carpet, paint, something, anything.
My managing friend eked out a small budget from the owner. We found a few treasures at a yard sale, pulled the faded ’70s art off the walls, discussed furniture, found a nice rug at World Market (found many, but only bought one), messed with paint colors and ideas, and finally came up with a good plan for that loft.
It was a ton of work.
This is where I came in for some real work as opposed to just coming up with ideas.
We’d love to have ripped out the carpet, but the budget was just too eensy. If you want to see the whole house, here is the link. Click here. It was voted Best Vacation Rental in Three Rivers this year, BEFORE my friend and I went to work on it! (It might be wise to book it before the owner figures out that he can raise the price.)
As a studio painter, I rely on my camera and memory. I’m continually seeking the best light, the most advantageous angle, the brightest colors, the most details and anything else that can be recorded. What is inspiration? Something that motivates me to take photos, to paint, to draw.
It was another beautiful day in Mineral King. (Not gonna call it “paradise” because of the drought.) Here is the way I take photos for painting later while in the studio.
Nice light and colors, Farewell Gap barely visible and the peaks around it completely hidden. Plus, the stream isn’t visible.
Now you can see the Gap and the stream. I wonder how much I’d have to distort the perspective to include them.
This is nice. Vandever is fully visible and there is some blue reflection in the stream. The trees don’t really look like fall, but the lack of color in the foliage and low water indicate the season. Do I really need to paint the Honeymoon Cabin? Maybe this scene is good on its own.
I want a closer look at the water and rocks. The growth around and across the scene is certainly unruly. Real life is quite messy. Have you noticed that?
This is better. More water, more peak, less tree. Or is less tree an improvement?? I have a personal bias toward vertical scenes. It is hard to be objective. Objectivity just might be impossible.
Forget it. Let’s go for a walk.
I am the daughter and granddaughter of citrus growers. I thought I might become a citrus grower myself, but I became an artist. Still self-employed, but in a much less risky and less regulated business. Still, I am inspired by citrus.
Usually I paint oranges as a still life, which means an orange or two on a table-top. Now I am painting 4 or 5 oranges on a table top, but it is the easel that is on the table top.
never mind. . . worry does strange things to my writing ability
If the colors look juiced up to you, it is a combination of the fancy-pants lights and the fact that the colors are indeed juiced up a bit.
“Juiced up” is the term I’m using to mean a bit over-bright or exaggerated. I’m finding it fun to do this. Just a phase or a new way of painting?
Dunno. Just looking for some fun.
Don’t worry. Be happy. Happy happy happy.
There! Don’t you feel better? A California artist has got to paint oranges!
Trail Guy led a group hike up to the Empire Mines last year. It was fun, informative, and a good time was had by all. So, he was asked to lead it again this year. I only took a few photos this time, because all my photos are looking repetitive. You can see more of them here.
Trail Guy hot-footed it down to the Sawtooth parking lot to see who was joining us.
There was a youth group from a church in Woodlake, all gung-ho and raring to go.
We were blessed by the presence of Interpretive Ranger Josh, who is very dramatic and very entertaining.
Three of our friends from the Sawtooth Six came along. I only photographed one of them, because he was with me and the other two were way out in front.
It was a nice day to be out on the trail.
Nice day to make some new friends too.
We went up to the bunk house, up to one of the mines, back down to the bull wheel, on to the road, into Timber Gap, and back down the trail. This is at the top of Timber Gap.
This is looking over Timber Gap into the Middle Fork drainage of the Kaweah River.
The end.
P.S. Last year’s hike is in 2 posts. I said more then. I have more to say when I’m not bowed up by worry over a book at a printer that does not return phone calls.
Did you think all I do is run away to Mineral King? Close, but I finally had time to paint again.
This time I decided to risk the messy business of oil painting in the air-conditioned studio, instead of the swamp-cooler “cooled” workshop.
They got moved out to the workshop for quicker drying.
Of course I painted Mineral King – isn’t it my main source of inspiration?
Have a closer look. They need more detailing and a signature, but this is a good solid start to good solid subjects.
And what was that picture at the top?
It is the Generals Highway, the road that leads into Sequoia National Park. When it is drier, I’ll add yucca in bloom. It wants more detail and a signature. I almost always think paintings need more detail. I am a pencil artist who is prone to drawing with my paintbrushes. So what? I like love to draw!
I have a very dear friend who is in college. She is a “Resident Assistant” this year, which is sort of like a camp counselor for a dorm full of freshmen girls. “Freshgirls”? “Freshwomen”? Hmmm. . .
One of her duties is to make some sort of name plates for each dorm room door. When the girls arrive, they will know immediately which room is theirs and feel welcomed when they see their names.
My friend isn’t too inclined toward artistic activities. She told me of her assignment, and I was immediately excited to be able to help her.
We found some scraps of watercolor paper and she bought some watercolor paints. We discussed ideas, I showed her a bit about how watercolor (mis)behaves, and she went to work.
It was so much fun to think about color combinations and make suggestions, then just sit back and see her go to town. (That’s a euphemism for “commence work” – you can see we were nowhere near a town.) We looked for inspiration all over Mineral King.
I think she liked it too. She discovered the splatter technique and really got serious!
Abstract art doesn’t do much for me, but color is so much fun! Here are a few of the 30 or so that she created.
Can you think of a better combination than a dear friend, color and Mineral King? (Okay, throw in a little dark chocolate and maybe some yarn. . . )
I am a color junkie. It jumps out at me everywhere, and I think about it without meaning too. Primary colors are the basis for all colors, and when I began oil painting, I became even more aware of colors, particularly the primaries.
Red, yellow, and blue make up all the colors in the world. I have to add white for painting. I’ve heard it described as the absence of color, the sum of all colors, the coldest color and some people refuse to call it a color. Doesn’t matter – it is impossible to mix colors without it.
The primaries keep appearing in my life. Early in my painting career, I was given the assignment to copy one of the old masters. I chose Vermeer, and later realized the primaries figured in large in the painting.
I liked the painting so much that I did another one. Red, yellow and blue are all over the place in this one too. (Of course they are all over – I did the entire painting using nothing but the primaries and white.)
See my palette? White, yellow, a mixed orange, 2 reds, 2 blues, a mixed purple and then the other colors that I mixed for whatever I was supposed to be painting when I was procrastinating by photographing the palette.
Every spring I look for blue flowers to put in my blue pots, completed by reds and yellows. No pinks, no purples, an occasional white, but mostly the primaries.
Last summer we were walking through a village on an island in Alaska and I saw these cans.
Only a color junkie would get excited about a scene like this.