In July and August, I don’t teach regular drawing lessons. My students often say “enjoy your vacation” or “have a nice summer” as they are leaving (and several cannot resist the urge to sing “See You In September”).
Although I do spend much more time in Mineral King in those 2 months, I am still working. Sort of. There was the show Art: Inspired by Mineral King on June 30. I deliver paintings to the Silver City Resort (AKA “The Store”), work on commissions (both pencil and oil), blog, keep track of what is selling, work on my new website design, work on the upcoming calendar, plan for any upcoming shows. That’s sort of working, isn’t it?
Sometimes the kittens become a tad bit distracting.This subject matter is getting easier in its architectural parts, but I still struggle with the rocks beneath the bridge. This is because they are hidden.This commissioned oil painting got a few licks on the canvas, but those rocks beneath the bridge really hang me up.The smaller bridge is drying and awaits more layers. Sawtooth and the river are also both drying, and are now for sale.
Sawtooth #33, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $65 includes sales tax (welcome to California)
I worked for awhile on the oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose With The Oak Grove Bridge (WHAT shall this one be titled?? Snozz Rock? Sue’s View? The Nose And The Bridge? The Bridge and the Nose? Don’t Blow Your Nose On My Bridge?)
Second layer finished!
And thus, we have successfully covered the great desert of a scary semi-empty canvas with another layer of oil paint.
Not talking audibly to myself anymore, decisions made, work begun on the oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose with the Oak Grove Bridge.
Scary Scribble State mitigated by nice sky
Madame Customer stopped by my studio to retrieve her photos and saw the scary version. She made another change to our plan, and I was eager to try it. Her suggestion was to forget about the green hills below Homer’s Nose and extend the greenery above the bridge up closer to Snozz Rock.
Nice sky with some mountain colorSome mountain color and rock shapeSome rock shape with some lower foliage, extended upward toward the snozz.This painting might turn out well – Madame Customer, once again I salute you for your good ideas and suggestions! (and good thing I’m not a contractor who charges for those dreaded things called “change orders”)
Today’s oil painting for sale:
This is a sweet little 4×6″ oil painting of Sawtooth, on a board, sitting on an easel, $45.
The commissioned oil painting combining two Tulare County scenes feels like a mini-mural. 18×24″ is HUGE when I am accustomed to 8×10″ or 6×18″.
Often I have pondered why it is that a mural feels sort of easy because of its large size when a large oil painting feels daunting. Is it the number of layers? the level of detail? An oil painting certainly takes longer.
My customer approved of sketch #2.
Sketch #2
She is gracious and told me there is no rush. However, I am a bit of a “precrastinator”, a made-up word that is the opposite of “procrastinator”. It is much better to begin, to act as if there is a deadline, to be ready for contingencies, interruption, opportunities, and other emergencies than to just lollygag along, figuring it will get done when I FEEL like it. And losing momentum is a real risk – a customer can change his mind, or it could get too hot to paint. Besides, the sooner I finish a commissioned job, the sooner I get paid.
(There was a sign in a print shop where I used to work that said, “I work for money, not for fun; I want my money when my work is done.” I work for both.)
First, a little fun with Scout. She is sitting on Samson’s shelf. (He doesn’t need it any more. Sigh.)
Now it is time to get to work.
Such a basic beginning. I just draw the general stuff with my paintbrush.
To be sure of the shapes, sizes, proportions, and angles, it is easier to be objective when everything is upside down. The goal is to get a first layer on the canvas, something that I can correct with each successive layer.
That’s enough for the first second third fourth step of this commissioned oil painting. (The first was a conversation, the second was an exchange of photos and a sketch, the third was the second sketch with the approval to begin painting).
This is Chapter Two in the story of figuring out how to design one commissioned oil painting of two different Tulare County landmarks. As a Tulare County artist, I am pleased to have been chosen for the task.
The customer requested a different view of Homer’s Nose, and I have 5 photos from that point of view. This is the one we selected:
Homer’s Nose, from the Yokohl curve on Highway 198
She also requested a view of the Oak Grove bridge with more visible rocks (i.e. less water). If you have followed this blog or my art for very long, you know that the Oak Grove bridge is my favorite thing to draw and paint, even when it is a little bit too hard. So, I have plenty of photos to choose from for this very specific request:
Oak Grove Bridge photo by me from the same point of view, lower water so rocks more visible.
I know Spice Bush, but never heard of Mock Orange. Good thing I have friends with great photos who know far more than I do about many things.
Mock Orange, from a friend’s photo, flipped.
And a photo I have of Spice Bush, but will probably take more because it is in bloom right now and is beautiful.
Spice bush bloom
With all these visual aids, I drew this:
Sketch #2
What will my customer say in response to this second sketch? More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . . Tune in tomorrow, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.
And here are today’s paintings, both commissioned pieces of Homer’s Nose, painted in 2014, each one 6×6″.
Homer’s Nose, oil on canvas, 6×6″, private collectionHomer’s Nose, oil on canvas, 6×6″, private collection
Isn’t “figuring things out” a strange grouping of words? But we all know what that means. . . puzzling over something, trial and error, plan A and plan B, lots of conversation. . .
A long time friend asked me to do an oil painting of two significant Tulare County landmarks in her life. This is not two oil paintings; it is one painting with 2 separate scenes, a true piece of Tulare County art. I am a Tulare County artist, so why not?
I’ve been doing collage type pencil drawings for many years, but have never thought about this for oil paintings. This friend has challenged me before with other unusual ideas, and I’ve learned from her. So, here we go.
This is what she sent me first:
Homer’s Nose, a granite formation, from an unidentified magazine cover Homer’s Nose, a granite formation as viewed from another angle (from a book called To Find the Biggest Tree by Wendell D. Flint)The Oak Grove Bridge with a significant pickup crossing it.
This is what I drew for her, using colored pencils so she could get an idea of how the two subjects would blend together into one painting.
Sketch #1
Her response was that she likes the view of Homer’s Nose from another place, likes to see lots of rocks under the bridge, and would like to see some wildflowers, preferably Mock Orange or Spice Bush.
Good thing I know what she is referring to on all these subjects and have 29,000 photos on my laptop that include most of what she is wanting.
To be continued. . . meanwhile, here is today’s painting. It no longer exists, but is the first oil painting I ever did of Homer’s Nose from that other place.
Homer’s Nose from Yokohl Curve, 12×16″, oil on canvas, gone.
Why tiptoeing? Because it feels slow and careful at this stage, like I am just feeling my way along, trying to be as careful as possible.
First up, Sawtooth, the commissioned oil painting.
Second, rebuild the Kaweah Post Office, also a commissioned oil painting.
Third, plant some grasses. (Oil paint grasses, not fescue or bermuda or dichondra or Kentucky bluegrass or. . .) There was more progress made, but the phone call came that it was time to rescue Piper from the vet, where he got civilized this week. $192. No such thing as a free cat. (Samson cost $132 – he was in better shape to start with.)
Sawtooth got its front ridges painted.Then I flipped it over to paint the bottom and begin the greenery.This one had its skyline just too rough, with things not the right heights. So, I repainted the sky, using it to shape the mountain tops.This was begun all wrong, wrong, wrong.Better now. Miles to go before I sleep. . .I mixed up 3 shades of green and began building background. While doing this, I increased the sizes of the blooms and added many more.
I tried to oil paint last Friday but the greenery and wildflowers overcame my sense of duty. So, Trail Guy and I drove up North Fork Drive to the end.
My palette was ready to go.I worked on Sawtooth a little.After telling Trail Guy that I’d heard the flowers were great up North Fork and staring out the window a bit, he said, “Let’s go now!”
The road was longer, rougher, narrower than I remembered and all very worth the drive.
The last 3.5 miles are unpaved.This is Yucca Creek at the end of North Fork Drive.That’s one narrow little footbridge over a massive old culvert pipe.Wowsa.The yellow flowers are called Madia.Heading back down has a view of Ash Peak with a blooming yucca and bush lupine.Looking over the edge down to the North Fork makes one glad to not encounter any oncoming traffic on that narrow road with no turnouts.Poppies are yellower in the wild than in my yard.The poppies on the hillsides are what gave California its name of “The Golden State”. (Bet you thought it was the gold rush)I love Fairy Lanterns, AKA Satin Bells. Pink isn’t my favorite color, but it is rare enough in nature that it stands out.
After we got back home, I painted a little bit more. There is this commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth for a very patient customer, and it would be good to make progress.
Sawtooth’s shape is improving, and it is acquiring colors and texture.
Then, I got distracted again and thought that wildflowers would look great on a 6×18″ canvas. Can you see the possibilities here? (Put on your rose-colored glasses with me!)
All those paintings of Sawtooth completed over the past several months, and someone wants a different size?
Yep. No problem. I am an artist, and artists make art. Here are the beginning steps of the commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth:
First I assign an inventory #, title the piece and attach a hanging wire.Second step is to prime the canvas, or “tone” it as another artist names it. That was even more boring than Step #1, so this photo is showing the paint from the tubes and the colors I mixed to begin the painting.Painting from back to front means that the blue sky strips go on first.Then some clouds, and the realization that it would be helpful to crop the photo to a square.More clouds and the beginning of Sawtooth’s shape.The angle looked too steep on Sawtooth’s right side slope, so I pulled out my angle finder tool. It was a little tricky to take this photo so I am not holding the thing correctly here (vertical needs to be vertical, not tipsy). I’ll recheck the angle in the next layer.At the end of the painting session, everything had a first coat of paint.
Wow, it is time-consuming and interruptive to photograph the steps in this much detail. But, this customer has become a friend and likes seeing the progress. I’ve heard from others that seeing the process is interesting, so here we go. . .
Kaweah Post Office, first painted in 2009 with three years of painting under my belt, no confidence in my ability to paint architectural subjects and not a ton of experience in photographing my work either.
Every time an oil painting of the Kaweah Post Office sells, I paint it again.
Kaweah Post Office II, painted in 2010 (Where is the flag???)Kaweah Post Office III, painted in 2011Kaweah Post Office IV, painted in 2010, getting really elaborate with my details as my confidence and skill grows.Kaweah Post Office V, complete with the cigar Indian on the porch, also painted in 2010.Kaweah Post Office VI, 2012 (must have taken awhile for the previous one to sell)Kaweah Post Office VII, also painted in 2012
That’s a lot of oil paintings of the Kaweah Post Office. But wait! There’s more! Come back tomorrow and see the second set of seven.
