Classic Mineral King. . .

. . . in a new shape and type of light.

Have I painted this scene tall and narrow before? No. (Disregard the photo along side the painting – it was left there from a previous painting.)

Or in this evening light? I don’t think so.

Or with a dam on the creek? Nope 

I chose to leave off the smaller tree on the left. You probably wouldn’t notice if I didn’t tell you. This might be finished. Of course I can always add more detail. . . 

P.S. If you recognize this charming child, wish her a happy birthday today !

Details, Details

The new Mineral King oil paintings continue along, three going from lacking in details to completed.

The background of this 6×18″ Oak Grove bridge looks pretty good, but there are some missing architectural details.

Details in place, drying in the sunshine.

Lots of missing details here:

Details in place, drying in the sunshine.

Here is the 8×8″ Oak Grove bridge painting in steps. Architectural details still missing, but background looking good.

Details in place, drying with its unfinished cousins.

P.S. Here is a link to a teaser page about my upcoming show, Still Here. Arts Visalia

Summer’s Coming

Yes, yes, I know it is still March, my second favorite month (interpret that either way you would like). But summer comes every year, and with it comes the need for me to supply Silver City Resort with oil paintings to sell. There isn’t a lot to paint of Silver City itself, and as nice as it is, people go there BECAUSE IT IS NEAR MINERAL KING.

Excuse me for shouting. I feel that all the way to my toes, since I took a job at Silver City in 1985 BECAUSE IT IS NEAR MINERAL KING.

Here are the paintings that I have begun in order to have merchandise for Silver City to sell.

New Mineral King Paintings

Take a deep calming breath. There are no new ones yet, but “Starting New Mineral King Oil Paintings” is too long a title. However, I have fired up the Mineral King Painting Machine (that is a particular part of my brain that gets a little time off in winter).

First, I read through my lists of what sold, what remains, what subjects and sizes are missing. (That step isn’t one that I can photograph for you.)

Then I decide on canvas sizes, look through my photos, and make decisions. Last year more medium sized paintings sold than small ones. I have plenty of small ones remaining, so the sizes I’ll be painting now are 8×8″, 10×10″, and 6×18″. “Medium”? In my world, yes, these are medium sizes. (This step was tricky in that I had to figure out what to do with my large oil paintings that are still wet in order to use the table.)

There are many ways to start oil paintings. I chose a haphazard semi-lazy just-draw-it-on-the-canvas method. I don’t have a lot of hustle right now – just plodding forward is getting the job done. (More coffee? Start eating sugar again? Nah.)

Scribble scribble, dab, pick any color, just do something.

That’s a decent start. 

Can I take a break now? A little recess, perhaps? Maybe I’ll go weed my baby poppies, because I love February.

Mineral King, Another Person’s Story

Today we have the pleasure of a guest post, something I have never had in 12 years of blogging! Sharon Devol is a real life friend, and the most regular commenter on this blog. She always has something interesting to add, and when I half-jokingly suggested she write a guest post, she was graciously eager.

This is Sharon’s personal story of her family’s Mineral King cabin.

My family connection to Mineral King starts in 1930 when my grandparents, Van and Mary Dixon, visited Faculty Flat (JB here – Faculty Flat is about a mile below the end of the Mineral King Road, so called because it was first settled by educators from Southern California) on the invitation of faculty colleague, Dr. Bates of the Bates-Bell Cabin.  For the next 20 years Van and Mary and their two daughters, Diane and Shirley, used the Bates-Bell Cabin until the cabin built in 1926 by Lou and Mary Lou Coole came up for sale. Despite its primitive condition, the daughters begged Daddy to buy it, and the Dixon family set to work to clean and improve the cabin.

I first visited our cabin when I was one year old, and time at Mineral King has been a part of my summer ever since. 

Coole Cabin as built in 1926
2020, same cabin

Quite an improvement made by a physics professor married to a home economics teacher with elbow grease provided by various family members.  And we descendants of Van and Mary Dixon so appreciate their love, care, and hard work to make our family a warm and inviting place to visit each summer.

P.S. by Jana – A few years ago, I got the chance to update the drawing I did of Sharon’s cabin in 1992, because I draw better now. Goodness, an artist would certainly hope so. (Nope, not going to show you the first version because I deleted it, so there.) 

Shutter For Sale

Trail Guy helps me with my art business in lots of little ways, and a few bigger ones too. He likes power tools, and by using one he was able to secure a wire to the back of the shutter so it can hang on a wall.

Will it hang on your wall?

For $250 plus shipping (oh my, it is heavy compared to my normal paintings) plus tax (welcome to California unless you live in another state, in which case I would advise you to count your blessings) this one of kind painting can be yours.

And remember, EVERYTHING looks better in person (except those aforementioned news babes – see the post titled “Farewell at Dusk” if you are wondering when they were mentioned “afore”).

Smoky Sierra

Of course I am discussing Mineral King here, but “Sierra” sounds better with “smoky”.

In a walk along the road, I saw something that can only be described as trust. Some hikers completely trusted the public when they left their belongings unsecured by their car. It is heartwarming to see this in our current era of highly uncivilized behavior.

I was tempted to park my patoot here and simply knit all weekend. You know, smoke and all.

What got me moving was actually two things: 1. Summer is winding down and I haven’t hiked much. 2. A long time acquaintance asked me to hike with her someplace she had never been. We discussed the Franklin/Farewell trail and also White Chief, and I described each trail and destinations as thoroughly and fairly as possible, leaving the decision up to her.

But first, we had to stop by the Honeymoon Cabin so I could show you the newly refurbished sign. I don’t know why it is also called the “Point Cabin” – can’t see the point there (but can see the smoke.)

Since we were at the base of the White Chief trail, the decision was easy. Besides, Trail Guy was also heading that way (at a much faster pace), and he took a photo of us together where the trail breaks into the lower canyon. My friend (because over the course of 2.5 miles of walking together we had become friends for sure) was blown away by the beauty of White Chief and stunned that in all her years of coming to Mineral King, she hadn’t been there. 

It was a pleasure and privilege to share this place with her, and as an added bonus, my favorite flowers Explorer’s Gentian were in bloom. (Do you have your copy of Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names yet?)

The light on the way back down the trail was weird and orange. Nothing quite like a natural smoke filter to distort the colors.

It was well worth hiking in the smoky hazy dirty air to make a new friend, see the Explorer’s Gentian, be in White Chief, and revisit the joys of hiking. 

 

 

Smoky Weekend

 

While up the hill, I repainted signs for 3 cabins. That counts as work, yes? Here is one of the befores (it was too smoky to care about photographing it afterward – how is that for an excuse?)

I took my baby pumpkin plants up the hill to babysit them. Here they are when we first arrived:

Here they are 4 days later: If they had been left at home, they would have shriveled and croaked, unless a deer ate them first.

We took one short walk. Look – a car with a man-bun.

Parking is at a premium and some people let their car stick out in the already precariously narrow road. People don’t know that by August, the car part eating marmot activity has ceased. Maybe they just feel safer wearing masks.

It was a thrill to be in the green.

Trail Guy said, “Hey Farmer, why are the aspen leaves sticky?” I think the answer was something that meant bug excrement. Trail Guy dropped the leaf and marched onward.

This is a peculiar sight. A smooth boulder is encased in the rough rocks. We didn’t go closer to investigate because this is the time of meat bees/hornets, very aggressively defending their nests in the ground. I do my best to avoid Hornet Holes in the ground.

On Sunday, the air was truly terrible.

It got worse as we headed down the hill.

And in case you are wondering, at the time of these photos, there were no wildfires in Central California. The smoky conditions demonstrate how the pollution travels to the Central Valley. We tend to have terrible air here and get penalized for it, in spite of it being generated by Northern California cities. Those folks love to blame the farmers. Hope they don’t do so with their mouths full.

Sold!

In spite of the slow start to the summer season in Mineral King and the closed campgrounds (WHY?? Do “They” think that camping is more dangerous than shopping at Costco??), Silver City Resort is going gangbusters. These are the paintings that have sold so far this summer.

Now if you will please excuse me, I need to get out to the easels!