Lovely diversion

The wage-earning husband found himself with the afternoon off. The self-employed artist wife has a hard time saying no to fun interruptions when there are no pressing deadlines. We took a bikeride.

We stopped on the bridge. Looking upstream, the eagle-eyed husband noticed a raft coming; see it?

Looks downright scary to me!

We continued uphill for about 2-1/2 miles until there was a gate. Sometimes I will climb them and go trespassing. Michael is more law-abiding than I am. Besides it is a pain to toss a bike over a gate. When it was time for us to head back down the road, Michael said he was in sight-seeing mode. Me? I hate to waste a good gravitational pull, so I flew down, stopped, went back, flew down, stopped, went back, etc. My sight-seeing-eagle-eyed husband spotted this next, probably a red-tail hawk’s. No one was home.

The man who made my throne also makes lovely granite benches. We sat on one for awhile, and this is the view:

How is a self-employed artist supposed to get any work done with all this lovely diversion? Perhaps Three Rivers isn’t such a good place to be an artist after all!

Morning walk in Three Rivers

Kind of handy to be able to combine exercise with gathering inspiration for new work, wouldn’t you say? Here are some of my usual scenes and thoughts (although I’ve been told my thoughts are rather unusual, and occasionally downright weird.)

The beautiful wooden garage doors, the arched gate and the odd coincidence of star jasmine blooming next to a star always catches my attention –  one day I will see how to turn it into a painting or drawing.

Pink Lady Banks roses in the sunshine! We had yellow on our shed at our old house – it might be all that keeps the shed from collapsing. We have white in the herb garden. They grow super fast. Just telling you that in case you have a shed that is about to collapse.

Did you know that new grape leaves have brownish-red in them? Apparently some do. If I painted it this way, it would look as if I am trying to force in a color that isn’t really there. Other artists can get away with stuff like that. I am known for authenticity (or just being literal).

This one little piece of river brings to mind the beach. I miss the ocean. When I lived there, I missed the mountains. It would be WONDERFUL to find a place to sell my work on the coast. I have a place, but the work isn’t selling very well. I hate that. Time for happier thoughts.

I  just love the red and white with the blue car in the background. Roses have been spectacular this year. Tomorrow’s post – roses!

There are many many more flowers in bloom besides roses. These were particularly stunning today.

Mr. Burns used to be a regular on this walking route. He had binoculars and knew all the birds. All of them. He died last week and now his gate is closed. Sniff.

Mid-May and the sycamores are only now leafing out!

Brian and Cheryl planted a new Japanese maple. Their old one seen in the background has caused great admiration, many photos and a little envy in me. Maybe I should just get the name of the variety and try NOT TO KILL ANOTHER ONE!!

The welcoming committee. And thus, we conclude our morning walk in Three Rivers. Am I inspired? More will be revealed. Back to the easel. p.s. This is a California artist’s thoughts. Just sayin’. . .

Please, Spring, Last Forever!

It seems as if  Spring is the whole point of the seasons. The rest are just preparatory or resting stages. Spring is the Real Deal, the goal, the objective, the reason, the. . . I’m out of synonyms. I love spring and this has just been the Best. Thank you God for this incredible Spring and that I get to be a California artist in Three Rivers!

There is a fabulous variety of wildflowers on the bank behind my house.

This is the most famous flowering dogwood tree in Three Rivers.

Its name is cornus florida. We call it glorious, fabulous, amazing, or if you are a teenager, “a-MAYYYY-zing”.

Optimism in a Garden

The Hidden Gardens Tour was a booming success on Saturday. Zillions of people came, and the weather was perfect. I was supposed to be painting plein air, which means “on site”, but really probably means “OHMYGOSH This Is Impossible”. I did paint but probably more words were spread around than paint was applied. Wow, what a gorgeous place I got to be!

The plan: take photos in advance, and do the first pass over the canvas of about 8 paintings. On site, move about every 45 minutes and work on a new painting. By the end of the day (a five hour time chunk), have 8 paintings almost completed. (Please don’t hurt yourself laughing nor snort coffee out of your nose onto your computer)

The reality: 1 painting finished in advance of the day, 2 sort of finished during the 5 hours. changed location once. Lots of conversations, visiting with old friends and making new ones, lots of just dabbing at the canvas thinking “I’ll just have to fix this later”,

Some people asked if it was my place – I said “In my dreams!”One woman asked me if she could use my bathroom –  I said “Sure, but you’ll have to walk a mile to get to it”.  It was just a very very nice experience, and when it was over, my feet hurt but my heart felt happy.

The 2 lower paintings got sort of done-ish, and the wisteria was completed last week.

The Real California

This week you’ve seen some beautiful green and flowered photos of Three Rivers. These are the sights that inspire this California artist, and I love sharing them with you.

While I am working in the green hills, my other half is at a higher elevation with an entirely different climate and color. Every work day, he puts on green pants, drives an hour up a gnarly road (or more, depending on conditions and an endless construction project) and climbs into a yellow machine to fight the white snow. (See how I think in colors?)

He doesn’t always work alone. And in case you are wondering, the square thingie on the back of the Big Yellow Machine on the right is called the doghouse.

That’s our friend John up on the snow bank. He is the co- owner/publisher/reporter/photographer of the local paper. He went along to photograph the snow removal operation.

And a Third Walk to Remember

Spring is the height of beauty, stunning views, super-saturated color, and altogether inspiring scenes in Three Rivers. When it is taking place, it seems to be the only season that counts. When it is over and I still want to paint it, it feels fake, out of place, inauthentic. That is all the more reason for this California artist to go ga-ga over this glorious time of year! We had a late cold storm last week and the low snow called me out with my little camera.

Looking downstream on the middle fork of the Kaweah River

Looking upstream from the same bridge. The snow is covering the foothills; the clouds are covering the real mountains.

One mile downstream from the bridge is the best patch of Owl’s Clover, castilleja something or other.

This is called Dichelostemma  capitatum; I thought it was in the brodaeia family, but my wildflower books might be wrong. Its common name is Blue Dick. I don’t know why Richard is depressed, but he certainly is handsome!

Hidden Gardens Teaser

Hi. If you haven’t gotten your tickets for the Hidden Gardens Tour, you still can. It is one week from today. And if you are wavering, I’m hoping these photos will whet your appetite and push the doubts away.

In addition to painting on location, I will have a few paintings with me. A percentage of the proceeds from the sales of those paintings will benefit our little Three Rivers School. Have a sneak preview:

A California Artist

Call me “Butter” – I’m on a roll! Here is more information about being a California artist. (Are you tired of this subject yet??)

Michael and I took a walk a few days ago. It was a gorgeous spring day, although it was still technically winter. Here are some photos to show you what inspires me, as an artist in California, forsooth, a California artist!! 😎

We may be the “Golden State”, but in March, California is very very green.

We have more oak trees in Three Rivers than I can seem to learn. And the Kaweah River is a continual source of inspiration.

Look! The California state flower, right in my territory, just waiting for me to capture it on film and later paint it. I AM A CALIFORNIA ARTIST!

Okay, I will try to give this a rest. Thank you for your understanding, support, and agreement. (Are you listening, Google??)