Category: Three Rivers

Learning New Skills

A handful of years ago I went on a tear making mosaic stepping stones. By “on a tear”, I mean ninja crazy! (In spite of not knowing what that means, it continues to crop up in my vocabulary.) I made about 12 dozen stepping stones, tile-mosaic’ed (no idea if that is actually a verb or how to turn it into past tense) a lamp post, a drinking fountain, several tables, a step, a bird bath and a bowling ball.

I guessed how to do this. Found some stuff and tried it. Tried different stuff and different methods. Sold some. Gave some away. Scattered them all over my yard. Ninja crazy!

Now, many of them have tiles that are popping loose. This is annoying, disappointing and ugly.

There is a man in Three Rivers who is a genius at tile mosaic. His wife was a ceramicist, and after she died, he continued his tiling projects. He began making his own objects in her kiln, continued a project they had begun, and now teaches an occasional workshop.

I attended the workshop in the hopes of learning the right way to do this.

Before I show you what I made, look at what the tiling genius has around his place.

This has symbols for Nancy’s potter’s wheel, her glazing color samples and her kiln.

Oops. Out of time. I’ll show you what I made tomorrow.

Three Rivers is Bear Country

One afternoon I was painting in the workshop. Trail Guy stopped his work on the house to rest a bit. What am I working on?

Another Kaweah Post Office, because it is my policy to always have one ready to go. Pomegranates because they are beautiful to paint and sell well.

Trail Guy reported a bear sighting. So, I went to investigate. They are so fascinating to watch – something about their size or furriness or proportions or way of moving or something. Here, you can see for yourself. If you want to see a bear any day of the week in Three Rivers, you can just go driving around and find one! Truly!

Okay, bear break over – back to work. Get painting again, Central California Artist in Bear Country.

oil paintings Three Rivers

Kaweah Post Offices

The eBay painting went to a very happy lady!

Kaweah P.O.

Chuck’s painting progressed quickly.

IMG_1798_2 IMG_1214_2

This is a photograph of it while it was drying. Hang on, Chuck, it’s coming soon!

My Favorite Customer bought this painting and I split the sale with the Kaweah Post Office fund.

1293 KPO VII

Several friends gave cash toward the project. Some of them received a package of these cards. (The others didn’t receive cards because I was caught by surprise and didn’t have them with me.)

pencil KPO

Something just occurred to me as I think about this project: EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO CONTRIBUTED IS NOT FROM THREE RIVERS!!

Isn’t that amazing? That may be part of what has blown me away – so many people from other places have a soft place in their hearts for the Three Rivers landmark of the Kaweah Post Office.

Kaweah Post Office Fundraising

The Kaweah Post Office is one of our only landmark structures in Three Rivers. I am working to help meet the insurance deductible to rebuild it because a big limb from a valley oak tree smashed the roof. (We are quite rural – perhaps a bear was in the tree eating acorns and caused the limb to break . . . I wasn’t there, but it could have happened that way!)

There is an auction on eBay to sell my painting of the Post Office; I will split the proceeds with them. (I gotta earn something here, dear readers – selling art is how I make my living!) It ends tomorrow, Friday, October 9, at noon. See it by clicking this link.

A nice man named Chuck told me he wants to participate with $200, but he just doesn’t shop on eBay. No worries, Chuck. I understand those types of boundaries, because I don’t play on Facebook.

So, I offered to repaint it for him for $100 and give $100 to the Post Office (that size normally sells for $150.)

Chuck upped his donation to $150 to the Post Office, so I got busy immediately. Here is how it looked after the first session on the canvas.

Kaweah P.O.

Normally, I don’t draw the image in pencil first. Instead, I block it out with my paint brush and correct the proportions with each successive layer of paint.

Because I will show Chuck a photo of the progress once a week on this blog, I wanted it to look better at each stage than paintings usually do. If he saw my normal sloppy way of beginning, he might get scared and withdraw his offer!

Thank you, Chuck (and don’t be scared!)

Kaweah Post Office oil paintings Three Rivers

The Two Mister Blacks

Mister Black is the name I give to the ravens I paint. There are two so far, painted because of the Raven Festival in Three Rivers.

Three Rivers does something special-ish on the first Saturday of each month. A new theme is chosen each month, and for October, it is ravens.

The amazing Nadi Spencer had the idea of a raven theme and took it a little further than just a normal First Saturday. October is a busy month for me, so I haven’t been around for the festivities.

However, I have done a painting for 2 years now. This is the first Mister Black.

1443 Mister Black — Mister Black, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, sold

1549 Look Out Mr. Black — Look Out, Mister Black, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, $55

In this is this year’s version he was looking out from atop that pole (which was actually white and fiberglass.)

At Sierra Subs and Salads in Three Rivers is a show of the raven artwork. You can learn more on the First Saturday Three Rivers page.

Gotta go paint now!

oil paintings Three Rivers Three Rivers 1st Saturday

An Artist Lives Out Her Donation Convictions

This is an article I recently published on LinkedIn.

Sep 29, 2015

I am perpetually fed up with artists getting asked to donate to good causes. In May of 2014, I posted “An Artist Bloviates about Donations” on LinkedIn. My hope was to encourage fund raisers to find other methods besides asking those who are often at the bottom rungs of the financial ladder.

Under the list of “Reasons to Donate”, #1 was “An artist loves the cause and wants to help.” I currently have a cause I love and want to help.

Tulare County, where I live, is poor, rural, and in Central California. It is far from Los Angeles, San Francisco or the Silicon Valley. We are not rich either in money nor in landmarks.

One of our favorite historic structures is the Kaweah Post Office, a tiny wooden structure just outside of Three Rivers. It is 125 years old and still in operation!

Because we are also not currently rich in rainfall, many of our trees are very stressed. A giant oak above our little Kaweah Post Office lost a limb which smashed the roof and porch of the landmark we love.

The building is publicly appreciated, but privately owned. There is insurance, but it comes with a large deductible.

So, I am auctioning the above oil painting on eBay. In keeping with my principles about artists not giving away their work, I will donate half of the proceeds toward the restoration of the Kaweah Post Office.

A few notes:

1. Kaweah is the name of the rivers of Three Rivers. (South, Middle and North Forks of the Kaweah make up the three. . . never mind about the Marble and East forks – our forebears had to draw the line somewhere!)

2. It is pronounced “Kuh – WEE – uh” (not to be confused with “The River Kwai”)

3. The auction listing is “Original Oil Painting of Kaweah Post Office”.

4. The painting is 10×10″ on wrapped canvas, ready to hang.

5. The auction went live at 12:02 on September 29 and remains up for 10 days.

Now, let’s see how this bloviating artist’s version of raising money turns out!

Kaweah Post Office oil paintings Three Rivers

Random Topic Round-up

Here’s a catch-all, catch-up post for you on random topics. My blog post ideas are triggered by pictures, and these were just languishing in the file without purpose.

This painting was very difficult. I worked on it from real life, and from several different photos taken at different times of year. This is the final iteration (unless someone has a suggestion for further improvement).

1509 Barn — Three Rivers Barn, 8×10″, oil, $100

We are in year #4 of a drought. In spite of 15″ of precipitation in July, there was no snow on Bear Skin, the almost-year-around patch on the side of Vandever, which forms one side of Farewell Gap in Mineral King.

Bear Skin on Vandever

My favorite bridge was built in the 1920s and is supposed to be replaced. This fills me with dread. The current plan is to keep this one as a footbridge/landmark and push the road further up the canyon with some sort of newfangled, modern, probably-not-very-attractive contraption that will destroy the simple beauty of this scene. But I am neutral to the subject, keeping an open mind. . .

Sometimes when I drive down the Mineral King Road, I am struck by new scenes. You’d think that after 31 summers of driving it almost weekly that I wouldn’t notice a thing. You’d be wrong.

Mineral King Road

At the end of the Mineral King Road is a bridge. (It was rebuilt in Sept. and Oct. 2011 and the process was documented fully on this blog.) The abutment gets a lot of water abuse on one side, and was piled with rocks to protect it. However, kids love to use rocks to build dams in the stream, and most of those rocks got scooted away! So, the men in uniform and heavy equipment had to come redo the rocky protection underneath the bridge.

Minearl King bridge

Some new friends joined us in Mineral King early in the summer. Mister New Friend was an outstanding photographer, and he took this photo of Trail Guy and me. (Thank you, MAK!)

J+M

Perkins and I thank you for joining us in the random topic round-up.

Exciting Times While Painting in Three Rivers

Sometimes, while painting in Three Rivers, in Tulare County in Central California (not LA, not San Francisco – NOTHING like the stereotypical California), I am just minding my own business, painting along, staying calm and focused, and then stuff happens.

Smoke? I smell smoke. Hmmm, there are ashes. . . that’s worrisome. I don’t hear sirens, so I keep painting.

Just painting some fruit here. After all, California is the land of fruit and nuts, and Central California is where most of it originates. No big deal – just oil paint on canvas. I’m fine. I’m calm.

Painted a raven too. I’ll tell you more about that in another post. Just painting along,

HEY! BOBCAT SIGHTING!

Um, Perkins, my Sweet Sixteen year old cat, it would be good for you to lie low on the front porch right now.

Whoa. Good thing I keep my camera with me in the painting workshop building, door open for smelling smoke (no sirens, no worries?) and sighting cannibalistic wild felines.

Allllrighty then, if all is calm, focused and just fine, explain why that raven is upside down.

Shut up.

oil paintings Tulare county Tulare County artist

Kaweah Postal Disaster!

UPDATE: The auction will go live at 12:02 on September 29 – I think this means just after noon. Thank you for your patience with my inexperience and ignorance!

As a Central California artist representing the good things of Tulare County, I have painted and drawn the little Kaweah Post Office many times.

It is the longest-operating, or perhaps the smallest operating post office in the United States. Really! Right here in Three Rivers! (But the people who live near it say they live in Kaweah, not in Three Rivers. . . )

KPO X 1410

Kaweah Post Office X, 10×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, suggested retail price $150

See that giant oak tree behind the post office? A HUGE branch broke off and crashed through the roof and front porch!

It can be rebuilt, and there is insurance, but there is a HUGE deductible for the building owner to pay.

I want to help.

So, this painting will be auctioned on eBay, and I will give 1/2 the $ to the owner of the oh-so-cute Kaweah Post Office.

I will begin the bidding at the nail-biting, pearl-clutching price of .01. (Yes,that’s one cent.) That ought to get the bidding wars started! The auction will go for the longest amount of time allowed on eBay.

You can see the painting in person at Anne Lang’s Emporium in Three Rivers, hours Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 4 PM. (And I recommend her hot grilled turkey sandwich while you are there.)

Any questions? (besides my own about how to set this thing up and get the most publicity possible for the Kaweah Post Office, and no, I am NOT on Facebook, so if you are and want to post a link, until you are better paid, I thank you.)

Kaweah River Trading Company

This post is about the business of art, especially the business called Kaweah River Trading Company.

There’s a new kid on the block.

That’s a weird old cliche. I wonder where it came from. . .

Kaweah River Trading Company is a brand new store in Three Rivers with a cool name and logo. (Hudson River Trading – anyone remember this?)

Holly and Erin are selling souvenirs, local food items (honey, olives), locally made soaps and lotions, some antiques (anyone looking for a Coke machine?), tee shirts, caps, cowboy stuff, local maps and visitor information books, jewelry (made by folks they know), pottery, wall art, and my notecards. They have many other good things; those listed here are just from my immediate memory.

41891 Sierra Drive, Three Rivers, Ca

559-561-4095

Open daily, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

P.S. If the building seems familiar, it is because it was Sequoia Outdoor Sports, where I painted a mural a handful of years ago.

P.P.S. My notecards are on the front counter, and the store has already placed a second order! Yea! People still write notes to each other by hand!