Jana Botkin | Cabin Art

A California Artist's Show-and-Tell

Archive for January, 2012

Jan 31 2012

You Know You’re A California Artist When. . . part 2

Published by under drawing

That was so fun that I decided to do it again in pencil. Split personality? No, same subjects (California, mostly Tulare County), same tight style. 1 . . . you draw the beach. Wood, Wind, Waves, pencil on paper, 12×16, matted and  framed, $500 Central California Coastal Pier, sold Beach Birds, sold Wave Action, 11×14, [...]

6 responses so far

Jan 30 2012

7 Things Your Drawing Teacher Won’t Tell You

Published by under drawing,Lessons

The Honeymoon Cabin, pencil on paper, 11×14, $400 If your drawing teacher is me, that is. These are things I would never say to a student: Sorry, you don’t have any talent. Doesn’t matter if your pencil isn’t sharp. Just use any old stub you can find. You don’t need to be able to draw [...]

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Jan 27 2012

You Know You’re A California Artist When. . .

Published by under Oil Paintings

(with thanks to Jennifer at Jottings by Jennifer for the idea) 1. Your fruit paintings are done from just-picked, not grocery store fruit. Plum II, oil on wrapped canvas, $40 2. You’ve painted oranges at least 102 times. Oranges 83, 14×11″, oil on board, framed in black wood, $250 3. You’ve painted poppies so many [...]

3 responses so far

Jan 26 2012

Book Report

Published by under drawing,Wilsonia

This is an update on the The Cabins of Wilsonia, not a report of books I’m reading. Sometimes I put 2 drawings on a single sheet of paper because it is just that much less to handle. (read “lose”) And I am frugal with paper. (read “lots of things”) This is my Wilsonia stack of [...]

2 responses so far

Jan 25 2012

Too Wired

Published by under drawing,Thoughts

Pencil drawing, “Loft Bedroom”, sold It is a frightening realization that I am very very dependent on electricity. My neighborhood was warned of a 2 hour power outage, and we were even told the time to expect it. Suddenly we were racing around to take care of everything that needed to be done before the [...]

6 responses so far

Jan 24 2012

In Situ

Published by under commissions,Oil Paintings

Say what? Is that some sort of typo? Now now, let’s not get all worked up here. It is Latin and it means “in position”.  We’ve been over this before. IF you were paying attention you might remember! This California artist knows a few Latin phrases, and she isn’t afraid to use them. However, she [...]

3 responses so far

Jan 23 2012

The Great Talent Hoax

Pencil drawing for The Cabins of Wilsonia Have you ever thought or said to an artist, “Gee, it must be great to have talent”? Or have you you ever said, “I wish I had talent like that”? It’s all smoke and mirrors. Actually, it’s not. It is practice, training, practice, rough criticism, more practice, a [...]

4 responses so far

Jan 20 2012

Draw, draw, draw

Published by under drawing,Wilsonia

My buddy Chris LoCurto had a guest post on his blog about choosing three words to guide you through the year. My first choice was DRAW DRAW DRAW. In that order. (Honestly the first 3 words that came to mind were “eat, pray, love”.) So, I am drawing. No matter how much I draw, it [...]

2 responses so far

Jan 19 2012

Self-interviewing again

Whatcha working on now? I just finished bidding on 2 murals. Where?? In my studio. No, where will the murals be? The bid that was accepted will result in a beautiful trail scene on the side of a new business in Three Rivers. They hope to open in March, so I could be painting in [...]

5 responses so far

Jan 18 2012

Exploring Lake Kaweah, Part two

On Chris LoCurto’s blog today is a post by me! Chris’s blog is about “leadership, finances and the occasional random thought”, which is where I fit in as a guest poster. Visit, leave a comment if you’re so inclined, and browse through his past year of really interesting posts! Here is the second half of [...]

2 responses so far

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