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!

The Canoe and The Elephant

This is our view when transporting the canoe.  Can you see the elephant in the distance?

We put in at Slick Rock and paddled upstream awhile for a better view of the elephant.

Ever wonder what Slick Rock looks like up close? (Sorry, no elephant in it)

The reason we were able to put in at Slick Rock is because the recent storms raised the level of Lake Kaweah significantly. (The elephant is behind us now.)

That is the Horse Creek Bridge in the background. We’ve never paddled up Horse Creek before, because normally we only have the opportunity to canoe when the water level is too low for that area.

Michael spotted this Belted Kingfisher; I’m thinking it should be called Whiplashed Kingfisher.

Almost back to the car. See the elephant? For a few days there was so much snow that it was hard to see him? (Mickey, is it a boy or girl elephant?)

We found an easier way to load the canoe at the end of our excursion. Good thing, because my arms felt like limp spaghetti.

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.”)

Rain Casualty

Casualty is another C word, but not an art one. (Remember “commission” and “consignment”?) Nevertheless, here is the literal definition: “a person killed or injured in a war or accident”. The figurative definition is “a person or thing badly affected by an event or situation”.

I was driving around on Sunday afternoon being a Looky-loo at all the rain action in Three Rivers and passed Neighbor Kelly’s house just minutes after this happened:

It was hogging up part of the road. Neither Kelly nor I have chain saw experience, nor could we find a handsaw. We got our pruners and I grabbed an ax. Together we got it hacked back and dragged off the road. We borrowed some cones from our neighborhood water project to mark it for cars to notice. (I mean the drivers of cars, but you knew that!) Kind of cool to have an ax, know how to use it! In Three Rivers, we depend on our neighbors for help. I know if there is a tree casualty in my yard when my personal chainsaw-operator is absent, I can call on Neighbor Kelly to come help me deal with it! (These two photos were taken after she and I dealt with all the stuff in the road – obviously there is still work to be done!)

Wasn’t it a beautiful tree?

Dreaming of a Wet Christmas?

It has been raining in Three Rivers since Friday. Today is Monday. Thought you might like to see a few pictures.

Looking downstream from the Dinely Bridge, Three Rivers. (I know you know that, but it helps people searching for Three Rivers to have Three Rivers in the text. There, that is 3 mentions of Three Rivers. Nope, four mentions of Three Rivers. Oh-oh, that makes five mentions of Three Rivers. . . wait, now it is six!)

On Thursday, the water didn’t even reach the stick. On Friday afternoon around 3:30 it was at 1.5. On Sunday afternoon at 1 it was raining too hard to read, but my memory of how much was showing says 4.5.

Looking upstream (white buildings on high right are St. Anthony’s Retreat). It has been higher but the rain isn’t finished falling yet!

Sundries

Not “sundried” but “sundries” – it is a word that means “various items not important enough to be mentioned individually”.

Sometimes the sun is so good coming through the windows of the workshop that I can prop small paintings on the door for photography purposes. Kind of handy to not mess with the tripod!

This was the Stocking Stuffer boutique. It was more of a girl-hang-out day than a work day.

Last Blast of Autumn

December is winter in our minds, but the reality in Three Rivers is that most of the month is still autumn. Have a look at my studio and workshop with the flowering pear tree! When my friend Stacy sold it to me almost 10 years ago, I told her I needed the largest one she could get because I didn’t have time to wait for it to look good. It still looks like a skinny pencil tree to me – no fault of Stacy’s, just my crummy soil and inconsistent watering.

The Elephant

Those of you who have shared your eddress with me received an email with the subject line reading “Have you seen the elephant?” If you live in Three Rivers, you know of him. If not, here are a few paintings in which he is sort of visible on the side of Alta Peak in snow. Have fun!

The Road to Alta Peak – 8×10″ – oil on wrapped canvas – $90

Lake View VII – 16×20″ – oil on canvas in rustic wooden frame – $350

(sold)

(sold)

Tulare County Fire Station #14 at Sierra Drive and South Fork Drive

Presentation is Everything

Having just finished another weekend show and sale, I’ve been thinking about the truism “presentation is everything”. During set-up, I was done quickly so I had time to help Ginny Wilson, photographer extraordinaire. She brings so much inventory to shows that it takes 2 vehicles to transport all her support materials and the merchandise. Together, we hauled tables, scooted display screens, unpacked boxes, and constantly discussed which pieces should go where – both the display pieces and the photographs. There was a great deal of adjusting and stepping back to survey the scene from a visitor’s point of view. Her space looked bright and inviting, and a side effect was that I brought lights for my own area the next day.

On Friday, my fellow artisans told me that they had been studying my work and decided the ice cream cone (called “Worth It!”) was in the wrong frame AND should be displayed at “lickable” height! I pulled it from the frame and replaced it with the wreath painting. BOOM, the wreath sold!

On Saturday, I rearranged my paintings. This time, instead of isolating the bright little fruit/vegetable/leaf squares onto one screen, I clustered them in groups and used them to surround some of the scenery. This is how it looked partway through the day:

Those bright little squares began selling themselves. I rearranged several times, trying different groupings. My hope, of course, was to sell scenery AND little squares, but sales are sales. If people want those little pieces of fruit, I want them to have those little pieces of fruit. There is no photo at the end of the day because I hadn’t planned on writing this post and the screens looked too bare to bother photographing. Bottom line: presentation is everything. There is no One Right Way, but there is definitely something to that arranging thing that causes people to notice and be drawn in.