Jana Botkin | Cabin Art

If a picture is worth 1000 words, here are 3000 words for you to see. No, wait, these aren’t finished! Maybe they are only worth 1500 words at this point. . . You be the judge! The top one is HUGE – 18×24″. It is fairly close to being finished – all but the trees [...]

I am pleased to report that the collage drawing of Redwoods was very well received. It is awaiting colored pencil application, and I have very timidly put a touch of color in. What holds me back is that color messes with the values, which is Artspeak for darks and lights.  Meanwhile, I have begun drawing [...]

Central Coast Pier – sold  My friend Debbie and I have known each other since high school. She returned to college a few years ago after raising her children. She had a desire to be an art major, and she has absorbed knowledge like a sponge. We have attended workshops, shows and seminars together, and [...]

She was so weird – here are some pictures of how she drank water. (So I might be a little weird too, taking pictures of my cat drinking!)    

One of the scariest parts of finishing a commission is showing the customer (or if one is feeling snooty, “client”.  I never use that word seriously.) What if he doesn’t like it? What if she says “oh.” (not in an excited way). The biggest deal is when the customer cries, although that always mystifies me! [...]

In an earlier post, I talked about how long it takes to do a piece of art. The conclusion was, “Who cares, as long as I meet the deadline?” But since time supposedly is money, let’s talk about money.If I kept track of my time in order to price artwork by the hour, many different [...]

This week was about animals. First, I had to bury Jones. Meanwhile, I have been taking care of the neighbor’s dogs. This is a stretch for me, because, as you may have guessed, I am a Cat Person (with a borderline Cat Disorder). The dogs are 2 beagles and a very old dachshund.  The dogs [...]

People say to me, “You must have a lot of patience to draw like that!” The answer is very simple: it doesn’t take any patience to do what you love. Think about your favorite activity – is it playing golf? It must take a lot of patience to chase that little white ball around! Is [...]

8 x 10″, $99 framed SOLD This is a fine view of Farewell Gap, as seen from Timber Gap. Timber Gap is not as high, and it is only about 2 miles to the top. It is a good warm-up for the trip to Farewell Gap, because looking across the valley makes one want to visit [...]

Today I painted. This is Evolution Lake, as photographed by my old friend (since 3rd grade? 5th grade? can’t remember) Ken. He is a maniac hiker, an animal who goes by the nickname of “Moose”. (I’d be more inclined to call him “Cheetah”!) He hikes for a good cause, a camp for handicapped children called [...]