Below Bartlett

I couldn't help myself and added some green in the forground to extend the background pattern further.



Oil 12x16 on Linen


On the 395 to Mammoth Lakes south of the tiny town of Bartlett there is an old soda ash plant situated on the edge of a salt mash. It’s been closed awhile, but never torn down. A really sweet woman by the name of Katy and her son keep an eye on the place. Katy let us look inside and all around the plant that had barn owls I frightened off just as Sharon was going to photograph one. One thing you don’t see abandoned to often was a Jaguar parked right in the middle of the factory floor.
The place was a treasure trove of cool views of the kind of worn out subject I like. As much as I liked the factory I was drawn to a line of old trailers, mini cars and RV’s parked around the back of the plant. I plan on doing a big painting of the whole line and the factory. Before we left we left we visited with Katy and her finch collection. I’ve always liked Finches as there colorful but quiet, unlike another bird I know. There was one stunted half eaten finch in his own tiny cage. He had to be separated from the flock as that was picking on him to the point of death. Birds can be as mean to each other as humans can be.

Here is a small warm up painting of one of the trailers and an abstracted corner of the plant. This is the first painting I’ve done for awhile that showed me the future of where I hope to go as far as contrasting paint and texture, abstraction and shapes/patterns that flow thou a painting, even if they were not in the reference.