Category: Three Rivers

Successful Drawing Workshop

The recent drawing workshop in Three Rivers was successful; everyone learned, and everyone had a good time, including your Central California artist, in her role as a drawing teacher.

We met at someone’s house on the river, a place full of beauty, so there are photos of things that caught my fancy along with photos from the actual drawing session.

This is a little store where the hostess and her husband sell their beautiful pottery.

Some of the pottery that did not make it intact out of the kiln is now stepping stones. Could you imagine stepping stones any more classy than this??

Ten students sat at a long table inside the house because the river made it too hard to hear outside.

I discussed drawing steps and tools, and they started on some beginning exercises to practice the techniques.

After about 15 minutes, 2 hours had passed. (That’s how one of the participants described the time.) The hostess fed us a wonderful lunch out on her deck.

Everyone began working on a drawing after lunch, and I circulated around the table, showing them how to see what is really there, rather than what they thought ought to be there. Weird, I know, but that is what drawing is, at least the way I teach it. I teach people to see, which is also weird, considering I am one of the most nearsighted people I know of.

People had such a good time that there is talk of a follow-up drawing session. Regular lessons, or another workshop? Where? When?

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

One Morning in April

Not quite as pretty as the morning when I took the photo to paint Sunrise over the Kaweah River.

T (my walking partner) and I see these bunnies almost every morning. We don’t understand how they survive.

Blue dick and common madia are still going strong.

It was a morning to spend in the yard. If I wasn’t such a lenient boss, I’d have to fire myself. I seem to be semi-retired these days.

It is so interesting that there is one white iris on each side of the path, and they stand above the others. I planted these bulbs in autumn of 2023 and have no memory of arranging them in any particular order.

This segment of the yard is all pinky-purply. It has one purple iris, lots of freeway daisies, several redbud trees, some lavender and some lilac. Guess you have to be here to see it all in bloom at once.

Just a thought about color for you: there are 3 plants named for various shades of purple.

Lilac
Lavender
Violet

Three Rivers

Sunrise Over the Kaweah River

Remember this messy beginning?

After finishing the new little paintings to sell in local galleries and gift shops, I returned to this 16×20” painting, which felt like a mural after those 6×6” canvases.

There was another painting session between the photo above and the next one. I didn’t take any photos because sometimes I just forget. Other times I say to myself, “Self”, I say, “No one cares”.

Sky first (because I paint back to front). These are colors I haven’t mixed before.

The improvements might be hard to locate, but not so hard if you remember that method of painting back to front. It means I paint the things farthest away first, and keep moving closer, rather than jumping around all over the canvas.

Holy guacamole, there are so many rocks in the lower left quadrant.

Nope, not going to paint all the rocks that show in the photo. I widened the river too, because I am the boss of the painting and the photo is not the boss of me.

Now it needs the edges painted, and a signature, but before either of those, I will mull this over for awhile. So often I think a painting or drawing is finished until I view it on my computer screen.

Weird, but not uncommon.

Because Business Picked Up …

… it is time to produce more paintings. These are the standard small ones that sell steadily to visitors to Three Rivers and Exeter, where my three main selling locations are, Kaweah Arts, Stem & Stone, and the Mural Gallery and Gift Shop. (Because that lemon sold so quickly at the Mural Gallery, I have another one drying for them.)

They are all oil paint on wrapped canvas, which means the edges are painted and framing is optional. I just didn’t want to type that every time.

Poppies up the North Fork, 6×12”, $145 (Kaweah Arts)

Sequoia Gigantea XVIII, 6×18”, $190 (Kaweah Arts)

Alta Peak, Moro Rock, 6×6”, $75 (Stem & Stone)

Kaweah Country, 6×6”, $75 (Stem & Stone)

P.S. If you don’t live in town and would like to buy any of these new paintings (the ones that haven’t sold already), I can retrieve them from their stores and send them to you.

TODAY IS THE SEVENTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BLOG!

Loving April Around Here

How about more photos today? We can talk about the business of art some other time.

Flowers: Wild and Domestic

There is a beautiful world outside of the studio, so we can’t be using up the glorious month of April simply showing you layers of paint as it dries on the canvas.

OUT AND ABOUT

IN MY YARD

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Some People Dislike Mondays

I’m not one of those people. The only day I don’t like is any day I have to go down the hill. But I only dislike the day while I am fixin’ to leave, because in spring, the drive is beautiful. Going down with a list of stops doesn’t make me happy, so I try to remember that it is fun to drive Fernando, that there are all sorts of good options for listening or a good chance to just have quiet, and that it is a real privilege to have a car, options, money to pay for gas and the various items to be accumulated while down the hill. (I’ve been a recovering pessimist for decades). Of course I am happiest when I am heading back up the hill, especially in the early evening with late sunlight on the hills and mountains.

In case you are one of those folks who dislike Mondays, here are some wildflower photos for you, taken in my neighborhood last Wednesday. (See why I dislike leaving home?)

We can do the Learned List tomorrow, if I can remember anything new learned in March.

Three Rivers

Painting Lots of Orange Things

When you look at my painting subjects, you might guess that orange is my favorite color. You’d be wrong. However, orange things are among my favorite things (not raindrops on roses).

The poppy painting is on the easel for consideration and contemplation. How can I make it better? Does it need to be made better? I have an idea for the first question, and the answer to the second question is “Maybe”.

The lemon isn’t orange. Well, duh. The Mural Gallery just sold a little lemon painting so I am painting a new one.

The larger commissioned painting is getting close to completion; the poppy painting is new, and the lemon needs an orange to go with it for the Mural Gallery.

The orange painting is going quickly; the poppy painting is a little more difficult.

It’s from a photo I took up the North Fork of the Kaweah River a handful of years ago. I am not trying to copy every poppy exactly; ain’t nobody got time for that. Besides, nobody cares.

I think this is going to be a good one. My goal is to get it to Kaweah Arts in time for the studio tour on the weekend. It is a county wide studio tour. I’m not participating but am supporting Kaweah Arts in their efforts to draw many people in.

citrus oil painting citrus painting oil paintings orange oil painting orange painting poppy oil painting poppy paintins

More Spring in Three Rivers

The lavender started blooming early this year. That isn’t a real lawn; it is mowed weeds that dry out when the rain quits and the heat begins.

The Middle Fork of the mighty Kaweah River, looking downstream and upstream. The white-water is a little less than bright white because of the rain. (Ain’t nobody here complainin’ ‘bout that rain!)

Man oh man, I love me some green!

I was pulling weeds in the yard and heard (teehee, almost wrote “herd”) some funny sounds. These deer were eating weeds mere feet from me, chewing kind of loudly.