Figuring Things Out

Isn’t “figuring things out” a strange grouping of words? But we all know what that means. . . puzzling over something, trial and error, plan A and plan B, lots of conversation. . .

A long time friend asked me to do an oil painting of two significant Tulare County landmarks in her life. This is not two oil paintings; it is one painting with 2 separate scenes, a true piece of Tulare County art. I am a Tulare County artist, so why not?

I’ve been doing collage type pencil drawings for many years, but have never thought about this for oil paintings. This friend has challenged me before with other unusual ideas, and I’ve learned from her. So, here we go.

This is what she sent me first:

Homer’s Nose, a granite formation, from an unidentified magazine cover 
Homer’s Nose, a granite formation as viewed from another angle (from a book called To Find the Biggest Tree by Wendell D. Flint)
The Oak Grove Bridge with a significant pickup crossing it.

This is what I drew for her, using colored pencils so she could get an idea of how the two subjects would blend together into one painting.

Sketch #1

Her response was that she likes the view of Homer’s Nose from another place, likes to see lots of rocks under the bridge, and would like to see some wildflowers, preferably Mock Orange or Spice Bush.

Good thing I know what she is referring to on all these subjects and have 29,000 photos on my laptop that include most of what she is wanting.

To be continued. . . meanwhile, here is today’s painting. It no longer exists, but is the first oil painting I ever did of Homer’s Nose from that other place.

Homer’s Nose from Yokohl Curve, 12×16″, oil on canvas, gone.

Random Roundup

  1. We got rain and snow and clear bright days.
    Three Rivers, as it looks in my neighborhood.

  2. I painted 3 poppies, thinking they would be quick and easy. Fall down laughing. I have had to reshape and reshape and relayer and wait and relayer yet again and on and on and on. . . this is just one of the three poppies that will not cooperate.
  3. I started painting a bear. During our Bear Autumn of 2015, I got a few photos. This is probably the dude who tore battens off the side of my studio while seeking acorns.
  4. After much calculation, I figured out how many more Mineral King paintings are needed, which subjects and which sizes. This is based on numbers sold in previous summers, popularity of subjects, and women’s intuition. Time will tell if I have chosen correctly. (I can always paint roosters over the tops of the ones that don’t sell.)I chose the sizes, paired the canvases with the photos, assigned inventory numbers, titled the pieces, attached the hanging hardware to the backs, and primed the canvases. 
  5. The web designer said there is progress being made. Sounds as if I have hours and hours of computer work ahead as I load up all my art (NOT paying someone else to do this!)
  6. March First Saturday in Three Rivers at Anne Lang’s was better than both January and February combined. Some fine folks were waiting for me to arrive (Hi D & B & R & A!!), a friend bought my lunch (T/U, GE!!), and a friend stopped by for a long overdue visit (Hi CHO!). Of course, sales made the day particularly happy, and I did more coloring in the Heart of Ag coloring book, along with lots of explaining to people how to layer with a minimalist box of Black Wing Colors.

And thus we conclude a random roundup of the business of art, as defined by me. I wonder how other artists go about their business? On artists blogs, they all sound so professionally successful, discussing plein air outings (oh shut up, that is so hard and I don’t know how and I am a studio artist and if I am outside it will be to hike, walk, prune or pull weeds), or packaging up things to deliver to galleries (galleries, schmalleries – this is Tulare County), or showing off big deal sales to a local hospital or courthouse or university (Hunh? those places spend money on art, big money on originals?? Not in Tulare County), or fancy commissions (I paint wooden geese and or draw barns), or shows in nice places (I do them in Art Centers without plumbing, the local Remorial Building, or in people’s stores or backyards).

HaHa. I live in Tulare County and they don’t. 

Oops. Sold two more Mineral King paintings recently so I may need to recalculate! Customers keep depleting my inventory. . . what’s an artist to do except keep painting??

Testing a Coloring Book

Designing coloring books involves drawing, my favorite thing. Coloring the pages is for other people to do.

But, I got curious. So, I gave it a try in the ag coloring book, Heart of Agriculture: Celebrating Tulare County Farm Bureau’s First 100 years.

This is as far as I got on the title page. I filled the letters in with blues, because there is very little blue in agriculture unless you drive a New Holland Tractor. (Cats are yellow, Massey-Ferguson are red, John Deere are green: I don’t know about Kubota or Mahindra or International Harvesters.) Couldn’t decide on the cow – dairy? beef? Reddish? Black Angus?

And this is the beginning of the citrus page, one of my favorite designs in the book. I don’t know why I started at the bottom of the page. Look – more blue! It makes the yellows and oranges look brighter.

This stuff is time-consuming. I think it is probably the most fun for people who don’t draw or paint (or knit). It would be a fun group activity – a bunch of friends sharing conversation, ideas and colored pencils or markers. A bowl of M&Ms would be appropriate too. . . dark chocolate, if I’m there.

You can get the Heart of Ag coloring book at the Three Rivers Mercantile, Rosemary & Thyme or the Mural Gallery in Exeter, or on my website here. And, of course, if you see me around somewhere, I almost always have some in the trunk of my car, along with many of the other books I’ve published. (coloring books and The Cabins of Wilsonia)

Heart of Agriculture

That is an apt title for today – a nod to both Valentine’s Day and the World Ag Expo’s opening day in the title of my latest coloring book.

This coloring book was published in partnership with the Tulare County Farm Bureau, a delightful group of people to work with (in spite of their rejection of pomegranates).



There is a tiny heart hidden in every picture, even this one:

This is my favorite:

 

And this might be the most fun to color:

The coloring book for grownups has 20 colorable pages and is $15 including sales tax. (If the Paypal button charges you tax, I will send you a refund.) If you prefer to pay with a check, I accept those in the mail to Cabinart, PO Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271. If you like to cheat a little, you might be able to print these pages from the blog, but I don’t know how and am not going to instruct you in this.

The For Sale pages work now, unless you are using Firefox for your browser. (I think that is the only one that doesn’t work with my site.) Here is a link to the Heart of Agriculture page. Tap or click here, depending on your device.

 

Heart of Agriculture

 THIS IS THE COVER OF THE NEXT COLORING BOOK!

0-front-cover

AND THIS IS ONE OF THE INTERIOR PAGES!

17-cotton

Yes, there is a hidden heart in every picture, even this one. I did my best to not have to draw cotton, but the customers (plural – there was a committee) requested it in spite of my explaining that it would be boring to color. So, I drew cotton, lots and lots and even more!

The coloring books are not yet ordered, but when they are, I’ll add them to the website, under the For Sale, then Books, then Coloring Books. There will be 20 colorable pages, and the price will be $15.

Thank you, Tulare County Farm Bureau, for the opportunity to draw the agriculture of this place that feeds the world!!

 

2017 Calendar Coming Soon

Like it or not, 2017 is coming in a few months. Why wouldn’t one like it? Because one may have not gotten used to 2016 yet. Why would one like it? Because a new calendar is coming.

The Bridges of Tulare County

Back cover of 2017 calendar The Bridges of Tulare County
Back cover of 2017 calendar The Bridges of Tulare County

This idea came from the show that celebrated 100 years of the National Parks. I realized that my art is heavy in the subject of bridges, because they combine the best of scenery with architecture.

There aren’t very many picturesque bridges here in the fly-over country of California, AKA Central California. Thus, some of the bridges appear more than once.

The calendar includes oil paintings, pencil drawings, and one colored pencil drawing. My favorite, the Oak Grove bridge, shows up many times. It is my calendar and I don’t have to be fair and balanced. (I hope you share my bias.) 

With all the work on coloring books this year and not too much time to draw or paint, I contemplated not bothering with a calendar. Then 3 different people asked me what my calendar was going to be this year, and that’s all it took to convince me to make one.

Some of these you may have seen before, and others are new, specifically created for the calendar.

The Bridges of Tulare County, 2017 calendar – not yet ready to be ordered, but coming soon.

 

 

More From My Pencils

When deciding what to draw next, this particular subject seemed like a good compromise of my theme of Tulare County and what I want to draw because I want to draw it.

Strawberry fields have become a common sight in our area over the past 10 years or so in the springtime. That makes this drawing qualify as Tulare County art, yes?

strawberry

Using colored pencil for extended time periods hurts my wrist. This little bit of color is possible without injury, and it is very pleasing to see one item in color. Not every picture has a place for color, but this was an easy decision.

Thoughts on Success in Art

I have 3 nephews. 2 of them are “creatives”, one an accomplished graphic artist supporting a wife and 2 children, and the other about to start his junior year in college as a music major. Might be performing arts, might be music theory. . . can’t remember exactly and embarrassed by asking him too often.

Music Nephew and I have been having an email conversation about “the arts”, and he mentioned how a musician friend of his gets in the way of his own success. I responded with something that I think you might enjoy, Oh Blog Readers (all 4 of you or so. . . maybe 6 or 7, but I still don’t know how to access or read the blog stats).

Most of us trying to make it in the arts are usually in the way of our own success. I’m gradually learning to redefine success. I know I don’t want to spend hours and hours on social media trying to build up a following, so I’m not – that’s success. I’d rather have real people that I know just happily following my blog and thinking of me when they have an art need – they do, so that’s success. I also don’t want to do the crazy hard work of building up a body of work that might appeal to galleries, which I’m not, so that’s success.

My life’s work is to discover and display the good things of Tulare County, a place I love to hate and hate to love. Sigh. Thus, the mixed ideas about success – I am portraying this place, but sometimes I want to live somewhere with a less hostile climate, cleaner air, and richer more educated populace.

If you made it to the end of this bloviation, you deserve a reward. Here, have a look at a successful pencil drawing of a bridge.

Marblefork Bridge, pencil on paper, 11x14 framed, currently hanging at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.
Marblefork Bridge, pencil on paper, 11×14 framed, currently hanging at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.

Orange is the Color of Tulare County

One might think that this Central California artist’s favorite color is orange. One would be wrong, but one would be forgiven for making that assumption.

Due to her continual paintings of oranges and poppies, this would be a logical guess. But, if one thinks about Central California and what we are known for here in Tulare County, then one would come to an understanding of the apparent excessive use of the color orange.

Here are the latest oil paintings in the continuing saga of this Central California artist’s representation of the best of Tulare County.

1611 poppy 46
Poppy #46, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $60

 

1610 Poppy 45
Poppy #45, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $60

 

1609 Poppy 44
Poppy #44, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $60

 

1608 Oranges 126
Orange #126, 10×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $175

These paintings are all available through this link: oils

The Oak Grove Bridge Saga Begins

Or perhaps it continues. . .

 

 

Oak Grove Bridge XVII

This commissioned oil painting of the Oak Grove Bridge is signed, sealed and delivered.

On Monday, February 8 at 6 p.m., there will be a public meeting at the Three Rivers Memorial Building concerning the future of this bridge. A hearing? Something about the planning commission? Not sure exactly of all the bureaucratic wording, but whatever it is, I will be there. (Lord willing, the Creek, etc.)

In addition, we are invited to send “comments” (does that mean opinions? suggestions? protests?) to a Jason Vivian by February 1. Here is a link to an explanation that includes Jason’s eddress. Click this.

Next week I”ll show you what I wrote.

Meanwhile, I have 2 more bridge paintings to finish.