Aug
31
2009
You know how you just cruise along, living your life, not giving any thought to how you measure up to anyone else? (Maybe you think about other people’s opinions, but I don’t very often.) So you’re just cruising along, doing what you do, doing what comes naturally, and BOOM! Someone tells you that you are [...]
Aug
28
2009
This is what I worked on today. Can you tell what these are wanting to be when they grow up? Upside down is a good way to force oneself to see shapes as they really are rather than as one assumes they are. It sorts out some of the confusion of the familiar. It causes [...]
Tags: bridges, oil paintings, Tulare county
Aug
27
2009
Isn’t this the loveliest swimming hole you’ve seen?? Of course this is at the end of the season, but oh my!
Tags: Three Rivers
Aug
26
2009
This morning I had a very long walk. Eleven miles long. Really! It was beautiful – see? When we arrived at our destination, this was waiting for us to soak our tired selves in: There was a great lady there awaiting our arrival, and after our soak, she drove us home. After I got home, [...]
Tags: bridges, oil paintings, Three Rivers, Tulare county
Aug
23
2009
In deciding which medium to use instead of colored pencil, the choice of oil seemed the most natural. In watercolor, there is little forgiveness. This is scary to someone who lives and dies by the eraser! Acrylics dry too fast, and they are plastic. There are other choices, but everything was pointing to oil. (“Everything”? [...]
Aug
22
2009
Oops, I said that the building where I paint isn’t very photographic – silly me! About 3 years ago – who am i fooling?? – exactly 3 years, 5 months and 13 days ago I began oil painting. There were several reasons for it, none of which matter anymore since I am loving the new [...]
Aug
20
2009
In The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, she insists that field trips are very important to cultivating creativity. Yesterday, I took her advice (or was I using it as an excuse to mess around instead of work?) Have you ever heard of the Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno? I’ve been wanting to visit since 1978 but [...]
Tags: Fresno Underground Gardens
Aug
20
2009
It has been well over a year since I began this weblog, and perhaps you are new to it. If so, I can’t assume you are interested enough in me to go back to the beginning and figure out who I am or where I have been. (Okay, I can assume it, but you may [...]
Aug
19
2009
Michael and I hiked to the upper Monarch Lake. It is about 5.5 miles – the first mile and a quarter is steep and hot and dusty with giant steps up that just suck the juice right out of your legs. The Bigelow Sneezeweed are at their peak in August, as are the Gentian. The next 4 [...]
Tags: hiking, Mineral King
Aug
18
2009
Remember the Sawtooth Six from a blog posting last year? They were back this past weekend! Wow, time flies! The funniest moment was when they realized they had forgotten tonic and had to call me down the hill to deliver. The calls were frequent and pathetic; when we saw each other across the valley for the [...]