The travelogue is now getting interrupted to show you what happened when I tried plein air painting back home in Three Rivers.
The Kaweah Post Office is a subject which I have drawn and painted many times. I am currently without an oil painting of it, so it is on my list to paint next. “Excellent! I’ll just drive the 6 miles there and set up my easel so I can put what I learned in Georgia into immediate use.”
It was one thing to paint with a group of folks painting along with an instructor; it is another situation all together when most of the people driving or walking past are people you know. (And please, do NOT honk – it is very alarming!) I felt self-conscious and pretentious, but when I looked at my little old Accord, “Fernando”, it brought me back down to reality. And no one has ever died from feeling self-conscious.
The easel that I borrowed in Georgia was a “french easel”, and it was a beast. (Laurel collapsed it into a pile once when she was helping me!) I have the same type at home, only 1/2 as wide, and it is sturdier than the loaner was.
I began by looking at the PO from several angles and doing the sketches to decide which was best. The angle I liked best was a combination of liking it, and having a place to set up on the narrow shoulder of the road.
Is the painting finished? I don’t know, but I was finished with standing by the side of the road.
This painting is going to get reworked in the studio, no doubt about it. I won’t turn it into my normal almost photo-realistic style, but something needs to be done.
I figured out why I don’t like this style. I’ve been wearing glasses and contacts since I was 8 years old, trying to be able to see details and edges and distinct shapes. Why would I like purposely blurring things? Of course I don’t like it! But, I will continue practicing in this style of painting so that I can paint in Mineral King. Never mind that I don’t want to be working while the entire world is on vacation. It is stupid to not tap into the hoards of visitors, stupid stupid stupid.
So there, Central California artist. Don’t be stupid. Keep trying this at home. You can look at wildflowers when you are finished.
Want to buy a wildflower book? 😎 The signing will be on Saturday, April 27, noon – 4 p.m. at the Three Rivers History Museum.
6 Comments
There is so much to learn by changing it up and stepping outside our comfort level. Bravo Jana- stay with the journey. And if I see you by the side of the road, I promise not to honk or yell ‘Hey’!
Aw shucks, thank you, Rachelle! Lots of excitement, for sure. While away from home, a stranger showed me the correct app of Waze. Because I learned about it from you, I wanted it instead of the Google. The talking lady showed me the way to go throughout the trip.
Sorry, I never understood the attraction to plein air. I prefer my paintings look like the object painted, not as if “looking in a mirror, dimly” (HT: 1 Corinthians 13:12).
A word to those switching from manual transmission to automatic? The pedal on the left is NOT the clutch. Don’t ask me how I know.
Sharon, I agree with you about plein air paintings. I am looking to understand the process, so that I have the ability to do that sort of painting. But the results are not ringing my bell!
And you are entirely correct about that left foot flailing around in search of the non-existent clutch.
You’re very brave to step out of your control comfort zone (very jargon-y, I know). Keep trying and you’ll get more comfortable. And I like seeing your painting journey!
Thank you, Leigh! I felt brave in every aspect – being in an entirely new place, driving the wrong type of car, painting from front to back instead of the way I’ve been doing it for 13 years, painting quickly. Thank you for your encouragement!
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