Sequoia oil paintings

Sequoia Oil Paintings

Sometimes I write things about Tulare County that sound rude; they are simply the truth.

However, in addition to the fact that we are all fat, poor, undereducated, and have bad air, we have SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK!

Here are four Sequoia oil paintings, drying in the sun on the driveway in front of my painting workshop building.

So, I paint Sequoia trees. Every time I go to Sequoia, which we simply refer to as “The Park”, I look for good trees to photograph. Then, I paint from the photos. As time passes and the experiences mount up, I am more able to make up trees. The photos guide me, but then I just pants it. (Did you know that “pants” can be a verb?”)

Big Tree Trunk, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×12″, $145

Sequoia Gigantea IV, 6×18″, oil on wrapped canvas, $190

Sequoia Pair II, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×18″, $190

And remember, here in Tulare County we are fat, diabetic, uneducated, unemployed, and without a Trader Joe’s, although we now have an Aldi’s and a Sprouts. . . moving up in the world.

P.S. All three Sequoia oil paintings are available to view and to purchase at Kaweah Arts in Three Rivers, now located in The Dome, just downstream from Reimer’s Candies.

Tomorrow: Better Than Before

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Painting Steadily at Many Stages

Sometimes people wonder if I work on more than one painting at a time. Yeppers, for sure! Today’s post is a look at several paintings at various stages of completion.

This one is getting close to completion. I like it better with each new iteration.

This will go quickly. I mean the painting process will go quickly; selling is an unknown in terms of speed.

The poppies look good but the painting needs more. . .

The Four Guardsmen, as you head up to Giant Forest.

8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, The Big Trees, FINISHED!

There are more in various stages, but this is enough for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Slow Progress on Five New Paintings

This painting needed some improvement on the arrangement. That’s called the “composition” in ArtSpeak.

This next painting is a commission. I am combining multiple photos, trying to somewhat match a looser painting that the customer admired, but wanted in my detailed style. Because it is of wildflowers, I have lots of reference photos to work from. It is fun to use bright colors, in this and in the fruit painting above.

The next one is a 6×12″ of part of the Great Western Divide, as seen from Moro Rock. I sketched it with a paintbrush while the canvas was upside down. When I flipped it over, I decided there needed to be less sky, so I scooted everything a bit higher, while improving accuracy of the shapes.

Kaweah Arts requested some Sequoia trees, so here we go again. . . This is the pair of redwood trees at Redwood Canyon, or simply “Redwood” on the Mineral King road. Some former cabin neighbors referred to them as “Aunt Tilly and Uncle Pete”. I can’t tell which is which. Must have been married so long that they started looking alike.

This last one is 6×18″ and is the Sentinel Tree, in front of the Giant Forest Market. I mean the museum. My cousin worked there one summer (or more), and used to get a kick out of customers who would ask, “Where can I see the big trees?” She would simply point out the door.

All of these need to be relayered, then detailed, my favorite part. After they are dry, I will either scan or photograph them. Next, I will post them on the blog and tell you that they look better in person.

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Painting Sequoia, Not Just Chit-chatting

Yesterday I mentioned several things that I have painted from Sequoia National Park. Want to see? Some have sold, and some are currently available. (Every once in awhile, I show items for sale because I am supposed to be running an art business here, not just chit-chatting to my friends.)

Sunny Sequoias, oil on wrapped canvas 18×36″, $1200

Sequoias in Winter, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $650

Redwood Grove, 8×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $125

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Big Tree, Sequoia, or Redwood?

If the photos don’t show, go here: cabinart.net/blog.

There are lots of big trees in the world, Redwood is the name of my high school, and the trees for which Sequoia National Park is named are sequoia gigantea. However, any of those names apply to the paintings in today’s blog post.

It is a little bit difficult to work at the cabin because there is no studio space, and everyone else is on vacation. Besides, when I am there, I’d rather be reading, knitting, splitting wood, or chasing wildflowers. But sometimes a grownup has to do what needs to be done. I know, this is difficult to accept, because didn’t we all think that being a grownup meant we got to do anything we wanted? It is true, but choices have consequences, and the consequence of not painting when inventory is low is that there will be nothing to sell.