odd job

That Old Shutter

There were lots of cute suggestions for what to do with that old shutter.

Being the Central California Artist, I decided to simply use it for a painting.

Because it obviously came from an old cabin, I decided to paint a cabin on it.

Because I try to be businesslike, I decided to paint the most popular cabin* from the most popular place** on it.

That is one rough surface. Who thought this was a good idea, anyway?? Lots of layering ahead to get this up to snuff, whatever that weird little saying means.

*The most popular cabin I paint is the Honeymoon Cabin.

**The most popular place I write about is Mineral King.

P.S. The blue is tape, and the white is primer where it overlaps the tape.

Odd Job, Day 5

Back to the coat of arms painting, an odd job of an oil painting commission.

I mixed and applied the correct green, along with a strong purple for the bottom ribbon. (It will need some detailing).

Then I mixed and applied a more golden yellow and a stronger blue.

The edges are a little weak, but the entire piece will get black outlines. This is a simple painting, but there is very little forgiveness with strong colors each abutting other strong clean colors. It requires a lot of drying time in between layers.

commission commission oil painting odd job oil painting

Another Odd Job, Day 3

First, this isn’t my third day of painting – it is the third day of posting on this topic. I don’t know how many days or how many hours, but it is entirely possible that I underbid the job. It became so fun that I just kept layering, tightening, detailing, and correcting.

Trail Guy helped me flip the sign right side up. Then I realized that the left leg of the N was too short. We ditched the oval that was part of the original design, but I neglected to reshape the words. Always learning as I go. . .

Pippin was thrilled to have company in the morning.

A camelia, perhaps? And the longer left leg of the N needs more layers.

Well, not exactly finished. The back needs painting, but that is boring, so the next time you see this, I hope it is hanging above the new nursery at the Three Rivers Mercantile.

commissioned artwork odd job

Another Odd Job, Day 2

Oh-oh, the yellow paint is picking up the blue chalk. Guess this will take many coats.

The green will also take at least 2 coats.

It was too hard to paint the bottom of the sign, so I flipped it over. But it got stuck, so I continued painting while outside. That was actually easier. (Never mind how I will get it unstuck.)

I finished the first coat of green on the bottom, leaving the “growies” for later, because I don’t know what colors I’ll use there. And I am still picking up blue chalk with the yellow paint.

I learn by doing. White paint mostly hides the yellow+blue chalk problem. Now it needs yet another coat of yellow, maybe even two.

To be continued. . .

P.S. I have guest posted again on the Mineral King Preservation Society blog.

commissioned art odd job

New Odd Job

“Odd” means “unusual”, as in I’ve never done this before.

I’ll give you a break from Mineral King wildflower oil paintings and show you my new project. This is a commission, which is a fancy word for custom art work.

A customer/friend sent me this and asked if I could do an oil painting of her family’s coat of arms.

I said something like, “Sure, but first we’ll have to decide on some color.” She then sent me this.

So I looked up meanings to the parts of Coats of Arms. We learned even the colors have meanings.

Next she sent me this.

Time for some Photoshopping (I use Photoshop Elements, which is really just Photoshop Junior).

Come back tomorrow to see how this developed.

commissioned oil painting odd job

I was asked to paint something highly unusual in an oval canvas. It had some built-in difficulties: the subject matter took some research, it was particularly challenging to get onto the canvas, and an oval is a little difficult to secure on an easel.

All the customer had to show me was these 2 blurry little labels.

How are you supposed to paint from those?

Glad you asked – I knew people who could help. Those good folks sent me this:

How is that helpful?

It is less blurry and Photoshop Elements will help me get it ready to use.

How is this going to turn into an oil painting?

Great question – thanks for asking. I converted it to black and white, enlarged it to fit the canvas, borrowed some graphite paper, and traced it onto the oval canvas.

Why does someone want this, who do you know, and why did you say yes to such a weird challenge?

More will be revealed next week. Stay tuned!

commission odd job

Saw on a Saw, Done

Stick a fork in it, it’s done. (Better not – the tines will bend.)

I gave this another good look. A few more branches on the left, another tree straightening, and my signature were all that it needed.

Tucker, please don’t drink the paintbrush water.

This was tricky to photograph. I tried several versions and decided it will be the most impressive when it is installed in its home.

Trail Guy and I wrapped it in 2 pieces of cardboard using duct tape around the edges and loaded it in the Botmobile for the next trip up the hill.

Sawtooth on a saw blade is finished! It is a relief to have accomplished an odd job and be pleased with the results.

One last photo; this is where it was and how it looked before it came my way:

Mineral King mural mural odd job

Saw/Saw 3

Saw/Saw, a mini mural of Sawtooth Peak on a round saw blade, was almost finished.

I fixed the camera setting, stood on the ladder to photograph it, and then realized that the trees on the bottom were crooked. Of course I only noticed this after putting the photo in an email to the customers, but immediately after sending it, I straightened them up. This is tricky business on a circle – how do I know vertical is vertical without straight edges of the canvas or wall to guide me?

That’s why I get paid the Big Bucks. (Fall down laughing.)

commission Mineral King Mineral King mural odd job Sawtooth

Saw/Saw 2

Welcome back! I knew you would be interested to know how Saw/Saw turned out. Not sure if this qualifies as a real mural or not; I think it might just be an Odd Job.

Time to start on the ridges in front of Sawtooth, and meanwhile I am still wondering why things look darker on the camera screen. I also realized that if I would put a circular mask over the rectangular photo that I’d get things more proportionally correct.

Sawtooth didn’t have quite the right angle, so here I corrected my shapes.

Better, as each step and layer ought to be.

Correcting the colors and shapes on the lower parts.

Finally, I figured out what was wonky with my camera. I had been experimenting with the settings, still not quite understanding what they all meant. When I changed “Poster Effect” to “Program” (who chooses these words??), It photographed more accurately.

But now the computer is not behaving properly, and when I export the photo of the finished Saw/Saw, it says it goes somewhere, and then it isn’t there.

My Mac is lying to me and cheating you out of seeing the finished saw blade!

Boy am I mad.

Maybe it will fix itself and work tomorrow. Besides, a job is never finished until these 2 things happen: A. The customer is happy and B. I have signed it.

commission Mineral King Mineral King mural odd job

Saw/Saw

What is “Saw/Saw”?

Glad you asked!

I have been commissioned to paint Sawtooth on a saw blade. Hence, saw/saw.

The blade is about 4′ in diameter and is heavy metal. I lifted it onto my round table and then couldn’t figure out whether or not I should lean on the teeth to get the balance off myself and onto the table. The weight made the decision for me – it was too heavy to hold while I decided whether or not the teeth would hurt me.