the business of art | Cabin Art

Trading Water for Walnuts

This week I’ve set aside my current obsession of drawing water and begun a commissioned piece of a walnut grove.

This has involved several sketches, beginning with the page of the walnut grove as it appears in the coloring book, Heart of Ag for the Tulare County Farm Bureau (NOW AVAILABLE – WILL POST TO FOR SALE PAGE WHEN IT IS REPAIRED!)

This was a starting place. More ideas were requested and delivered. This is part of the business of art, the sorting out of details for commissioned work.

The response was, “This looks like a generic walnut grove, not like ours.” Hmmm, is there anything unique about your walnut grove? A barn? A creek? A canal, a ditch, a view?

No.

I made a trip to the grove and found a teensy distinction between the customer’s grove and any other Joe Farmer’s grove. I can’t tell you what it is, because this is going to be a surprise for someone.

I can show you the beginning stages of the drawing.

He Liked It!

The Commissioner and Mrs. Commissioner were very happy with their commissioned oil painting of the Kaweah Blacksmith Shop.

This little building used to be up the North Fork of the Kaweah where the Kaweah Colony was. The flood of 1997 took it away, and in recent years, The Commissioner and his wife bought the property and began learning about it.

He liked this one too. This pencil and colored pencil drawing has a story to it, several stories, really.

I drew this from some photos taken at a friend’s farm yard north of Sacramento. The tires were taller than I am, and my friend said it is quite A Thing when one needs to be changed.

The piece in the Madera Ag Art Show got 1st place in Equipment and Machinery, but it didn’t sell. I showed it around for awhile and finally just put it in my studio. Classic example of what I like not resonating with the general public. . . sigh.

When I was scrolling through old emails looking for Mrs. Commissioner’s name because I forgot it (rude), I found an email from 2007 mentioning the fact that The Commissioner might be interested in this piece. There was no way I was going to call a stranger to ask if he wanted to buy a drawing, even a 1st place one. Not happening!

He is no longer a stranger, he remembered the woman who suggested that I show this to him (she died in a skydiving accident, so you can see what a memorable person she was), and he has very good reason to want this drawing.

That reason will remain a secret, because I am not in the habit of revealing personal information about my customers. I may be rude enough to forget important people’s names, but I have my limits on rudeness.

commission oil painting oil paintings pencil drawing Three Rivers

Getting Real About Oil Paintings

Did you think I’ve spent the last weeks just driving and walking around, marveling at the river, snow, rain, and Samson in the water?

Nope. I’ve been oil painting every workday. See?

The 2 oil paintings of Sequoia trees are drying, along with the blacksmith shop. (The Commissioner likes it!!)

And, what is this? Sometimes when a painting doesn’t sell, I turn it into something else. This used to be a field of red tulips. No one cared except me.

Hi Samson. Stay out of my palette.

People in my life care more about Sequoia trees than tulips.

Whoa. What is this? It used to be a field of red and yellow tulips. I hope people in my life care more about pomegranates than tulips. I thought briefly about painting all the fruits that begin with “P” – poms, pears, peaches, plums, persimmons and maybe even a pumpkin. A pumpkin would be large and weird with those others. And what would I name it? “Ps”? I could throw in a quince and call it “Ps & Q”. . . never mind.

Hi Samson. Like your new perch? Stay out of my palette. That concrete block is holding down a box over the phone because you have knocked it off the hook too many times.

Part of the business of art is being honest with myself. I have to ask hard questions and face the answers. Why doesn’t a particular painting sell? Maybe it isn’t good enough, or maybe no one cares. I have to face facts and paint things that sell. Otherwise, I might need to get a job.

Sequoia painting

Sell, Sequoia Tree, Sell. I really don’t want to paint this one out. Paint it over? Paint over it? And don’t worry, this isn’t finished.

Never mind. Back to the easels. . .

oil paintings Sequoia painting

What’s Keeping the Central Calif. Artist Busy

Want to know what keeps a Central California artist busy?

I like lists. Have a look at what I’m working on this week. Notice there is nothing on it about actually making art. This is what I refer to as “The Business of Art” or an “Administrative” week.

Preparing to give a presentation to the Daughters of the American Revolution next week. Why did they ask me? What do they want to hear? More will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Putting away all the stuff from doing weekend bazaars, boutiques and fairs. This usually results in a big clean-out. Why do I still have this, that and the other thing?
Gathering up, scanning and identifying old photos from Mineral King for a video to go on the Mineral King page of Tulare County Treasures. Why me? Because I deal in images, and Mineral King is my strongest subject. When you are able to help someone, it is good to say yes.
Teaching the oil painting workshop
Packaging note cards. Who writes cards? Apparently lots of people still do, because I ran out of this design and the reorder came this week.

This is the Thank You Acorn card. 4 cards and envelopes, blank inside, $7 includes tax. Email me if you would like some, or order through the website - under For Sale, click on Note Cards — This is the Thank You Acorn card. 4 cards and envelopes, blank inside, $7 includes tax. Email me if you would like some, or order through the website – under For Sale, click on Note Cards

Maybe today I will be able to plan for the next mural, the next oil commission, the next oil paintings to restock my inventory, the next blog post, the next coloring book.

That’s right! I was going to tell you about the new coloring book.

Stay tuned. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

This Central California artist is never bored. Boring, maybe but never bored.

Christmas in Visalia

Holidays, Christmas in particular, are a season for selling. This means it is a season of buying.

I do not want to be commercial, but what if people want my merchandise and can’t figure out how to find it?

Selling is serving. (I heard this somewhere recently.) I live to serve.

Would you like some Christmas cards? Holiday cards? Whatever sort of greeting cards?

Christmas in Visalia greeting card — Christmas in Visalia

This is Christmas in *Visalia, a scene made up of real elements, a pencil drawing interpretation by me of Candy Cane Lane in 1994.

Quantities are very limited. . . only 7 packages remain. Each package is 8 cards and envelopes, $15. Price includes tax. Cards are blank inside, size 4-1/2 x 6-1/4″. If you need me to mail them, toss in another $2.00.

First come, first served. Use the contact button above (under About The Artist) to let me know if you’d like them. Or, email me – cabinart at cabinart dot net (written that way so the spambots won’t bother me). Or call me – 559-561-7606.

*Visalia is the county seat of Tulare County. Tulare is not the county seat. These weird names are pronounced “Vy – SAL- ya” and “Too-LAIR-ee”. I am not making this up. I live here, and this is how we say things. However, there are many people around here who think the town “Orosi” is pronounced “Oros-uh”. They are also the ones who say “Missour – uh”. We like those folks, but are quite curious about their pronunciation habits.

Getting Fancy Outside My Studio

There is some term to describe what happens when people buy new pillows for their couches, and end up having to remodel the entire house. You know how it goes – new pillows make the couch look shabby, so a new couch is necessary. Then the rest of the furniture looks terrible and has to be replaced. This precipitates a paint job for the living room, which leads to needing new windows for the entire house, which becomes a project of knocking down walls and adding on rooms.

I got that new floor in my studio, and suddenly the mural on the front door didn’t suit me any more. It might have been there for 10 years, and certainly I can paint better now. Instead of refreshing it, I am replacing it.

old-door — This is how it looked before I started. You’d think I’d paint the outside of the building or re-side it or something. First I need to remember the name of that syndrome for why one should never buy new pillows.

First, a new sky and a blue line down the middle.

Next, a new mountain and blocking in of the next main spaces. The space to the right of the blue line is still the old mural.

Sorry, Samson, you don’t get to help, and chewing on paintbrushes is forbidden.

The blue line was the edge of this juniper tree. Now that everything is blocked in, I can begin details, if my brushes haven’t been chewed up by Samson.

Yes, I’m talking about you, little destructive feline.

Some detail is now added to the mountain and the juniper.

And a bit more to the background, trees, shrubs, and ground.

The daylight was fading, so I quit for the day. It might be February before I get back to it.

Getting Fancy in my Studio

This shocks me, but must be evidence that I am having fun: I have been in my little shed of a studio since January of 2002. That is FIFTEEN YEARS!!

All this time I have been thankful to have the little building on the property and haven’t given it much thought. Then, the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter got new wood-look floors, and suddenly my chipped paint on concrete floor became almost unbearable.

I met with the man who did the floor in Exeter. We agreed that I’d paint him a mural and he’d do me a floor. He came to Three Rivers and gave me an estimate. Then, silence. I spoke to his right-hand-man several times, which resulted in empty promises.

Finally, I called American Floors in Visalia, who came highly recommended. Instead of painting him a mural, I wrote him a check. It was truly worth it, and I am now feeling quite fancy at work.

Hey, Fancy-pants studio, don’t you have people to empty your trash for you??

Save

Shows, Festivals, Bazaars and Boutiques

These are all words that mean schlepping my work and supporting structures to some place (usually with the assistance of Trail Guy), setting it up to look appealing, and standing around greeting people and selling them things.

Not “selling” selling, just helping people acquire things they want to own or give away. I don’t want you to be afraid to come to one of these events!

It is a little bit hard to leave home on a sunny fall morning.

November is the month of these events, and it is very important for artists who want to earn a living to participate. I meet interesting people, kind people, warm people, weird people, boring people, and see many old friends (who fit into the first 3 descriptions).

"But why must you leave?" "Because you eat too much, little Samson." — “But why must you leave, large Human?”
“Because you eat too much, little Samson.”

It’s all part of the business of art. People with real jobs who make art for fun can skip these events; this Central California artist cannot. Not complaining, just ‘splaining. (“Splain it to me, Lucy. . .”)

My little piece of real estate for 2 days at the Perfect Gift Boutique

Sam McKinney's gorgeous gourds with afternoon light coming through the window. — Sam McKinney’s gorgeous gourds with afternoon light coming through the window.

Looking out over the room filled with Kaweah Artisans.

On Saturday, December 3, I will participate in one last event for the season. I’ll tell about it on Friday’s blog post. This one will be different!

Three Rivers upcoming event

New Coloring Book in Progress

A few weeks back I told you that I am working on a new coloring book for grownups. (I use the childish sounding word “grownups” instead of “adult” because of the negative connotations on the internet with the “a” word. We wouldn’t want anyone to jump to conclusions about the appropriateness of my coloring books, would we?)

I am working with a committee on this project. If there are 5 people on a committee, there might be 6 opinions. Here are some coloring book pages that won’t be appearing in the new book.

pomegranates — Pomegranates are not a large crop of Tulare County.

There is a dairyman on the committee who will supply me with photos of his cows.

rows — Someone on the committee said this looks like the midwest. I replied, “The photos came from Strathmore!” Still didn’t fly.

These tractors are too antique for the committee’s taste. That is why they are so cute.

This sort of thing is just part of the business of art. Every situation is a new set of challenges. Often I don’t anticipate things, such as my main contact getting overridden by a committee. Who knew to ask such a question? This project is so fun that I dove in fast, rather than thinking through of all the “what ifs”.

I ought to guess these things in advance and bid jobs higher in anticipation of such potholes or speed bumps or detours.

But I don’t consider these pages as a waste – I was practicing my ability to convert photos into coloring book designs, practicing my design abilities, and maybe someday I’ll find a way to turn these into a special coloring book.

Yes, I am stringing you along, not telling you what the project is or who it is for. You may be able to guess. . .

coloring book

How to Buy 2017 Calendar

2017-front

It took awhile, but I finally figured out how to add The Bridges of Tulare County to the For Sale part of my website.

The price is $15.00 and it includes sales tax and mailing. This is because I have always (yes, always) been a great admirer and loyal customer of LLBean, and they don’t charge shipping and handling. (I think “handling” is an excuse to raise prices.)

Click the word calendar to go to the buying page.

Or, mail a check to me at P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271.

Or, ask me when you see me. I’ll put some in my car. (Even with 210,000 miles, it is capable of carrying a few calendars.)

Category: the business of art