Being able to draw scenes like this is one of the main reasons I am a California artist in Tulare County. Don’t you just want to live here?
Forget it – we have high unemployment, bad air, and lots of fat people.
There. A one-woman population control committee. That’s me!
This is the final posting of this series, Why I Make Art. READER WARNING: I will talk about God in this so if it bores/irritates/offends you, skip this post.
I am made in the image of the Creator. He, the Ultimate Creator, created me to be like Him, which includes the desire to create. (No, no, no, I don’t think of myself as Godlike!!)
Clearly I do not have the ability to speak things into existence, nor the ability to make something entirely original. “What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, The Message
I also do not have the unlimited ability to make millions of variations of the same item, nor endless items.
My work is imitative, derivative, just a way I have of reflecting back a little glory to God. It is my way of expressing the joy I find in light, shadow, shape, color, texture, scenes, and gratitude for ordinary daily gifts.
(Clearly I am missing the cooler temperatures, brighter colors and higher water of Springtime!)
Reason #4: It shows off Tulare County.
My art provides a way to share beautiful places and moments of time with others. This is a natural thing – aren’t you just dying to tell someone or show someone or lend a book or see a movie with someone else? Me too. (You should have seen me running down the street to share the book “The Help” with my neighbor!)
And, living in Tulare County with its bad rep, I feel an obligation to share the good parts with those of us who are “trapped” here. Sharing our beautiful spots helps our self-esteem as a county. It helps our self-esteem as residents of this place (“You live there? WHY???”)
There are 4863 square miles in Tulare County. Really! I read it on the internet, so it must be correct, right? Although a great deal of it is un-roaded mountains, there are many roads to explore. And, there are roads to re-explore, because I forget stuff.
This summer I’ve made 4 trips to Kings Canyon National Park. Although it is in Fresno County, the bulk of the travel happens in Tulare County. Each time I have taken a different route, sometimes by choice and sometimes by accident. I wasn’t lost, because I still had my sense of direction and a working steering wheel.
On my most recent trip, I tried 245 out of Woodlake. There are a number of roads that resemble one another along the foothills. They have enough variety to make it worth the effort to change my routes. Besides, I like knowing how they connect. The traffic is usually light, and mostly I see pick-ups or out of state license plates. This is because the roads look reasonable on a map, rather than the remote serpentine almost-endless routes that they really are.
As I drove, I wondered why I couldn’t remember one road from another and why they get so intermingled in my head. In addition, I had lots of other thoughts:
1. There is the road where Bob used to live. I wonder where the sycamore that he drew is. . .
Roble Lomas, oil on wrapped canvas, 14×11″, $175
2. OH! There is that stone gate and barn I painted from a 20 year old snapshot! Shoot, wish the light was better so I could photograph it again. Either they built some new structures, or I did some serious editing!
3. Hey! There is the 2-1/2 acres of avocados that Dad used to farm. Now it has a crummy looking mobile home sitting in the middle of the property.
4. That must be Baldy. Michael and I skied there. It’s not the one that slides in the winter – that is Little Baldy.
5. When did the Badger Store close? I remember getting mail there for Hartland Camp, misidentified on the map as “Hartman”. Don’t these folks actually travel to the places they are mapping?
6. THERE’s the Badger school I remember! I’ve passed Sierra School on my last several trips. How can an area this rural support 2 elementary schools??
7. AHA! Hogback Road. I knew if I just kept trying different routes, I’d be able to find it from the lower end.
I love Tulare County, and I love exploring! Do you explore areas around your home? Do you look for differing rural routes? Do you have any recommendations? Please share!
The show, Images of Home, is over, and I’m out of these paintings. The museum tells me that was a very good response. If you feel disappointed because your heart was set on one of these, I can paint any of them over again. Won’t be exactly the same, but it will be close. (There I go again, being pushy. Sigh. Sorry.)
My high school buddies with whom I had lunch on December 31 will undoubtedly recognize several of these, since they helped me choose the subject matter. Thanks, Redwood Rangerettes, because many of the ones you chose SOLD, as you can see!
You can also see that Sequoia trees and oranges were very popular. Hmmm, guess I’m a California Artist!
(In case you are wondering why this post looks like Captain Obvious put it together: Mr. Google Who Knows All likes to have words that match the hidden words that help him to find me. So, the silly labeling is for Mr. Google.)
Thank you for putting up with this techno-jive-stuff.
Mostly, thank you so much for taking the time to attend the show, read about it here, and buy my paintings. Without all you all, I might have to be a waitress or a secretary, so I deeply deeply appreciate you! And get this – it WASN’T all my friends and relatives because they felt sorry for me – there were some people I’ve never met who bought my work! ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL??!!! (deep breaths, calm down, breathe. . . .)
This posting is so long that I will take tomorrow off. You can read this one again, or maybe go through the archives. Or, maybe just lie down from exhaustion at all the information presented here.
Yokohl Valley
Oranges
Mineral King
Kaweah Post Office
Orange
Sequoia Trees
Sequoia Tree
Sequoia Trees
There are about 2 weeks remaining for the show, Images of Home, at the Tulare Historical Museum. Here are 2 more pieces that I painted specifically for the show.
Buckeye Bridge, 16×12″, oil on wrapped canvas, $250. (just sayin’)
Michael said this is really the Paradise Bridge. I believe him, because he helped to build it. Since it is located just beyond the Buckeye Campground in Sequoia National Park, I think of it as the Buckeye Bridge. Hence, the name. My painting, my name. However, if you wish to buy it and the name is somehow a hindrance to the process, it can be changed very simply! (again, just sayin’)
Oak Grove Bridge IV, 18×24″, oil on wrapped canvas, $500
This is my favorite bridge. Did you know that?
Better hurry, they’re going fast!
I’ve been reading lots of articles on marketing art. Some say to create urgency for greater sales. Hmmmm, sounds pushy. Others say to just be conversational and make friends, and the sales will come. Now that sounds far more natural. Guess I’ll just do what comes naturally to me – show and tell.
The show at the Tulare Historical Museum (in Tulare, California) will be hanging through July 16. Here are a few more of the pictures I painted for the show. These are California poppies, because I am a California artist (Hey Google-man, did you catch that??)
They are 8×8″, $75 each. Just being conversational and friendly! 😎
The show continues at the Tulare Historical Museum. The address is 444 W. Tulare Street and the phone # is 559-686-2074. I’d advise calling for their days and hours because their website is looking a bit wacky at the time of this posting. Although it is a museum with an entry fee, you DO NOT have to pay if you are visiting the attached gallery. It is a little confusing, but humbly speaking of course, my work has NEVER LOOKED BETTER than it does hanging on their walls under their lights! The show is up until July 16. Now, have a look at 2 more pieces:
Kaweah Post Office IV, sold
Spring Sycamores, 11×14″, oil on wrapped canvas, $175
The Kaweah Post Office is a much loved little building 3 miles up North Fork Drive in Three Rivers. You can read more about it here. And, in case you were wondering, sycamores are native trees in Tulare County. They like to grow in drainages and to live near water.
I am, because I got an order for 12 paintings of oranges. There are a couple of realtors who specialize in ag property. Whenever they sell an orange grove, the buyer receives one of my paintings. Isn’t that just the best idea? Thank you, Diana, for thinking of it and suggesting it to Matt, and thank you, Matt, for agreeing with Diana! Oranges are just the most fitting symbol for central California, and this California artist from Tulare County is the daughter, granddaughter, niece and grand-niece of many orange growers.
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Here is a continuing peek at the new paintings in the Tulare Historical Museum. Of course they look better in “real”, but for Cousin Maggie and other long distance friends, this is the fulfillment of my promise to show the paintings.
Tulare County Barn, 10×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $125
When I was a kid, I assumed this was the shape of all barns. At age 16, I visited Oregon, Idaho and Washington, and was AMAZED to see the different architectural styles of barns. Didn’t take much to impress an Ivanhoe orange grower’s daughter, who grew up to be a California artist in Tulare County. (Hey Mr. Google, are you paying attention?)
North Fork Drive, 10×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $90
Regardless of the time of year, this is such a scenic little part of this Three Rivers road. The people who own this building probably refer to it as their “barn”!
