I get to participate in a cross-cultural experience on Friday and Saturday. No, I’m not going to a Hmong festival or a quinceanera. It is the Holiday Marketplace Boutique at the Visalia Convention Center. My idea of shopping is the Mercantile and Creekside Yarns in Three Rivers, Winco in Visalia or Amazon in my living […]
What If I Gave A Party. . .
. . . and EVERYONE came! The art show for my students was a HUGE success. It was elbow to elbow for almost the entire 2 hours. The work looked stunning, and if I had been any prouder of my students, lightning might have struck us all. First, HUGE THANK YOU to Michael, Robin and […]
Student Art Show!
COURTHOUSE GALLERY HOURS Tuesday 12:30-5:30 Saturday/Sunday 10-4 You are invited to the STUDENT ART SHOW an exhibit of original drawings by the students of Jana Botkin November 4 – 27, 2011 RECEPTION NOVEMBER 4, 5-7 PM Courthouse Gallery of the Arts Workshop Room 125 South B Street Exeter, California
Hairstory
After years of having hair all the same length, pony-tails, and infrequent haircuts, this California artist decided to try a Big Girl haircut. This means layers, “product”, styling, and tools. If it doesn’t work out for my inner slob, I can always wear a cap or grow it out or both. When I finished with […]
Mineral King Bridge Painting, 2nd Layer
Getting better all the time (wasn’t that a song by Chicago?)! Certainly isn’t a Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Long Way There is certainly correct for the road, and Long and Winding Road is even better. Wait – it was called Getting Stronger Every Day by Chicago!! Clearly I digress. This is about visual art, not […]
Things to be learned in drawing lessons, part 2
If you would like to see the completed piece shown in progress here, come to the student art show! Start with simple things. Get help on big things. Good tools make a job easier. Learn from others who know how. A second set of eyes is helpful. Sometimes you just have to do the work, […]
Things to be learned in drawing lessons, part 1
You can see this drawing at the upcoming student art show. Because a show for my students is coming up soon, I’d like to share with you some of the things learned when taking drawing lessons from me. How to see, really see. How to break down a complicated picture into manageable parts. Lots of […]
Mineral King Bridge In Paint
We all know that procrastination is not a virtue. However, I’d like to present a few benefits to procrastination: 1. Sometimes the problem fixes itself. 2. Sometimes new knowledge or skill is acquired so the difficulty diminishes. 3. Sometimes the problem becomes a moot point. 4. Sometimes someone else takes care of it. I’ve been […]
First Home
If you have been a home owner, you probably will never forget the first place on which you paid a mortgage. Our first home was built in 1913 and we were only the 3rd owners. I loved that little house too much – it just wasn’t natural to have that much affection for an inanimate […]