Jana Botkin | Cabin Art

Great Poppy Year

cabinart — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:57 +0000

The year was 2008, and the California poppies were stunningly abundant in Three Rivers. People still talk about it.

This is one of my photos from that most memorable year.

My postman brought me some photos he took, and I painted from them. You saw the results of one such painting here.

I promised to show you this when it was finished, and I keep my promises. If I remember. This larger version contains more detail than the 8×10 version. The mailman’s photo was easier to paint from than mine, because the solid mass of poppies almost makes my head spin. Hard to paint with an almost-spinning head.

Great Poppy Year©, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $360

Redbud Festival in the Olden Days

cabinart — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:39 +0000

This past Redbud Festival in Three Rivers got me reminiscing. (I love that song by the Little River Band. I love the Little River Band.)

The very first one I ever participated in was in 1987. I shared a space with my friend Katie. She sold silk-screened tee shirts with a Redbud logo of her design. Her boyfriend had just broken up with her, and she had to keep leaving our space to cry. (That ex-boyfriend visited my booth this year – we have remained great friends, but sad to say I’ve lost touch with Katie.)

I took no photos. I traded one drawing for our rent, and another for a pottery lamp. (George, can I please PLEASE have that drawing back? I’ll give you 2 lamps for it!!)

The next time I participated was in 1990. The show was still at Ardfarkle’s, the former restaurant at the Three Rivers Golf Course. I took a photo of some hairy good-looking guy sitting in my booth.

I think I sold some things. I also learned that shows are often about making contacts more than making sales. I definitely learned to NEVER put pencil drawings framed under glass in direct sun. Now I only do outdoor shows if I am in shade. Those pop-up tents weren’t invented back then, or perhaps they were just too expensive. That hairy good-looking guy built me an awning, which worked when the sun was at the exact right angle.

Things remain constant in my life, with small changes:

I’m still drawing (and now painting) the same subjects: The Kaweah Post Office, Farewell Gap, cabins, the Oak Grove Bridge, and even the old Mineral King Store. I borrowed that round table so much that my Mom finally gave it to me. (It is now used for propping up easels while I paint.) And that (somewhat less) hairy guy still picks wild iris to enhance my booth each year I participate in the Redbud Festival.

Is your life consistent? or is it just me?

Very truly yours,

The Consistent (Central) California Artist

Redbud Festival Report, Day Two

cabinart — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:08 +0000

The Redbud Festival was well attended on Sunday. Those organizers do a swell job, and there were some high quality exhibitors with great merchandise. I only saw things briefly as I raced to and fro on quick errands.

This is some of the hilarity shared at the Arts Alliance Booth, those amazing volunteers who put this event together.

There was very good music both days. This group might be called “Nick and Keith”, or perhaps it is called “The Remnants”. Whatever they decide to be called, they are great!

Here are a few more stories of encounters with people during the show.

3. Two brothers were leaning against the stage, looking at my booth. Together they made a beeline straight for the Kaweah Post Office VI, pointed and said, “We’ll take that one.” I am not equipped to take credit cards at shows, so they collaborated together beautifully to come up with the cash to buy it for their Mom.

4. Farmer Eric and I had a nice visit while his locally famous mom chatted with a potter. Didn’t take long for us to find people in common. It is my guess I’ll be hearing from him about oil paintings of oranges when his kitchen remodel is completed.

5. The funniest thing was a young woman who stopped and stared at me. I stared back. She said, “Why do I know you?” I asked her name, and when she said it was Judith, I said, “I know that, but why do I know that?” We worked it out – she was a sandwich maker at a place where I used to stop almost weekly back when I went to Exeter 3 days a week! She was delightful back then, and just as delightful now. We acted as if we’d won a prize when we figured it out!

I sold work, saw old friends, made new ones, enjoyed some wonderful music, and it was very hot.

The end.

Redbud Report, Day One

cabinart — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:00:33 +0000

Redbud, the arts and crafts festival in Three Rivers, not the flower, was a 2 day event over the past weekend. It was hot. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact.

Because this is a local event, it is a blend of meeting new folks and reconnecting with old friends. Here is a list of encounters that come to mind:

1. Derek, an oil painter who chooses subjects similar to mine.

2. My former drawing student and friend (they almost always shift to the friend category) stopped by with her husband and 2 little girls. No, medium girls! I drew Chloe as a toddler and could see a bit of a resemblance in her almost 10 year old self! Kept getting her mixed up with her 8 year old sister . . . stupid old artist that I must have seemed to them!

My booth now has fabric covers over the screens, the art is spaced out, and each piece has a label. This is how it looked at the beginning of the show.

Private Studio Tour

cabinart — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:37 +0000

For nine years my studio was also a gallery, open to the public in downtown Exeter. When I closed that space and built a studio at home, people weren’t sure when or how to see my work. The answer – - -

By appointment!

Just call or email and we can set a time. You can ask any question, see whatever suits your fancy, learn about whatever piques your interest. You can have a private Three Rivers Studio Tour when you are in Tulare County.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Sophia and Max who are home schooled by their Mom, the jewelry maker of Plumage.

[Time out - I went to her site to link it to this blog post and I got sidetracked and bought a pair of earrings! I NEEDED them. They are navy abalone teardrop shaped, and you just can't believe how exactly they fit my idea of a perfect pair of earrings. I love navy blue. I love teardrop shaped earrings. I love abalone. L O V E these. If you are lucky, maybe Liza (pronounced "Lee-za") will make a pair for you. Then we can be twins. But remember, I got mine first, so there.]

Where were we?

In my studio!

We were supposed to be learning about art, but there was a scorpion on the floor. After squishing it, I put it in this bag and gave it to Max. He looked at it under the giant magnifying light, which is normally used for drawing fine detail in pencil. Max thought all the grossness that is a scorpion was cool.

Sophia tried out my pencils after we talked about the different hardnesses and blacknesses and the different erasers.

You can see Max’s blue head here as he looks over Sophia’s shoulder.

I’ve never met a home schooled kid that wasn’t terrific. These two were no exception to that rule.

Thank you Liza for bringing Sophia and Max to my studio!

Man oh man, you are gonna love those earrings! Let me know when yours arrive so we can wear them on the same day!

2012 Redbud Festival

cabinart — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:00:45 +0000

The Redbud Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 at the Lions Roping Arena in Three Rivers. Saturday is 10-5, Sunday is 10-4.

Redbud Festival is named after this flowering tree which grows wild in Three Rivers. It blooms in March, so the name of the Festival doesn’t correspond with nature. However, it does coincide with Mother’s Day, so here is something to do with your Mom this year.

My space looked like this 2 years ago. (I didn’t participate last year because all my work was in the Tulare Historical Museum for a solo show.) It will look different this year.

As I continue to read art marketing sites and blogs and to interact with other artists, I continue to make changes to the way I display my work.

The changes won’t be huge, but the hope is that my work will look better.

If my work looks better, you will stay in my booth longer. If you stay in my booth longer, you will study the work more. If you study the work more, you will get attached to something. If you get attached to something, you will want to buy it. If you want to buy it, I will sell it to you.

Oh great. Now you will be afraid to come see my booth at the Redbud Festival because you will get sold! No, I won’t sell to you unless you want me to. I don’t know how to “hard-sell” stuff, much less my own art. If I did, I’d, ummm. . . no, I love my life. It would be the same as it is now!

There will be a new painting of the Kaweah Post Office, 2 of fields of California poppies, a Sequoia painting in a new shape, and maybe, just maybe a new painting of the Kaweah River. And there will be oranges, of course. And some small paintings of California poppies that sit on easels on a table top.

See you at the Redbud Festival?

A California Artist Goes Coastal

cabinart — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:43 +0000

I said “coastal”, not “postal”. Living in rural Tulare County in the foothills of the Sierra in Three Rivers is great. But, I’m 50% beach girl, and the ocean calls to me.

A dear friend and neighbor just graduated from a college in Santa Barbara. We stayed in the lovely town of Ventura, enjoyed her campus and graduation in SB, and stopped by the beach again on the way home.

Just wanted you to know that this California artist gets out and about in her state on occasion. These may or may not become paintings. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

The beach in Ventura has a very sloped surface. If you walk far, one of your legs might shrink. (Perhaps it will rebalance when you walk back.) Would this make a nice painting? Probably has too much sand and not enough water.

The harbor had perfect light in the early evening. Would this make a nice painting? Probably. Not sure I have a market for this subject.

This beach was across the street from Santa Barbara City College. How do those people get any studying accomplished?? If there were little kids playing in the sand, this photo would almost have it all! Lovely lovely town and beach and day.

Spring Walk in Three Rivers, Part Two

cabinart — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:00:59 +0000

Okay, let’s try this one again. I thrive on beauty. It drives me. It inspires me. It feeds and refreshes me. It nourishes something intangible inside. And remember, it is beautiful in Tulare County for a total of about 15 minutes each year. Good thing I had my camera with me during that little window of time in Three Rivers.

These dogwood are cornus florida, known in Three Rivers as “Karl’s trees”.

Ithuriel’s Spear blooms in shade on north facing slopes toward the end of wildflower season.

That might be Ash Peak, from which Ash Mountain, the headquarters of Sequoia National Park derives its name.

Spring Walk in Three Rivers

cabinart — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:00:09 +0000

This California artist would like to share some inspirational photos with you. She took several walks in Three Rivers in the last 2 weeks with her camera in hand. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, here is 6000 words worth for your gazing pleasure. (But remember it is usually hot and brown and dry here in Tulare County, and we are all fat and have diabetes and the unemployment is really high, so you should probably not consider moving here just because we have 15 minutes of beauty each spring.)

Okay, never mind. Only one photo will load. Computers can be enough to make a preacher cuss. Since I don’t allow profanity on my blog and I’m no preacher, gotta go now!

Four Things Artists Don’t Explain

cabinart — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:00:32 +0000

Maybe they don’t explain these things because they don’t know. Maybe they don’t explain because there are too many conflicting opinions. Maybe they don’t want new painters to know the secret information. Maybe they think that no one cares, or everybody already knows.

Whatever the reason, there are many things I’ve wondered about in the past 6 years of oil painting.

1. Why is the word “medium” used to mean so many things?

It can mean that your painting is neither small nor large.

It can mean the stuff you are using to make your painting. “What medium do you use?” “Thanks for asking [see how polite artists can be?], I use oil”.

Finally, it can mean the stuff you use to mix with oil paint to make it flow better. “What medium do you use?” “Good question – I prefer linseed oil”.

2. Why are you supposed to use expensive artist’s linseed oil instead of a big can from the hardware store? Let me guess – it is a plot to keep art supply companies in business.

3. Does anyone truly wait an entire year before varnishing a painting? I’m not making this up – it is what the books and websites and varnish cans advise. A YEAR?! The customer wants the painting now – you think he’s going to mail it back to me from Illinois in a year so I can varnish it??

4. What are you supposed to do when your box cutter slips as you are unwrapping a new unpainted canvas and it cuts a hole in the canvas? I asked Mr. Google and came up with multiple answers from just do an easy patch to NEVER TRY THIS AT HOME!

We used to write to people to ask them for answers to questions before Mr. Google came along.