A Difficult Drawing | But I Have Experience

During my most recent pencil drawing commission, I contemplated how this would have been difficult in the past. There was great satisfaction in putting this together with confidence, knowing that I was exceeding the customer’s expectations while meeting a tight deadline.

Not bragging, just relaxing into the sense of work done well because of many years of experience.

Remember the chosen sketch?

In the past, just the oval shape alone would have had me puzzling over how to make a perfect one that fit the shape and size of the image. That was before Photoshop Jr. and I made friends. Definitely not besties, because Adobe is NOT Apple and therefore not intuitive AND keeps getting updated and complicated, requiring learning it all over again.

But I digress. Jr. was able to make an oval for me to transfer to my drawing paper. Thanks, Buddy.

Here is a little bit more of the progression. As usual, mostly working top to bottom, and left to right, to prevent smearing. The hot press watercolor paper I chose for the drawing is smearier than my usual Strathmore 400 Series Bristol Smooth. I chose it because the entire pad of the Strathmore was trimmed crooked. What?? Yeppers. Weird.

I sent this to Mrs. Customer to reassure her that I was back on schedule.

Then I worked on the oranges in the upper corners. Oranges are almost always my fallback position for decor in art.

There was a gap between the houses, larger than anticipated in the sketch, so I asked her for photos of flowers that mean something to her and she sent this:

In the past I might have suggested something more distinct instead of a mass of small flowers. But, I tapped into the confidence reservoir that experience brings and dove in.

Mrs. Customer was pleased, and so was I. The above photo is good enough to get approval, but not adequate should she request a reproduction of any sort. As the artist, I hold the copyright, and want to be sure that all reproductions are of the highest possible quality.

So back to my “frenemy” Photoshop Jr., because my scanner isn’t large enough for this 14×17” drawing. That meant I scanned it in 2 parts and then patched them together. I may have figured out a better way to make this happen. The learning never stops around here, accumulating experience with every new job.

And now that I am showing you here, I can see there is a bit more work to be done on Photoshop Jr.

Apparently the work never stops, along with the learning. Guess I got a little cocky. . .

Finally Back to the Drawing Board | Actually a Table

After I finished formatting, photo editing and captioning, cover designing, bar code ordering and finally ordering the Springville book, I went back to the drawing board, which is actually a “drawing table”, I think.

Remember this sketch?

The upper house is mostly finished, and I was able to begin the lower one.

Jackson came into the studio, announcing his presence or perhaps expressing his dissatisfaction with life. He sat behind me in my chair so he could bite the back of my arms.

I hissed at him to make him stop, so he climbed onto the table.

That felt risky, so I was glad he decided to move on. He seemed interested in taking a nap in this basket, and as soon as I pulled out the inferior phone to take a photo, he changed his mind. Notice the wooden palette hanging on the wall. This was a gift from my thoughtful and comical Intern.

Despite the feline disruptions, I was able to make progress. As much as I enjoy editing and book design, it is never as restful as simply operating a pencil on paper. I was able to have a couple of phone calls and still be productive, something that is not possible when banging along on a keyboard, trying to make Photoshop, InDesign, or Word cooperate.

New Commission Pencil Drawing

My favorite form of art is pencil drawing. My favorite subjects to draw are architectural. It is fun to tackle subjects that really require thought, careful design, and a bit of artistic license. It is highly satisfying to turn a vague idea from customers into something better than they envisioned.

A customer presented me with one of those challenges: draw her home and the adjoining “granny flat”. She sent me two photos, one of each.

My first thought was, “Nope, these two together will make a really strange shape for framing.” I tried it anyway, and realized that I’d need to go see the two homes in person to figure out how they are attached.

My inner lazy chick thought that maybe I could convince the customer to skip the granny flat and only choose the main house.

Then I decided to go for the big challenge: a collage type drawing. It’s been while since I did one of these (an entire year—remember this job? And this one?) The two houses don’t fill a standard framing proportion, so I went to my default space filler: oranges.

The customer chose the collage, approved the oranges, and I started the very next day.

This is 14×17”, and even at that size, the upper house (granny flat) has teensy little details. I also complicated the job by choosing hot press watercolor paper, something I used to use exclusively. It is a little bit fuzzy, so details are even more challenging to achieve.

“How long does it take to do a drawing?”

“I dunno. How long is a string?”

I spent about an hour designing, and then it took about 15 minutes for the customer to decide. This one day’s progress was about 6-7 hours of drawing.

I know, I know, I don’t charge enough.

I just raised my prices again, so hush up about that!

Drawing with Pencils

I guess you could draw with chalk or a paintbrush or your finger on a fogged up window, but drawing with pencils is what I do.

Student work

It’s also what I teach. A returning drawing student had one month free for lessons before embarking on a new chapter of life. We dove right in, and she stayed for several hours each time rather than the normal one hour weekly lesson. The final one took place in my studio, which is where we started about 12 years ago when she was a wee fourth grader. I made an exception to my usual 6th grade minimum age requirement because she was an exceptional child and private lessons meant much more help and attention.

Here’s a drawing she did in about 5th grade.

Here is the drawing she just completed.

She has become an exceptional adult. To quote another one of my drawing students who has known her through the years, “She’s all that AND a bag of chips!”

Protecting identity, because this IS the World Wide Web.

Central Calif. Artist Work

This is a commissioned pencil drawing I finished in July. I haven’t posted it because I didn’t know if the intended recipient reads my blog. (If you recognize yourself, please pretend to be surprised when you receive the drawing!)

Cats in the house

HEY! WHY DO YOU THINK YOU CAN WEASEL YOUR WAY INTO OUR HOUSE??

Sold in Summer—Pencil Drawings

Five of these pencil drawings sold at my solo show in Tulare, “Around Here (and Sometimes a Little Farther)”. The others were pencil commissions, which I showed you with all the slow developments in painstaking detail.

I almost didn’t include this one in the show because I forgot. I may have forgotten subconsciously on purpose, due to my inordinate love of ocean scenes.
I drew this one specifically for the show, and although sales are thrilling, I was sort of hoping to keep it. (What kind of a business person am I with this attitude?)
This is too big for my scanner, so the photograph isn’t the quality of those shown above. HOWEVER, the drawing was quite excellent, if I do say so myself, which I just did say.
Same disclaimer on quality as above.

I love pencil. Did you know that?

Thus we conclude another post about the business of art, because. . .

Using pencils, oil paint, and murals, I make art that you can understand of places and things you love for prices that won’t scare you.

Too Dark For Painting

We had an overcast day, with the typical over-promise-and-underdeliver weather forecast of rain. Oh well, at least we didn’t have lightning to worry about.

Since it was too dark to paint, I spent my working hours in the studio, drawing this pencil commission piece.

The approved sketch
The beginning

Sometimes this feels as if I am racing along at a good pace; other times it seems that I sit and stare without a clue as to how to proceed. The difficulty is the same as the Texas drawing: combining many photos into one (hopefully) coherent and believable scene.

I’ve been drawing agriculture subjects for so many years that I have forgotten many of them. I didn’t used to be diligent in photographing my work, back in the days of film cameras, weak copy machines, no home scanners or computers, and certainly no Photoshop.

An old friend sent me this card, which I wrote to her and her husband in 2001 (along with a sweet note because that is just how she is). When I flipped the card over, I saw that I titled the drawing “Tulare Cownty” and included a completely unfamiliar phone number with a 703 area code.

That was many studio locations ago. I’ve been working from home since 2002, and life has changed significantly in many ways.

One constant is still drawing agricultural scenes with pencils. Glad we can count on something to hold steady.

Will the Fat Lady Sing?

Who is the fat lady? Sometimes I sing for my drawing students, not well, and we all laugh.

What am I yammering on about?

The drawing of Texas, which is too large for my scanner, so the upper edge is nipped off and the lower edge is blurry. But first, let’s look at the scratchy beginnings, because it is kind of impressive that my customers trusted me to get from that scribble of bare bones to the finished piece. (Mr. Customer said he’d have recognized it even if he hadn’t commissioned the piece!)

I was just dragging it out before showing you the scan. . . wanting a drumroll or something. . . padding the post so it isn’t so brief.

Is it finished?

The customers just responded:

We love it Jana! This will be so special to the family, for generations. Thank you so much! We wouldn’t add or take away anything—we say it’s finished!

Maybe I ought to sing to myself a little. . .

Just Another Work Day for Your Central California Artist

Painting

To postpone two difficult tasks, I started this 10×30” commissioned oil painting, following the sketch which the customer approved.

Just Plain Work

This part didn’t warrant any photos. Some friends from Southern California went to my show, bought a drawing, and then hit a snag and couldn’t return to pick it up. I took it home to package it for shipping, started to clean the glass, and I pushed the glass through the frame. WHAT?? It had to be taken apart and resecured. However, AFTER I had the back resealed up, I saw that the two mats were not aligned. WHAT?? I took it apart again, got everything in position, flipped it over, and saw that there was a tiny little chud (technical term I learned during a brief stint in college working at a frame shop for miscellaneous crud, which shows up usually after a picture has been framed). I took it apart again, cleaned it again, secured and sealed it again, and then had to protect it for shipping. Two hours later, it was finally sealed up with about a mile of tape, a box inside a box, surrounded by every piece of bubble wrap and foam wrap that I could scrounge, and filled with packing paper and those bubble pillows. Phew. (I also cleaned out our box department, where those cardboard containers have been multiplying in the dark, because finding 2 appropriate boxes was a project in and of itself.)

More Work

Since I was hot and dirty, I decided to face the mess in my studio, where we unloaded boxes and stacks of paintings after bringing it all home (except for 4 pencil drawings, a few books, and a large stack of cards).

I went through the paintings and drawings, chose my favorites, and began hanging them. There was a loud crash, and I turned back to see that the wire on the back of a pencil drawing came out of the frame. I guess the screw hole was stripped. The glass didn’t break, so it wasn’t all bad. (Yes, I know I am not storing the flag correctly. I also need to vacuum again. Probably need to dust too, and clean the windows.)

Then I had to pack all the rest into the painting workshop, which has a swamp cooler, and a lot of shelves, which all need to be rearranged and cleaned. Never mind. I’d rather draw.

Drawing

Finally, I was able to do some artwork. I chose the colors that seem to best match Texas bluebonnets, colored one, and then decided to show the customers before I finish the flowers. I can lighten the colors a bit, but I cannot erase. (I think that this photo is a bit exaggerated in its darkness.)

Everything felt too hard, too full of obstacles. So, I ran away for a few days. Maybe I’ll tell you about it later.

Still want to be an artist when you grow up?

P.S. The studio only looked like this for a day because one of the stores that sells my work suddenly had a lot of space to fill!

And Another Commissioned Pencil Drawing

Same customers, similar approach, different state.

This new pencil commission is looking across a driveway at a vineyard with the Sierra* in the distance.

The customers provided current photos of the view, but now the vineyard is gone and almond (or peach? plum? nectarine?) trees are in their place.

So, I went exploring on the interwebs, and I took photos while driving to Tulare to retrieve my art from “Around Here”. (solo show in August—I’ll tell you more about it later.)

Looking at the provided photos and emailed conversations, I did a first draft sketch.

The customers (who communicate VERY WELL!) asked that I move our viewpoint to the left, include a redwood (probably coastal, AKA sequoia sempervirens), and the brick planter/mailbox, while deleting the California flag and leaving out the color in the freesias.

Sketch #2

More will be revealed (and drawn) in the fullness of time.

*My very wise dad taught me that the proper title of our mountains is “the Sierra”, NOT “the Sierras”. Now you know.

P.S. Yes, I know what today is. Sigh. Tryna just pretend that all is well here in the world, not tryna be disrespectful.

Instruct me, Please

When working on custom art, which involves combining multiple photos and verbal or written instructions, there must be much communication.

My customers for the Texas drawing said to lower the bluebonnets to keep them inside the fence, since if they are outside the fencing, the cattle eat them.

I keep accidentally thinking of the bluebonnets as lupine, and I made them inside the fence, outside the fence, and too tall, because I didn’t know how to fill the space. My answer to most empty space questions is wildflowers.*

In response to their helpful information about those voracious cattle, I lowered the lupine bluebonnets and added some fencing wire.

Then I photographed each corner and emailed the customers with this request: Instruct me, please!

Colored pencil doesn’t erase (some does, but not well), so until I learn what the fencing actually looks like in real life, this drawing will have to wait.

*Remember this?