Featuring the oil paintings and pencil drawings of Jana Botkin and the photography of Brett Harvey
P.S. When you comment on the blog, I have to approve the comment before it appears. This doesn’t mean that your comment didn’t “take”; it means I am not near a computer to release your comment. Thank you to those who go to the trouble to comment; I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
When my students finish a drawing, I take it home to scan and convert into a file that can be used for printing as cards or prints to share or sell; sometimes it is just so they can have a clean record of work completed. Sometimes it takes a few hours of computer work, but I love and appreciate my students so much that I just consider it part of taking lessons.
Here is a recently completed pencil drawing, before the computer work.
Lessons are suspended for the months of July and August; we will resume on the day after Labor Day. It is possible that I will have a few spaces available if you or someone you know is interested. (Tuesday afternoons, Exeter’S Courthouse Gallery, $55/month.)
P.S. When you comment on the blog, I have to approve the comment before it appears. This doesn’t mean that your comment didn’t “take”; it means I am not near a computer to release your comment. Thank you to those who go to the trouble to comment; I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
After finishing the pencil drawing of the irresistible subject, I didn’t want to stop drawing. I used this desire for drawing to get another pencil drawing finished.
Why did I wait so long to work on this? I think it is a good drawing, and if one of my students did this, I would be very proud of them.
Speaking of such pride, I’ll show you one of my student’s work tomorrow.
P.S. When you comment on the blog, I have to approve the comment before it appears. This doesn’t mean that your comment didn’t “take”; it means I am not near a computer to release your comment. Thank you to those who go to the trouble to comment; I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
One of my drawing students brought in a very faded snapshot from about 40 years ago and asked if I thought she’d be able to draw from it. I asked her to scan it and email it to me so I could improve it for her (using the baby version of Photoshop).
I didn’t save the original version of the photo to show you, but here is the new and improved version.
As I worked on the photo, I had an overwhelming desire to draw it myself. I asked my student, who graciously replied, “Sure, but I want to draw it too. Is that okay?”
My response was something like, “Of course it is okay, but I don’t want to make you feel bad when I finish it in 2 days instead of 2 months!”
We both laughed, and then I realized that if I draw it first, it will be a helpful tool for her to use along with the photo. It is easiest to draw from other people’s drawings, second easiest to draw from black and white photos, third easiest to draw from color photos, and hardest to draw from real life.
Actually, it is probably hardest to draw from memory, but since that doesn’t happen in my life or my classes, that never crossed my mind until now.
Irresistible subject, yes?
I am a sucker for a nice tin box of colored pencils, especially if it is a brand I haven’t tried before.
One day no one showed up for a drawing lesson class.
No worries, I had a new box of colored pencils to try.
My favorite colored pencils are Polychromos by Faber Castell, and I couldn’t figure out why they, Faber Castell, produced a new type of pencil. The colors of Goldfaber match the colors of Polychromos, but these pencils have a narrower barrel than a normal pencil, and Polychromos have a wider barrel than normal. Other than the size, the descriptions are identical.
I worked awhile on this piece later at home, and my conclusion was that my wrist hurt and I don’t love this piece enough to sacrifice my wrist.
My next thought was that it might be helpful to also work on the piece with my Polychromos set, but then I concluded that it wasn’t a true comparison because my real set has 10 times as many pencils.
My final thought was that I’d rather be drawing in pencil, so that’s what I did next.
I’ll show you tomorrow.
“Out there” is a strange turn of phrase. Does it mean on the edge, in outer space, and weird? Or does it mean away from one’s comfort zone, out in the world? Either, but today it means having my work out in the world away from the comfort of Three Rivers, my known and beloved drawing students, and my own private studio.
I entered two pieces in “Seascapes” at the Exeter Courthouse Gallery. It is a juried show, but I have doubts that any entries will be turned away. The part that feels “out there” (vulnerable) to me is this: WILL ANYONE CARE ENOUGH TO SPEND $ ON MY WORK?? (or more accurately, $$$)
Excuse me for shouting. This sort of show makes me shudder, but at least it isn’t an auction. The shows are interesting to see, but it is nerve-wracking to interact with the public and wonder if they care or if they are just making conversation to be polite.
But wait, there’s more. I also will enter these 2 pieces in a juried show at the Tulare County Government Plaza Building. And, I’m in the process of producing a third piece to enter.
What if they aren’t accepted? What if no one wants them? What if someone does, but can’t get them for an entire year?
Stop it. Just stop it.
Okay. I’m fine now. Thank you for listening.
June 1-28, Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery, 125 South B Street, Exeter, California.
ArtSpeak is what I call the pretentious vocabulary of artists. In my drawing lessons, and among my students, we have our own vocabulary.
I’ve recently begun using the word “embiggen”, simply because it makes me smile. One of my students asked if she should “smallen” something recently, and then another one said she needed to “outen” an edge.
Another student brought in a snow scene from an overcast day that she wants to do in colored pencil. We discussed the values (which is ArtSpeak for darks and lights). Usually we reserve paper color for the lightest areas, but the brightest snow isn’t going to be in sunlight on this drawing so paper color will be too white. I suggested that she keep it paper color, because by the end of the project, all the other colors will have “grubbified” the snow to the right color.
And don’t forget the time I explained to a student that she needed to “horizontalize her verticals.”
The most fun part is that we completely understand one another!
This is the other pencil drawing that I will enter in the juried show at the County building.
Now, I just need to think of a good title. “Grapes”, “Reworked Grapes” – nope.
How about “Before M&Ms. . .”?
Yes. I like that!
What do you think?
Sometimes my pencil art doesn’t sell. It might win awards, sell as a reproduction print, garner much praise, get borrowed by someone to decorate their vacation rentals and second homes, but just not sell. It is a mystery.
Sometimes I can look at a drawing and see what it is lacking. Sometimes it needs a bit of perfecting or polishing. Other times I see that although it is technically well done, the subject doesn’t speak to anyone in my circles.
This is one of those drawings that lots of people have been happy to buy a print or borrow the original but not willing to actually buy it. Some people say it is because my prices in general are too low; other people say it is because the price is too high. By now, I don’t even remember what I asked for it back when it was out in the public eye.
Recently, I pulled it out of its frame, studied it and made some subtle changes. Next, I’ll rephotograph, and reframe it and touch up some scratches on the frame.
Why?
There is an opportunity to put some art in a county building, a juried show where the pieces need to be relevant to Tulare County, larger than 2′ in either direction, and finally, for sale.
So, why not? No one can see it on a shelf in my storage area. New people will see it inside the county building. I don’t know what purpose the building serves, but it houses offices. People who work in county offices ought to be reminded of the good things of Tulare County.
A year or so ago I bought some new colored pencils. Blackwing manufactures something called “Blackwing Colors”, and I am a sucker for new pencils. With the box of 12, I did this 5×7″ drawing.
I posted it on Instagram (if you like Instagram and want to follow my very occasional posts, I am JanaBotkinArt) and also emailed it to Pencils.com (where I bought the pencils). Someone from there emailed and asked if they could use it on their blog. I said okay, and then nothing happened.
Last week I got an email from someone at a magazine called “Colored Pencil Magazine” (How’s that for over-the-top creativity? I think they were going for easy-to-find-on-Google rather than cleverness, which is probably smarter than being cute and calling yourself something like “Cabinart” which no one can remember.)
I am writing to let you know that we are interested in using your Pumpkin piece as an example of Blackwing Colors in the June 2019 issue of COLORED PENCIL Magazine in the Spotlight section.
Being a sensible person (in spite of making a mistake in naming my art business something that no one can remember), I said yes. Then I looked at their site and see it is both online and in print. I’ve never heard of this magazine before.
I wonder if it will be wise to show colored pencil work when I am now primarily an oil painter? I wonder if it will be wise to show colored pencil work when using colored pencils hurts my wrist? I wonder if it will be wise to show colored pencil work when it rarely sells? I wonder if it will be wise to show colored pencil work when I prefer graphite (ArtSpeak for regular pencil)?
Life is full of unanswered questions. I think this falls in the categories of It Never Hurts To Try, and We Regret More of What We Don’t Try Than What We Do Try.
As usual, more will be revealed in the fullness of time.