Christmas in Exeter

Shopping? Not this little gray duck.

But maybe you live locally, and maybe you enjoy shopping.

Christmas in Exeter is more than shopping. Every Thursday night in December is an event unto itself. Many businesses offer refreshments, deals, lights, gift wrap, fun and good cheer. There is a tram that runs from one end of the town to the other (along Pine, from B Street to E Street), maybe carolers, maybe Santa. The entire evenings feel very small town, old fashioned, traditional, and just good. 

One place that might be getting a little less visitation than in the past is the Mural Gallery & Gift Shop. This little treasure is run by the Mural Team, AKA Exeter a Festival of Arts. This is the tireless crowd of dedicated volunteers who have turned Exeter into an outdoor art gallery and made the town a destination.

Because this gallery is small, it is often overlooked. An injury was recently added to the insult of being overlooked: the Wildflower Cafe next door closed. Now there is much less foot traffic passing by the gallery. Hence, this advertising blog post.

This gallery is full of art by folks who have painted murals in Exeter. There are originals, prints, and both tchotchkes and useful items featuring murals, in a wide variety of prices and styles.

This gallery has been selling well for me for several years, and I want them to get the attention and visitation they deserve!

I took these photos at sunset when the gallery was closed, so they don’t properly show off the place. Nor do they convey the lively atmosphere of a Thursday night in Exeter. 

If this sort of thing appeals to you, I suggest going tonight and/or next Thursday.

Additionally, the Courthouse Gallery is open on Thursday nights this year, where there is still time to see the show Falling Into Winter and participate in their Thursday night events.

This is the museum part of the Courthouse Gallery, photo courtesy of Dwight Miller.

Juried Show Coming Soon

After my post called “Juried Or Judged?”, one might have gotten the idea that I don’t participate in such shows. In general, I don’t. Lots of artists develop a following by entering shows all over the country, paying entry fees, shipping art, paying to have it boxed and shipped back, hoping for prizes, hoping for sales, and likely, ending up discouraged and poor.

I don’t enter shows that are far away. I am a Central California artist, specifically a Tulare County artist who takes great pleasure and pride in finding the best things of this place I’ve called home for 63 years. (We may not qualify for a Trader Joe’s or a university or even for litter-free pothole-patched roads, but we feed the world and don’t you forget it!)

When there are local shows with nominal or no entry fees, shows that aren’t too much trouble to enter, shows that will keep my work and name in the public eye (where old and new customers can find me, because I came here to earn a living), shows that seek the type of work that I do (realistic subjects based in Tulare County), then I might be interested.

Such a show is coming soon. Artists are allowed to enter 3 pieces. It is juried because they have both standards and limited space. 

The last time I entered this show, my work was small and placed in a dark corner, which did not do it any justice. Many years later, my work is larger, brightly colored, and I have 7 pieces that I want to enter. I don’t know how to decide which 3 to submit. 

Maybe some of these will sell before the show; that’ll help me decide.

What is your Central California artist going to do?? Stay tuned. . .

2023 Calendars Available Here, $20 inc. tax.

 

 

An Invitation

Another Reception at Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery and Museum is coming Sunday afternoon, December 11, 2-4 p.m. This show is Falling into Winter, where I have three pieces, including this one, “Unspiced”, 6×12″. (Don’t you think that name is terrific??) 

Half the gallery is pieces relating to Autumn/Fall; the other half is pieces relating to winter. There is a wide variety of media (that is the plural of “medium”, which is Art Speak for “stuff used to make art”.) All is for sale, except the pieces that already sold. Duh. Thank you Captain Obvious.

Calendars

2023, Mineral King HIKES, available here: Calendars

You’ll need to click/tap on the link above to see the back of the calendar, not shown out of respect for my Most Faithful Blog Commenter who never allows herself to see what it is in it until the appropriate month arrives.

Juried or Judged?

This ornament was neither juried nor judged, although I may have judged it to be too difficult to try again.

Most folks don’t know the difference between these two J words; most people don’t need to know.

Many artists don’t know either, but artists who want to participate in shows need to know.

Juried

This means, “We might let you into our show or we might not. Don’t call us; we might call you, IF we deem your work worthy of our Mighty Event.”

Judged

Judging results in this: “Her piece is the best; we liked his better but it didn’t fit the categories so we gave it First Place instead of Best of Show. Yours is pretty decent, so here’s an Honorable Mention.”

Juried and/or Judged

Some shows are juried because they have standards; some shows are juried because they have limited space; some shows are juried for both reasons.

Some shows are judged because ribbons or prize money might bring in more artists and/or better sales. (I think ribbons make good bookmarks.)

Judging is extremely subjective, even when there are guidelines that the entrants are supposed to have followed. I watched a judging demonstration once, where the audience got to see the give-and-take that happens among the judges. Because of this negotiation and trading of favorites, an ugly piece got first place. I found it to be disappointing, but it certainly explained why award selections at art shows seldom make sense. 

The lesson was helpful, and pushed me to decide to not participate in most of those types of shows. My work is for my customers, regular people rather than those in the Art World Who Know Better Than Most. 

Gotta admit though, it is nice when one of those folks acknowledges my work. Still, it is better when I can satisfy customers.

Using pencils, oil paints, and murals, I make art that people can understand of places and things they love, for prices that won’t scare them.

(I’d rather get a check or cash than another bookmark: a satisfied customer is the best reward.)

2023 Calendars Available Here, $20 inc. tax.

Experimenting with Alien Pencils

As a professional artist, it is important to keep my work consistent and to meet deadlines. This doesn’t leave much room for experimenting, something that I view as a luxury for hobbyists. Hobbyists can do anything they choose, whatever inspires them, no deadlines, no need for a signature look (called a “voice” in Art Speak).


A number of years ago, a drawing student/friend gave me a super generous gift of some pencils that I had never heard of. “Graphitint” by Derwent are water soluble pencils, described as having “a hint of earthy color”, but are neither graphite nor colored pencils. After making a chart to see what this “hint of earthy color” looked like, I tried a bit of water on the swatches, drew a small picture, decided it was hideous, and just put it all away.

Recently my friend Carrie Lewis asked me to write another article for her digital magazine, Colored Pencil Magic. At first I told her that I had already written everything I knew about colored pencils. Then I remembered my Graphitints, right there in my stack of colored pencil boxes and tins.

I couldn’t very well write an article stating I had tried them ten years ago and then shoved them aside. 

So, I decided to learn more about these alien pencils. I chose a photo to work from and started another chart to pick the right colors and get a feel for them.

What alien creatures – soft like 6B graphite, but still different than colored pencils. I thought back to a great drawing teacher I’d had who only let us use 6B pencils, keeping a super sharp point. That gave me the confidence to dive in here. After all, it’s only paper, and I do know how to draw.

It was enjoyable, because I listened to Peggy Rowe read from her book Vacuuming in the Nude and Other Ways to Get Attention, (on her son’s blog “The Way I Heard It”). And it was enjoyable because I love to draw, even with alien pencils.

Enough. Many layers, like colored pencils. Lots of ad libbing, along with severe editing, and this little 5×7″ drawing with alien pencils was finished.

Eight Things Made November the Busiest Month

Many responsibilities and opportunities in November

  1. Little Bucky
  2. Online Painting Seminar: I gave this an entire day during my busiest month and learned things that you probably don’t care about. However, this palette, made up of only 3 primaries and white is impressive. (I use 6 primaries and white, and thought that was simple!) Besides, it is pretty.
  3. Website Repairs: my designer helped me get it a bit more functional. She told me that there are things to do to improve the readership, and I told her that I don’t want to try to get strangers to find me. The people who are interested in my art and my life are people that I either already know, or people who I will eventually meet, because we care about the same things and places.
  4. The art emergency pencil drawing, which I showed you yesterday.
  5. New commissions: one pencil drawing, two large paintings all needed before Christmas
  6. Holiday Bazaar: New paintings needed, finished paintings gathered from Kaweah Arts, new cards ordered, calendars ordered. Even though I was a no-show, everything had to be packaged, priced, boxed up, hauled to the Memorial Building, set up. 
  7. There were a few more items, but they’re private, because after all, in spite of being read only by people I know, this is the World Wide Web.
  8. New Murals Coming! I bid on and designed three, was “awarded” two, and now await further instruction as to when I can begin. This is St. Charles of Borromeo, the largest Catholic Church in North America, located in Visalia, Tulare County, California. Yep, right here in little ol’ Too-larry County.

 

Calendars

2023, Mineral King HIKES, still available here: Calendars

I’d show you the back of the calendar, but out of respect for my Most Faithful Blog Commenter you will need to click on the link to see it. Sharon buys a calendar every year, and never allows herself to see what it is in it until the appropriate month arrives.

Three Rivers Holiday Bazaar

THREE RIVERS HOLIDAY BAZAAR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2022

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Veterans Memorial Building

43490 Sierra Drive

I will be bringing these items to sell:

  1. Paintings of Mineral King, Three Rivers, and Sequoia
  2. 2023 calendars Mineral King HIKES (available on website)
  3. Notecards (including designs that don’t appear on my website)
  4. coloring books: Heart of the County (also available here)
  5. Mineral King Wildflowers books (only a few remaining)
  6. Original pencil drawings of Wilsonia cabins
  7. The Cabins of Wilsonia (also available on my website)

 

Odd Job Accident

Little Bucky was patiently waiting his next coat of paint in the painting workshop.

When he was dry enough, I flipped him upside down so I could paint the underneath parts. However, I forgot that one of his antlers was not attached to his head. It fell out.

I photographed it, texted Ignacio, and confessed.

Little Bucky was a little dismayed, but he appeared to be used to only having one antler.

Phooey. Why did I say yes to this job??

Ignacio suggested superglue, so that’s what I did. I also asked him if he still had the other piece from when it broke previously so I could glue it for him. He didn’t, and asked if I could make him a new one!

When I said, “From what?”, he replied, “Wood”. I reminded him that I am not a carver, but work in pencil, oil paint, and murals. 

Maybe I should have added superglue to the list.

 

Five Different Reasons to Send a Note

Everyone loves to get real mail, and as Crane Stationery used to advertise, “No one has ever cherished an email”. (This was before texting, which has made email look personal and handcrafted.)

The other morning I wrote a bunch of notes. A list had accumulated of people I needed to communicate with, and each one needed to be handwritten. Sometimes email just doesn’t do the trick.

As I carried them to the mailbox, it struck me that each note was written for a different reason.

  1. Thank you
  2. I’m sorry for your loss (any of my cards, blank inside, would work for this).
  3. Get well soon (any card with a blank interior will work for this)
  4. Happy Birthday (nope, none of my cards actually say this inside, but I have great confidence in your ability to write those words)
  5. An invitation (I used a blank card for this too)

There are many other reasons to use cards and hand-write notes to people.  

I’ll give you some other ideas tomorrow.

 

Lazy Listicle of Distracted Thoughts

  1. The acorns have been raining down from the live oaks in our yard and attracting herds of deer. One morning Trail Guy counted 16 in the driveway. (Deer, not acorns)
  2. This painting needs a title! Any suggestions?
  3. These 2 5×7″ oil paint on panel paintings are drying. There are 3 more, but these are days of distractions,  falling acorns, broken things, a rush pencil commission, RAIN, and yet another odd job.
  4. This big guy was focused on acorns and water. There is a tub on the other side of that rock that the deer come to (and the turkeys and the cats. . . probably some others we don’t know about). Such is life in Three Rivers in rural Tulare County.
  5. My wonderful webdesigner gave up two hours on her day off to begin figuring out what keeps going wrong with my website. This was her only day off in the busiest week she has had since pre-Plague. There are still some mysteries, but it is mostly functional at this time.
  6. Many years ago a former neighbor gave me this juicer. This year it wouldn’t work, AFTER we picked a 5 gallon bucket of pomegranates. Someone told me about a repair shop in Goshen, so I navigated my way to Breck’s in a ferocious rainstorm, and they gave me hope. Now my hope is that it can be repaired quickly, because in spite of not paying for it initially, at $90/hour, I will be paying for it now.
  7. In spite of November being my busiest month, I spent a day on my tookus, watching a live workshop of many demonstrations of art realism. During the boring ones (I KNOW how to draw!), I packaged notecards. During the other sessions, I took notes.
  8. I also took photos. This is how the light looks on one of my studio windows in the afternoon.

P.S. I might have knitted a little bit too. . . it wasn’t Zoom and no one could see.

P.P.S. (that means PS #2) I hit a skunk on my way home the other night. Didn’t know it until I got home. Felt something, but didn’t smell it until the car was in the garage. Well, yippee skippee. A skunk is easier on a car than a deer.