Feather River Country
Mohawk Lodge
In 1958 we wrote to the Plumas County Chamber of Commerce asking for brochures and recommendations of resort sites in the Feather River area. Among those we received was a leaflet about the Mohawk Lodge. It had a one-page supplement of short testimonials of former guests describing their wonderful times at the Mohawk. Frequently they would write "We have been coming up here for 28 years and....."
This seemed like a good recommendation to a couple with a young family so we booked a reservation for two weeks. We were assigned the furthest cabin across the road. We had a lovely time. We learned when testimonials declare they have been "coming up for 20 and 30 years," those clients were old mature types whose families had grown many years before.. We were the only family with children at the resort. Each evening as we took the children for walks we would see nicely dressed older couples gathered for refreshments on the front veranda of the lodge. The ladies wore flowered dresses, nylons and nice shoes and the men wore sport or suit jackets and ties. We would see them later in the main living room playing bridge or some sort of card game. It all looked very nice and formal by today's standards.
This seemed like a good recommendation to a couple with a young family so we booked a reservation for two weeks. We were assigned the furthest cabin across the road. We had a lovely time. We learned when testimonials declare they have been "coming up for 20 and 30 years," those clients were old mature types whose families had grown many years before.. We were the only family with children at the resort. Each evening as we took the children for walks we would see nicely dressed older couples gathered for refreshments on the front veranda of the lodge. The ladies wore flowered dresses, nylons and nice shoes and the men wore sport or suit jackets and ties. We would see them later in the main living room playing bridge or some sort of card game. It all looked very nice and formal by today's standards.
Graegle Mill Town
Graeagle, a small village in Plumas County, California, began as a mill town years ago. Timber from the surrounding forests were brought to the Graeagle sawmill. The whole town was owned by the sawmill company which provided cottages for their workers, as well as the nicer homes for managment personnel. All were uniformly painted red with white trim. The sawmill is gone, the town has retained the distinctive red cottages nestled among the tall pines and it looks like a picture postcard.
Graeagle Cottage
The lumber mill has been gone for well over fifty years but the privately owned town has retained the distinctive red and white houses. The highway running through this small village is also the main street. A number of the small red homes along this throughway have become dental offices, Post Office, Boutique Shops, Art Galleries, Cafe-deli and other commercial uses.
A late afternoon breeze makes a sweet, hushed whispering sound as it rustles through the huge pine trees that hover over the small homes. A lovely spot. This painting was done mostly with a palette knife.
A late afternoon breeze makes a sweet, hushed whispering sound as it rustles through the huge pine trees that hover over the small homes. A lovely spot. This painting was done mostly with a palette knife.
Mohawk Valley 1974
It is quite a treat to drive around the curve and see this lovely spot. Sometimes there were deer grazing in the meadow. I stood by the big tree as I painted, very aware of the limited space along the narrow road. Only one oil delivery truck drove by during the whole morning.
Barber Chair at Mowhawk Bar
We were on vacation up in the Feather River area of Plumas County, California in 1972 when I found this tattered barber chair in a rustic redwood cabin used as a public cocktail bar. The chair and a few empty beer cases were stored in the little entrance hallway and all customers passed this stuff as they entered and stumbled by it again on their way out.
I didn't have my sketchbook with me on that first day so I found a used paper plate, one of those limp ones with the fluted edge, and made a preliminary sketch. I still have that paper plate sketch taped into a sketchbook.
With the permission of the owner, I set up my easel in the small hallway in the morning hours when bar business was quiet. The first day I made great progress on the canvas. The next day I came in the afternoon. When the workmens pickup trucks started filling the parking lot about 4 p.m., I knew it was time for me to go back to our rental cabin.
I didn't have my sketchbook with me on that first day so I found a used paper plate, one of those limp ones with the fluted edge, and made a preliminary sketch. I still have that paper plate sketch taped into a sketchbook.
With the permission of the owner, I set up my easel in the small hallway in the morning hours when bar business was quiet. The first day I made great progress on the canvas. The next day I came in the afternoon. When the workmens pickup trucks started filling the parking lot about 4 p.m., I knew it was time for me to go back to our rental cabin.
Blue Rocks, Smith Creek
A tumbled mass of rocks up on Smith Creek in Plumas County was my subject for this painting executed in acrylic glazes
Bridge on Smith Creek
I found this delightful zig-zag footbridge at the old Mohawk resort near Blairsden, California in 1973. It was at 5000 feet elevation and crossed a meandering creek. Punctures from golfer's cleated shoes had patterned the old wood with a million dents. A couple years after I did this painting, the bridge was destroyed by heavy winter snows which were followed by high water in the spring. Another pretty spot wiped out. It was never rebuilt. I'm happy to have enjoyed its special charm.
Cat in Johnsville Hotel Window
Looking through a window in the abandoned Johnsville Hotel, a stray can peers out of another.
Clio Store 1974
It was a warm summer afternoon in 1974 when I painted the General Store in the town of Clio, located at 5000 feet elevation in the forests of Plumas County, California. This little village only had a dozen or so homes and was so quiet one could only hear the buzzing insects and grasshoppers flitting among the dried weeds in the hot sun. The Clio store carried basic grocery supplies and had a gas pump. When I went in to buy a cold drink, I noted they also had fishing supplies.
As I painted I could hear the shouts of some young boys playing down by the creek. I had driven by them as I came into town. There was a tree high on an embankment leaning over the water. They were swinging from a rope tied to the branch and dropping into a deep pool of water below. Early Tarzan training. It looked like fun.
As I painted I could hear the shouts of some young boys playing down by the creek. I had driven by them as I came into town. There was a tree high on an embankment leaning over the water. They were swinging from a rope tied to the branch and dropping into a deep pool of water below. Early Tarzan training. It looked like fun.
Clio Store Afternoon Light
The Clio Store on another day from a different vacant lot.
Weighted Gate 1972 #2
The fence that ran beside the 8th green on the Feather River Park Golf Course in Blairsden, California had this interesting gate. A rusty square piece of iron, with a hole and looking much like the nut for a monster bolt, was laced onto a heavy iron log chain. The weight of the nut and chain always pulled the gate shut behind golfers who went into the adjoining field to search for wayward balls.
Autumn in Sierraville
The small town of Sierraville in the autumn viewed from the West side.
Johnsville Boarding House
The small gold rush town of Johnsville was quiet on the afternoon in 1973 when I painted this window of an abandoned boarding house, a leftover from the 1849 Gold Rush. Warped boards covered some of the windows.
Our children went inside and came out very quickly when the they discovered bats flying about up on the second floor. The only other sign of life that warm afternoon was the click-click noise of the grasshoppers that flitted in the tall grass. The lonely cemetery at the end of Main Street had forlorn aged wood and stone grave markers bearing the exotic names of people born all over the world who had come to this area to seek their fortune, not their death.
Our children went inside and came out very quickly when the they discovered bats flying about up on the second floor. The only other sign of life that warm afternoon was the click-click noise of the grasshoppers that flitted in the tall grass. The lonely cemetery at the end of Main Street had forlorn aged wood and stone grave markers bearing the exotic names of people born all over the world who had come to this area to seek their fortune, not their death.
Abandoned Mannequin
At the 5000 foot elevation in Plumas County, California is the little village of Johnsville. In 1849 it was a brawling, hard-working, gut-busting, gold miner's town bristling with activity brought by individual gold strikes at the Jamison Mine and the Eureka Mine just a half-mile downhill from the town.
When I did this painting in 1973, the only business on the Main Street was an old weathered store that had been converted to a nice restaurant and hotel. An abandoned gas pump sat along the street out front. There were probably eight or ten occupied houses in town. This particular cottage, with its loosened shingles and warped boards, appeared to be one of those that was used by owners who vacationed there in the summer time.
When I did this painting in 1973, the only business on the Main Street was an old weathered store that had been converted to a nice restaurant and hotel. An abandoned gas pump sat along the street out front. There were probably eight or ten occupied houses in town. This particular cottage, with its loosened shingles and warped boards, appeared to be one of those that was used by owners who vacationed there in the summer time.
Johnsville Fire Station 1971
The Johnsville Fire Station was one of the smallest fire stations I have ever seen. It certainly did a very important job of protecting the fire fighting equipment in this isolated little village. The building with the vines in the background was eventually turned into a restaurant.
Johnsville Store
The Johnsville Store seemed to have been empty a long time. The wild grass was long and dry. I painted this picture in approximately 1971. When I paint on location people come up and tell me lots of things that I have no way of verifying. I was told the people who had run this Johnsville store had gone into business in Graeagle. Who knows if it is true, I don't.
Johnsville Store 2
Another view of the Johnsville Store.
McKenzie Ranch Barn
Getting to this Mohawk Valley barn in Plumas County was no simple drive. At one time it was known as the McKenzie Guest Ranch. After passing through and closing a big stock gate on the main highway, we drove one or two miles through a huge pasture where hundreds of Black Angus cattle grazed. The cattle stopped eating and watched as we passed. We drove over several crudely-made bridges spanning one little creek that persistently zig-zagged through the meadow. Once at the barn, our daughter rented one of their horses and went riding in the hills. I set up my easel, brought out the oil paints, and painted until she returned. It was a warm, but pleasant, afternoon.
Mohawk Valley 1972
Another version of the Mohawk Vally road.
Mohawk Valley 2011
Yet another version of the Mohawk Vally road. Revisiting it in 2011.
Weighted Gate 1972
A popular painting is always worth painting again. to think about it again and fill the spot on the wall where the previous version used to hang.
Weighted Gate 1975
A popular painting is always worth painting again. to think about it again and fill the spot on the wall where the previous version used to hang. This version from 1975
Weighted Gate 2003
A popular painting is always worth painting again. to think about it again and fill the spot on the wall where the previous version used to hang. This version from 2003