Sawtooth | Cabin Art

Painting Sawtooth on a Very Hot Day

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July is very hot in Tulare County, unless you are at elevation. One hot afternoon, I was not at elevation; however, I painted elevation. This did not help the temperature. Neither did the swamp cooler, but it was more comfortable after I blasted my head and face with a hose. (Yep, got hosed.)

Remember this mess? Probably not, because I haven’t shown you yet. This is yet another oil painting of Sawtooth, this year’s winner of Most Popular Mineral King Subject Matter. (for the whole year, but not yet for the Silver City Store, which is selling steadily for me this summer, yet again, thank you Silver City Resort!)

I had an unexpected block of time on a hot afternoon, and after a bit of procrastination, followed by a pep talk (“DON’T BE SUCH A WUSS! YOU USED TO DO FARM LABOR IN THE SUMMER, YOU LILY-LIVERED SQUISHY-MINDED HOT-HOUSE PLANT!”), I went to work.

This is 12×24″, because I was out of 18×36″ canvases. It is destined for the Silver City Store, where an 18×36″ painting of Giant Sequoias currently hangs, aptly and cleverly titled “Big & Tall”. My cowboy logic tells me that this painting is more likely to sell in that location.

P.S. I highly recommend blasting oneself on the head with cold water from a hose on a hot afternoon. It made it possible for me to work until the light was too poor to see, once my bangs stopped dripping in my eyes.

Links to other posts about painting Sawtooth:

Almost Finished with the Sawtooth Paintings

At the time of this writing, 2 of the Sawtooth paintings are finished, and the third just needs a small area before joining the others in their finished state. I had leftover paint on my palette, so I painted the edges. This made them a bit too wet to handle, so #3 had to be on hold for a bit.

As I show you these photos of the paintings in progress, I get more and more confused as to which painting is in what stage; I’m like the mother of triplets who lost the note telling which kid has a mole on his 2nd toe or something else to distinguish them (but I don’t have difficulty in real life because they are 2 different sizes and have an inventory number on the backs).

Sometimes when I look at photos of the finished paintings, I see more things to correct. Unless they are glaring mistakes, I will ignore them. These patient customers would like their paintings sometime, preferably sooner rather than later.

Here – you can see a few more and join me in my state of confusion. This top one is finished, but we are hard pressed to tell in the high contrast sunshine. The 16×20 is finished; the 11×14 beneath it isn’t – look at the trees on the right (middle) side. This one looks finished. I wonder if it is the 16×20 or one of the 11x14s. This one needs mid-ground trees and foreground grasses and flowers. Definitely not finished. This one appears to be finished. When there are grasses and tiny colored dots for flowers, it is finished.

What’s harder? Painting the same scene three times, or trying to sort the photos and show people? Or trying to comprehend a blog post about it? (See? I always have questions!)

commission oil painting Mineral King Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings Sawtooth sawtooth oil painting

Sawtooth on a Saw Blade in a Situation

The Silver City Store/Resort has gotten quite elegant. I feel honored to be able to sell there and to now be part of their decor.

Let’s take a tour.

The outside of the store is a bit different than it used to be but still recognizable (Who put her less than classy looking vehicle in front of the store and interrupted this photo opportunity??)

This is the view directly ahead when you step inside the store, although the unknown man may not be there if you stop by.

And a little farther right to the tables along the front wall. The photos above the tables are all the wedding photos of people who either met or married in the area.

Look to the left of the front counter when you first step inside (that square cardboard contains the saw blade.) Why yes, that is one of my paintings on the mantel. . . thank you for noticing!

Look directly left and that is the new store area where my paintings are incorporated with the other merchandise. (Nope, not a real gallery, but there are real customers with real money, and we consistently make real sales.)

Now let’s return to the front counter.

HEY! THERE IT IS!! THANK YOU, HANNAH, HANNAH, AND MICHAEL FOR CHOOSING MY ART.

Sawtooth

Drawing Sawtooth and Listening

Happy Birthday, Carol!

Sawtooth Peak is figuring large in my work life lately. Sometime last week I spent a few days in the studio listening to the reassuring hum of the air conditioner and listening to my own thoughts, and finally, listening to podcasts. This was all to keep me from falling asleep while working on a new pencil drawing of Sawtooth.

While listening to podcasts, I jot notes, and when I take breaks from staring at teensy details through a magnifying glass, I look up things. Gretchen Rubin’s podcast “Happier” mentioned a dish pattern, and something called a “corkicle”. . . had to see those things. She mentioned a writer named May Sarton who has a memoir called Plant Dreaming Deep; of course I had to click on the link to Amazon, then read about it on GoodReads, and finally, look for it in my library’s online catalog system.

Victor Davis Hanson uses big words to convey large ideas, and occasionally I write notes or look up words online when I hear him speak. Usually I just replay his interviews a few times to see if I understand his concepts.

All this listening helps me get through the seemingly endless miniature details of the current drawing.

And in spite of all this listening, learning, and thinking, I still haven’t decided if it is a good thing or a bad thing to put links within my own blog. Perhaps you will be so kind as to let me know if that is helpful or annoying. . .

drawing pencil drawing Sawtooth

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

Sort of Working

In July and August, I don’t teach regular drawing lessons. My students often say “enjoy your vacation” or “have a nice summer” as they are leaving (and several cannot resist the urge to sing “See You In September”).

Although I do spend much more time in Mineral King in those 2 months, I am still working. Sort of. There was the show Art: Inspired by Mineral King on June 30. I deliver paintings to the Silver City Resort (AKA “The Store”), work on commissions (both pencil and oil), blog, keep track of what is selling, work on my new website design, work on the upcoming calendar, plan for any upcoming shows. That’s sort of working, isn’t it?

Sometimes the kittens become a tad bit distracting.

This subject matter is getting easier in its architectural parts, but I still struggle with the rocks beneath the bridge. This is because they are hidden.

This commissioned oil painting got a few licks on the canvas, but those rocks beneath the bridge really hang me up.

The smaller bridge is drying and awaits more layers. Sawtooth and the river are also both drying, and are now for sale.

Sawtooth #33, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $65 includes sales tax (welcome to California)

commission oil painting Oak Grove Bridge oil paintings Sawtooth

Finished!

It is surprising how many (or any at all) paintings got finished with all that procrastinating in April. Have a look:

Poppy #54, 6×6, $60 plus 8% sales tax in California

Foothill Wildflowers, 6×18″, $150 plus 8% sales tax in California

Moro and Alta, 6×18″, $150 plus. . . in the Golden State.

oil paintings Sawtooth Three Rivers

Tiptoeing Along on Several Oil Paintings

Why tiptoeing? Because it feels slow and careful at this stage, like I am just feeling my way along, trying to be as careful as possible.

First up, Sawtooth, the commissioned oil painting.

Second, rebuild the Kaweah Post Office, also a commissioned oil painting.

Third, plant some grasses. (Oil paint grasses, not fescue or bermuda or dichondra or Kentucky bluegrass or. . .) There was more progress made, but the phone call came that it was time to rescue Piper from the vet, where he got civilized this week. $192. No such thing as a free cat. (Samson cost $132 – he was in better shape to start with.)

Then I flipped it over to paint the bottom and begin the greenery.

This one had its skyline just too rough, with things not the right heights. So, I repainted the sky, using it to shape the mountain tops.

Better now. Miles to go before I sleep. . .

I mixed up 3 shades of green and began building background. While doing this, I increased the sizes of the blooms and added many more.

commission oil painting Kaweah Post Office oil paintings Sawtooth sawtooth oil painting

Starting Over Again With Sawtooth

All those paintings of Sawtooth completed over the past several months, and someone wants a different size?

Yep. No problem. I am an artist, and artists make art. Here are the beginning steps of the commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth:

First I assign an inventory #, title the piece and attach a hanging wire.

Second step is to prime the canvas, or “tone” it as another artist names it. That was even more boring than Step #1, so this photo is showing the paint from the tubes and the colors I mixed to begin the painting.

Painting from back to front means that the blue sky strips go on first.

Then some clouds, and the realization that it would be helpful to crop the photo to a square.

More clouds and the beginning of Sawtooth’s shape.

The angle looked too steep on Sawtooth’s right side slope, so I pulled out my angle finder tool. It was a little tricky to take this photo so I am not holding the thing correctly here (vertical needs to be vertical, not tipsy). I’ll recheck the angle in the next layer.

At the end of the painting session, everything had a first coat of paint.

Wow, it is time-consuming and interruptive to photograph the steps in this much detail. But, this customer has become a friend and likes seeing the progress. I’ve heard from others that seeing the process is interesting, so here we go. . .

commission oil painting Sawtooth sawtooth oil painting