drawing | Cabin Art

Trying New Colored Pencils

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.

Empty gallery, where are my students for this hour??

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

“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.

A Walk to the Rock, 11×14″, $275, oil on wrapped canvas (looks square here, but that is simply misbehavior on the part of the blog)

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.

Before M&Ms. . ., pencil and colored pencil

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.

“Seascapes”

June 1-28, Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery, 125 South B Street, Exeter, California.

Opening reception: Sunday, June 9, 2-4 p.m.

Lighthearted Lessons

Nice job, Mary! Thank you for all the years of drawing with me, and Godspeed to you as you begin an adventure in a new place! (P.S. Not sure exactly what “Godspeed” means, but it feels right here.)

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!

Do-Over #2

This is the other pencil drawing that I will enter in the juried show at the County building.

It isn’t actually discolored – that is the inadequate photography.

Again, the inadequate photography doesn’t do justice to the delicate colors. But, I am very pleased with its new look!

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?

All 3 grays look alike to me in the faces.

Do-Over

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.

Wondering About Colored Pencil

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.

Melon, Gourd or Squash? 5×7″, colored pencil on paper.

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.

More Story

So far we have learned that I love to read, love the beach, and have wondered if it was possible or necessary to learn to paint plein air.

I have a virtual friend (is that what it is called when you are in touch with someone you have never met in person?) named Laurel Daniel who paints very well. She paints plein air and she teaches a few plein air workshops every year. She even gave me a list of tips and helps when I had to do some public plein air painting 4 years ago. It helped, but didn’t make me feel any more confident or competent. (One painting session does not make an expert.)

Remember that I loved some books by Eugenia Price based on St. Simons Island? That is one place where Laurel teaches. When I learned this, I was gobsmacked by a great desire to attend her workshop there. This probably doesn’t surprise you.

How about this for a surprise? Last summer I was with a childhood friend at her family cabin, and we visited her cousins at their neighboring cabin. Her cousin lives by St. Simons Island! Again, I was gobsmacked.

Beach Birds, pencil, sold
(This drawing is not St. Simons Island.)

Tomorrow I’ll tell you a little bit more.

A Story

When I was a kid I loved to read (and still do). My mom took us to the Ivanhoe library, where I worked through the kids fiction section until there was nothing left that interested me. Eventually I realized that some of Mom’s books might be good, and I read a couple of historical novels based on St. Simons Island off of Georgia. Of course I wanted to go there.

As a family, we spent time at both the beach and the mountains (we lived in the Central Valley of California, so both were accessible), but I tended to like the beach best. Now I am torn between mountains and beach, fated to live forever between both.

Why am I telling you this? To be continued. . .

New Idea for Drawing Lessons

In the month of March, I am teaching a beginning drawing class to six people, two hours per week at Arts Visalia, a very fine non-profit gallery in downtown Visalia. (This is the county seat, the town we usually mean in Three Rivers when we say we have to go “down the hill”.)

The six folks were all new to me, although we have found a few connections, as one does in a place like Tulare County. We worked through my regular beginning exercises on the first evening, and they were terrific. Easy to work with, understood and followed directions, asked good questions that helped me clarify my instructions, and they all did very well.

I suggested that they bring photos they might like to draw from for the second lesson. That night, I woke up with such a good idea that it could only have been inspired by God.

It is based on the idea that there is an order of difficulty in drawing. Here it is from easiest to yikes:

Other people’s drawings
Black and white photos
Color photos
Real life

I went through my zillions of photos and chose a stack that will give a beginner a reasonable chance at success. Then I chose one to try out – could I draw this quickly? Could I scan it successfully and make a printable tool for my new students?

Yeppers.