A California Artist Goes to Washington, part three

The reason for my visit to my friend Carol in Washington was to get some focused one-on-one help in learning to use Adobe InDesign. The reason for scheduling it in April was because I figured I’d have a decent number of drawings finished for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, which is the purpose of learning InDesign.

Or, was the purpose of going in April THE TULIPS!??

North of Seattle is a wonderful agricultural area called the Skagit Valley. (Not pronounced “skag – it” but “skaj -it”) I used to visit my uncle and aunt in that area and always felt at home because of the agriculture and because the mountains are in the east, just like Tulare County. (minus the heat, foul air, high unemployment and maybe even with fewer fat people – sure, go ahead and move there, I don’t mind! May I visit in April?)

Flower bulbs are grown commercially there. Bulbs have to flower before they can be harvested.  Of course, you have to pay to get in. There are no shoulders of the road for pulling over, and all the fields are located away from the roads anyway so even if you wanted to break the rules, there is no point. I believe Roozengaarde is the 2nd best amusement park I’ve ever visited. (The first best was in Gilroy, California, and I have forgotten the name. Again. Natalie, you listening??)

There I go with my primary color obsession again. Perhaps this is the floral interpretation of A River Runs Through It.

There were tons of people, mid-day, mid-week. I overheard one woman say, “Being cold and muddy isn’t my idea of a good time. Besides, I’d like a real toilet.” And I heard the father of a young boy say, “Stay out of the mud because we only brought one pair of pants and we paid $15 to get in here so we are NOT leaving after 2 minutes.” This California artist understands that cold and muddy are a temporary condition, well worth braving for scenes such as these. (Inspired by beauty, nay, DRIVEN by it, as you may recall from this post.)

There were still fields of daffodils that hadn’t yet faded. Those are the Cascade Mts. in the distance. (I knew you were dying to know, because I would have been.)

A good thing about all those people is that you can hand your camera to anyone without first threatening to hitchhike. (Read April 23 to understand that remark.) Most everyone hunkers down in the mud so they are surrounded by blooms.  (You’ll be happy to note that my hair has recovered somewhat from that ferry ride and my face looks better than yesterday, although you had far too much class to mention it. I had to show you the bad photo so that you’d appreciate my regular flat hair and smile.)

This is my favorite shot. I was lucky to get it just before a large purple coat entered the scene. Happy to take those cold muddy risks so you all can vicariously experience the joys of the Tulip Season.

A California Artist Goes to Washington, part two

In Washington, this California artist took her first yoga class. Being a get-‘er-dun sort of chick, I think we could have skipped the nap at the end, and possibly some of the soothing talk about erasing our minds at the beginning. (And how in the world is one supposed to “breathe with your spine”? I like using my nose to breathe, but thanks for the {useless} suggestion anyway.) On one of the poses I looked over at Carol and we were both shaking with laughter. I mouthed to her, “I can’t believe we are doing this in public!” Had to stop looking at each other to continue the moves.

I also learned how to use something on my computer called Photobooth. On Carol’s computer actually. I haven’t looked for it on mine because it causes me to laugh so much that I can’t type.

That’s some seriously bad Ferry-hair. (bit of a problem with my face too – try to be polite.)

And, of course I worked on the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, very diligent  in learning to use Adobe InDesign. (Oh be quiet!!)

A California Artist goes to Washington

Washington is a fantastically beautiful state. I’ve been there in many seasons and loved every one. The rain doesn’t bother me because I get to go home. The gray sometimes feels like a relief from relentless sunshine. Grape hyacinth become naturalized. There are trails in neighborhoods for walking. Churches offer coffee in their lobbies and they recycle their bulletins.

In summary, the grass is greener on the other side of the border. (2 borders, actually)

Here is what I experienced while visiting Carol in Washington. (Carol and I have been friends for 35 years – isn’t that a rare and wonderful thing?)

  1. I began the design of The Cabins of Wilsonia with Carol’s expert help on Adobe InDesign.
  2. We took a ferry to Whidbey Island on the only day that had sunshine.

 

Okay, that’s all for today’s list, because I want to tell you our Whidbey Island story. We had hoped to ride the free bus on the island to visit a town called Langley, about 6 miles from the ferry. Then we learned that the buses don’t run on Sundays.

While on the ferry, a nice lady named Jackie took a photograph of us together. (My hair was all wacky in the wind and I looked fat, so I deleted it. Thought I’d spare you the visual assault.) We got to visiting, and when I suggested to Carol that we hitchhike to Langley, Jackie laughed and then offered to take us there.

We could tell Jackie was a great Mom because of her daughter’s reaction. When we got in the car with her and her 2 daughters, her 13-year old was HORRIFED! “Mom, do you KNOW them from high school or something?? What are you doing?? Are you serious??” The look on her face was priceless!

 

 If I paint tulips, my followers might think I’ve just messed up my poppies.

Langley was beautiful. I could not stop taking photos of tulips in the sunshine, which were in everywhere. The water was visible from many places, and the town was fun even without a yarn store.

Why does everything next to the ocean look more appealing? In Tulare County, the supreme compliment a business can receive is “Oh! This looks like something at the coast!” The buildings have more style, the shops are well-maintained with interesting names, the gardens are lush, and even the fences and gates are creatively built. (And I’m sure the children are all above average, too.)

Can’t remember what the shop was about, but loved the name.

Just your average coastal type fence, I guess.

No big deal – just toss a few bulbs in the ground. Maybe there are no squirrels there? No gophers? No deer?

Did you know that Washington State Ferries are push-me-pull-yous? The captain just moves to the cockpit pilot house on the other end instead of flipping a U or using reverse. (Is it a cockpit? Is there a reverse? Life’s full of questions.) (Thank you, Gus, for teaching me the correct terminology.)

Jackie and Carol texted one another while we poked around town, and then she picked us up to take us back to the ferry! We figured we could walk the 6 miles if necessary (or hitchhike?), but sweet Jackie was there again! Her daughters were really quite lovely – polite, interesting, and adventuresome. Carol and I decided to walk the last 1/2 mile or so to the ferry instead of waiting in the car line, and then we had to RUN to get on board! (Did 52 year olds run in the olden days? I don’t remember seeing it happen when I was a kid, but of course I didn’t know anyone that ancient other than my grandmothers, and they certainly didn’t run.They had to have been waaaaay older than 52.)

Sources of Inspiration

Because I just began year #5 of blogging, I’m reposting some of my older articles for my newer readers.

Hidden Garden 5, oil on canvas, 8×10, $90

Sometimes people ask what my sources of inspiration are. Most are probably asking about what gives me ideas for drawing or painting. It is an easy question to answer.

My life experiences give me ideas. When I was a kid, a teen and even a young adult, it was a challenge to decide what to draw. As I aged, the number of choices grew. Now, by the time I have sorted through all my ideas, there is hardly any time left to draw or paint!!

So often I have read biographies and artist’s statements that say “I have always been fascinated by light and shadow” or perhaps by “reflection” or “movement” or “textures” or “shapes”. (My inner cynic responds with “Duh, what artist isn’t?” It is a continual challenge to keep her from talking too much.)

My main source of inspiration is BEAUTY! Sometimes it is natural and other times man-made, sometimes it is rustic simplicity, the way colors look together or the patina of age. Most often it is the way sunlight makes a normal object look beautiful. Once I had a job in a kitchen at a summer camp, and my coworkers would laugh at me when I would notice the beautiful color of iced tea, or the way the colors in the salad complimented one another. (But I am not scarred by the ridicule. Thanks for your concern.)

Now I think back to how I noticed colors, and wonder why I chose graphite pencil as my medium? My very wise Dad used to say (often!), “Life is full of surprises”. Well Dad, my life is full of questions. Perhaps I’ll tackle that graphite question in another blog post.

Why Artists Choose Three Rivers, a rerun

Because I just began year 5 of blogging, I decided to repost some of my earlier blogs for my newer readers.

When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually do live here and have become a painter, I recognize a multitude of reasons that any artist would want to reside in Three Rivers.

We are surrounded by beauty that takes no effort to see. There are incomparable views from my yard, studio, mailbox, and even from in my neighbor’s pool. The beauty continues as we go to the post office, the Memorial Building, the golf course, or maybe even from the dentist’s office!

Then there is the beauty that might require a little more effort to take in: the North Fork, the South Fork, Kaweah River Drive, and the Salt Creek area of BLM land come to mind. If you are able to walk, there is so much more that becomes visible.

Another great enticement to living in Three Rivers is the shorter drive to Sequoia and to Mineral King. In less than an hour you can be among the big trees and in a little longer than an hour, you can be in a valley that I have heard resembles the Swiss Alps.

Everywhere I look there are subjects to paint. The wildflowers could keep my brush flying for several seasons. The gates alone could occupy my pencils for a year. I could produce an entire series of drawings and paintings simply of loading chutes. Curves in the road, bends in the river, the autumn leaves, light on the rocks, Moro Rock from every possible angle, Alta Peak from every attainable viewpoint, sycamores all around town, the grand oak trees of every variety, the assortment of fence styles – every one of these subjects could be depicted in pencil or paint.

It is true that there is beauty in almost any location if one learns to recognize it. I certainly had plenty of subjects available in my former locations.  Now, the accessibility of paintable scenes is almost overwhelming!

The Kaweah Post Office V, oil on wrapped canvas, sold

It’s Pretty Here

Three Rivers, Tulare County, central California, is GORGEOUS in the spring. Here are 4000 words worth of photos:

Looks as if Michael is leading horses to water.

He didn’t have to make them drink.

This is just an average morning, out on an average walk, on an average spring day.

My yard only looks like this for about 12 seconds a year. Good thing I had my camera!

(Don’t move here – the unemployment is awful, the air is nasty in the fall, and we are all fat.)

Peculiar Sight

Happy Birthday, Elder Sister!

This photo was taken in my yard on March 15.

This photo was taken in my yard on March 18. I live in Central California (I am a California artist, remember?) at an elevation of 1000 feet. One thousand, not 10 thousand. Three Rivers, California.

How does this apply to art, California Artist?

So glad you asked that question! When working from photos (and Jack White said all realistic artists either work from photos or they lie about it), it is sometimes a temptation to work from something that is unusual or peculiar. Problem with that approach is that a drawing or painting of something peculiar looks as if the artist doesn’t have a firm grasp on reality.

People are still convinced of the truth of photographs in spite of Photoshop.

Back in the olden days when a camera was a camera and a phone was for receiving calls in one’s home or office, photographs were taken on special occasions. One time some folks wanted me to draw all 4 homes their mother had lived in her entire life. I think two were in Los Angeles, and two were in Exeter. Three of the photos they provided me were of the houses in the snow! WHY? Because when unusual things took place, the camera came out to record the event.

It wasn’t typical back then to take pictures any time you desired. I used to be a bit of a maverick, keeping my camera in my car at all times. And not only did I keep one, but I kept two with me. One had color print film and the other either had black and white or slide film.

Why did you always have cameras with you, California Artist?

Great question, I’m glad you asked that one. It was because I had to be ready to record the beautiful things and moments and light of every day life, not the peculiar sights!

Exploring Lake Kaweah, Part two

On Chris LoCurto’s blog today is a post by me! Chris’s blog is about “leadership, finances and the occasional random thought”, which is where I fit in as a guest poster. Visit, leave a comment if you’re so inclined, and browse through his past year of really interesting posts!

Here is the second half of yesterday’s post about the excursion on foot in the bottom of Lake Kaweah. I worked pretty hard at finding things of interest down there – hope you enjoy them!

I was glad we had this road to walk on because those cockleburs are horrible.

That’s a bald eagle!

There is the dam and the spillway and the tower in the distance. This is a large lake, especially if you are in a canoe or on foot.

It is cloudy in Three Rivers and further up canyon . . . is it snowing? We sure do need some.

We walked back up along this split off section of the Kaweah River. I think it is remarkable that these willows survive when a good portion of their lives is spent fully submerged.

Look! A turtle!

I just knew we would have to go crashing through the cockleburs to get back to the road.

Cockleburs everywhere!

Horrid little things

The green is mustard. Normally the distant hills are green this time of year. We really need rain.

This California artist is praying for rain. Are you?

Exploring Lake Kaweah

Lake Kaweah is formed by Terminus Dam, about 10 miles below Three Rivers. When the lake is full, it reaches up into the lower end of town. When it is not full, there are lots of places to walk. The dam was built when I was a toddler, so I don’t remember anything prior to the lake. (My great uncle used to lament all the drowned flower seeds and I never understood what he was so worked up about.)

Instead of heading up higher into the hills today, we drove down to the lake. Everything was sort of dust colored, and yucky looking, so I messed with it a bit on the photos. This color junkie had to look hard for nice photos on this excursion.

Why am I showing you this stuff when I am a California artist? So that you can get to know me a bit, learn about where I live, and hopefully tell me what you think.

Not much to the Kaweah River right now. We sure do need rain.

This was once a swimming pool. Can you see a hint of blue tile around the edge?

Here is a closer view. I wonder where those people went when the Army Corps of Engineers forced them out of their home. That would be dreadful.

Michael saw this bridge from up on the highway and wanted to find it.

It crosses Horse Creek. I love older things that had style. Kind of weird to realize this sits completely underwater for months at a time, for almost 50 years!

Walk in the Park

Today that animal I am married to is turning 59. We did a stroll in The Park. Anything feels like a stroll after attempting Monarch Lake on the old “trail” last week. We stayed in the foothills, and almost wished for shorts and were annoyed by the face flies. Hard to believe it is January. (Are you praying for rain? You need to be!!) Anyway, I talk too much, so have a look at some nice photos. These fall under the broad category of Sources of Inspiration, which also means things I might want to paint someday. Oh, and if Mr. Google is paying attention, this is the blog of a California Artist who paints Sequoia National Park, Tulare County and Three Rivers.

P.S. I am an animal too, if banana slug counts as an animal.