My assembly line method of painting the Honeymoon Cabin in Mineral King was a challenge in several ways. Breaks to look at flowers helped. Maybe March is my favorite month.
Cabins and Flowers
Determined, Persistent, Responsible
“Determination gives you the resolve to keep going, in spite of the roadblocks that are before you.”—Denis Waitley
“I will persist until I succeed.”—Og Mandino
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”—President Abraham Lincoln
Listening to podcasts pulls me through painting days that feel as if I will NEVER finish ANYTHING. (This feeling may simply be a result of starting 32 paintings at the same time.)
As I worked on these paintings, I was entertained by the slightly raunchy podcast “By The Book”, where 2 women read self-help books and then live by them. I got tired of their cussing, so I switched to the fabulous motivational speaker Brian Buffini, where I heard the quotes above.
In spite of not finishing any paintings, it was a productive day. I WILL get to the fun parts of drawing with my paintbrush, putting in the details that make me like to paint, and then signing the paintings. Why? Because I am determined, persistent, and responsible and because I have podcasts to listen to while I push ahead.
Thanks, Brian Buffini.
Painting Junipers
There is a juniper tree on the trail to White Chief (Mineral King, of course) that is striking and memorable. Several people have called it their favorite tree, among them Trail Guy.
I painted it twice last summer.
Now I am painting it two more times.
Starting and Ending
I started a new citrus painting, much like a recent one (that is still too wet to photograph well.)
Really, it is different from the other one. . . see?
Citrus sells steadily in Exeter at the Mural Gallery, so it is good to always have another one ready to go.
Finished and delivered this one: SHHHH, IT IS A SURPRISE! And yes, I know the scene is cobbled together from places that aren’t together in real life.
A Fun Day at the Easels
As a pencil artist, with drawing as my first artistic love, a fun day at the easels for me is when I finally get to the stage where I am able to “draw” with my paintbrushes. This is considered a bad thing in the Art World; all I can think of to respond to that is that the Art World is missing out. So there.
But I am not missing out. If I persist, persevere and nevah nevah nevah* give up, I finally get to draw with my paintbrushes so that my paintings look like MY paintings and not something I picked up from an internet video.
SHHH, REMEMBER THIS ONE IS A SURPRISE.
Finally, I am pulling out all the stops with this one, painting it because I want to, not because it is a commission or because there might be a market for it. If is sells, fine, but if not, it will be exactly at home in my kitchen. There is no deadline, but I have to be careful to not lose momentum, lose heart and then lose interest. These are some of the risks to working alone at home, away from the Art World, but risks I’m willing to take.
Just living on the edge. . .
*This is something that Winston Churchill is reported to have said. He meant “never”, but being a Brit, he pronounced it “nevah”, just like Anthony Hopkins.
**”Gotta” is a word like “prolly” and “liberry” – fun to say, funny to write, and perhaps a teensy bit worrisome to the reader about the validity and authority of the writer.
I’ve shown you all twelve paintings at Anne Lang’s Emporium; if you want one and don’t want to drive to Three Rivers, let me know and we can work out the details (such as Paypal or a check in the mail, the Postal Service to you. . .)
Another Harvest Festival Round-up
“Harvest Festival” is a popular name for an arts and craft show in the fall. I have been in 2 this year, and will soon be in a 3rd Harvest Festival which is more of a carnival (not as an artist this time – I’ll probably be making popcorn.)
The most recent was at a church in Visalia on Saturday. This was a First Annual Harvest Festival, and the organizers did a good job for their first time out. It isn’t easy to put such an event together.
A benefit of participating in a new show like this is that the organizers are extraordinarily hospitable and helpful. Another benefit, which might be also viewed as a not-so-good, is that with lower attendance, there is plenty of time to talk to each visitor. People are so nice, so interesting and so encouraging at a show like this.
My sales were surprisingly good, but selling oil paintings always boosts the bottom line. 😎 I even presold a non-faulty calendar, along with coloring books, a pencil reproduction print or two, and lots of cards.
I had the privilege of meeting 2 young artists. One showed me some fun assignments on her phone, and we talked about the possibility of an art career. Another was making something during the show and seemed to have an interest in faces. I had the iPad with me and photographed his face so I could teach him about facial proportions. If the show had been busy, I wouldn’t have been able to meet Hailey and Jacob, 2 delightful people who keep me from falling into deep despair over the future of our youths. (Such a middle-aged thing to admit, but I am middle-aged, so there.)
I spent some time coloring in my ag coloring book in between visitors. Coloring is only part of my life during shows; normally I knit, garden or read in my time off. What a life, when coloring feels like work!
Summer Sales, Part Two
Did you forget that I was showing you the Mineral King oil paintings that sold in Silver City over the summer? Here is the other half:
As before, the sizes shown here are a little whacky in terms of how they are relative to one another. I was shocked by the stellar rise of the Honeymoon Cabin to the top position this year and also shocked by the relative unpopularity of Sawtooth. One, maybe two, are all that sold of that subject, previously #3 in popularity. The second top seller was the view of the Crowley cabin and Farewell Gap as seen from the bridge.
What a year! If the economy keeps clicking along this way, next year I may bring some of my larger pieces. In the past, people admired them, but they didn’t sell and then I didn’t have them when I needed them for other places and events down the hill. But who knows. . .?
THANK YOU, SILVER CITY RESORT!
P.S. I accept commissions for oil paintings; NOW would be a good time to ask if you’d like something by Christmas.
Summer Sales
Since 2010, the Silver City Store has been selling my oil paintings. It began as a tentative experiment, with no confidence that visitors up that rough road would want to spend their hard-earned dollars on original oil paintings rather than (or in addition to) tee shirts and post cards.
The highest number of paintings that sold in the past summers was 16.
In 2018, the store was remodeled to a brighter more spacious place with a new elegance, and the economy is doing quite well. These two reasons together might be why THIRTY-ONE paintings sold this year! (The gracious store manager says it is also because people like my work. Aw shucks, thank you, Hannah!)
When painting the same subjects over and over, naming becomes a problem, and I rely on my inventory numbering system to keep the paintings straight. But sometimes I don’t include those numbers when I bill the store, so my records are a teensy bit wobbly. So, I won’t show you all thirty-one paintings, but here are half of the ones I was able to track down a photo of. The other half will come later. 
The sizes they appear here on the blog are not accurate in terms of how they look against one another. For example, the painting of Eagle Lake was 6×18″, and the one directly above this paragraph was 4×6″.
I gathered a few ideas of what to paint in which quantities and sizes for next year, and hope I don’t lose my notes.
P.S.(If you click/tap on the link to the store website, which will open in a new tab, you may notice some similarities between our websites – I used the same web designer as they did)
Cabin Thoughts
In 1986 I married into a Mineral King cabin. I’d always wanted either a cabin or a beach house. Here in Tulare County, cabins are more available and accessible than beach houses. It has worked out well, even to the point that my art business is called Cabin Art. (Or Cabinart. . . for a Typo-Psycho, I am awfully ambivalent about the spelling of this invented word.)
But what exactly is a cabin? A dear old friend and I began discussing this, and I was surprised that I am unable to define the word. Some cabin neighbors along with Off Trail Guy and I had a discussion about the definition of “cabin”, and the word “woods” came up several times in both discussions.
My hiking buddy suggested I try Webster. I was so caught off guard that I said something truly clueless: “What is that? Some internet thing?” We all got a big laugh when I realized she meant Noah Webster and the Merriam-Webster dictionary, not some World Wide Web gizmo.
We had an old dictionary at the cabin, so I looked up “cabin”. The 3rd definition said, “A small, rude hut”.
Clearly the word “rude” has changed in meaning since the dictionary was published in 1935. I looked up “rude” and saw “Poorly constructed”.
Alrighty, then. A cabin is a small, poorly constructed hut.
My Very Wise Dad always told us it is better to laugh than to cry. I might even fall down laughing at this definition, especially when folks mention their Shaver Lake or Tahoe cabins.
Let’s talk more about this tomorrow.
How do you define “cabin”? (Don’t spoil things by looking it up first – just speak from your gut or your heart.)
Four New Mineral King Oil Paintings
These Mineral King oil paintings began as four little messes. After the second pass over the canvas, they dried outside in the sun for 24 hours. That was all it took for them to be ready to scan and move up the hill to the Silver City Store for sale.
They NEVER look as good on the screen as in person. (Feel like taking a drive up a long and winding road?)
Each one is 4×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, ready to hang without a frame or to set on a shelf, $54 includes California sales tax.