Commissioned Pencil Drawing Coming Up

I’m drawing my brains out, working on The Cabins of Wilsonia. (Okay, I’m not really drawing my brains out – I need them for stuff like posting to my blog. Try not to take me too literally here.) When I get commissions, I take a break from that Giant Project.

There is a house here in Tulare County that I have admired for years. It is on a road I really like – it is curvy, against the foothills, and it meanders through citrus country. A friend was hired to do some work at this house and provided the name and address of the owner.

I had the audacity to write a letter introducing myself and asking if he would like to hire me to draw the house.

He did not respond.

I was embarrassed, but got over it. If I was a really good business person, I probably would have followed up with a phone call. Alas, I don’t want to be sellsy, so I let it go.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the man’s wife, via a common friend. (She isn’t really “common” – she is actually quite special. But, what I meant is that she is a friend to me and to the wife. Try not to take me so literally here.) She asked if I could draw the house for her hubby’s upcoming birthday. She mentioned that I had written to her husband awhile back – I was a little embarrassed, but also pleased that my self-promotion hadn’t been too sellsy.

Trail Guy and I went to the house to get some photos. Now that he is retired, he gets involved in the more fun parts of my business. He also does errands for me so I can draw uninterrupted.

These are not the photos I am using for the drawing – because it is a birthday surprise, and because there is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that the man reads my blog, I’m not showing you those yet.

On the off chance that he does read my blog, he won’t know which view I am drawing. Sneaky of me, yes?

Now that I only have Perkins, I am especially vulnerable to any and all cats. Try not to take advantage of this weakness, please.

If I didn’t love living in Three Rivers, I’d want to live here. Of course, I thought that when I was in Blowing Rock, Washington, and Downers Grove. Stop it.

After the birthday gift has been given, I’ll show you the photos I used, the ones I didn’t use, and the finished drawing. I think it turned out great, but given the subject matter, how could it be anything except beautiful?

Trading skills

Trail Guy has used the same Cabela’s commuter mug for more years than I can remember while he was Road Guy. A week before he retired, it fell inside one of his big yellow machines. The handle broke. ONE WEEK before he retired! (Reminded me of the old song called “My Grandfather’s Clock”, but in that story, the clock stopped when the old man died. No, I am NOT calling Trail Guy an old man! Stop causing trouble.)

A few weeks ago, our friend Jonah stopped by the house. He wanted to show me some really interesting pieces he carved from firewood, and he raided our woodpile for more. Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea!

“Hey Jonah, can you carve a new handle for Trail Guy’s mug? I’ll paint something for you in exchange!”

“Sure, I can do that and I’d love a painting – surprise me with something!”

What a guy – look at this handle out of manzanita wood, hand carved by the very gifted and hard working Jonah.

Trail Guy said Jonah runs cattle in the area of the Oak Grove Bridge, which happens to be one of my favorite subjects to paint and draw. The day after Jonah delivered the mug, I began this little painting for him. He doesn’t read my blog, so it will be a surprise. (Don’t tell him if you see him, ‘k?)

Loosiosity, Revisited

“Loosiosity” is a word coined by my customer/student/friend Sara. Because it is one of those self-defining words, I’m guessing that you can figure it out.

fruit bowl oil painting
This painting style is the polar opposite of “loosiosity”.

Sara commissioned me to paint a scene for her based on a piece of art she had seen and loved. I had a little photo of that art, but didn’t want to copy it. I changed several things, and painted it in my style, but following Sara’s request for loosiosity.

I THOUGHT I was painting loosely because it was definitely looser than my normal style.

After living with the piece for a few months, Sara told me it wasn’t as she had envisioned. She is very polite, and we are quite honest and straight-forward with one another. It is the sort of relationship I have with all my drawing students.

 

The way this California artist conducts business is until a commissioning customer is happy with the work, I don’t consider the piece to be finished.

 

Sara brought it to my studio, and together with our friend Lou, we reworked it. This time we studied the tiny photo and evaluated with differences. We discussed ways to mess it up, add color, soften edges, add texture, and in general, match the piece she had first seen.

Are you wondering why she didn’t just buy that piece she loved? (Great question, glad you asked. )  Because it was SOLD to someone else, of course!

Here is the before, when I originally thought I was finished:

Here it is after Sara and I and our friend Lou finished reworking it:

 WOW! The differences barely show in these photos! 

We messed up the horizon line, added brighter colors, changed textures and added longer lines (“sticks”?).

Lighting is different everywhere, and IT MATTERS. While we were working in the painting studio on an overcast day, it was tricky to see the correct colors. I finally opened up the doors so we could see it in daylight. Now, she will see it in her home.

I’m curious about what you, The Blog Reader, thinks about all this! I haven’t asked for comments for awhile, but I’d really love to hear your opinions about the process, my way of doing commissioned work, the before and after versions of “Sara’s Redtails”.

Big Trees

When you grow up in the same county as the Sequoia Gigantea, you tend to call these guys “big trees”.

That is sort of a Duh thing, but maybe we are a little duh-ish in Tulare County.

As a graduate of Redwood High School, you’d think I’d call them “Redwoods”. But Noooo, I still call them “Big Trees”. (Grow up, already, California Artist.)

oil painting of giant sequoia tree by Jana Botkin

Big Tree III, 6×18″, commissioned oil painting

Sometimes I think I am a fake California artist because I am not painting the beach or palm trees, or eucalyptus trees like those California plein air guys from the early (or was it mid?) 1900s.

Then I think – WAIT A DOGGONE MINUTE! Why am I treating Central California as if it is fly-over country, a place unworthy of mention?

Tulare County has the highest point in the contiguous United States, the largest trees by volume in the world, the oldest oaks in the world (I think that is right), and we feed the world!

Take that, you beach bums. I am a California artist, so there. (Hmmm, a small amount of insecurity, perhaps?)

If You Are Going To Paint One, Paint Two

I know, I know. I’m not painting this year, EXCEPT when I have a commission to do. I think it is funny that on the very first working day of 2013 when I am supposed to have a laser-like focus on The Cabins of Wilsonia, there I am, at the easel!

6x18 oil painting of sequoia tree

Some people saw my painting “Big Tree II” at a gallery. They wanted it. They waited. It sold to someone else. They called and asked if I had another like it. I said no, but I could paint them another. They said yes.

Sequoia Tree oil painting in progress

 

So if they want one, I might as well paint two. That way, when one of my galleries calls to say a Sequoia tree painting has sold, I can immediately deliver another. “My galleries” sounds so pretentious, but you know what I mean, right?

It is the same theory as doubling a batch of cookies – IF you can restrain yourself from eating them all, you can put half in the freezer for the next cookie emergency.

I’m sure you all understand “Cookie Emergency”, right?

So, I have two photos of entire Sequoia Trees, and the two previous paintings for reference. If Big Tree II sold, it stands to reason that there was a Big Tree I, right?

Sequoia tree oil paintings in progress

Wow, paintings look scruffy at the beginning. But can you see the promise? Can you feel the forward motion? Is the excitement building?

I’ll let you know which one the people choose, and which one goes “in the freezer”. Or, perhaps I’ll offer it for sale on Daily Paintworks.

Now I’m going to draw awhile.

I ended three sentences with “right?” What manner of weird speech pattern is creeping in here? 

Told You Yesterday That I Was Inspired

Yesterday I ended my post about inspirational beach photos by saying I felt so inspired I would go draw a cabin. You thought I was making that up?

Wilsonia cabin pencil drawing

This is a commissioned pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin. The cabin owners emailed me several photos with some specific instructions, and this is the result.

I love to draw.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

The Most Beautiful Fruit Bowl I’ve Ever Seen is completed. It is signed,  it is carefully wrapped up and sealed in a box, and I delivered it to an undisclosed location in Exeter. Someone will have an a-may-zing Christmas present. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that!

fruit bowl oil painting

 

P.S. This might be one of the most challenging paintings I’ve done. On the other hand, it was very very fun. Now I’m done talking about it.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! It was a commission. I didn’t tell you while I was painting. That is a commission omission.

Why is “commission” spelled with two m’s and “omission” with one?

Somebody shut me up, please!

Crescent Meadow in Triplicate

“Triplicate” is not to be confused with “triptych”. It means in three parts, but not the same way as a triptych. That means one painting in three parts.

Never mind.

oil painting of Crescent Meadow by Jana Botkin

I probably paint better now.

I hope so.

A customer stopped by my studio and said he’d bought a painting of Tharp’s Log for his son a year or so ago. Now he wanted to buy something to go with it, and he remembered it had been shown with a painting of Crescent Meadow. (If you have visited Sequoia National Park, then you probably know that one begins the walk to Tharp’s Log at Crescent Meadow.) Of course the painting had sold.

Doesn’t that sound snotty? “Of course the painting had sold.”

I showed him the photos of previous paintings of Crescent Meadow until he said, “That’s it!” He asked me to paint it again for him. By way of reassuring me it isn’t wrong to repaint the same scene, he told me the story of Gilbert Stuart, who painted George Washington over and over and over, possibly even in the same pose.

It did make me feel better – thanks, Bill! I’ve been doing the same scenes over and over for years and wondered if it was cheating!

Since I needed to paint one for this man who lives far away to give to his son who lives even further away, I decided to paint 2 of them. As long as I have to mix up the paint colors, it makes sense to me.

It is similar to Marilyn’s saying, “Cook once, eat twice”.

Crescent Meadow oil paintings in progress

 

Now they are drying so that I can add more detail on top, including some wildflowers. Notice the two are not identical. That would be too hard for this California Artist who is working hard on not being bound to her photos.

Redwoods, Redwoods, Everywhere

I still have a very large commissioned oil painting of redwoods to complete. Redwoods are sequoia gigantea, not to be confused with California redwoods. We grew up calling them “the big trees”, and I had no clue what a privilege it was to live so close. (I might have been a bit of a twit.) I choose to call them Redwoods now because I went to Redwood High School, and although I will skip the upcoming reunion, I have retained enough loyalty to hang onto the name. But, I digress.

Redwood oil painting in progress

The customer liked a similar painting that I made for someone else, which was based on the pencil drawing called “Redwood & Dogwood”.

You can see the drawing, plus a photo of a sequoia on my laptop. The reason the palette is on the floor is because I was kneeling there to work on the lower portion of the tree. You can see the primary colors running across the top of the palette and the redwood colors running down the side.

But wait! There’s more!

redwood mural, pencil drawing, photo and oil painting

Sheesh. This California artist has a thing about redwood trees. On the left is half of the pair of doors to the painting studio. I had to open them because it is sort of dark in there. Then, the swamp cooler had to be on high, so the doors were blowing around.

It’s rough being a California artist in the heat of summer.

Wah.

commissioned oil painting of redwood in progress

This is how it looked at the end of the noisy, dark, overheated day of painting. It should dry enough overnight to begin adding the dogwood flowers on top of the redwood tree. I mean layered in front of the tree, not up at the top of the painting. You knew that, right?