I started by photographing and sketching 15 local buildings or sights around the town of Sanger, California where my studio/gallery is located.. Then I drew them with black ink and painted them with watercolor paint on small 4” X 6” or 5” X 5” pieces of watercolor paper with narrow white borders. I photographed them all individually, with titles and signatures in the bottom border, to later print as greeting cards. Next, I cut off all the borders, glued the small paintings to a full sheet of Arches watercolor paper and painted and collaged between the small paintings to make one unified whole using paint, pens, collage papers, rice papers, and other mixed media materials. Though the pastiche painting is “Definitely NOT to Scale” nor are the locations anything close to where they are on the map, the painting does fairly accurately depict some familiar Sanger sites.
Unified with a “Christmas Tree motif” since Sanger is the “Nation’s Christmas Tree City”, I hope I have been successful with my first attempt at painting Sanger, California in a way that will be enjoyed and appreciated by its residents.
Original watercolor is framed to 40” X 32” and is available for $1250. Prints and cards are also available.