Valley Oak Tree

Valley Oak trees are part of life in Central California. Growing up, we saw them out in the middle of a cotton field, or centered in city streets that suddenly veered around one in an otherwise straight road. Now that I am a grown-up, I realize that these oak trees are special. They are the largest American oak, and the Latin name is quercus lobata.

No speakie Latin. Lobata sounds like “lobotomy”, which brings to mind One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Never mind.

After I mostly/sort of/might have finished the oil painting “Tulare County’s Best”, I taped my 2019 calendar to the top of the easel and began working on the oak tree again.

My pencil drawing of the oak up Yokohl Drive was Miss March 2019, not Miss February. Didn’t matter – the drawing is more helpful than the photo in untangling all the knotted up branches that are the signature of a quercus lobata.

Sure starts out dreadful but it is sort of fun to slap paint around without the pressure of Get It Right The First Time.

Don’t be scared. With enough layers and time, this will turn out. I just listened to a podcast where the interviewee said that time can make up for lack of skill. This means that no matter how weak my painting skills might be, if I paint slowly enough, I will get it right.

Another Big Tree

While I was in Georgia last spring, when people asked me where I was from, I was very specific and replied, “CENTRAL California; no one knows about us, no one cares, but we feed the world.” The unspoken part was “I am NOT from Los Angeles or The Bay Area, so assume nothing about me”.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (just a euphemism, don’t worry, I haven’t moved), I am thinking about what to paint on those large canvases.

As I think about my self-ascribed descriptor, “The Central California Artist”, I want to be painting things that truly represent Central California, specifically Tulare County.

Not only does Tulare County have the largest trees by volume (Sequoia Gigantea), we also have the largest of the American oak trees, our valley oaks (quercus lobata).

All-righty then!

Yikes. Gotta start somewhere. 

Don’t be afraid. I can do this!!

P.S. Did you get my 2019 calendar, “A Touch of Color”? This tree was Miss February. It was a horizontal rectangle, but the painting will be a square. I untangled the branches in the drawing so it will serve as a helpful guide in the painting.