Mineral King Bridge Painting, 3rd Layer

Branches and leaves on the cottonwoods, a pine in the right foreground, and some branches added to the red firs back by the cabins.

Sounds like a lesson in native trees of Mineral King. Might be, if I knew what sort of pine that is. Bet it isn’t a pine but is another red fir.

There is more to be done. There is always more to be done.

Sounds like a life lesson.

(Hey Mr. Google, this post is about a Mineral King oil painting, a commissioned oil painting, and I am a California Artist. Just sayin’.)

Mineral King Bridge Painting, 2nd Layer

Getting better all the time (wasn’t that a song by Chicago?)! Certainly isn’t a Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Long Way There is certainly correct for the road, and Long and Winding Road  is even better. Wait – it was called Getting Stronger Every Day by Chicago!!

Clearly I digress. This is about visual art, not auditory art.  Here, have a look at the painting after round 2:

It will take at least one more layer to get the colors, textures and shapes right, and then I can start the leaves on the cottonwoods. (Those are the trees on the left).

Mineral King Bridge In Paint

We all know that procrastination is not a virtue. However, I’d like to present a few benefits to procrastination:

1. Sometimes the problem fixes itself.

2. Sometimes new knowledge or skill is acquired so the difficulty diminishes.

3. Sometimes the problem becomes a moot point.

4. Sometimes someone else takes care of it.

I’ve been contemplating an oil painting of the Mineral King bridge for several weeks. In the meantime, I’ve made progress on my Huge (yet unrevealed) Project, finished a pencil commission, assembled a new spinning card rack, finished some other pencil drawings, prepared for the upcoming student art show, decided on and ordered covers for my display screens, completed the application for the next Studio Tour, and many other things that might bore you right off this page.

Finally, I’ve run out of excuses. The real reason for procrastination in this case is a little embarrassing: when I’ve gone several weeks without painting, I get a little fearful that I won’t be able to remember how to paint.

Then, when I begin a new painting, my fears appear to be confirmed. Sigh.

p.s. Don’t worry, CL, it WILL get better. They always do!

Why I Make Art, #6

This is the final posting of this series, Why I Make Art. READER WARNING: I will talk about God in this so if it bores/irritates/offends you, skip this post.


I am made in the image of the Creator. He, the Ultimate Creator, created me to be like Him, which includes the desire to create. (No, no, no, I don’t think of myself as Godlike!!)

Clearly I do not have the ability to speak things into existence, nor the ability to make something entirely original. “What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, The Message

I also do not have the unlimited ability to make millions of variations of the same item, nor endless items.

My work is imitative, derivative,  just a way I have of reflecting back a little glory to God. It is my way of expressing the joy I find in light, shadow, shape, color, texture, scenes, and gratitude for ordinary daily gifts.

(Clearly I am missing the cooler temperatures, brighter colors and higher water of Springtime!)

Daily Painting, 6

Mineral King, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50

Waking up in the morning has never been easy for me. Some people wake up energized and ready to go; I am not one of them. My Oh-So-Wise-Dad used to say that when he woke up in the morning, he’d lie there and try to die. Failing that, he’d get up and do whatever had to be done. He was joking, mostly. Now I wonder if he didn’t just struggle with the whole wake-up-get-up thing as I do – hard to tell, because he was a very early riser. And, he expected his daughters to get up at a reasonable time too. (Our definitions of “reasonable time” never seemed to mesh.)

Occasionally, I will wake up and feel refreshed, excited about the day, ready to see what there is to see. This painting is from a photo taken on one of those rare mornings. And, for the record, it isn’t morning I struggle with; it is waking up that is the problem!

This painting is available for sale on my website. Just sayin’.

Daily Painting, 5

6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50

Farewell Gap is an unusually symmetrical mountain pass. The elevation is somewhere in the 10,000′ range, and the trail to get there is 6-1/2 miles long, very well graded, with fabulous flowers. I love that hike. (Never mind. Stupid plantar fasciitis.)

This year I am lollygagging about the cabin, enjoying the views from the valley. This is one of the best. This one sold, but I can paint it again. Happily! Love this view.

Daily Painting, 4

Mineral King, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50

The Crowley family cabin with Farewell Gap in the background may be the most photographed scene in Mineral King. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve drawn and painted it. Each time I take the picture, I’m sure it is the most beautiful it has ever been. I’ve been to Farewell Gap many times (no helicopters were involved), met most of the Crowley family and had dinner at their cabin. Lovely family, lovely cabin, lovely scene.

This painting is sold, but I am always happy to paint it again!

Daily Painting, 3

6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50

This is the Honeymoon Cabin in Mineral King. Originally it was part of the resort at the end of the road. Disney bought the resort, and then abandoned the idea of a ski resort because Mineral King was incorporated into Sequoia National Park. They removed all the buildings except this little cabin. The Mineral King Preservation Society restored the cabin in 1986, and now it is a mini-museum. It is so very cute, and each time I paint it, it sells.

Yep. it sold, but I can paint it for you again.

Daily Painting, 2

6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50

This is Sawtooth, 12, 343′ in elevation, reached by foot out of Mineral King. It shows up from the valley floor, particularly in Tulare County where it is located. I’ve painted and drawn it many times.  I’ve also been over Sawtooth Pass, below Sawtooth at Monarch Lake and at Columbine Lake, partway up Sawtooth, flown off its side in a helicopter, climbed it once, and looked at it more times that can be counted. When you are near its top, it looks too small to be visible from Visalia. This painting is for sale at the Silver City Store, or you can buy it on my website.