I sent 3 rough-drawn logo options to my customers, and they chose this one for me to refine.
I downloaded the typeface that was closest to this, and then began manipulating it to fit around the circle. We began talking about what to do with “Orchards, Inc.”, whether or not to include it, how to make it look good.
Which one did they choose? Stay tuned. . .
After looking at Western typestyles, sketching out some ideas, and turning a pencil drawing of a citrus scene into a circle, I began refining the five design ideas.
Time to mull it over, chose three, and show the customers. I sent the first three and scrapped the other two. They might have been workable, but enough already!
To be continued. . .
A few days before we went to Exeter to hang the show, this was drying in the dining room. 
Wait! This seems familiar. Hmmm, last year we had a similar situation. (You can read about it here.)
Trail Guy loaded the pickup (not the Botmobile — the fancy pick-em-up). I had already taken a load of paintings and drawings, and there also were large pieces propped up behind the front seat. We headed to Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery for a day of hanging art.
After spreading all the pieces around the gallery, figuring out a basic arrangement and groupings, we started figuring out how to hang the pieces. The system is a little bit of a challenge, but we were up for it.
Look at these wonderful friends! They made a big job, full of unknowns, into a fun day together.
This photo is to show you that there will be more than just original pencil drawings and oil paintings.
You can read about me and my art in an article from the Visalia Times-Delta by going to the Mineral King District Association website; the article is “Recent Fires Don’t Deter Artist From Highlighting Tulare County Beauty”. Lisa McEwen is the most accurate writer/freelance reporter/journalist I have ever had the pleasure to work with.
Please excuse the interruption. “This just in” as the news folks say.
This is the link to view the article in the Visalia Times-Delta online “paper” today. I clicked on it, and it said “one free article left”, so I don’t know how it might behave for you.
When my customers told me that they liked Western type, I started digging through the internet to see what was available. In general, Western typefaces are very easy to recognize, but after studying them, I realized there are many variations. (Remember when I told you a list of the goofy names of some of the typefaces?)
Those websites selling typefaces allow you to put your info into them and see what it might look like. Here are a few:
This last one is the prettiest, and it has the surprising name of “Eastwood”. I don’t associate old Clint with the description of pretty.
To be continued. . .
Exeter Courthouse Gallery, 125 South B Street
Being on one’s own in a completely flexible profession is not always easy. There is no specific roadmap, operator’s manual, or industry standard and even if there were, it would probably not apply here in Central California’s flyover country. The only galleries in Tulare County are non-profit, run entirely by volunteers, most of whom are good-hearted individuals without training in such matters. Artists may have some training, but generally it was decades earlier, completely outdated, or just various bits gleaned from the highly diverse internet, where one can find anything, everything, and nothing.
This brings me to a boatload of questions about my upcoming show, Images of Home. Some answers have appeared since I initially wrote this post.
And you thought all I did was sit around and draw or paint all day! This self-employment as an artist is harder than it looks. Let’s just contemplate something peaceful to calm ourselves as we wait for more to be revealed in the fullness of time.
Exeter Courthouse Gallery (Is this the right name?)
I know the title of the show is correct, as is the address and the date of the opening reception. Now, what am I going to wear? Should I get my hair cut? Why do we say “hair” when it is all of our hairs that get cut?
I need a cigarette.
WAIT! I don’t smoke! Never have, never will.
If you see me out in front of the gallery pulling weeds, just be polite, okay?
Here is the new calendar again for your convenience. I don’t want to post the backside because Reader and Commenter Sharon doesn’t want to see any months in advance. If you want to see it, email me and I’ll send you the picture of the back. It is $15 including mailing and tax until November 1. Then it is $20 including mailing and tax. This is the link that works.
This is the new coloring book. It will be $20 and isn’t here yet. You may order it now if you don’t mind waiting until sometime after November 8 for me to ship it to you. Here is the link to the page where the book will be available.
Images of Home will be a solo show at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery, full of my oil paintings and pencil drawings. I will also bring calendars, coloring books, note cards, wildflower books, and Wilsonia books. The gallery hours are 12-4 on Saturday and Sunday. I will be there on Fridays to keep the place open, but don’t know what hours. The opening reception will be Sunday, November 14 from 2-4. I will continue to tell you about this until you want to unsubscribe or email with concerned notes about my repetitious blogging. The particulars about the show are here.
Finally, this is what I saw when I walked back to the house from the studio one evening last week.
Sure beats smoke, eh?
Each day I have a list of what I hope to do. It usually only includes projects to finish, and I forget about all the Other Stuff. On Friday, the Other Stuff was piled high and deep.
Finally, it was time to paint, but the neighbor’s dog was barking so incessantly that I couldn’t think. She doesn’t answer emails or return phone calls, so I can only conclude that she doesn’t care. It is a perpetual nuisance.
So, how about a look at the tree outside my studio? It is my very own leaning tree, a flowering pear. It makes flowers in February, shade throughout the summer, and good color in October. My old cat Perkins who was with me for 17 years used to scratch against the tree, and my theory is that he caused it to lean.
Tomorrow I will share some specifics about all the items mentioned above (and hope the links work).
Here a listicle for you because I spent all day staring at the computer and feel a little dull.
In spite of the store at the Silver City Resort and the consignment store Kaweah Arts both being closed due to the infernal inferno, I have had some good sales. Some of these were before the fire (I was waiting for the month to end); others are through the Mural Gallery in Exeter.
This giant sequoia is actually acrylic mural paint on scrap boards, about 2×4′, to be hung outdoors.
This is all pretty encouraging. It also means that I have to revise my list of what will be in the show at the Exeter Courthouse Gallery in November and December. I might have to see if I can produce a bit more than previously planned. This is not a problem; it is good news. Why? Because. . .