The Cabins of Wilsonia, my huge project, has created a few questions. Here I will ask some of those questions, and then answer them for you. (Mr. Google, I am a California artist who will do over 200 pencil drawings of cabins.) What is Wilsonia? it is an area of about 100 acres of private […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]