My mobile easel is in a new place behind the cabin. See?
I was standing there painting and a chipmunk ran across my foot. “How rude”, was my first thought. He was awfully cute, but that was a total invasion of my personal space by a complete stranger. Then I bent down and looked: I was invading his space by standing in front of his front door! (Obviously I should have tried another photo – please excuse the blurriness) 
This is called Arriving In Mineral King. It is still wet and was painted in Mineral King, in case you were seeking a bit of authenticity. 8×10, $80, oil on wrapped canvas. Hard to believe I was standing in Farewell Gap one week and painting it the next!
Continuing 2, beginning 2 more
This is what I worked on today. Can you tell what these are wanting to be when they grow up?
Upside down is a good way to force oneself to see shapes as they really are rather than as one assumes they are. It sorts out some of the confusion of the familiar. It causes one to filter out all the detail and focus on the larger shapes.
Perhaps it will be easier for you to identify shapes here.
This is hard. I’ve painted it 3 times now and it is still hard. 
This is also hard. Somedays I can hardly wait to be more proficient at oil painting so that I can see the pieces take shape faster. And isn’t it weird that when the paintings take less time that they will probably bring in more money?? Reminds me of working dumb jobs – the lowest jobs on the pay scale are usually the most difficult! Go figure. . . I’m not complaining, just puzzling over one of the many mysteries of life.
Mini Vacation
This morning I had a very long walk. Eleven miles long. Really! It was beautiful – see?
When we arrived at our destination, this was waiting for us to soak our tired selves in:
There was a great lady there awaiting our arrival, and after our soak, she drove us home. After I got home, it felt as if I had been on vacation and I never left Three Rivers! It took some discipline to focus on the easels and the oil paintings after that little respite. However, work did happen. These oil paintings are either newly finished or still in progress. You may not be able to discern the progress, but the bridges are gradually moving toward the end.
And what are those little paintings there on the window sill? new subjects? Not oranges or pomegranates or poppies? Wow!
On Vacation
If we are around the same age, you might remember when going on vacation meant stopping the newspaper and having the post office hold one’s mail. Yesterday I returned from a week in Mineral King to 2 full answering machines, real mail at home, real mail in my P.O. Box AND a pile of email! Aren’t we supposed to be feeling the effects of technology simplifying our lives?
It was a working vacation, as you can see by all these little canvases drying on the back of the cabin. More came later, but this is all you get to see for now. Something new is coming, and as usual, more will be revealed!
While it is raining
The rain means that I paint at home instead of on The Wall. It is a little hard to mix colors accurately, but I will bravely soldier on. Here are three finished pieces.
Poppies VIII – oil – 6×6″ – $36
Sawtooth II – oil – 11×14″ – $154
Yes, you have already seen this Sawtooth but now it is really finished. (I might be the only one who can tell the difference, or maybe Sharon can too because she even knew where I was standing in this view!)
