Sawtooth Oil Painting in Stages

We last saw the Sawtooth oil painting looking quite rough. It has taken many hours, and the Fat Lady ain’t singing yet. (Close – she’s starting to warm up with a few scales.) And just in case you forgot, Sawtooth is the second most popular of the Mineral King oil painting subjects, tied with the Honeymoon Cabin. (Farewell Gap with the Crowley cabin is number one in popularity.)

The black thing is a shadow from the edge of the roof, because I worked on it outside in the sunshine.

When all those green grasses are dry enough, I will add wildflowers. Then I will probably revisit some of the upper parts, add a few more details, correct some more color.

Chill out, Fat Lady. Your time will come.

Sawtooth, Continued

The oil painting of Sawtooth was looking a bit rough when we last saw it.

It is only slightly less rough, because I chose to work on Farewell Gap more. It is tricky to fit in painting time around holidays, visitors from out of town, short daylight hours, colder temperatures, and year-end business to wrap up. But, I’ll keep layering, tightening up the detail, improving the color and accuracy.

More Sawtooth Paintings Completed

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.)

This is a 6×6″ painting, donated to Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery for their annual fund raiser art auction.
This is a wedding gift, a 10×10″ oil painting for a former drawing student who shall remain nameless until after the wedding, although I may choose to protect the identity afterward too. It is good to be careful on the World Wide Web.

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.

Oil Painting Accountability

Oil painting isn’t my favorite thing; pencil drawing architectural subjects is my favorite thing. Given the choice between oil painting and waiting tables or cleaning motel rooms, OF COURSE I’d choose oil painting. However, some days it helps to have a bit of accountability to do the thing that isn’t my favorite.

My nephew didn’t want to go to class (he is in college) and I didn’t want to paint. So I said I would if he would. We both did. Yea, Nephew! Yea, me!

Here are the results of that accountability.This:Became this:And now looks like this:

All that remains is to let it dry so I can flip it onto its top to paint the bottom edge and then sign it!

And another Mineral King Sawtooth oil painting will be finished.

Sawtooth Peak Oil Painting Continued

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??

 

Layer By Layer

I learned to oil paint in layers, called “glazing” in ArtSpeak.

The oil painting of Sawtooth is acquiring layer #2. Something I didn’t learn is this: how many layers does a painting require? If it looks great after layer #2, do I really have to put on more layers?

The teacher in the 1/2 semester class I took at the local junior college had us repaint the entire painting every single time we went to class. I learned a few things from him, but not why he thought so many layers are necessary. He could have just been making us practice and learn by repetition. 

I don’t want to be like the woman who automatically cut off the end of the roast because her mom did, because her mom did. Turns out Grandma cut off the end because her pan was too short.

Here’s Sawtooth as layer #2 works its way down the canvas.

New Mineral King Paintings

Last week I was a ninja-crazy painting factory, cranking out oil paintings of Mineral King. This is high season in the high country, and it is busy. Gotta get ’em done, visible, and selling.

Sounds a bit like a mercenary, an artist of fortune.

Nah. No fortunes are being made here. Just painting Mineral King.

 

1627 Sawtooth XVI
Sawtooth XVI, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×8″, $100
1628 Sawtooth XVII
Sawtooth XVII, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×8″, $100

Another Fine Subject of Central California Art

Call me butter – I’m on a roll.

Did you know butter is good for you? Yep. Everything we learned about animal fats and saturated fats is probably wrong. But that’s for a different blog.

This blog is about what a Central California artist finds to paint in a place like Tulare County, the 3rd least educated and 13th poorest county in the state.

Mineral King! I paint Mineral King! I blog about it, paint it, draw it, and live there in the summer whenever I’m not at home painting.

Sorry. Didn’t mean to give you a heart attack with that surprising news. Maybe you should eat more butter to prevent future heart attacks.

Sawtooth Peak is visible from the valley floor (San Joaquin valley, not Mineral King, but it is visible from there too, duh.) except when the Bay Area smog blowing down through Altamont pass is obscuring the vision.

Don’t you think my oil paintings begin with a rough first layer? I show you this in case you are a painter and think your paintings always begins with ugliness. You are not alone – take heart (and have some more butter).

I work from back to front. The sky is first because it is the furthest from us. Then comes the ridge and Sawtooth Peak. I climbed it once. I also got helicoptered off it once. Once was enough for each of those experiences. However, I will paint it over and over. When it sells, I’ll paint it some more.

There are certain subjects that I try to always keep around as oil paintings – Farewell Gap, Sawtooth, the Kaweah River, the Kaweah Post Office, oranges, and poppies. That’s Central California from the viewpoint of a Three Rivers artist. (one who loves butter)

It’s coming along. I might show you a time or two more before it is finished. Or maybe not.

Now I am going to cook an egg in butter.

(Note to self: don’t blog in the future when you are hungry.)

Sawtooth on a Cupboard Door?

Usually at a garage sale I am overtaken by the desire to go home, fill a box with stuff, and bring it back, sneak it onto a table, and tiptoe away. Stuff stresses me out. Too much stuff makes me twitch, mumble to myself, and randomly toss objects into the trash or a give-away barrel.

There might be a mental disorder that is the opposite of Hoarding. I might have it.

HEY! I THOUGHT THIS BLOG WAS ABOUT ART!

I’m getting there; keep your shirt on.

I found a cupboard door at a garage sale. It was all alone, no cupboard, no twin, no handle. It suddenly looked like a canvas that wanted paint.

So, I bought it and painted it. Stuff with a clear use is exempt from my Too-Much-Stuff-Problem.

Sawtooth is one of the prominent landmark peaks of Mineral King, visible from Visalia. (I prefer to look at it, hike beneath it, photograph, paint and draw it rather than climb it or be flown off of it.)

Sawtooth oil painting on a cupboard door

Sawtooth on cupboard door, approximately  9×21″, oil, sold

It sold to a visitor to my studio on First Saturday Three Rivers while it was wet. As long as it was signed, she was happy. And if the customer is happy, I am happy.

Straight Talk About Art Fairs

When I got to the venue for the Visalia Taste the Arts, I was very very impressed by the way it was set up.  As I pulled into the fenced off area, I was handed a show packet that included a lunch ticket and directed to my booth. There were many huge canopies covering multiple spaces and I drove right up to the front of my space to unload.

Visalia Taste the Arts

 

My booth was on this end, the right side of that canopy. There was a “wall” separating me from the folks on the left end.

Visalia Taste the Arts

Everything is unloaded and my car is parked within view. This is shocking to me, because the show staff said, “Park right there” and I said, “But that’s really close – what about all the visitors?” He said, “They’ll be fine”. Umm, okay, thanks!

 

There was so much space for so many artists! All covered, and none of us had to pay AND they provided lunch and bottled water and help unloading and offered to booth-sit so the artists could take a break.

 

Visalia Taste the Arts

I was next to a very large stage with very very large speakers. It made me worry a little bit. I thought “uh-oh”, and proceded to set up my booth.

Visalia Taste the Arts cabinart booth

This is how it looked. Sawtooth is crooked. These things don’t show when one is hustling around, trying to get the right light, not have people pass in front of the lens, all the while worrying about that very large stage with very very large speakers. Notice how well-spaced the paintings are.

This is getting too long. Stay tuned for the next installment of Straight Talk About Art Fairs tomorrow.