First Things First

Second in a series called “Thoughtful Thursdays”

Living in a beautiful place often inspires people to create art. Lots of people get the yen to paint, often when retired. (Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying, “Oh yeah? I think I’ll try practicing law when I retire!”) Most don’t understand that drawing comes before painting, sort of like grunting and pointing comes before public speaking.

A painting without drawing skills behind it is usually a weak piece of art. By “weak”,  I mean weird shapes, bizarre perspective, and lacking in contrast. Unless one can see proportions, perspective and understand values  and composition, the resulting paintings will most likely be exercises in frustration. Throw in color, paint consistency and brush behavior, and you get a recipe for visual chaos. (Of course, if one is more process than product oriented, poor paintings may not be considered a problem.)

Drawing is a skill that can be taught, learned, and developed through repetitious practice. I have been teaching people how to draw for 17 years and always tell beginning students “drawing is a skill, not a talent”. It is like typing – everyone can learn to type. Some type 25 words per minute, and others hit 90. Those speedsters are the ones with talent, but all are typists.

Despite knowing the proper sequence of skills, I do understand the desire to just dive in! When I was learning to knit, my attitude was “Scarves? We don’t need no stinkin’ scarves!!” My first project was a sweater, and not just a simple pullover but a cardigan, complete with button bands and button holes! Needless to say, I own many weird sweaters, and, after almost 6 years of knitting, quite a few good ones too. So, it is probably possible learn to paint without first drawing, if one is learning from mistakes in the process rather than just cementing bad practices. Of course one must also be willing to have a collection of weird paintings!

Musicians, particularly pianists, have to practice like crazy. They play lots and lots of scales, repetitious exercises, picking apart songs line by line, phrase by phrase, note by note. Artists sometimes forget to practice and treat each new piece as if it were the performance of a lifetime, or thinking in athletic terms, an Olympic event. Practice, practice, practice. This is how you learn to draw and to cement those skills of proportion, perspective, value and composition.

The drawing above was done when I was competent in my drawing skills. This painting was my first attempt at the same subject  when I was brand new to oils (try to be polite!):

Here it is again after 3 years of practice with oils (and I’m sure it will look hideous to me in another 3 years!):

It is all speckled because I photographed it wet in bright sunlight and the sun reflected off the texture of the canvas. Photography is another skill that requires training and practice!

New Year Lessons

Here is a list of what I am learning so far in 2011

1. How to use the Total Gym

2. How to update my website by adding pictures

3. What a mistake it is to not photograph every piece of art

4. What a mistake it is to not label every photograph of art

5. That plantar fasciitis takes forever to heal

6. That it takes a very long time update my website

Here is a list of what I would like to know:

1. Is 1000 miles too many in a pair of walking shoes?

2. Do people actually consistently use the Total Gym?

3. When will my website be ready?

4. What should I paint on my repaired garage door, now that I feel more confident it won’t end up in the county dump?

5. Whatever was I thinking when I didn’t bother photographing some paintings or keeping a list of which was where or checking in regularly to the stores that were selling for me???

6. Will I learn from #5???

Here, let’s try to take the edge off of the hard lessons of life:

Think of it as a “bridge over troubled waters” (and no, I don’t know the title, size, when it was painted or who has it now.)

Why Artists Choose Three Rivers

First in a series called “Thoughtful Thursdays”

When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually do live here and have become a painter, I recognize a multitude of reasons that any artist would want to reside in Three Rivers.

We are surrounded by beauty that takes no effort to see. There are incomparable views from my yard, studio, mailbox, and even from in my neighbor’s pool. The beauty continues as we go to the post office, the Memorial Building, the golf course, or maybe even from the dentist’s office!

Then there is the beauty that might require a little more effort to take in: the North Fork, the South Fork, Kaweah River Drive, and the Salt Creek area of BLM land come to mind. If you are able to walk, there is so much more that becomes visible.  In fact, I wrote a series on my weblog called “Peculiar Sights in Three Rivers” documenting odd items that appear to the pedestrian in our town.

Another great enticement to living in Three Rivers is the shorter drive to Sequoia and to Mineral King. In less than an hour you can be among the big trees and in a little longer than an hour, you can be in a valley that I have heard resembles the Swiss Alps.

Everywhere I look there are subjects to paint. The wildflowers could keep my brush flying for several seasons. The gates alone could occupy my pencils for a year. I could produce an entire series of drawings and paintings simply of loading chutes. Curves in the road, bends in the river, the autumn leaves, light on the rocks, Moro Rock from every possible angle, Alta Peak from every attainable viewpoint, sycamores all around town, the grand oak trees of every variety, the assortment of fence styles – every one of these subjects could be depicted in pencil or paint.

It is true that there is beauty in almost any location if one learns to recognize it. I certainly had plenty of subjects available in my former locations.  Now, the accessibility of paintable scenes is almost overwhelming!

A little plan

In reading other blogs, I see patterns of posting. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has “Random Mondays”, Jon Acuff has “Serious Wednesdays” and Abby has “Five Senses Fridays”. As an original thinker (sort of, maybe, mas o menos) I am hereby now instituting “Thoughtful Thursdays”. Starting this week, I will republish articles written by me for the Kaweah Commonwealth, the local paper. They call my articles “Artist in Residence” and they are similar to what you see here, only a little more formal and a bit longer. In republishing them here, I will refine them a bit for a wider audience and thrown in some photos or paintings or drawings. The first one will appear Thursday, January 6. Enjoy!

What I did in the Nonweek

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is sort of an off week. People are off work, school, schedules, diets, and budgets. (Hopefully they aren’t off base or off track too.) I think of it as the Nonweek, when there really aren’t many obligations.

During the Nonweek my expectations of myself are low. Write a few thank you notes, put away the Christmas decorations, get the number off my odometer, pay a few bills. Maybe. Maybe not.

This year I set a higher goal. Murals fade. My very first one, a Mineral King scene, was looking sort of tired, so I repainted it during the Nonweek.

If I had taken a before photo, you’d be shocked at the difference. Oops. Didn’t do that. Sometimes I just do my work without thinking about all the ramifications of possible blog posts.

See? Shabby buildings, fancy murals, and a wreath on the studio door to validate the time of year.

Now the California poppies mural looks faded to me!

On aging and other weird-word thoughts

Sometimes it seems as though it is just as satisfying to create with words as with pictures. Here is an example of the thought process that leads to messing around with the language that we call our own: I am aging. Everyone is from the moment we are born. Aging has a sense of ickiness, of something that should be fought, particularly in women. As I was putting stuff on my face that was almost but not quite guaranteed to protect it from aging (too late!), it came to me that perhaps I was saving my face from the ravages of the world. Then it occurred to me that perhaps I was saving the world from the ravages of my face! Then, I realized I don’t know what the word “ravages” actually means. Here is the definition: “severely damaging or destructive effects of something.”

And think about this: when you are young, “maturing” is a good word. It means growing up, learning, becoming less self-centered, more goal oriented, able to see the longer views, becoming more self-controlled. When you are “mature” and middle aged, it means you are starting to look weathered.

“Weathered” is sort of good in a man’s face. It is never good in a woman’s face. Women seldom like their pictures taken; men don’t mind as much. Have a look at the first portrait I ever painted in oil. A normal woman would have HATED this view of herself, but this man was overcome by emotion that I had chosen to paint him!

“Walk This Way” – 11×14″ – Private Collection

Various, sundry and random

This is Mom’s tree – mine is blue and silver.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day has always felt like a freebie to me. When a school kid, it was the week of goofing off, playing with new stuff, going to the snow, just hanging out with no particular purpose. When in retail, it was often a week we just closed up. It is a week that Michael tries to take off work, unless it is storming and he is needed to push snow around with big yellow machines. Here is a list of this off-the-calendar week so far:

1. Yardwork!

2. Shred papers from 10 years ago.

3. Take the canoe out. Notice I said “the” canoe rather than “my” or “our”. This is because we jointly own the little jewel with some friends. They granted us 50% because we are able to store it out of the sun. I’m thinking they might have forgotten about their 50%

4. Thank you notes. Yep, I actually write them with a pen on paper and put them in the US Mail.

5. Sweets – Don and Shirley’s Southern Comfort Cake, Margaret’s fudge, Melinda’s pfefferneusen and biscotti (one is German and one is Italian; she is my sister, and we are neither of those ethnicities but love the food), Laura’s sugar cookies, mint/dark chocolate from Reimer’s (thanks, Honey!!), mint Hershey kisses from Janet, a Panetonne from Bill and Peg (is it sweet? dunno, but it is REALLY REALLY GOOD), Trader Joe’s hot cocoa from Kylie, and pie with whipped cream left over from Christmas dinner with our family.

6. Major thankfulness – we served lunch at the Visalia Rescue Mission on Christmas Day. It was Michael’s idea, and I wholeheartedly agreed. Wow. He and I are filthy rich by contrast. The volunteers just do what they are told, greet people with authentic concern and a genuine smile, and focus on getting the food to them. I tried not to think about why they might be there and felt great hope for those who were in a rehab program.

7. Main Gallery – Wednesday is my last day working and having my art there. It was fun to be part of such a highly organized group in such a nice location and to get to know other area artists a bit.

8. Friends – there is a class reunion on Saturday p.m. I won’t be going but will be meeting Melissa, Ann, Renee, and Rose for lunch that day. That is always a treat, especially when so many of my old friends no longer have parents in the area. I’m sure the official reunion will be great; Michael and I decided long ago that we don’t belong at each other’s class reunions. Since this is on New Year’s Eve, it will be better to be home with him than down the hill having a late night out.  I may regret missing the reunion, but life is full of choices, not all of them clear.

Small town stuff

Last night the phone rang. Even though it said “Private Caller”, I answered. It was an acquaintance who identified herself, and immediately apologized, saying she had called the wrong Jana. After a few questions, I was able to tell her the last name of the “right Jana”. Where else can you dial a wrong number and not only find a friend, but get the info you are seeking?

While making a phone call a few years ago, I expected to reach Louise. Instead, I misdialed and got Pam. When I realized what I had done, I said, “Since I have you on the phone, can I order a cheesecake from you?” Isn’t that a hoot??

Last week I got a message on my home phone that was intended for someone else. I know where the caller works, so I looked up her work #, called her and told her that her message went to the wrong answering machine. She told me who the message was intended for, and I said, “Oh! That is my vet’s Mom!” (I was pleased that she didn’t say, “Oh? I prefer a Physician’s Assistant.”)

Learn, Schmearn

That is what Drawing Student Megan said in response to 2 possible solutions to a drawing problem. Still makes me smile!

When figuring out a path for my business of art, it seems that I am constantly learning, whether or not I want to. Take these Christmas ornaments for example: last year I was so excited to paint little Big Trees (tee hee hee, that sounds odd) on wooden disks. They sold okay, but not great.

This year I evaluated the sold ornaments versus the unsold ones, and there was a definite pattern. I repainted the remainder to resemble the sold ones, and they haven’t done so well either.

In addition to the Big Trees, a friend suggested that I paint little scenes on the remaining zillion blank disks. I tried a few, and although they sold very well, they take way more time than the price can handle. Here are the final 2 of that variety (sold, of course, and to the friend who made the suggestion.):

There are 10 Sequoia ornaments remaining. What will become of them? How about this: I will offer one each as a gift to the first 10 people who respond to this blog entry. Ick, that sounds ungrateful! If they won’t sell, I’ll just give them to you? But they are kind of neato! And adding the word “FREE” without strings attached often makes a thing look better. So does pricing it for lots and lots of money, but that isn’t my style. My style is honesty and generosity; hence, this blog and this offer!

You can either email me at cabinart@cabinart.net or comment on the blog. The first 10 get an ornament. If no one bothers, it will most definitely be a learning experience!