Big Fat Announcement

For a few months I’ve been dancing around the subject of a Very Large Project on the horizon. Today is the day to tell you all what it is. It isn’t a very well kept secret, just a non-published-on-this-blog secret.

If you know me, you know I love to draw in pencil and that I love to draw cabins. Little cabins, big cabins, they inspire me to draw. So, The Cabins of Wilsonia, a book of drawings of (duh) the cabins of Wilsonia is underway! It will be similar to The Cabins of Mineral King.

There are differences.

1. It will contain very little history  because I’m an artist, not a historian, and the history has already been written in several forms.

2. I will be doing this one solo instead of with Jane Coughran, the very qualified former picture editor from Time-Life Books who was my partner on the Mineral King book.

3. It may not contain any photographs, because there are more than 3 times as many cabins in Wilsonia as in Mineral King.

4. It will take longer than a year to produce because it is a bigger book (226 drawings, at least 128 pages and probably more) and I have to learn how to do the designing on my computer all by myself. (deep breaths, deep calming breaths. . .) I’m aiming for Memorial Day of 2013.

5. The cabins won’t all be represented – there are just too many!

6. The cabins won’t be identified by name. They will be in chapters by street names.

There are similarities.

1. It will contain pencil drawings.

2. It will contain quotes from cabin folks.

3. It wil be hardcover (yes Brad, I listened to you!), horizontal in format.

4. It will contain some history and explanation of Wilsonia.

5. It will be self-published. This is the way Janey and I did our book in 1998, except technology has changed DRASTICALLY. There are plenty of assisted self-publishing sites out there like Lulu and Blurb and West Bow Press, but I won’t be using them.

There are challenges.

1. 226 drawings to complete and scan.

2. 40-something quotes to gather and verify.

3. Adobe InDesign to learn to use.

4. Writing the text.

5. Finding a printer.

6. Finding a binder.

7. Selling them all!!

Happy New Year!

This California artist blog will resume the blog’s regular posting schedule of Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on January 3, 2012.

Most Popular Pencil Drawing

Whenever I put on an art show for my drawing students, it includes a popularity contest. Anyone who views the show may vote for his 3 favorite pieces. I do this because it causes visitors to spend more time studying the work. When folks say, “How am I supposed to decide?”, I respond with this: “Vote for the pieces that call you back”.

The piece that called the most viewers back was . . .

Kirby’s “Swan”!!

In addition to being the most popular, it sold! In addition to selling to one eager customer, there was another person waiting in the sidelines for the first buyer to change his mind! (And Kirby, it wasn’t a “mercy purchase” because he said it cost too much for that!!)

Congratulations, Kirby!!

Thoughts on Drawing Lessons


The show for my drawing students is still hanging in the workshop room of the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter. Their hours are Saturday and Sunday, 10-4. You can also stop by on Tuesday afternoons. They will be removing their pieces on November 29.

One of my more blunt straightforward students said something to the effect of “a room full of yous!” That was in response to me telling her how proud I felt of my students.

That is something that I struggle with a little bit. I want to teach people how to draw. I can only teach what I know. I only know how to draw like me.

Is that bad?

If I tell fail to tell them that my style is all I know and all I can teach, if I tell them other styles are wrong, then maybe it is bad.
I have to pay attention to several things – letting them pick their own subjects even if I don’t like their choices. Drawing a creepy heavy metal band doesn’t inspire me, but helping a student draw something she loves is very rewarding. I tell each person, “Pick something you love, because you’ll be looking at it for a very long time.”
If someone wants to work from a calendar, I have to explain about the copyright laws. Ultimately, I tell that student it is his choice but he needs to know that he cannot reproduce the work. It is very difficult to find good photos of one’s own unless one has been taking photos for awhile with drawing in mind.
Sometimes a student wants to copy someone else’s work. I explain that while it is easier in some ways, in others it is more difficult. I tell the reasons and let the student decide.
When a student brings in a photo he loves, instead of saying, “Sure, go for it”, sometimes I suggest we try different cropping to see if there is a simpler way to draw the subject. In this too, I back off and let the student decide what he likes best.
There are even times I have to tell them that their chosen subject is too hard. Sometimes it is too many steps beyond the student’s current skill. Sometimes it is too hard for me to demonstrate, and sometimes it is too hard for me to draw!

Often, I provide photos for those who have none. That really makes the subject matter look like my work!
As I view the show and contemplate my pride, I realize the joy is in their accomplishments, how great stuff looks in frames, and how great it looks as a group.
Mostly, I think about how much I enjoy them and the process of helping them learn to draw.

I also have to view the teaching of drawing as a beginning of their art education, not drawing as the final goal. It has always been my Main Event, but i know it isn’t like that for everyone, even those who love drawing as I do.


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 Sylvia for taking charge of the food and beverages so that no one else got stuck in the kitchen and could just enjoy the show. THANK YOU!

One of my long term students, Jackie, helped me hang the show. I think she has been taking drawing lessons for around 6 years. We grouped the pieces by subject – portraits, florals, landscapes, animals. Then, I just enjoyed it by myself for awhile in the afternoon. (There is more art than appears in this photo, of course. Just didn’t want to antagonize you by showing you all 52 pieces so far away that you can’t really see them.)

The brown box is where you put your ballot after you vote for your 3 favorite pieces. The artist whose piece has the most votes will get a month of free drawing lessons!

This is Jerry – he is the husband of one of my drawing students. He bravely volunteered to be the first at the food table, and to let me photograph him “for scale”. 😎

Kirby and me – 2 different people want to buy her swan drawing! (I couldn’t get the silly happy grin off my face for the entire evening, and my hair did look better in the morning, thanks for asking.)

Kim and me – between us is her first pencil drawing, her cat Scooter. And isn’t it cool that Kim and I are birthday twins, although I am about 1 hour older which means I get to boss her around.

The show will be on display at the Courthouse Gallery of the Arts in Exeter until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (because that is the last day of drawing lessons for the year and everyone will take their pieces home then.) The hours are Tuesdays 12:30-5:30, and Saturdays and Sundays 10-4.

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

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, no matter how tedious.

Sometimes you have to walk away and wait for your head to clear so you can get a new perspective on a project.

Good planning pays off.

Not everything can be fixed.

Ignorant gushing praise feels good; experienced honesty is helpful.

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 little steps add up to something good.

Not everything is worth messing with.

Little tiny things do make a difference.

How to take criticism.

How to give criticism.

How to be honest and kind at the same time.

Age differences make no difference in many settings.

There are many different styles of drawing.

There are many different ways to tackle a problem.

If you procrastinate on a difficult problem, over time more will be revealed.

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 object. Even now,  almost 13 years since selling it and moving on, I can still recall the sound of each door as it closed.

Most folks’ first homes are small and simple. They usually need work, they usually need paint somewhere, they almost always have lawns, and they seldom have garages. Can you relate?

This is someone’s first home. I don’t know him, but I know his Dad. His dad is a very thoughtful man who knows that his children’s homes are special. He has commissioned me to draw several of these modest and well-loved structures.

These are simple drawings EXCEPT the photos rarely contain enough information, have cars and people blocking views, and require some guesswork on my part. The challenge is to make them as technically perfect as possible so that what they lack in detail is made up for with precision.

Oh, and Mr. Google? This is a California home drawn by a California artist – me.

A Cabin Commission

Cabinart – making art of cabins, using pencil. That is my roots. Now that I oil paint, when a commission drawing for a cabin comes along, I am thrilled. Thrilled, I say!

The defining characteristic of this cabin is the group of massive trees in the front yard. The truth is that I sort of wanted to draw it in a vertical format, focusing on the trees with just a hint of the cabin peeking through. That’s not why people want their cabins drawn, so I provided several sketches and this was the winner. I’m happy when my customers are happy!

Random Thoughts on the real Columbus Day

1. There is a strange thing about my daily paintings of fruit. Have you noticed that all of the fruits begin with the letter “P”? This is truly peculiar. Peculiar P Paintings: pomegranate, persimmon, pumpkin, pear, pepper, plum, peach. It is true that I haven’t shown you all of these in this particular series, but it is something I have puzzled and pondered.

2. Columbus Day is my birthday. Just sayin’. The real Columbus Day, not the fakey convenient Monday closest to October 12 for the purpose of making my birthday cards late and banks closed. I’m sort of old now, so not supposed to notice. Anyway, Happy Birthday to Careen, Nicole, Norman, Kim, Kenny Wing, Reggie and Regina Powers, and any other birthday twin who shares this date with me, past or present in my life.

3. Hey Carol, if you are reading this, I hope you made me some soap!

4. Remember I am working on a HUGE project, as of yet mostly unrevealed? Have a look at another portion of it:

5. I love to draw. 😎

6. I might want to live at Hearst Castle. Barring that, I’d settle for Cayucos.