Summer Sales

Since 2010, the Silver City Store has been selling my oil paintings. It began as a tentative experiment, with no confidence that visitors up that rough road would want to spend their hard-earned dollars on original oil paintings rather than (or in addition to) tee shirts and post cards.

The highest number of paintings that sold in the past summers was 16.

In 2018, the store was remodeled to a brighter more spacious place with a new elegance, and the economy is doing quite well. These two reasons together might be why THIRTY-ONE paintings sold this year! (The gracious store manager says it is also because people like my work. Aw shucks, thank you, Hannah!)

When painting the same subjects over and over, naming becomes a problem, and I rely on my inventory numbering system to keep the paintings straight. But sometimes I don’t include those numbers when I bill the store, so my records are a teensy bit wobbly. So, I won’t show you all thirty-one paintings, but here are half of the ones I was able to track down a photo of. The other half will come later.

The sizes they appear here on the blog are not accurate in terms of how they look against one another. For example, the painting of Eagle Lake was 6×18″, and the one directly above this paragraph was 4×6″.

I gathered a few ideas of what to paint in which quantities and sizes for next year, and hope I don’t lose my notes.

P.S.(If you click/tap on the link to the store website, which will open in a new tab, you may notice some similarities between our websites – I used the same web designer as they did)

Pencil Drawing Commissions

My commissioning customer/old family friend told me in our correspondence that she was interested in a pencil drawing of the gas pump at the Silver City Store. If you have seen it, you might understand. If you haven’t, you might consider this peculiar.

What I consider peculiar is that earlier this summer, while delivering some more oil paintings to this popular place near Mineral King, I was struck by a particular view and angle of the gas pump; I took some photos without having any idea that Ms. Customer would make such a request.

We discussed these photos. I referred to the peak in the distance as Hengst Peak; she told me she grew up calling it Mosquito Peak because it is above Mosquito Lakes. I thought it was over Mineral Lakes, but there is already a Mineral Peak in Mineral King (well, duh). It is the one that looks like Sawtooth’s shadow, but I digress. And I defer to her greater history in Silver City, so for purposes of this discussion, it will be Mosquito Peak. Not that we are talking about the peak–we are talking about the gas pump.

Sorry.

But then she requested a photo showing the road too, so on my next trip up the hill, I took these photos.

More discussion ensued. More clarification. This is normal. . . these things take time to figure out on my end and to decide on the customer’s end.

Finally, it was time to do some little sketches to be sure that I am understanding her wishes.

Good thing she knows that I know how to draw. We’ll see if I caught her vision for the gas pump in pencil. Stay tuned, for as you know, more will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Just heard from Ms. Customer: “Yay! Keep going!”

Painting With Distractions

There are a few small fall shows coming up beginning in October, and I don’t have any small paintings for these venues. I have large Mineral King paintings, but this is not what typical customers are seeking at boutiques, festivals and fairs.

Hence, I pulled out some photos and began planning new small oil paintings. There will be 3 on 5×7″ boards which sit on miniature easels, 3 4×6″ and 3 6×6″ oils on wrapped canvas. All will be citrus. For now. Let’s see how things go here. . . if I finish these, I might do a few pomegranates too.

Then I heard one of my favorite sounds.

Oh boy! My new walking shoes are here! I took them into the house, thought about trying them on, reminded myself that I was supposed to be working, so I had to parent myself: “Try them on when you are finished painting and go back to work NOW”.

Because these tiny paintings don’t sit on my easels, I hold them in my left hand to paint. Or I lay them flat on my rolling thing (it has an art name but I can’t remember what it is).

However, there was another distraction.Tucker was very needy, but willing to sit still on my lap so I worked around him.

More rough beginnings, but that’s okay. It is hard to concentrate when there are new shoes and kitties who need me. Besides, I was tired from getting up early to walk fast and far in the dark in worn out shoes. (A goathead went right through the bottom last week!)

I came into the studio to get some work done, to post to the blog, to cross things off my inventory list that have sold recently, to sketch a little. . . you know, just the normal art business tasks.

This time Scout was very needy. She will not sit still, licks my hand and arm and bites my watch, steps on the computer, and changes position every few seconds. 

I had to smash her down with my hand so the laptop could photograph her. (Wow, my hand is scary looking. Someone please tell me that it is the Photo Booth application or I might go into shock.)

New Beginning

Isn’t that title redundant? Probably. Every time I begin, it is on a new project.

A thoughtful mom bought a painting of an iris for her daughter named Iris.

She has another daughter named Camille and requested a camellia for her. Luckily, I have a good photo of a camellia in bloom, remembered the month it blooms, and only had to look through the February photos of 10 years to find it. Maybe it is even more lucky that Customer Mom liked the color and lighting and angle!

This will dry and then I’ll be able to detail it, my favorite part.

A Good Idea

C and Friends, pencil drawing, 11×14, unframed, $200

About 2 weeks ago, I took the brave leap into admitting that I have unsold drawings and that it bothers me. I also admitted publicly that those drawings were heading to the shredder if unsold for another month. This is not something many artists are willing to discuss, but I am not normal. (Thank you for playing along with me as if I am normal – you are very kind.)

Apparently, that was a good idea because almost all of those drawings sold! And there is still time. . . as of the date that I am writing this post, there are a few left that someone is pondering. (Those are labeled “Sale Pending”, as if I am selling real estate.)

Sometimes I go through those flat files and look at the unsold drawings, wonder if I could do any better, alternate between dark thoughts such as “Why bother?” and “But these are good!”. Then I go around and around: Could I have drawn it from another angle? Should it have been cropped differently? Should it not have been cropped? Is the subject irrelevant to my “collectors”? (Why does that word sound so pretentious to me?) Did I not show it to the right people? Who are the right people? Where are they and how do I find them?

Then I shut the drawers and move on.

Telling The Blog about the situation was a good idea. Thank you for listening.

P.S. There are more. Maybe in the future I will have the courage to put them on the auction block (The Blog) or the chopping block (The Shredder).

Tough Decision, Part Two

There are many seasoned artists who freely share their experience with other artists. One of the nuggets I’ve gleaned through the years is “Get rid of your junk”. There is no reason to keep things around that do not sell or do not represent your best work.

The Cabins of Mineral King represented my best work in 1998. I draw better now, which is good; I would better have improved over the last 20 years or that would be a sorry situation. (That was an awkward sentence – anyone know a good editor?)

Still, the unsold drawings haunt me, take up space and just need to go away, either through a sale or through a shredder.

Before they go into the shredder, here is a chance for you to own an original pencil drawing for a peanut butter sandwich, as my dad used to say. I will consider offers, as long as they are not insulting.

One month from today, October 7, is the deadline on this batch of drawings.

4-1/2 x 5″, $20, SOLD
6-1/2 x 4″, $25, SOLD
7 x 10″, $90
4-1/2 x 5″, $25, SOLD
4-1/2 x 6-1/2″, $35, SOLD
5 x 7″, $40. SOLD

Fancy Pants Studio

A year ago fake wood replaced painted concrete flooring in my studio, and I repainted the door.

In the spring, the dilapidated board and batten siding was replaced with shingles for amazing cuteness.

 

Last week the red Adirondack chair moved outside and this recently reupholstered old chair moved in. Now when I have visitors, they can sit comfortably, instead of awkwardly looking at that red chair and saying, “Better not–I’ll never be able to get out of that.”

HEY! There are cats in my studio!

It might be too comfortable. The first day it was there, I fell asleep in it while working on my laptop.

You little hooligans may visit me in the studio but the instant you try claws in that chair, you are GONE and you will NEVER come in my house.* So there.

Guess I told them.

*Because we have newly reupholstered antique couch and chairs in the house now.

 

Sawtooth on a Saw Blade in a Situation

The Silver City Store/Resort has gotten quite elegant. I feel honored to be able to sell there and to now be part of their decor.

Let’s take a tour.

The outside of the store is a bit different than it used to be but still recognizable (Who put her less than classy looking vehicle in front of the store and interrupted this photo opportunity??)
This is the view directly ahead when you step inside the store, although the unknown man may not be there if you stop by.
Look toward the right. . .
And a little farther right to the tables along the front wall. The photos above the tables are all the wedding photos of people who either met or married in the area.
Look to the left of the front counter when you first step inside (that square cardboard contains the saw blade.) Why yes, that is one of my paintings on the mantel. . . thank you for noticing!
Look directly left and that is the new store area where my paintings are incorporated with the other merchandise. (Nope, not a real gallery, but there are real customers with real money, and we consistently make real sales.)

Now let’s return to the front counter.

HEY! THERE IT IS!! THANK YOU, HANNAH, HANNAH, AND MICHAEL FOR CHOOSING MY ART.

Sold Mineral King Oil Paintings

Mineral King oil paintings have been selling steadily this summer at the Silver City Store/Resort.

The popularity of subjects has changed a bit. The Honeymoon Cabin is this year’s favorite, the Crowley cabin/Farewell Gap (view from the bridge at the end of the road) is second, and only one Sawtooth painting has sold. All the other paintings are in the category of Everything Else, which includes back country, trails, streams, and general scenery of the area.

The most popular size remains 6×6″ (perhaps because I paint more of that size than any other) with the second most popular size 4×6″. The large paintings look good in the store, but most people just want a bargain.

There are a couple more on the list of solds, but I didn’t keep close enough track and can’t find the scans of those paintings. (There are drawbacks to living in 2 places, one of them without the internet, but I bravely soldier on.)

Maybe for next year I should just do 6×6″ Honeymoon Cabin oil paintings. Wait, that won’t work because the market for those may be saturated. But wait. . . are the customers one-time visitors, repeat guests, or cabin community members?

The business of art is full of by-guess-and-by-golly. There is so much more to being an artist than just painting. . . all the thinking and planning in the world is still just an intuitive guess.

Pushing Through For Good Customers

Recently, I’ve focused on my weaknesses in drawing and painting. If I can’t see it, it might not be possible for me to draw or paint the thing. But, if I push through and have help and take lots of time, sometimes I can succeed.

If these weren’t commissioned pieces with a paycheck at the end, I would have given up. Much of what I choose to do is speculative work – will it sell? Will anyone care?

But, both of the recent ultra difficult pieces are not speculation art. There were real customers with an idea of what they wanted, and they counted on me to figure out how to do the job. They each gave me as much time as I required, trusting my ideas and judgement.

These are good friends and good customers; knowing my limitations, I wanted to please them in spite of the difficulties.

If I was more business oriented, there would probably be a contract, a down payment, and the contract would talk about things like “Change Orders” and “Photo Availability”.

I showed you the completed Mineral King Pack Station last week (and since learned that the white horse’s eye is too high, but too late, it is at the framer now).

Today, have a look at the completed Homer’s Nose with the Oak Grove Bridge.

The customer is very happy and so am I!

About the truck on the bridge: the customer’s husband was heading down the hill, while a friend was coming up the hill. When the friend arrived, Mrs. Customer asked the friend if she had seen her husband on the road. The friend said she hadn’t. Later, the friend shared the photo she had taken of the bridge on the way up, and Lo-And-Behold, she had photographed Mrs. Customer’s husband’s pickup-truck on the bridge without knowing it!!

P.S. What is “lo and behold”? I think it means “oh my stars!”. . . My neighbor, who died at age 94, was very fond of that expression, and I think of him every time I hear it.