Changing Spaces

The Three Rivers Veterans Memorial Building is a regular location for art and craft bazaars. I’ve been participating here for many years in many different places in the building.

This was in 2011, along the wall. I’ve learned to not overload my space and overwhelm the visitors with so many paintings.
Whatever year this was, my booth was in the center of the room.
This one was along the wall.
2014 was consumed by the book “The Cabins of Wilsonia”, which the printer failed to deliver as promised in time for this show; so, I just took all my extra knitted items to sell, along with my usual cards, Mineral King tee shirts, a friend’s knitting and another friend’s lavender. This is the same corner space that I had last weekend.
This window location is a common space given to me and we’ve learned to deal with the bulky drapery in the way by scrunching it together using a bungee cord. That big banner is now gone – just got worn out.
The windows provide wonderful natural light, especially in the springtime.
Spring of this year: the big round table has been useful through the years but does take up a lot of space in the roughly 10×10′ space.
This year I set up the space this way. No more large round table.
It was a good location, because when people entered the building, they immediately saw my colorful table with affordable items on the right side.

Every year I have slightly different merchandise, different paintings, different ideas for display, and it presents a new puzzle each time. It is all part of the business of art in Three Rivers.

Friday and Saturday I will be in another new space here in Three Rivers, NOT in the Memorial Building.

Indecision

“Indecision” sounds a lot like “indigestion” which sounds a bit like “indigent” which means “poor enough to need help from others”.

These paintings might be poor enough to need help from others. I can’t decide if they are finished, if there is a way to improve them, or if they just need to be painted over with something else.

I like it, then I doubt my own opinion, then I decide to just sign it and be finished, but I can’t because something unknwon is holding me back. I can’t decide.
This was my first plein air painting in Mineral King this summer. I hid in the trees so no one would watch me flail around. Does it need more light on the edge of the larger red fir? Maybe wildflowers in the foreground would solve whatever it is that makes me not love this painting. Maybe it needs to be detailed, the way I normally paint. I can’t decide.
There was no good place to stand on the bridge so I was off to the side, and had to be careful each time I stepped back to not trip or step into traffic. I’ve painted this cabin scene so many times before, but never from this angle, and never with this lack of detail. Does it need more detail? I can’t decide.
This was painted in my front yard shortly after I returned from the plein air painting workshop in Georgia. I think it is boring, in spite of being the best time of year. Is it boring or is it just that “familiarity breeds contempt”? I can’t decide.
This is how the same scene looks now. This photo is definitely boring, but Three Rivers is still the best place to live in Tulare County. No indecision in that department!

Odd Job

As an artist with a lengthy reputation of reliability and skill in the same county for several decades, I get asked to do many odd things in the name of art. It is just part of the business of art.

Some friends have a painting of Mineral King by a long-deceased relative, someone who wasn’t very familiar with Mineral King. They didn’t like something about it, and asked me if I could change it. I enjoy challenges like this, so I said yes. The back of the painting is signed with the year 1964.

What’s wrong with this picture?
My friends’ beef with the painting is the scary face in the rock.
The lump on Farewell Gap really bothered me.
Little Red Riding Hood is seriously out of proportion; the upper body is too big for the lower body.
Scary face gone!
Lumpectomy performed on the right flank of West Florence (and Bearskin added to Vandever).
Now Little Red Riding Hood will be able to hike better.

Mucho Bettero. My friends reassured me that Great Aunt Whose-it won’t haunt me for messing with her painting. Someday in the future, someone may retouch my paintings, and to them I say, “Go for it!”

Old Calendars

In 2012 I made my first calendar. It was an experiment, because a calendar has a short time to sell, and when it is over, a business is stuck with unsellable inventory. The calendar sold well enough, 100 turned out to be the right number, and I have continued making calendars ever since.

When reviewing the calendars, it looks as if they are random. In fact, each calendar represents the previous year’s focus (or obsession). There are photos, paintings, and drawings.

2013 – I didn’t save a picture of either the front or the back, so I don’t know what it was about or what I named it. I ordered about 10 or 20 at a time because I didn’t know how well it would sell. (Obviously I didn’t know much that year.)

2014 Tulare County calendar
2014 – Back when I only had about 15,000 photos, I was able to go through and select 12 for this calendar without too much trouble. But what did the front look like?
2015’s calendar was my best oil paintings that were horizontal and of Tulare County subjects. I called it “Beautiful Tulare County”. Again I ask, “What did the front look like?”
2016’s calendar was pencil drawings of Tulare County (of course) cabins–Wilsonia, Mineral King, Camp Nelson. Why didn’t I save a picture of the backside??
2017 front – the calendar was a blend of drawings and paintings.
2017 calendar back “The Bridges of Tulare County”
2018 was Flowing Water, because in 2017 we had a most welcome wet winter and the flowing water was to be celebrated.
2019 – was very fun because I got to draw 11 new pictures and figure out ways to incorporate color.

2019 still has many of the original drawings available. Want any? None are framed. All are 11×14″ or 9×12″. You can make an offer. If it is too low, I will not take offense but might counter-offer. (Normally those sizes sell for $200-275 before tax).

What will the calendar for 2020 be?

Mineral King Wildflowers!

Of course it is about Mineral King wildflowers, my current obsession. It is in progress, so you will have to restrain yourselves until it is for sale.

This year it will be $15 if ordered by October 1, and $20 if ordered afterward.

Odd Job

An acquaintance asked a friend to ask me if I would repair a torn painting for him. The customer doesn’t want his painter friend to know that the painting was damaged (and dirty too – where did he have this thing??) So, I will only show you the section that I worked on.

I’ve done this once or twice before, but it has been awhile, so I consulted with The Duck (DuckDuckGo is my search engine of choice because it doesn’t track me or feed me ads it chooses.)

Yikes.

The painting might be oil, but it also might be acrylic. The surface of the canvas is very smooth, and the repair is making that spot a bit lumpy.

That is one ragged tear. If this was Big Deal Art, it would get done under a magnifying glass, arranging every little thread. But I don’t know what they’d do about the missing threads. . . did this get eaten??
It’s pretty inconvenient to have it so close to the stretcher bar.
piece of canvas on the back, attached with Gesso
This is the front side where I used Gesso again to fill in the gaping hole in several layers.
I put waxed paper against the Gessoed canvas and weighted it down overnight with an odd assortment of items at hand.
I sanded it, applied more Gesso, let it dry again, and sanded it some more. Finally I accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to look as good as new. (But it looked better than here, because I didn’t photograph every step. Boring process to watch, but challenging to do.)
Not quite right. Is it the color or the new surface of Gesso beneath?
I think the different surface is collecting light differently on the repair than on the original canvas.

If I could show you the entire painting, you would see that it blends.

If I could show you the painting, you might say, “Why bother?”

My dad taught me de gustibus non es dibutandem which means it is useless to argue over matters of taste.

He also taught me, “You kiss their fanny and take their money”.

To quote an anonymous source (not my dad), “This ain’t no pianie yer building!” But, I did my best to make it sturdy, smooth, and matched.

Sold

In case you were wondering if I just paint and paint and paint, creating large stacks of paintings to be stored, today I am here to reassure you that my paintings do sell. (Thank you for your kind concerns.)

Have a look at recently sold paintings. Due to an onslaught of laziness brought on by summer heat, this will be pictures only, without sizes, titles, or prices.

Art Inspired by Mineral King

On June 29, I participated in the 2nd annual Art Inspired by Mineral King. This is the title of a show and sale on the deck of the Silver City Store, 4 miles below the Mineral King Valley.

The Oak Grove Bridge still almost had this much water beneath at the end of June.

I headed up the road the day before the show, my first time up this season (resulting in yesterday’s post about the condition of the Mineral King Road). When I got to the Oak Grove Bridge, I remembered that I forgot my screen covers. The bridge is 6.5 miles up the Mineral King Road, and my house is 2 miles from the MK Road, but I turned around anyway.

Since only one campground was open and the road is terrible and many of the passes are almost impassable, attendance was spotty. But I’ve told you before how I feel about this: when attendance is low, time with each visitor is high.

My screens helped 2 other artists display their pieces, so those covers were important. But, you can see that I still forgot one of them!
Linda Hengst was one of the artists. Her work is visible on the right side of this photo.
Photographer Brett Harvey was also a participant.
Working diligently at the table is jeweler (and Silver City employee) Ryan, or perhaps Rianne.
Doesn’t this look intriguing? I’m sure if you were above the store, you’d want to walk down to see what was happening.
Sales were slow, but contacts and good interactions were steady.

Next year, together with the Silver City Store/Resort, we will decide if it is worth putting together a 3rd annual show and sale. I know it is important to be in the public eye, but oh my goodness, I certainly prefer being on vacation while up the hill. Besides, once I get my little old car to the valley, I am loathe to put it through any extra miles on that sorry excuse for a road.

Art Inspired by Mineral King

SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 10-2, SILVER CITY RESORT

Featuring the oil paintings and pencil drawings of Jana Botkin and the photography of Brett Harvey

Farewell Gap #4, pencil, framed to approximately 11×14, $400 including tax

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!

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.

Little Cabin, Big Trees

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.

Gilligan and Ginger?