Sources of inspiration | Cabin Art

Last Spring Hurrah

That title might be a little bit over the top. May always feels like the end of spring with heat coming and bringing its browns. But my yard has been so beautiful in the early morning light. . . Trail Guy and his power tools, me and my girly pruning and weeding, but mostly God and his palette. . .

I could call these photos a “source of inspiration”, but while they do lift my spirits, I don’t view them as potential painting subjects. The reality of earning a living with art in a small place is that I have to paint what sells. Florals don’t sell for me. Instead, I can study the photos and figure out what makes them special in terms of light, shadow, shapes and color, and maybe apply those things to other subjects.

Hurrah?

April Distractions in Three Rivers

I tried to oil paint last Friday but the greenery and wildflowers overcame my sense of duty. So, Trail Guy and I drove up North Fork Drive to the end.

After telling Trail Guy that I’d heard the flowers were great up North Fork and staring out the window a bit, he said, “Let’s go now!”

The road was longer, rougher, narrower than I remembered and all very worth the drive.

This is Yucca Creek at the end of North Fork Drive.

That’s one narrow little footbridge over a massive old culvert pipe.

Heading back down has a view of Ash Peak with a blooming yucca and bush lupine.

Looking over the edge down to the North Fork makes one glad to not encounter any oncoming traffic on that narrow road with no turnouts.

Poppies are yellower in the wild than in my yard.

The poppies on the hillsides are what gave California its name of “The Golden State”. (Bet you thought it was the gold rush)

I love Fairy Lanterns, AKA Satin Bells. Pink isn’t my favorite color, but it is rare enough in nature that it stands out.

After we got back home, I painted a little bit more. There is this commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth for a very patient customer, and it would be good to make progress.

Sawtooth’s shape is improving, and it is acquiring colors and texture.

Then, I got distracted again and thought that wildflowers would look great on a 6×18″ canvas. Can you see the possibilities here? (Put on your rose-colored glasses with me!)

Easel Time

Have you noticed that the word “easel” is pretty close to the word “easy”?

It’s merely a word illusion. Nothing easy about being at an easel.

This fact, combined with April as the most beautiful month in Three Rivers, has made it even less easy to plant my feet in front of the easel recently.

But, as I pointed out in the Eight Things I Learned in March blog post, often we must parent ourselves. (“STAY IN YOUR ROOM UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR MATH!”) So, I planted my feet in front of the easel in spite of the distractions.

Wanna see some of the distractions? I know you are interested.

Two brodiaea, Wild Hyacinth and Pretty Face, along with Common Madia

Forget easel time and painting for today’s blog. See you on Monday. . .

Three Rivers wildflowers

New Mineral King Cards For Sale

Last summer I had a hankering to draw some new Mineral King pictures in pencil. I did four of them without a plan for reproduction or framing. Artists make art, and I am a Central California artist making art of the flyover center of California, my main source of inspiration (along with liking to drive and to eat.)

This spring I decided to test the marketability of these drawings as cards. These are packages of 4 different cards, 5×7″, blank inside with envelopes, $15 per package. There are only 9 5 packages available. Through this blog post and Saturday’s open studio, I will decide if these are popular enough to print in greater quantity.

This sort of thing is just part of the business of art. Make the art I want, and then figure out if there is a market for it. . .

This is the insert that goes inside the package of cards. The drawings are too small to really appreciate on the insert, so I’ve placed them underneath. Scroll on, Gentle Blog Reader. What?? No Honeymoon Cabin?

Nope – sometimes an artist’s gotta do what she’s gotta do. (But she is willing to listen to customer requests, within reason.)

P.S. I thought at first that $15 was a little high-ish for 4 cards. Then I went inside a real store and looked at real cards that are sold one at a time. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I was astonished at the prices, so believe these are a bargain.

Mineral King pencil drawing

Shedding More Light on Those Lanterns

The lanterns languished. Finally, I reminded myself that I am the Mayor of Realville, the lanterns were too hard for me at that size (a paintbrush will never quite behave like a pencil), and it was time to make them go away.

So, I turned the painting into one of pomegranates.

Five Poms, 6×18″, oil on wrapped canvas, $160 including tax

Still, I wanted to do something with those charming little lanterns. If it was too difficult a subject in oil, then surely I could draw them!

This time I had to change the format, because my intention is to use them in the 2019 calendar. I squished them closer together, eliminated a board at the bottom, and began.

When they were in progress, I took them to my students and said, “Do to me what I do to you – evaluate this drawing honestly!”

They told me to forget all the grass and turn the entire background into boards. Being confident that I have taught my students well, I followed their directives. You can see that the grass on the left side is boards; the grass of the right side is still grass (or hair or a weird texture of something?)

I also hadn’t yet decided how much color to include, so the lantern on the far right needs more blue. The shadows aren’t dark enough, and the drawing isn’t finished yet in the top picture.

Now it is finished, photoshopped for best reproduction, and I really really like it!!

P.S. The 2019 calendar will be called “A Touch of Color” and will be pencil drawings with a little bit of color in them, probably all Tulare County subject matter.

pencil drawing

Flowers in my Studio Yard

Ever heard of a studio yard? In my case, it is the yard area around my studio, a shabby little shed on the property. I suppose the proper and popular term is “garden”, but that feels wrong to me. The place is only partially planted, definitely not professionally landscaped; I’m not growing tomatoes and zucchini around the studio, and I don’t “putter about”. It is a haphazard yard, and sometimes it has flowers in it.

The iris are little things, a dwarf variety, blooming 3 at a time in an otherwise bare pot. They mostly just look good in photos. This is because I don’t know what I am doing, other than occasionally succumbing to impulse buys at the grocery store. “Hey look, bulbs, I wonder if there are any iris. . . look, here are some iris, must be fate that I buy them”.

New Year’s Day Walk

The New Year’s Day walk could have been a hike, had we taken food and more than one measly little water bottle. Alas, we did not. We went to the Salt Creek/Case Mt. BLM recreational area and walked from the Salt Creek road (rather than Skyline Drive) up, up and up. It was a ~~smoggy~~ hazy day, and the land wanted rain. We encountered about 8 different walking and biking parties; 4 were folks we know. Three Rivers is small. (A friend recently said to me that the good thing about Three Rivers is that it is small; the bad thing about Three Rivers is that it is small.) Going places, even those close to home, getting outside, looking around–these are all sources of inspiration, a requirement to this Central California artist.

The road isn’t too steep here. It goes past 2 ponds full of slime.

Up and up and up; that is the first waterfall across the canyon.

The sycamores sure held their color this winter.

The second waterfall is barely visible in the shadows; guess you had to be there.

I am so thankful for the rain we have received since New Year’s Day, but we still need more. Alas, those folks in Montecito. . . yikes.

Interesting Place in Three Rivers

The Perfect Gift Boutique is an annual event held by the Kaweah Artisans at the Arts Center in Three Rivers. This is an old building, vaguely Craftsman in style, somewhat shabby, and in its third life – it has been a home, the Womans Club (Yes, that is the way a national club for women spells its name) and now an arts center with many uses.

Nikki the weaver and I usually set up on the stage. The back wall is actually made of sliding panels that open onto the back yard, so that the viewers of a play can sit in the back, outside.

The rock work is extensive, resourceful (using river rock) and interesting. I’ve heard that it is a little scary upstairs, but I love those double-hung windows and shingle siding. This is at the very top of the triangular back yard.

The balcony overlooks the back yard; I wonder if it was ever used in plays there.

This is looking up from the stage into the back yard audience area.

The interior is where we, the Kaweah Artisans, spend our time. It is an open space where about 5-6 folks can set up their wares. This is the view that Nikki and I have of the room from our perch on the stage.

Could you people hold it down? I had a rough night and need my sleep.

Three Rivers

Hiking Mineral King – Empire Again

Some friends were visiting and had never been to Empire. We planned to go, woke up to horrible smoky conditions, waffled a bit, and then went anyway.

Smoke from the Pier fire (near Camp Nelson) blew over Farewell Gap during the night.

Even more smoke visible down canyon toward Three Rivers. Are we supposed to be breathing this stuff??

Trail Guy is quite happy that there is still flowing water, even in early September. That green makes me happy.

Like father, like daughter. A pleasure to hike with these 2 friends!

This is semi-sorta the view in the mural I painted for the Mineral King Room of the Three Rivers History museum. It’s also an excuse to show more of the green.

That isn’t Sawtooth – I don’t know its real name but it is often referred to as “Sawtooth’s Shadow”. Mostly I was pleased to see some blue sky.

It was a little hard to tell if we were seeing smoke or a coming storm, but the thunder told us the truth.

Trail Guy to Techie Friend – “Wow, that’s cool.” Techie Friend to Trail Guy – “Does your Jitterbug take photos?”

This old wagon road up on the side of Empire never fails to amaze me. Those old miner guys worked so hard and found no gold.

The others headed over to inspect some old mining debris; I headed toward the trees because the rain was coming and I wanted a head start.

City Girl was THRILLED by the rain and hail!

Trail Guy prefers a garbage bag to the heavier alternative of a poncho.

Is that Gandolph down in the bunkhouse ruins??

Rain stopped, so we followed the tram line back down to the trail, past the ruins of an old ore bucket.

hiking Mineral King

Hiking Mineral King – White Chief Part 2

White Chief might be the most beautiful place accessible by foot from Mineral King. Short hike, steep, lots of variety. Any time Trail Guy encounters someone along the trail below the Eagle Lake/White Chief junction, he tells them they will be happier if they choose White Chief.

Here are more photos from our Eclipse Day White Chief walk/hike.