Definitely a Summer of Animals

This is definitely shaping up to be a summer of animals in Three Rivers and in Mineral King.

I’ve been asked more than once why I don’t paint animals. The answer is that I don’t have good photos from which to paint. It is unethical and illegal to paint from other people’s photos without their permission, so I don’t use National Geographic or calendars or even google images.  My own photos of animals rarely turn out well, and not in enough abundance to produce more than an occasional painting. And my understanding of animals (other than my cats) is limited.

Just as authors are exhorted to write what they know, artists should also paint what they know. Why? Because if you don’t know your subject, someone else will, and they will know that you don’t know it. The business of art means knowing things like this.

Authenticity is a driving force for me, and painting unfamiliar subjects make me twitch with stress about being exposed as a poser.

Back to the animals. The next door neighbors called on Sunday to ask Trail Guy (AKA Retired Road Guy) to dispatch a Snake. It was their first Snake in 9 years. Most of the Snakes come to our address. (Snake spelled with a capital S is explained here.) I’ll spare you the gory details. Suffice it to say that Trail Guy is a neighborhood hero.

And, on Monday I witnessed this in my front yard.

This is the patriarch of a flock with 12 little turkeys. Yes, I counted!

Sometimes I gobble at them. I think the last time I did that was on a walk, and I didn’t see the AT&T guy up ahead. He might have asked for a transfer to another area shortly afterward. Lost that walking partner too.

What wild animals do you have in your daily life? This rural California artist likes to hear how normal, non-gobbling folks live. 

Summer of Animals?

This summer is shaping up to be full of wild animals for this California artist.

First, we were hiking in Mineral King and saw this:

While on that hike I thought of doing these oil paintings:

They are each 4×4″, and from left to right are a mule deer buck, golden mantle squirrel, yellow-bellied marmot, and a black bear. (They are called that even when they are brown or cinnamon or blond.)

After that, I painted this bear for the Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers:

After which, they asked me to refresh this bear:

So that he would look like this:

With all that wildlife around, particularly the ferocious bear, you might be a bit concerned about unfriendly encounters or a bit of danger. There was one small incident that ended up looking like this:

I love teal. It looks particularly striking with brown.

P.S. The bear on the flag of this California artist’s state is a grizzly, not a black bear. I’m happy to report we don’t have them in California any more. This is not an environmentally correct view, but I am more concerned with personal safety than being correct. This might make me a pig. See? animal summer!

Extras from Bear on the Roof

While I was painting the bear at the Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers, several things came to mind.

1. There is always more to a job than first meets the eye. In this case, it was the scraping of peeling paint that I didn’t anticipate.

2. Whoa! Who knew that painting on a roof would cause one’s shoes to get all sticky with tar??

3. What a nice place to work – the staff was hard-working and friendly, both to one another and to me. Eric, the maintenance guy wouldn’t leave until I was safely off the roof. Ruth offered me cold water. Nice thoughtful people!

4. You can see the place is maintained and cutened up like crazy! (I KNOW it isn’t a word, but find me a better one, ‘k?)

5. I love views from rooves. (I know that isn’t a word either – can’t seem to help myself today.)

6. I sure get to live and work in a grand place! (that is Three Rivers, Tulare County, California, in case Mr. Google is listening to this conversation.)

7. Commissions are certainly full of variety and challenge. There isn’t a single thing about my job that is boring except for the bookkeeping.

Have any good made up words to share with me?

Bear on the Roof

The repainting job at Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers went very smoothly. What an amazingly helpful and friendly staff! And it wasn’t a hot day – maybe mid 80s at the highest? In addition, it was only 1/2 mile from home, so when I needed a different color of paint,  it was easy!

Once I was eye level with the bear, it was obvious he was faded and peeling.

After scraping off the loose parts, I mixed up the color of the shadow tree and painted it. I also touched up the lighter paint around the tree.

The owner allowed me to choose my own colors. I made this guy a cinnamon bear, and put a teal coat on him. Why? I like the two colors together, and teal is my favorite color. Then I stood back and made a decision to change the candle.

I remember little pink candles from somewhere in my foggy distant past. The final touch was all the black outlines. Since this was initially designed and painted by a former Disney artist, it had to have black outlines for the cartoon effect. (I couldn’t resist adding a bit of shading to the coat and hat tail – my bent toward realism almost always sneaks through.)

Do you remember pink candles from somewhere? Let me know so I’ll learn if I just made this up!

Only From The Back

Commissions are a challenge. They are a main component of the business of art, so unless you like a good challenge, you may want to rethink a career as an artist in a rural place like Three Rivers.

Back about 6 years ago, a man asked me to draw his parents house in pencil. No problem. That’s what I did (and still do). Then he asked me to paint it in oil.

Since I’d been painting about 10 minutes when he asked, I thought it prudent to refuse. But, being helpful and knowing lots of people, I referred him to a well-established artist.

He was happy with the drawing. I never heard from him about the painting until the Redbud Festival in Three Rivers in May. He said he “hated it”. I asked if he discussed it with the artist, and he said he hadn’t because he figured it was a done deal.

Being an opportunistic artist, I told him I could paint the house for him now. He liked the idea.

A week later, he came to my studio and laid out 6 photos. He wanted to know which I wanted to paint.

I said, “umm, well, I need to look and absorb and think a bit”.

He wanted an immediate answer. I felt pressured. I picked one, and he said, “That’s the view you drew, remember?”

Actually, no, I don’t. It was 6 years ago and a few drawings and paintings have passed through my hands since then. “A few?” More like several hundred!

Then, he pulled out a photo of his parents and said, “Will you put them in the painting?”

I almost fell over. Or, as they say in the South, “I like to died!”

I explained that my experience in painting people is limited to the back views.

To be continued. . .

Sisters, an oil painting commission
Walk This Way, oil on board, private collection
One With the Stream

One With the Stream, oil on wrapped canvas, 36×24″, $800

Would you allow yourself to be painted or photographed from the backside?? Tell me the truth here!

Up on the Roof

Monday a.m. (that’s today) you can find me up on the roof at Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers refreshing a mural of sorts on an old sign.

It’s complicated to explain, so let’s let the photo do the work.

This is formerly a neon sign that was visible from way down the road. Now the trees have grown, and very few of us in Three Rivers had any idea it was here at all. (Not much neon in town!) I remember when this was called the “Mountaire Motel” and occasionally my family of origin would join Aunt Mary and Uncle Ritchie in the coffee shop for Sunday lunch. Now the coffee shop is the lobby.

The owner was an art major in college and his appreciation for art is evident. The place is charming with many styles of art, all containing bears and/or some sort of conifer tree.

I don’t get to begin working until 9 a.m. because guests on vacation don’t like to have artists walking around on their heads.

Ever had anyone walk on your head while on vacation? Tell me about it here!

Should I paint this?

There is a small waterfall on a trail not far from my house in Three Rivers. If I want to go far on that trail, I drive the first mile. If I don’t want to go further than 4 or 5 miles, I walk up to the trailhead.

The stream that makes the falls is seasonal. It scares me to go there after the weather turns warm because there are Snakes. Rattlesnakes is what is meant in Three Rivers when one hears “The Snakes are out” or “I saw a Snake yesterday” or “We had a Snake in our yard”.

Notice the capital S on the word. In German, nouns are capitalized. Snake isn’t German, but it needs to get your attention. I don’t like Snakes. A Snake caused me to break my camera a few years ago.

I digress.

The waterfall is beautiful. It doesn’t photograph that well. If the sun is on it, it is all washed out brightness and deep black shadows. I mess with the photo on iPhoto, and it gets okay. But okay isn’t great, and I need great to make great paintings. Maybe one day I will be skilled enough to make great paintings from okay photos. This is not that day.

See what I mean?

Maybe I should add redbud. Ignore that sandy “beach” with the weed-covered well thingie.

What is your opinion of this scene? of this scene as an oil painting?

Great Poppy Year

The year was 2008, and the California poppies were stunningly abundant in Three Rivers. People still talk about it.

This is one of my photos from that most memorable year.

My postman brought me some photos he took, and I painted from them. You saw the results of one such painting here.

I promised to show you this when it was finished, and I keep my promises. If I remember. This larger version contains more detail than the 8×10 version. The mailman’s photo was easier to paint from than mine, because the solid mass of poppies almost makes my head spin. Hard to paint with an almost-spinning head.

Great Poppy Year©, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $360

Redbud Festival in the Olden Days

This past Redbud Festival in Three Rivers got me reminiscing. (I love that song by the Little River Band. I love the Little River Band.)

The very first one I ever participated in was in 1987. I shared a space with my friend Katie. She sold silk-screened tee shirts with a Redbud logo of her design. Her boyfriend had just broken up with her, and she had to keep leaving our space to cry. (That ex-boyfriend visited my booth this year – we have remained great friends, but sad to say I’ve lost touch with Katie.)

I took no photos. I traded one drawing for our rent, and another for a pottery lamp. (George, can I please PLEASE have that drawing back? I’ll give you 2 lamps for it!!)

The next time I participated was in 1990. The show was still at Ardfarkle’s, the former restaurant at the Three Rivers Golf Course. I took a photo of some hairy good-looking guy sitting in my booth.

I think I sold some things. I also learned that shows are often about making contacts more than making sales. I definitely learned to NEVER put pencil drawings framed under glass in direct sun. Now I only do outdoor shows if I am in shade. Those pop-up tents weren’t invented back then, or perhaps they were just too expensive. That hairy good-looking guy built me an awning, which worked when the sun was at the exact right angle.

Things remain constant in my life, with small changes:

I’m still drawing (and now painting) the same subjects: The Kaweah Post Office, Farewell Gap, cabins, the Oak Grove Bridge, and even the old Mineral King Store. I borrowed that round table so much that my Mom finally gave it to me. (It is now used for propping up easels while I paint.) And that (somewhat less) hairy guy still picks wild iris to enhance my booth each year I participate in the Redbud Festival.

Is your life consistent? or is it just me?

Very truly yours,

The Consistent (Central) California Artist

Redbud Festival Report, Day Two

The Redbud Festival was well attended on Sunday. Those organizers do a swell job, and there were some high quality exhibitors with great merchandise. I only saw things briefly as I raced to and fro on quick errands.

This is some of the hilarity shared at the Arts Alliance Booth, those amazing volunteers who put this event together.

There was very good music both days. This group might be called “Nick and Keith”, or perhaps it is called “The Remnants”. Whatever they decide to be called, they are great!

Here are a few more stories of encounters with people during the show.

 

3. Two brothers were leaning against the stage, looking at my booth. Together they made a beeline straight for the Kaweah Post Office VI, pointed and said, “We’ll take that one.”  I am not equipped to take credit cards at shows, so they collaborated together beautifully to come up with the cash to buy it for their Mom.

4. Farmer Eric and I had a nice visit while his locally famous mom chatted with a potter. Didn’t take long for us to find people in common. It is my guess I’ll be hearing from him about oil paintings of oranges when his kitchen remodel is completed.

5. The funniest thing was a young woman who stopped and stared at me. I stared back. She said, “Why do I know you?” I asked her name, and when she said it was Judith, I said, “I know that, but why do I know that?” We worked it out – she was a sandwich maker at a place where I used to stop almost weekly back when I went to Exeter 3 days a week! She was delightful back then, and just as delightful now. We acted as if we’d won a prize when we figured it out!

I sold work, saw old friends, made new ones, enjoyed some wonderful music, and it was very hot.

The end.