Mineral King, Real and Painted

Time for some Mineral King, because I had a rough painting week with all those “Little Bit Too Hards”.

I can paint Mineral King! Yes I can!!

mineral king oil painting

This is the first time I am painting Farewell Gap with that giant red fir on the left gone. GONE. Cut down. Bye-bye, big fir. Hello little red fir behind it that always made the front one look messy.

1529 FG XVIII

Farewell Gap XVIII, 8×10″, oil paint on wrapped canvas, $100

Now, for a look at some Mineral King photos, taken by Trail Guy, because Fridays are for Mineral King.

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Sierra Columbine

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Penstemmon, AKA “Pride of the Mountains

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View from a mining tunnel on Empire Mt.

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Mariposa Lily

P.S. We have had some great times with different groups in Mineral King. A class from Western Michigan University about Walt Disney came up to Mineral King and we got to show them where Disney had dreamed of a ski resort. A family from Chicago visited and we got to hike with them (“we” mostly being Trail Guy, since I headed back down the hill to paint things that are a little too hard for me). I choose to not take photos of people for posting in the blog – feels as if it is a violation of their privacy. 

Thanksgiving Day in Mineral King

We could have gone to a traditional Thanksgiving Day family gathering, but we seem to be establishing our own quirky traditions instead. (Our family is quite flexible and forgiving.)

Rather than write on and on, I’ll let the photos do the work.

What’s different in this view??

The cottonwoods no longer form a yellow tunnel.

Wearing shorts by the snow-stake in Mineral King in late November.
Snow?
I am not used to this new look. It’s so weird that I have put it in this post twice!

 

 

Challenging Pencil Commission, Finished!

I made the changes suggested by Cowboy Bert’s wife. She is very aware of what a mule looks like from all angles, and very observant of details. (As a retired law enforcement Captain, she sometimes refers to herself as a “trained observer”.)

Here it is:

The customer requested color, in a hand-tinted old photo sort of manner. This is how it looks:

The customer requested more color. I’m on my way out to the studio to work on that. . . or “back to the drawing board”.

Ahem. Perhaps I underbid this job slightly.

P.S. Did you figure out that this is Mineral King?

Scary in Mineral King

Today is Halloween, and it is scary in Mineral King. This is how it looked on Sunday, October 26. This is a screen shot from the Mineral King Webcam.

 

It is called the Mosquito Fire, a “controlled burn”.  This is a prescribed burn, deliberately set between Mosquito Creek and Avalanche Creek. (Never heard of that one – maybe it is along the Tar Gap trail, which leads to Hockett Meadow?) It is supposed to eliminate fuels. I’ve heard that within 7-8 years, all said fuels have grown back, and now in addition to said fuels, there are dead standing trees.

Scary.

Seeking Inspiration in Mineral King

As a studio painter, I rely on my camera and memory. I’m continually seeking the best light, the most advantageous angle, the brightest colors, the most details and anything else that can be recorded. What is inspiration? Something that motivates me to take photos, to paint, to draw.

It was another beautiful day in Mineral King. (Not gonna call it “paradise” because of the drought.) Here is the way I take photos for painting later while in the studio.

Nice light and colors, Farewell Gap barely visible and the peaks around it completely hidden. Plus, the stream isn’t visible.

Now you can see the Gap and the stream. I wonder how much I’d have to distort the perspective to include them.

This is nice. Vandever is fully visible and there is some blue reflection in the stream. The trees don’t really look like fall, but the lack of color in the foliage and low water indicate the season. Do I really need to paint the Honeymoon Cabin? Maybe this scene is good on its own.

I want a closer look at the water and rocks. The growth around and across the scene is certainly unruly. Real life is quite messy. Have you noticed that?

This is better. More water, more peak, less tree. Or is less tree an improvement?? I have a personal bias toward vertical scenes. It is hard to be objective. Objectivity just might be impossible.

Forget it. Let’s go for a walk.

Looking For Red Leaves in Mineral King

No red leaves at the Honeymoon Cabin.

No red leaves here either.

Let’s go hiking and see if there are any red leaves further up the valley.

Yellow tunnel ahead – no red leaves there.

Entering the yellow tunnel – maybe there will be red leaves on the other side.

Yeppers, just above Soda Springs!

And at Franklin “falls” – wow, we need rain.

What are these red leaves? I think I ask this question every year, but when the leaves are green, I pay no attention whatsoever to this plant.

There it is again!

No red leaves on Farewell Gap. Plenty of bronze.

Reddish leaves on the way back down.

These yellow leaves were glowing.

I wonder if people who are surrounded by red leaves go in search of yellow leaves?

Did you know that there really is very little red in nature? It’s true!

Feels Like Summer, Looks Like Fall in Mineral King

Last weekend the fall colors were beginning to show in Mineral King. Weird, because it sure still felt like summer. Rather than blather on about the endless heat, I’ll just shut my yap and share some photos.

See that reddish tree? I wonder if it the same one I spent a weekend chasing back in 2012. 2012 was certainly more colorful, but it is still early.

Instead of red leaves, there is weird red stuff on the bark.

Still lots of green in the leaves.

I’ll save the other photos for next Friday, because Fridays are for Mineral King on this blog.

 

Early Signs of Fall in Mineral King

 

The color and the light and the feel of the air changes in September. It is still green, but not quite as.

The deer get weird.

The squirrels get busy. This is a chicaree messing around with a red fir cone. They drop them like bombs in the early morning on the roofs of cabins. It is rude.

There is a hint of yellow beginning in the cottonwoods.

It is a peculiar change of color.

A reluctant change.

A hesitant change.

The currants aren’t as confused as the cottonwoods.

I don’t know what this is and never notice it in the summer, but it is a confident harbinger of fall.

The East Fork of the Kaweah has dwindled to almost nothing, and in fact, it does dwindle to nothing at one place in the upper valley. Very weird to see it just go away and then re-emerge a few yards downstream. I’ve never seen that before, but maybe I wasn’t looking. The drought is making us all hyper-aware of water in all situations. (I was playing in water coming out of a fire hydrant at home last week as we were testing water pressure – couldn’t stand to see it just flow without some sort of reverence or enjoyment!)

Farewell, Farewell (Gap) and I hope “farewell, Summer” soon.

 

New Mineral King Painting

It is still summer in Three Rivers, which means it is still nice in Mineral King. But, I have too much work to do, both in the studio and at home to be hanging out every weekend. Summer eventually catches up with me in the form of messes everywhere, incomplete stuff, unfinished business.
I am preparing for fall sales and shows (not that I have a ton, but it is all relative, and compared to what I do in the summer, the fall is cookin’!) This means I have to paint new paintings.

Because Fridays are for Mineral King and I don’t have any new photos or stories, have a look at a recently completed Mineral King oil painting.

Sawtooth XII, oil on wrapped canvas, 11×14″, $175



Yeppers, it is Sawtooth in Mineral King, the peak that is visible from Visalia (unless the smog is thick that blew down through Altamont Pass).