Exploring Lake Kaweah

Lake Kaweah is formed by Terminus Dam, about 10 miles below Three Rivers. When the lake is full, it reaches up into the lower end of town. When it is not full, there are lots of places to walk. The dam was built when I was a toddler, so I don’t remember anything prior to the lake. (My great uncle used to lament all the drowned flower seeds and I never understood what he was so worked up about.)

Instead of heading up higher into the hills today, we drove down to the lake. Everything was sort of dust colored, and yucky looking, so I messed with it a bit on the photos. This color junkie had to look hard for nice photos on this excursion.

Why am I showing you this stuff when I am a California artist? So that you can get to know me a bit, learn about where I live, and hopefully tell me what you think.

Not much to the Kaweah River right now. We sure do need rain.

This was once a swimming pool. Can you see a hint of blue tile around the edge?

Here is a closer view. I wonder where those people went when the Army Corps of Engineers forced them out of their home. That would be dreadful.

Michael saw this bridge from up on the highway and wanted to find it.

It crosses Horse Creek. I love older things that had style. Kind of weird to realize this sits completely underwater for months at a time, for almost 50 years!

7 Warning Signs That You Might be a Color Junkie

Blushing Pear, 4×6 oil on board, with easel, $40

  1. You notice that all the cars at a stoplight are the same color.
  2. You ask your husband to pull over so you can see if that wildflower you just passed is the same color as your sweater.
  3. You notice that 25% of the people in the room are wearing the same color.
  4. You ask the yarn shop employee if you can rearrange the clearance bins by color.
  5. You grit your teeth to keep from telling someone he is wearing the wrong color of green because he needs one with less yellow because he is probably a “Summer”. (Ever had your colors done??)
  6. You dig down in the stack of baskets at the grocery store to get the teal one because it matches your skirt.
  7. You reorganize the shirt rack by color at the local thrift shop.

Anyone else have the courage to admit you are a color junkie??

Maybe it is because I am an artist, or maybe because I am a California artist. Is it just me?? Help me out here, people!

Alta Street, done!

Or is it Alta Lane? Alta Drive? Alta Road? I’m talking about Wilsonia, specifically The Cabins of Wilsonia. In my interview with myself, I revealed the strategy for drawing all the cabins. Alphabetically, by street name, means that the first set of drawings is for Alta Street/Lane/Drive/Road.

Nope, you don’t get to see the entire set because I hope you will want to buy the book and not say “that old thing? I already saw it on her blog!”

Let’s have a little drawing lesson. You can’t draw a light thing – instead, you draw the dark around it. The foxglove at the base of this pencil drawing show up because of the boards in the background. In Artspeak, the boards are the “negative space”.

Don’t you feel learned now? And isn’t “learned” the funniest word?

Next three books

Salt and Light, 11×14 oil on board, NFS

This California artist does more than just draw or paint. Sometimes she knits, sometimes she reads, sometimes she does both at the same time (if the book will lie flat).

  1. Pennybridge, by David Tolladay is a self-published novel by a pastor from Tollhouse, California. (Hmmm, do you think his hometown influenced the title of the book?) It is the story of a pastor, somewhat reminiscent of the Mitford series by Jan Karon. There are little sub-stories woven throughout, it held my interest, was a little hokey at times, had typos and needed an editor, and I thought it was great anyway!! The book was given to me by a dear friend who goes to his church, so I thought of it first as a mercy-read but ended up thoroughly enjoying the story.
  2. An Italian Affair, by Laura Fraser (the same author of Losing It from my last list) is an autobiographical book about an affair with someone she met while on a trip to heal from being dumped by her husband of 18 months. It is written in a odd style – don’t know the right technical term, but it is the “you” tense. She is brave and adventuresome and lets the reader in on her thoughts and feelings. Can’t say that I related to any of it, but it was certainly interesting to read! (and the complete opposite of Pennybridge)
  3. All Over the Map, by Laura Fraser is her third book. This one tells of her struggles at turning forty, her quest for purpose and her travels during the next 6 years. It has a happy ending, but leaves me wanting to know what happens next in her life. And, it causes me to be both immensely grateful for my stable steady safe life and a little dissatisfied too. I’d love to meet Laura, but will be content reading her blog.

More talking to myself

This is one of the pencil drawings for the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia

How will the book be organized?

Alphabetically, by street name

What order are you doing the cabin drawings?

Alphabetically, by street name. EXCEPT, when I began in the summer, I did quite a few of the Masonic tract and then quite a few on Fern where I also stayed.

Don’t you get bored just sitting there alone drawing in pencil?

Often Kaweah Kitty is with me. If it is cold out, she squishes underneath the light for warmth and blocks my vision and licks my hand.

But don’t you get bored anyway?

With the wonder of technology, I can listen to the radio or to TED talks on the computer or to Artists Helping Artists marketing broadcasts on the computer or to iTunes on my Bose speakers for the computer or to Iceberg radio on the computer which I learned about from my new friend Colleen. Who can be bored when you have the whole world available through that magic machine?

How will you get all those quotes you need?

I’ll just keep bugging people via email, maybe send out a real letter, and keep drawing cabins in pencil while I wait.

Where will I be able to order a book?

Call me, write me, email me. Check my website. Ask Gus. And, if I figure out how, it will be available through Amazon. Then, if you wait 10 years, you can pay twice as much on eBay!

Who are you, anyway?

I am California artist Jana Botkin, who specializes in pencil drawings of cabins. (Got that, Mr. Google??)

In Which the Artist Interviews Herself

The Cabins of Wilsonia, my huge project, has created a few questions. Here I will ask some of those questions, and then answer them for you. (Mr. Google, I am a California artist who will do over 200 pencil drawings of cabins.)

What is Wilsonia?

it is an area of about 100 acres of private land bought and set aside before the National Parks were created. It is next to Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park in California.

How old are the cabins?

The first cabins were built there in 1919, there are some that were built in the 1990s, and there are all sorts in between.

What is that name?

It was named after President Woodrow Wilson (with apologies to Glen Beck).

Why are you doing this?

Short answer: because I am Cabinart. Medium answer: it hasn’t been done yet, and it will be a good product to sell. Long answer: I love to draw, drawing cabins is my signature art style and subject, Wilsonia is beautiful and interesting, and it is good to record these places before they change too much.

How many cabins are there?

There are 212, 12 of which belong to the National Park Service.

Will there be history?

There will be an introduction that briefly explains the history of Wilsonia. If cabin folks want to share some of their own history, it may be included in their quotations.

Will the book be expensive?

Compared to a clearance table book, yes. Compared to the current price of The Cabins of Mineral King, no. (It initially sold for $50 and is currently selling for around $100 used.)

Are you drawing all the cabins?

No.

Why not?

Short answer: there are too many. Long answer: some are too cluttered, some are too hard to see through the trees, some are too plain, some are redundant in appearance, and some belong to the Park, who most likely won’t be a customer for the book.

Won’t the book be boring with nothing but cabins?

The drawings will include entire cabins, cabin details, and quotes from cabin folks. If you buy one and then think it is boring, hang on to it until the books are sold out, then sell it for twice what you paid!

Will you sell the drawings?

Eventually. If I let them go before they’ve been scanned properly, it will be very hasslesome to retrieve them to rescan. I have sold a few, and I hope I don’t have to beg to borrow them back!

Do you know these people?

I know a surprising number of Wilsonia cabin folks! The former owners of our home in Three Rivers and the former owners of our cabin in Mineral King both have cabins in Wilsonia. My husband’s closest friend from childhood, our neighbors in Mineral King, my dad’s partner in an airplane, a cousin by marriage, old friends, friends of friends, previous customers, and now lots of new friends are all on the list of folks I know.

How will you earn money if all you do is draw Wilsonia cabins for more than a year and can’t sell them yet and have to learn how to use Adobe InDesign at the same time?

Any suggestions??? Anyone?? Ideas??

Excuse me now, I need to go lie down for a bit. Maybe I’ll just put my thumb in my mouth and rock a little.



Walk in the Park

Today that animal I am married to is turning 59. We did a stroll in The Park. Anything feels like a stroll after attempting Monarch Lake on the old “trail” last week. We stayed in the foothills, and almost wished for shorts and were annoyed by the face flies. Hard to believe it is January. (Are you praying for rain? You need to be!!) Anyway, I talk too much, so have a look at some nice photos. These fall under the broad category of Sources of Inspiration, which also means things I might want to paint someday. Oh, and if Mr. Google is paying attention, this is the blog of a California Artist who paints Sequoia National Park, Tulare County and Three Rivers.

P.S. I am an animal too, if banana slug counts as an animal.

First mural, revisited

Back when I decided to begin muralizing, I started by painting Farewell Gap in oils and increasing the size each time. After I completed a 24×36″, it was time to paint it on my workshop doors. This was the first time I painted large and it shocked me how quickly it went. Michael stood back and helped me with the shape and scale of the peaks. Louise stood down the driveway and coached me on the water. This is how it looked in April 2008.

The colors faded, and I paint better now. Besides, the Three Rivers  Studio Tour is coming in March 2012, so it is time to repaint.

Now, I can see that the poppy door is faded too. Is this going to be like painting the Golden Gate Bridge?

Weird Winter Walk, part 3

As we descended the non-maintained trail from Monarch, this was our view of Sawtooth Peak. If you aren’t familiar with it, the view here might help you.

Michael referred to this as the “moonscape”.

“. . .miles to go before I sleep.”

Nice light, eh?

Sometimes we lost the trail because we were avoiding stuff like this.

When I told Michael to look at the way these spires were lit, he said, “I’ll fall over if I look up!”. Speaking of falling, I did fall a couple of times. This is the first time in my memory that my knees and ankles just spontaneously buckled.

In the summer, we rarely choose to use the Sawtooth/Timber Gap trail. It is steep, hot, and dusty. On our trip down from Monarch, it was the most welcoming and comfortable part of the day. Because of freeze-thaw, the trail bed was a little spongy and not dusty at all. It wasn’t steep compared to the rest of the hike, and such a nice flat place to put one’s feet! Good thing, because we were on the edge of running out of daylight and needed to pick up the pace.

Michael took this photo of Empire and Sawtooth Pass while shouting at me to hurry up in the outhouse. I did hurry, but not soon enough to run down the icy slick road for a better view of the entire peak. It was truly this red, and only lasted about 1 minute.

Dang. That was a hard day. Michael asked me what the best part was, and I said “the sunset”.

Weird Winter Walk, part 2

Yesterday I left you with the information that I am married to an animal. He went to within view of Monarch Lake, and then returned to me for the camera, which I gladly handed over, then resumed my semi-comatose state of gathering strength in the sunshine for the “walk” down.

Can you see the lake? It is beneath the peak sometimes referred to as “Sawtooth’s Shadow”. I think the real name is Mineral Peak. Anyone know for sure what this guy is called?

Here is the left side zoomed in.

And the right side.

And the view out to the Coast Range.

Did you know there is a sorry excuse for an outhouse at Monarch Lake?

See the 2 foxtail pines? They were just “right there”, but might as well have been in Rome for all my ability to reach them. You can see the shelf where the lake is just behind them. I didn’t care.

To be continued. . .