Sawtooth Peak is the third most popular Mineral King subject that I oil paint. (First is the classic view of Farewell Gap with the Crowley cabin and second is the Honeymoon Cabin.)
And remember the previous two Sawtooth paintings? This place is just filthy with Sawtooth; no wonder I go a little rogue from time to time and paint chickens.
Two + two + two? What is that weird Central California artist talking about this time?
Last Monday, I worked on six oil paintings, two of which ones needed touching up. While at the backyard boutique, I saw some areas in a painting that could stand a bit of improvement. When I got home, I saw another painting that needed a boost.
So I painted some diagonal black stripes in it.
JUST KIDDING! Those are shadows from the window pane dividers. But I did some color and light correction on this painting. (The other one needs to dry before I rescan it.)
Then I finished two oil paintings of Sawtooth, one to give as a gift and the other to give as a donation. Wait. That’s a gift too. But, it is an asked-for gift, so I don’t know if it counts as a gift. Where’s my dictionary? What does “gift” actually mean?
Never mind. Here are the paintings before I finished them. They need to dry before getting scanned.
Then, I gave some thought to whether I’d be able to finish any paintings before the next event, The Perfect Gift Boutique, on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving week. I decided to begin two new paintings. My oil paintings start out so messy-looking that I wondered if this was a good decision. I did a sketch to see if these 2 photos could be blended onto a 6×18″ canvas. Still looks terrible.
Okay, I get it now. 
Looking more hopeful in spite of needing more work. In fact, it is looking so hopeful that I began another of the same subject.
Even upside down, you can probably tell what this is.
See? two + two + two = six oil painting projects, three different types. Two fixes, two Sawtooths, two poultry. Fowl. Chickens. Birds.
P.S. There are also two unfinished oil paintings just hanging around, collecting spider webs.
Whoa. That was a sprint. Three new orange oil paintings in a week’s time, begun and completed.
It is a privilege to be thought of when local businesses have Art Emergencies; it is a thrill to be able to handle those situations. I’m very happy to be able to help, and particularly happy to help out in ag and especially in citrus.
Lovies,
Your happy orange painter
It’s my blog, I’m 58 and I can make up words if I want to. Any questions?
Oh. What does “oranging” mean?
It means painting oranges, although I was just painting greens that day. Because this commission job was for 3 oil paintings in 2 weeks, I had to plan the most efficient method of delivering mostly dry paintings.
Day one: get the first layer down, all the canvas covered, the basic shapes and colors in place and the edges with one coat.
Day two: Perfect the background greens so that on. . .
Day three: sign on the green area after perfecting the orange area. Finally, put a second layer on the edges, which may or may not show. I don’t know what the framer has in mind and won’t get to see the final product.
This gives the paintings a week to dry. Would have been better to know about this job sooner, both for more time to work and also for summer’s heat, which makes for quicker drying. They might be a little tacky (in the tactile sense of the word, not the quality of the job.) But, a little pressure is sometimes a good catalyst for action.
Speaking of Samson, he is pretty tired. He’s been working the night shift lately.
These paintings sold through the Silver City Store* over the summer. Most were 6×6″; a few were 8×8″, 8×10″, and 10×10″. (It is probable that I was slightly careless in my record keeping, because all of these are square – where is that 8×10″??)
It is possible I could have sold more, if I had stayed home and painted instead of being out on the trails, chasing down wildflower names.
Choices and consequences.
*4 miles below the Mineral King valley
Two weeks to paint three oranges, but really, only one because of a planned 2 days off and because of drying time.
No problem. . . just get outta my way! They don’t have to be truly identical, because each one will end up in a different home.
That sounded weird. If they were all in the same home, they really wouldn’t have to be identical. Never mind.
They will all be presented at the same time, so they need to be close. That way, no one says, “But I like his better!”
This is how it looked over the course of Day One at the easels.
The last step of Day One was painting layer #1 on the edges. When I return to the project in two days, they will be dry enough to put on the next layer. The second day of painting will be when I perfect all the details.
Two days isn’t some formula; it is because I teach drawing lessons on the second day and have a prescheduled appointment on the third. On day four I can continue.
They most certainly need more work. . .
A yearly customer emailed me to ask for a painting she saw on my website, but she didn’t just want that painting. She wanted four of that painting.
Well, oops. My paintings don’t get reproduced by machines; my paintings get reproduced by a paintbrush in my hand.
But wait! There’s more! She wanted them in two weeks time.
Ahem. I paint in oils. They take awhile to dry (unless it is July or August). This could be a tricky assignment.
First, I found the original painting and got in touch with the gallery showing it to set it aside for me to retrieve. This meant that I had to paint “only” three. That helps.
Second, did I even have blank canvases the right size? Yeppers, I did.
I know, you are just dying to see what painting she wants.
Tomorrow, I’ll show you what happens next.
I was working on the Sawtooth oil painting. This is the first time I had painted in a few weeks, so I started over with fresh paint on my palette.
White, 2 yellows, 2 reds, 2 blues, and a mixture of the darkest blue with the darkest red. All that the Sawtooth oil painting required was a brown and about 3 greens. No need to waste all that paint once Sawtooth was finished. What to do?
I could have covered it and put it in the freezer. Eventually, I did that. But first, do you remember the hot peppers that I painted for a friend’s kitchen?
Now I get to paint a tomato for her. There is no deadline, but I started it now because the paint was just itching to be used.
The photo is to help me know how to place the darks and lights. Because it is a tomato and they aren’t supposed to be identical, I don’t care if the shape is exactly the same. Because I like brightly colored tomatoes, I am relying on my memory for the best colors. Because this is the first layer, it will get better as I go.
It’s good to get a thing started.
The layers continue to build on Sawtooth Peak, an oil painting.
As it was when you last saw it:
Another layer added to the sky:
Another layer added to Sawtooth:
Another layer added to the lower ridges:
And more added to the lower ridges:
Yo, Professor Layer, may I be finished with the sky and the peak and the lower ridges now? (Can you see Trail Guy’s visor in the background as he adds grommets to the Kaweah Artisans banner?)
When this dries, I’ll put in branches at the bottom edges. I think this wants greenery, or maybe it is fine as it is. . .
What do you think??
Because 6 Mineral King oil paintings sold at the Silver City Mountain Resort (AKA Silver City Store), I painted 4 new ones.
Seems like bad math or poor production to you? Labor Day is a mere 2 weeks away, and this means the season is almost finished. Part of the business of art is making tough decisions like this. That’s why I earn the Big Bucks have the freedom to spend lengths of time in Mineral King.
I could have painted more to have on hand, but I can paint more when it isn’t so hot in the painting workshop/studio.
The 2 matching paintings in different sizes were begun before summer started. They’ve been waiting their turn. I’d rather be walking on that trail than painting it.
These are the 2 most popular Mineral King subjects that I paint and sell through Silver City. The 3rd is Sawtooth, by quite a distance. The top is the Honeymoon Cabin, which serves as a little museum for the Mineral King Preservation Society The bottom one is a private family cabin with Farewell Gap in the distance, as seen from the bridge at the end of the road.
These need another layer and some wildflowers.
Alrighty then!! The top painting is 6×6″ ($60 + tax unless you live in another state) and the bottom is 8×8″ ($100 – ditto on the taxes). When they are dry enough, they’ll be for sale at Silver City.
