Redbud Report, Day One

Redbud, the arts and crafts festival in Three Rivers, not the flower, was a 2 day event over the past weekend. It was hot. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact.

Because this is a local event, it is a blend of meeting new folks and reconnecting with old friends. Here is a list of encounters that come to mind:

1.  Derek, an oil painter who chooses subjects similar to mine.

2. My former drawing student and friend (they almost always shift to the friend category) stopped by with her husband and 2 little girls. No, medium girls! I drew Chloe as a toddler and could see a bit of a resemblance in her almost 10 year old self! Kept getting her mixed up with her 8 year old sister . . . stupid old artist that I must have seemed to them!

 

My booth now has fabric covers over the screens, the art is spaced out, and each piece has a label. This is how it looked at the beginning of the show.

Private Studio Tour

For nine years my studio was also a gallery, open to the public in downtown Exeter. When I closed that space and built a studio at home, people weren’t sure when or how to see my work. The answer – – –

By appointment!

Just call or email and we can set a time. You can ask any question, see whatever suits your fancy, learn about whatever piques your interest. You can have a private Three Rivers Studio Tour when you are in Tulare County.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Sophia and Max who are home schooled by their Mom, the jewelry maker of Plumage.

[Time out – I went to her site to link it to this blog post and I got sidetracked and bought a pair of earrings! I NEEDED them. They are navy abalone teardrop shaped, and you just can’t believe how exactly they fit my idea of a perfect pair of earrings. I love navy blue. I love teardrop shaped earrings. I love abalone. L O V E  these. If you are lucky, maybe Liza (pronounced “Lee-za”) will make a pair for you. Then we can be twins. But remember, I got mine first, so there.]

Where were we?

In my studio!

We were supposed to be learning about art, but there was a scorpion on the floor. After squishing it, I put it in this bag and gave it to Max. He looked at it under the giant magnifying light, which is normally used for drawing fine detail in pencil. Max thought all the grossness that is a scorpion was cool.

Sophia tried out my pencils after we talked about the different hardnesses and blacknesses and the different erasers.

You can see Max’s blue head here as he looks over Sophia’s shoulder.

I’ve never met a home schooled kid that wasn’t terrific. These two were no exception to that rule.

Thank you Liza for bringing Sophia and Max to my studio!

Man oh man, you are gonna love those earrings! Let me know when yours arrive so we can wear them on the same day!

2012 Redbud Festival

The Redbud Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 at the Lions Roping Arena in Three Rivers. Saturday is 10-5, Sunday is 10-4.

Redbud Festival is named after this flowering tree which grows wild in Three Rivers. It blooms in March, so the name of the Festival doesn’t correspond with nature. However, it does coincide with Mother’s Day, so here is something to do with your Mom this year.

My space looked like this 2 years ago. (I didn’t participate last year because all my work was in the Tulare Historical Museum for a solo show.) It will look different this year.

As I continue to read art marketing sites and blogs and to interact with other artists, I continue to make changes to the way I display my work.

The changes won’t be huge, but the hope is that my work will look better.

If my work looks better, you will stay in my booth longer. If you stay in my booth longer, you will study the work more. If you study the work more, you will get attached to something. If you get attached to something, you will want to buy it. If you want to buy it, I will sell it to you.

Oh great. Now you will be afraid to come see my booth at the Redbud Festival because you will get sold! No, I won’t sell to you unless you want me to. I don’t know how to “hard-sell” stuff, much less my own art. If I did, I’d, ummm. . .  no, I love my life. It would be the same as it is now!

There will be a new painting of the Kaweah Post Office, 2 of fields of California poppies, a Sequoia painting in a new shape, and maybe, just maybe a new painting of the Kaweah River. And there will be oranges, of course. And some small paintings of California poppies that sit on easels on a table top.

 See you at the Redbud Festival?

Spring Walk in Three Rivers, Part Two

Okay, let’s try this one again. I thrive on beauty. It drives me. It inspires me. It feeds and refreshes me. It nourishes something intangible inside. And remember, it is beautiful in Tulare County for a total of about 15 minutes each year. Good thing I had my camera with me during that little window of time in Three Rivers.

These dogwood are cornus florida, known in Three Rivers as “Karl’s trees”.

Ithuriel’s Spear blooms in shade on north facing slopes toward the end of wildflower season.

That might be Ash Peak, from which Ash Mountain, the headquarters of Sequoia National Park derives its name.

Spring Walk in Three Rivers

This California artist would like to share some inspirational photos with you. She took several walks in Three Rivers in the last 2 weeks with her camera in hand. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, here is 6000 words worth for your gazing pleasure. (But remember it is usually hot and brown and dry here in Tulare County, and we are all fat and have diabetes and the unemployment is really high, so you should probably not consider moving here just because we have 15 minutes of beauty each spring.)

Okay, never mind. Only one photo will load. Computers can be enough to make a preacher cuss. Since I don’t allow profanity on my blog and I’m no preacher, gotta go now!

Why Artists Choose Three Rivers, a rerun

Because I just began year 5 of blogging, I decided to repost some of my earlier blogs for my newer readers.

When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually do live here and have become a painter, I recognize a multitude of reasons that any artist would want to reside in Three Rivers.

We are surrounded by beauty that takes no effort to see. There are incomparable views from my yard, studio, mailbox, and even from in my neighbor’s pool. The beauty continues as we go to the post office, the Memorial Building, the golf course, or maybe even from the dentist’s office!

Then there is the beauty that might require a little more effort to take in: the North Fork, the South Fork, Kaweah River Drive, and the Salt Creek area of BLM land come to mind. If you are able to walk, there is so much more that becomes visible.

Another great enticement to living in Three Rivers is the shorter drive to Sequoia and to Mineral King. In less than an hour you can be among the big trees and in a little longer than an hour, you can be in a valley that I have heard resembles the Swiss Alps.

Everywhere I look there are subjects to paint. The wildflowers could keep my brush flying for several seasons. The gates alone could occupy my pencils for a year. I could produce an entire series of drawings and paintings simply of loading chutes. Curves in the road, bends in the river, the autumn leaves, light on the rocks, Moro Rock from every possible angle, Alta Peak from every attainable viewpoint, sycamores all around town, the grand oak trees of every variety, the assortment of fence styles – every one of these subjects could be depicted in pencil or paint.

It is true that there is beauty in almost any location if one learns to recognize it. I certainly had plenty of subjects available in my former locations.  Now, the accessibility of paintable scenes is almost overwhelming!

The Kaweah Post Office V, oil on wrapped canvas, sold

Committing Commissions

 

This is not a commission. It is a do-over. I painted this when I was new to oil painting, and recently I figured out how to do it better. I painted right over the top, so I didn’t have to figure out any shapes or placement.  (Three Rivers is gorgeous in the spring. I know I keep saying that. But, really, the unemployment is terribly high, the air is nasty in the fall, and we are all fat, so don’t move here, ‘kay?)

This sequoia oil painting has better detail than the previous view. Why am I painting a sequoia in the snow when it is spring? Because CS wants it! And this California artist accepts commissions in oil. Pencil too.

It’s Pretty Here

Three Rivers, Tulare County, central California, is GORGEOUS in the spring. Here are 4000 words worth of photos:

Looks as if Michael is leading horses to water.

He didn’t have to make them drink.

This is just an average morning, out on an average walk, on an average spring day.

My yard only looks like this for about 12 seconds a year. Good thing I had my camera!

(Don’t move here – the unemployment is awful, the air is nasty in the fall, and we are all fat.)

Three Rivers Studio Tour Ten Wrap-up, part 3

Watching out the window through the rain, waiting for visitors to pull into the driveway.

SUNDAY ON THE TOUR

1. It was overcast with rain imminent. I waited inside by the fire with my knitting for the first hour. Finally moved out to the studio and listened for the sound of cars and car doors while putting color in reproduction prints of Crescent Meadow.

2. Kaweah Kitty stayed in the house by the fire.

3. I told EVERYONE to watch their step. I don’t think saying those words would have prevented yesterday’s mishap. Sort of reminds me of how people say “Be careful!” AFTER you trip. Ummm, thanks?

4. Rosa, the successor of Ruby, came by with her human.

5. Mostly people came in groups, this time a few families including some children, and there were no Bobs.

6. It rained all day. It was cold. I stayed by the fire in between arrivals of guests.

7. There were 29 visitors including 1 returnee from yesterday, 1 locally known artist and 1 musician from a nationally known band (whose wife told him he needed to get a job before he bought a painting!)

Hoping the musician finds work so this painting will find its home.

Three Rivers Studio Tour Ten Wrap-up, part 2

Zeke’s only appearance of the day was when the sign was uncovered in the morning.

SATURDAY SPECIFICS

1. It was sunny and clear and not hot and very beautiful

2. There were 81 visitors (not counting the sheriff, fire and ambulance crews)

3. People were mostly in groups, only a few women by themselves, more men than yesterday but proportionately about the same. (3 were Bobs)

4. Many commissions to paint later

5. Kaweah Kitty remained very popular.

6. Learned 3 new words – luthier, autodidactic, aberration (which I already knew but did not know it also pertains to distortions under the magnifying glass)

7. Six of my drawing students came by! (Linda, Maggie, Wendy, Anne, Sara, Cathy) Perhaps there were some future drawing students also. . .

8. A lady fell (see #2). Learned later that she broke her hip. Until then, she was enjoying herself. Major Bummer.

9. The final visitor of the day walked up the driveway with her boot heels clicking on the asphalt. From inside the studio I thought the sound was one of my cats barfing.

Some therapeutic knitting and comforting chocolate consumption took place on Saturday evening. These photos are to help me remember the beautiful parts of the day.

The ever-popular and always present Kaweah Kitty thoroughly enjoyed the visitors.