The idea was to show you all the paintings in my solo show at CACHE, one per day here on the blog, for the duration of the show.
I told you about my virtual friend named Elisabeth, who posted a beautiful photo on her blog that reminded me of two of my paintings. Here is today’s missing painting, for you, Elisabeth (and my tens of other readers).
MISSING PAINTING #2
Take Me Home. . ., oil on wrapped canvas, 16×20″, $650
It is available on my website store. Here is the link, and the price on the website includes sales tax, which is why it is higher than shown here. (If you live out of state and want to buy the painting, just email me and I’ll sort it out for you.)
This painting is from several photos taken on the upper North Fork Road in Three Rivers.
On December 19, the power went off at 7:20. Edison hadn’t bothered to notify us, but judging by the number of boom and utility trucks, we knew it would be a long, cold, dark day. (SO VERY THANKFUL FOR THE WOODSTOVE, THE GENERATOR, AND THE HUSBAND WHO KEEPS IT ALL RUNNING!)
There was a bit of sunshine on the easels for about 2 hours in the morning. With the door open, I was able to make some eensy progress. Since my reference photos for both of these paintings are on my laptop, I needed to be prudent with my screen time. (We don’t run the generator non-stop, and it keeps the fridge and freezer going, which is very far from the painting workshop).
I should be able to paint this without looking at any photos. If the instructions suggestions weren’t to reproduce a specific pencil drawing, I could make up a similar scene. However, in the hopes that the interested party will be happy enough to buy the painting, it is prudent to keep it as close to the drawing as possible.
Tucker stuck with me, not even in the sunshine, just doing the meatloaf to stay warm.
This one is the commission. I want it to be really really good. Really Good. The customer is a delight to work with and not pressuring me at all. I just want to do my best for her.
It helps to see the shapes and proportions more correctly if I turn it all upside down.
I am working from a combination of two photos and the sold painting that the customer wished she had seen first.
SIMPLY HOME ENDS ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, AT CACHE, 125 SO. B STREET, EXETER, NOON-4.
ENTERING GIANT FOREST, 8×16″, $250
2025 CALENDARS, STILL AVAILABLE? (LAST TIME I CHECKED, THERE WERE TWO. )
Still not much going on in my little world, other than enjoying some bright sunshine and starting two bright paintings. Winter is mild in Three Rivers and we are usually above the fog. (Do you want to move here? The town is shrinking, so if you don’t mind living in California’s flyover country where there is no Trader Joe’s or universities, you’d be welcome here!)
From my show Simply Home, I got a commission to paint. In spite of having 50 paintings to choose from in the show, someone requested that I paint something that already sold. Yes, I can do this.
Someone else requested that I paint a scene that I drew in pencil about 25 years ago. It was a commission, until I realized that it wasn’t a commission—it was a conversation. Until money changes hands, it is just a conversation, EVEN IF the other person says, “Yes, I definitely want you to paint this”. Because it is a great idea, I know it will sell to someone, so I began the painting.
In case these before and after posts are putting you to sleep, let’s skip the chit-chat and go right to the paintings.
Garapatta BEFORE
Garapatta, AFTER
Point Lobos, BEFORE
Point Lobos, AFTER
Carmel Mission, BEFORE
Carmel Mission, AFTER
Rocky Point, BEFORE (those aren’t birds – it is squished bug)
Rocky Point, AFTER
Pinos Point Lighthouse, BEFORE
Pinos Point Lighthouse, AFTER. This is my favorite, and I’m not alone in my assessment because it sold.
SIMPLY HOME
Sawtooth From Sunnypoint IX, 12×24″, $650
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
Plein air painting #3 was the only one I did that day because I spent the morning trying to solve my easel problem. A new friend at the painting retreat lent me a pochade box, which needed a tripod to hold it up if I didn’t want to paint sitting with it on my lap. I drove to another town and spent time trying to find a tripod to support the wooden box. After several attempts to find a tripod to hold the box (WHY WAS I AT A MALL SHOPPING AT BIG BOX STORES WHEN THE BEACH WAS CALLING??), I decided it was a waste of time. So I drove back to Asilomar, found a turnout, did an impressive job of parallel parking, set up my stuff at this view, and started painting.
I decided that I’d had enough frustration for one day, so I climbed down to the beach, and took a few more photos. If this painting makes your eyes bleed, please forgive me.
Phew. Much better!
Looks as if I forgot to sign it.
SIMPLY HOME
Farewell at Dusk, 10×30″, $600
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
This is the second plein air painting I did in Monterey. I set up in the shade by the path to Asilomar Beach (another struggle against that easel), and this time I was determined to do a better painting.
This painting gave me hope that I might be able to paint plein air. It also gave me time to decide to look for a trash can large enough to stuff the easel into.
After I got home, I retouched it and finished it to this level.
This one deserved to be signed.
SIMPLY HOME
Heading to Eagle Lake, 16×20″, $650
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
This is the first plein air painting I did in Monterey. We set up on Asilomar Beach, and I tried to concentrate on painting when I just wanted to put my feet in the water and enjoy the waves. Instead, I tried to paint while the waves kept moving and my easel kept fighting against me.
Then it was just too hot and frustrating to keep standing there, so I packed it up and took this back to my room.
After I got home, I retouched it and finished it to this level.
That’s odd—I still haven’t signed it. I wonder if I can make it better. . . maybe in another year or two. I’ll sign it next time I am painting.
2025 SIMPLY HOME Calendar, showing many of the paintings from my show of the same name. $25, and I will pay the sales tax (if you live in California) and mailing (if you order).
This is the view looking east from in front of the Mural Gallery & Gift Shop. See the awning straight ahead? That is on the third location where I had my studio in Exeter.
While at the Mural Gallery for my November shift, I painted. My goal was to be productive in between customers by completing some of the plein air paintings from the week in Monterey.
Worked out pretty well.
I liked these enough to sign them. When they are dry, I will show the before and after versions.
This one is better, but I can’t wait to put a railing on the bridge and bark on the sycamore trees.
As I was moving everything out to my car, I looked east and remembered many reason I always loved being in Exeter: tractors in downtown, the water tower with EXETER on it, seeing Sawtooth and Homer’s Nose, trees with fall color, the Post Office, all visible from where I used to have my studio.
One of the three places my studio was in Exeter was in the second story of this brick building, which houses the terrific store Rosemary & Thyme.
One last view in case you didn’t get enough photos today.
SIMPLY HOME
OAK GROVE BRIDGE #28, 24×30″, oil on wrapped canvas, $1800
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
Krista asked me to paint again with her at the airport bridge in Three Rivers on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Before I went, I hung out with Jackson a little bit.
He wasn’t very hungry because he let the gopher live. Didn’t even pounce.
I drove to the same place with its multiple No Parking signs.
This time, I had a tripod that the little cigar box pochade attached to. Gear management is one of the great challenges of plein air painting. I won’t be buying a $700-1000 easel set-up for plein air painting unless something really changes in my abilities and interests. But I will continue to experiment and try various arrangements.
My roommate in Monterey won this brush clip in a raffle and passed it to me. It’s pretty useful, but I only use one or two brushes when I paint plein air and don’t plan on needing more. I don’t like to own stuff that I don’t need, so I passed it to Krista, who is very determined to learn this method of painting.
With a tripod, I was able to stand to paint and use my stool as a shelf. The big wooden box was passed to me by a friend who changed his mind about wanting to paint, and it is a handy way to carry my stuff. It weighs more than I’d like, and it seems as if it opens backwards, so it may go the way of all excess equipment—into the hands of someone else who needs it. The verdict isn’t in yet.
This isn’t too bad, and maybe I will like it after fixing and finishing it in the painting workshop at home.
When the sun was off the scene, we started packing, and I turned around and saw this.
It’s all about the light. Always.
One thing that is happening to my abilities as a result of plein air painting is that I am noticing new scenes to paint, looking at sunlight instead of just the subject matter. Maybe this alone is worth the time, effort, and money spent on this adventure.
