Online Companies I Use and Like

Notice I didn’t say I love these companies. (We’re supposed to love people and use things.) In spite of holding back emotionally, these are businesses I would be in a world of hurt without, and I cheerfully pass on the links to you, my readers and friends!

Farewell Gap, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×10″, $90
It is difficult to order from online companies when contemplating this scene in the Land of No Electricity or Internet, more commonly known as Mineral King.

Dick Blick is where I get my art supplies. (I beg you, why would any parent name their child Richard when the last name is Blick??) This company is fantastic in their inventory offerings, deals and customer service. Fantastic, I say!

Vistaprint is my new best friend. They are sooo very generous, so very tempting with all their offers of freebies. I’ve been having a blast designing products to sell and to give as promotional items.

I was despondent when Kodak announced their departure. I have tried to be brave. They have promised to send all my 90-something albums to Shutterfly. The albums have not arrived, but the tempting offers from Shutterfly have. Being a weak and gullible Regional Artist From Quaintsville, I succumbed.

(Trumpet fanfare. . .) There is a new book coming to my studio, primarily to be used for showing my work to potential customers. I have creatively and uniquely titled the book “The Drawings of Jana Botkin”. It should appear here:

Click here to view this photo book on another website. Shutterfly, to be precise. (It will cause you to leave my blog, but you can come back.) Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

 Alrighty then. It didn’t work out exactly as I had hoped. . . As I was saying, I am beginning to really like Shutterfly.  I hope they like me back.

Who are your favorite online companies? Let’s share the like (trying to stay consistent here)!

 

Name This Painting. . .

. . . and the chosen titler will receive a token of my appreciation! (That means a prize, but not a huge one.)

Unnamed Barn, formerly known as Tulare County Barn, 10×10″ oil painting on wrapped canvas

You might remember this painting from last year’s show called Images of Home. It was titled “Tulare County Barn”, because the show was about Tulare County images. Duh.

This painting will be entered in the Madera Ag Art Show. Madera is 2 counties away. (They might not even know how to pronounce “Too-Larry” there!)

Titles matter. particularly in a juried (Shall we let this piece in our show?) and judged (Hmmm, that looks like a first place!) show.

The last time I entered the show, you helped me name my pencil drawing of a barn and tractor. Your choices were wonderful, better than what my mind could conceive.

Will you help me choose the new title for this painting? The suggester of the winning title will receive a prize. Haven’t decided what. I should be able to figure that out on my own. . .

THANK YOU, THANK YOU in advance for your help!

Contests need deadlines – how about July 18? That’s a Wednesday. 

Three More Things Artists Don’t Explain

It is now over 6 years since I have been oil painting. These types of questions continue to haunt me. Perhaps if I left Quaintsville and visited some galleries in cities, I’d learn the answers. Or, perhaps I’d get tossed out of those galleries for flipping over their paintings to discover the answers.

 

 

 

The Oak Grove Bridge, 6x6", oil on wrapped canvas, $50

 

1. How to sign a painting.

Try to imagine writing your name legibly and artistically with a wet paintbrush. How about using a paintbrush that leaves blobs of paint or big sudden drips? Or one that runs out of paint in the middle of a letter? This is why my paintings are signed with first initial and last name only. This is why my signature looks like my 5th grade printing. HOW do the big boys and girls get such flowing beautiful signatures???

 

2. How to put hanging hardware on the back of a painting.

Some artist don’t bother. Some use screw-eyes and wire. Screw-eyes are considered tacky, and they scratch the wall. Sawtooth hangers are also considered tacky, and most galleries forbid them. No one actually explains what the best thing is to use or talks about having to wire the backs of their canvases before painting them.

 

3. How to secure painted canvases in a frame.

There are various pieces of hardware for this, but you have to be some sort of a sleuth to discover them. And each works on different types of frames, or don’t work. I know a great artist who just bangs nails into his canvases and frames (on the backsides, of course.) His paintings sell for more than my car is worth.

 Have you ever flipped a painting over in a gallery to discover its secrets? 

Mineral King Marmots

Have you heard of a marmot? They are in the same family as rabbits, or maybe rodents. Maybe rabbits and rodents are cousins. (I didn’t take biology in high school because in the ’70s, you could really coast on nothing.)

 

Marmot I, oil on wrapped canvas, 4x4", sold

The first time I heard of a marmot was when I was backpacking in Kings Canyon in about 1974. They only appeared in very high back country, way above timberline. To see one was a thrill.

In Mineral King, they can be like a plague of locusts. They chew on car parts, and they are legion. (That means “a vast host or multitude”.) People try all sorts of things to protect their vehicles. Very little deters these determined creatures.

A number of years ago, The Retired Road Guy left the hood of his pickup raised so he could see when they were assaulting his rig (that’s what he calls his Toyota). A ranger saw that his hood was up and figured that being Road Guy, he must know how to deter marmots. Ever since, lifted hoods are the norm around Mineral King because people think it keeps the marmots out.

It doesn’t help. It gives them easier access. It only helps you see if they are there. (Sometimes it makes car batteries go bad because it leaves a light on for an extended period.)

 

Marmot II, oil on wrapped canvas, 4x4", $30

There are multiple stories of these guys being transported great distances in people’s engine compartments. No first hand experience, no comment.

This is the best way I’ve seen to keep the rotten varmints out of a car:

 

Peculiar Sight

And this priceless photo is courtesy of Diane Gladieux, a regular reader and commenter on this blog. This is her grandmother  great-grandmother. I don’t know the date. around 1910.

I watched my friend Marilyn pet a grouse once, but this takes the cake!

Trip-trip-tripping along

The triptypch of Washington tulip fields does not have a deadline. Why should a California artist be painting Washington tulip fields? Because sometimes an artist just has to follow her heart.

Other paintings do have deadlines, so these just get fit into the painting schedule as there are opportunities. Specifically, this is when everything else is too wet to work on, or too dang hard. (see Monday’s post. . . sigh)

The top one is almost finished. When I look at it in bright light, I see parts that could be improved.

The middle piece is still needing more definition.

The bottom piece is clearly in its infancy. Oh, sweet baby tulips. . . sigh of happiness. This takes a bit of the sting out of Put-My-Parents-In-The Painting.

Normally on Tuesday. . .

. . . I would be teaching people how to draw. This happens at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter. No lessons in July or August because in the past, the attendance was abysmal during those months. Besides, it is just hot!

I’ve been teaching people how to draw since 1994. Looking back, I’m not sure I really knew how to draw or how to teach back then. People learned anyway.

Some of my students call what we do “art lessons”. I usually correct them and say “Drawing Lessons – I’m just teaching you how to draw.”

Whenever I take this 2 month break, I really miss my students. The interaction among each class is fun. They learn from me and from each other. I learn from them too. We all become friends, and it is just a thrill to see the progress each of them makes.

Hush up, California Artist, and show us what they have done!

Mrs. Bob's Italian Village

 

Limey Girl's old fashioned rose
Even tennis players can draw! This is plum blossoms, in case you were wondering.
Mae's A-mae-zing Pears in colored pencil

 

For more blog posts about drawing lessons, click here.

What Was I Thinking?!

I changed my mind – I don’t like a challenge after all. Nope. Don’t want to do this hard stuff. I’m an idiot for saying I’d try. I want my commissions to be easy, just flow from the brushes, paint themselves while I sing to the radio. This Put-My-Parents-In-The-Painting may cause me to stab myself with my paintbrush handles.

The truth is that I’ve spent hours upon hours upon hours tinkering with The Parents. This is the best I can do. What if Mr. Put-My-Parents-etc doesn’t like it?

No biggie – I can just paint it out. Erase hours upon hours upon hours of work. File it away in my mind under “You Knew Better” or “Learning the Hard Way Again” or “Stupidity Rerun”.

Then, Mr. Put-My-Parents can have a nice painting of the house.

That’d work, right?

I need to go lie down now. Maybe with chocolate and knitting. (That will keep my thumb out of my mouth.)

See how small and blurry this photo is? WHAT was I thinking when I said I’d try it?? But now that i see the photo with the enlarged view of The Parents, I think I’ll do more work on Pa’s shirt. And the pants only look too bright on the monitor. They really aren’t. I think. Maybe. Dang.

Timber Gap, Mineral King

Remember I said that Fridays are for Mineral King? If you don’t care about this place in the Southern Sierra, in Sequoia National Park, you can skip Fridays on my blog. If you only care about Mineral King and don’t give a rodent’s hiney about my art, you can skip Monday through Thursday on my blog. Okay, now everyone knows what is what, so let’s get to Timber Gap. (And welcome to my blog, you 2 hearty hikers from NY – hope you made your plane!)

It looks like this from the Mineral King valley:

A “gap” is a low spot in a ridge of mountains, a place that is the most sensible for crossing over. Sometimes it is called a “pass”.

To get there, you must endure a very steep 1/2 mile of trail with steps (“trail checks”) sized for giraffey people. It is hot, dusty, difficult. Suck it up, no whining, put one foot in front of the other, remember to breathe (if you can), and just get it over with.

There are fine views of the valley if you can focus through your huffy-puffiness:

The trail flattens out and then you are faced with a choice.

You may recall the last time I was on this trail was back in January.

There is more climbing through the groups of trees below and to the right of  Timber Gap. This is where a tram used to run, bringing ore down to the stamp mill from the mines on Empire. Here is the remains of the tram tender’s cabin near the top of that second group of trees.

Shortly after breaking out of the trees, you cross a very small stream. If you look up, you can see where the mines were. They are still there, but didn’t produce so are simply interesting historical sites if you feel like scrambling up to see them. I didn’t.

Then you are on a wide open slope that can have great flowers. Probably won’t be great this year. In fact, this year is looking a bit weird. There was a swatch of wild blue flax that usually doesn’t appear until August!

After you’ve finished skipping and singing “The Hills Are Alive”, there is more climbing to do. The top of Timber Gap is about 9600′ (or is it 9700′ or 9800′?) and you must earn it. Here is the view over to the other side.

All the landmarks I might recognize from living in Three Rivers are too far to the left to see. Just saying, in case you were curious like I am about where Moro Rock and Alta Peak are!

Mineral King is a source of much inspiration to me. That is why Fridays are devoted to the subject on a blog that is supposed to be about a California artist.

Are Competitions Worth It?

Some artists enter competitions on a regular basis. If you read their resumes, you see the awards they have won. If you are a gallery owner, this might matter to you.

 

If you are Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts (or Bag-of-Bagels or Box-of-Oranges or Sack-of-Tacos – don’t mean to discriminate here) who says, “I don’t know much about art but I know what I like”, then a list like that probably doesn’t mean much.

Jane Box-of-Oranges and Joe Six-pack tend to be my best customers. These are regular people living here in Quaintsville, Tulare County, who just like art they can relate to. The galleries around here are usually non-profit, and not patronized by folks who are aware of or impressed by art competitions.

As a business owner whose product is art, I have to carefully consider the costs of these types of events. If there is a competition that fits my style of work and the $$ aren’t upside down (entry fees, shipping, driving compared to winning and selling), it seems like a reasonable risk to take. The Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts annual show/competition/sale in Madera has been good to me in the past.

It is both juried (“Shall we let this painting in?”) and judged (“Give that one a First Place!”). The arrangement is not by medium but by subject matter. They have categories that I find fabulous for creative entries. It has been 4 years since I last entered, and maybe some day I’ll tell you about the last time. Meanwhile, you can see 4 paintings in progress for Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts, or as I, Jana Box-of-Oranges call it, “the ag art show”.

Do art competitions influence you to buy art from the winners?