Recently, I noticed red things in my yard. Maybe that is just what artists do. That’s what this one does.
Big Ideas
As I continue to paint larger, the bigger ideas continue to come to me. I’ve been drawing more than painting lately, because I can shut myself into the studio with the air conditioner to filter the smoke.
Meanwhile, I do a little bit of preliminary work on the big ideas. Here are 2 of the latest. The top is 24 x 48″, and the bottom is 22×28″, leaning up against the 18×36″.
“Man-aze a lotta work ahead!”
P.S. HB, JC!
Decisions, decisions
My very wise dad used to say, “Life is a series of choices and decisions”. (My very wise friend still says, “Choices and consequences”.)
In preparing larger paintings while hoping for a show at a local-ish gallery, I have to keep in mind my mission, which is to show off the best parts of Tulare County with my art. One would think that choosing the best scenes would automatically result in sales; one would be wrong.
It is painting the scenes that people love, scenes that ring a bell, touch their hearts, resonate, remind them of good memories, and doing all this in the most excellent way possible that MIGHT result in sales. (Anyone have a crystal ball that I can borrow?)
There is a scene that draws me back, in any season with water in the creek, and I want to paint it on an 18×36″ canvas. It is Yokohl Creek.
This version isn’t quite it, and won’t fit on 18×36″ format. So, have a look at the cropped version:
Better, so I started on the canvas.
But wait! Spring is the most beautiful time of year!
Shall I try to convert the view I cropped to spring colors? First, let’s crop this view.
This still doesn’t have the same visual pizazz to me as the brown version. What’s a Central California artist to do?
More will be revealed. . . (and I bet you can complete that sentence.)
Irresistible Subject
Ever painted a circle? I have. It was a heavy saw blade with sharp teeth. Sawteeth? Yeppers, Sawtooth with sawteeth.
This one is much kinder to work with. It isn’t heavy, the surface is very smooth, the top is clearly marked, and it fits on an easel.
The paper photograph hadn’t arrived, but I couldn’t wait a moment longer to begin. A scene with citrus and mountains, a true source of inspiration, is just irresistible to this Central California artist!
Good thing my customers have faith in my ability, because as always, things start out looking rough.
HURRY UP, PRINTED PHOTO!!
Fun in an Orange Grove
What passes for recreation these days is gleaning oranges in a friend’s grove in Lemon Cove. (Don’t be confused – there is a Lemon Grove in San Diego, and an Orange Cove in Fresno County, and Lemon Cove is in Tulare County.) This has always been fun for Trail Guy and me, but now it is almost the only thing we do for fun. Taking walks, yardening, they count too, but I’m talking about going somewhere in a vehicle.
It is fun to ramble around the grove, take photos, hunt, find, pick, eat, and later, to share. As an added bonus, when I am out there I can touch my face as much as I want, so there. (Talk about fun – wowsa.)
We are having more fun than humans should be allowed, especially when we are supposed to be hunkered down in our dwellings, watching too much teevee, taking in confusing and conflicting information, and being afraid.
Not us, nosireebob.
This is what passes for a business trip in this time of “staying in place”. And now I have ideas and inspiration for new paintings. Take that, Virus!
Saturday Bonus
How long will this “Shelter in Place” be in effect? What a terrible balancing act between economic health and physical health, with so many unknowns, and so much pressure to see into the future accurately. If you are a praying person, please pray for our leaders.
Meanwhile, let’s continue enjoying springtime.
Mooney Grove V
Today let’s look at some of the more unusual pieces of Tulare County’s Mooney Grove Park. It will require a little bit of talk today.
Maybe Hugh used that rifle to shoot squirrels. They are certainly a plague on the place now. Active squirrel holes are rampant.
What’s this? A platform to put a thingie for Frisbie golf, which can now only be called “disk golf”. There is an entire course for this popular game on the north side, but I saw the gizmos (“holes”) in other areas too.
And here is another platform which used to hold a statue called “The Pioneer”. The plaster statue crumbled. (End of the Trail in plaster was traded with the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City for a bronze version).
There are 2 hills in the Park on the east edge. They were created with the dirt dug to form a recharging basin in the park. The formation is useful as an amphitheater, and one hill has a disk golf “hole”.
When I went to Redwood High School, I used to look through the fence at a little log cabin that appeared to be abandoned. It was. After I grew up and became The Central California Pencil Artist (a self-ascribed title), the Boy Scouts reclaimed it, disassembled it, moved it to Mooney Grove, and reassembled it. I drew it as a fund raiser to help pay for the enterprise. (I wonder if I still have a copy of that drawing. . .)
Finally, I leave you with this Peculiar Sight.
Tomorrow we will conclude our tour of Tulare County’s Mooney Grove Park.
Mooney Grove Tour IV
Today we’ll look at trees in Tulare County’s Mooney Grove. Just trees, no talk.
Tomorrow we’ll visit some oddities and unusual pieces and points of interest in Tulare County’s Mooney Grove Park. Many things can fit in a 100 acre park.
Mooney Grove Tour III
Today is bridge day on our Mooney Grove Park tour.
Tomorrow we’ll look at trees.
Mooney Grove Tour II
More photos of Mooney Grove Park, where I took a walk each day after I finished working on the murals on the Tulare County Museum.
Speaking of the museum, let’s focus on that treasure today. I’ve included pictures of the Pioneer Village behind the museum (entered through the museum) and 3 photos inside the museum.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at a bridge, not my favorite bridge (Oak Grove), but a simpler bridge in a true oak grove.