Forrest’s Dream Cabin, Finished?

After a period of severe procrastination, which involved studying the photographs and the unfinished painting of Forrest’s Dream Cabin, along with a fair amount of weed pulling, I finally decided that I do know how to draw with my paintbrush.

My thought was that at the very least, I could detail that cabin to the nth degree, and then maybe I could see what to do with the rest of the painting.

Okay, let’s dive in
I’ve added the ramp so the cabin doesn’t require wading to get to, along with more details to the windows and the siding.
Here’s a bit more. Hard to tell the difference, but there must be some difference, because I took another photograph.
And, now the cabin is finished, with smoke coming out of the stovepipe.

But will Forrest think the painting is finished? I sent him this photo, taking inside the painting workshop at the end of the day. Wow, did that ever distort the colors!

Next, I carried it outside in hopes that the color would photograph more accurately. By that time, it was upside down on the easel because the bottom edge was wet.

This color isn’t exactly right either. When it is dry, I will paint the top edge, sign it, and take it to Forrest for his approval in person.

The fat lady hasn’t yet sung (but she might be practicing a few scales.)

My show “Still Here” is still there, at Arts Visalia, that is. The phone # to make an appointment to see it is 559-739-0905. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, noon-5:30. The last day to see my work there is Friday, April 30.

Custom Oil Paintings

These are custom oil paintings, commissioned pieces, from a whole lotta* years. Each one was done with a whole lotta* discussion with the customer (customer—custom art—get it?) to be sure to achieve what the customer desires.

This customer provided photos, but I went there myself and looked it over further, taking a few more pictures to be sure to get things accurate.

Yes, I am fully aware that Homer’s Nose does not appear above the Oak Grove Bridge in real life. However, the customer requested this, and my dad taught me, “You kisses their fanny and takes their money”. (No, no fanny kissing took place – it is simply a figure of speech that means you do what the customer requests whether or not it makes sense to you.)

This one was painted for someone who is color-blind, so I focused on contrast for him. 

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

*We discussed this term in yesterday’s post.

Custom Pencil Drawings

These are all examples from a whole lotta years at the drawing table. (Yes, I know — “a whole lot of”, but I also like to say “prolly” and “liberry” and “remorial building”).

I’ve been a long time admirer of this house and was thrilled when the owner asked me to draw it. I took many photos, looking for the best way to depict this gem.

This was a collection of favorite memories of a couple’s trip to Ireland, working from many photos that they provided. The challenge was how to put them all together.

The customer provided all the photos for these. I pushed back against the portrait; the customer said that a likeness wasn’t necessary. Good thing, because likenesses are impossible to guarantee, especially at this size.

I love to draw in pencil; however I also use…

…oil and murals to make art that people understand about places and things they love for prices that won’t scare them.

Deep Thoughts About Custom Art

This photo of Moro Rock and Alta Peak is not current – it is wishful thinking.

Seth Godin says “Humans are lonely. They want to be seen and known. People want to be part of something.” Or as Anne Lamott puts it, “Everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy and scared.”

Seth also says, “People don’t want what you make. They want what it will do for them. They want belonging, connection, peace of mind, status.”

Further, “Create experiences. Using a product, engaging with a service, calling customer service. Each of these actions is part of the story; each builds a little bit of our connection. Offer these experiences with intent, doing them on purpose.”

He is all about marketing, and speaks and writes with great abstraction. I try to apply what I hear him say to my art business, and finally, in these words, I think I can gather some practical advice. Let me translate:

  1. People need to be shown kindness and treated as if they are significant (because they are).
  2. Custom art commemorates and legitimizes, celebrates and pays tribute to the things that matter in people’s lives.
  3. Spending time to hear someone’s stories, look at his photos, listen to what matters to him, take more photos, make sketches, and involve him in the process gives the customer an experience to remember, one that validates the things that are most important to him.*

Does this make you want to hire me to make a custom painting or drawing for you?

I use pencils, oil paint, and murals to make art that people can understand, of places and things they love, for prices that won’t scare them.

*The masculine pronoun is intentional here; in this context it means all humans, regardless of biological gender. “They” is a plural pronoun, and I am speaking of a theoretical singular customer here, “someone” and “the customer”. This blog does not cave to current trends.

Anniversary Dogs

A thoughtful mom commissioned me to draw a pair of dogs for her daughter and son-in-law’s anniversary. She videotaped them opening the gift, and while I cannot put that on my blog, I can show you the dogs.

The daughter sent me this message: “Jana!!!!! I love love love the portraits of Charlie and Maggie!!!!! Thank you so much!!!! You captured their expressions brilliantly!” (I might have gotten the number of exclamation points wrong in the quote).

You are so welcome, K & F!! It was a pleasure, especially because we are friends AND because you stopped by the studio when it was on the table. It was in a folder, so I knew you wouldn’t notice it, but your mom was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

In case it has slipped your mind:

I use pencils, oil paint, and murals to make art you can understand of places and things (and sometimes pets) that you love at prices for won’t scare you.

Forrest’s Dream Cabin Flipped

Last time I showed you this oil painting commission it looked like this:

In this session, I began working on the water, first measuring to be sure the horizon line is horizontal. Then I repainted the water. This erased the hint of stilts that the cabin was resting on; now it is floating. 

I kept studying the photo until I discerned a hint of shadows and reflections from the cabin.

Then I started adding more detail to the snow covered trees. 

This is how it looked at the end of the painting session. As I add the detail, I realize that much is hidden in shadow or behind undefined blobs on the photo.

So I turned to the Duck! looked up the name of the lake on DuckDuckGo and found many photos to study for better detail. Turns out that this version has been flipped horizontally. Forrest doesn’t need me to copy the photo exactly because he is looking for a particular feeling that the scene evokes. However, I do need help to put something in place of vague black blobs, so I will just inch along, making decisions with each indistinct item and area.

Pippin is also flipped.

Forrest’s Dream Cabin Again

The title of this commissioned oil painting is Forrest’s Dream Cabin, so it is imperative that I move it from nightmare to dream status. Here is the next painting session of step by step improvement.

  1. Sky first, painted upside-down for easier reach.

2. The colors on my palette look so dull.

3. Water next. I could reach this part right-side up.

4. Mountain and foreground branches

5. I want to start drawing with my paintbrush on the cabin detail, but I think the water and background mountain will need more layers first.

The colors are so much duller on screen than in real life. Forrest said, “it’s like a ghostly cabin is emerging out of the scene, nice!”

P.S.This is not a houseboat; it is a cabin on stilts in a lake in Northern Italy.

More on the Gift Exchange

As a thank you gift for a gift of oil paints, brushes, and an easel, I am painting a Karmann Ghia.

No, not painting a car, making an oil painting of a Karmann Ghia.

This is for a former drawing student, and because my students and I always tell each other the truth about our art, I asked him to tell me if the painting was finished. 

In the photo he sent to me, there was a piece of chrome missing from the door. I wasn’t sure what he was referring to, so I took a close up photo of the door on the painting to ask.

He replied with another photo of the car. (I deleted it before remembering that you might want to see it.) 

Aha! I fixed the painting.

This received approval, but I told him that I think oil paint is so wobbly compared to pencil. It is. The canvas has texture, the paint doesn’t often flow smoothly, and the brush hairs go rogue. But I keep trying to make my paintings look as good up close as they do from the back of a fast horse (or across the room).

I touched up the sky, brought the painting into the house to dry, and then scanned it.

Karmann Ghia, 8×8″, private collection

Another one of my drawing students asked me why I painted it so small. BECAUSE IT IS FREE! Besides, when you give someone a piece of art, it isn’t wise to assume they will love it as much as you do or that they might have space for something large.

Slow-poke Cabin

“Slow-poke” is a weird old word that probably has a good story behind it. This cabin isn’t a slow cabin; the painting of it is slow. Wait, no, the painter is slow. No, not slow–the painter is painting slowly.

Good Grief Charlie Brown.

I added shutters to the windows and door, changed the color of the cabin, began the dreaded lattice, added some dirt, tightened up the steps, began detailing the windows, changed the skyline and the forest in the background, and then needed to go have a smoke.

JUST KIDDING! I’ve never smoked anything in my entire life.

Isn’t it peculiar how the colors differ so greatly in different times of the day? When the painting is finished and dry (at this rate in another several months, GGCB), the scan should show the truest colors.

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

(But sometimes the process might scare you.)

Sanctioned Graffiti

A friend in Three Rivers has a rock in her front yard (well duh, most people in Three Rivers have rocks in their front yards) and for a few years, she has wanted some words painted on the rock. She mentioned it to me and I said, “I can do that!” 

After she explained her idea, I spent time messing around with typestyles, looking for something I could imitate. After experimenting awhile, I realized the only choice was Papyrus, the type that graphic designers love to hate. I love it. What do you expect from an unsophisticated, marginally educated, DBO* from Tulare County?? It was the best choice because it has ragged looking edges, and I was painting on a ragged rough surface.

I forgot to bring my chalk to mark the borders, but was able to scratch in the lines with a rock, then put a first layer down to see if I could control the paint and a brush. 

Yeppers. I can do this. A new brush helped.

Layer layer layer. Watch out for drips.

 Remember to step back and see if it is readable.

My friend wanted it subtle, and liked the light color. I asked if I could add shadows, she was good with that, and we both liked the results.

Voila! Sanctioned graffiti (or sanctified graffiti?) My friend said, “Tell your people that I am thrilled, filled with happiness and joy over this!” I said, “We are ending this year proclaiming the truth.” She said, “Amen”, and we were both quite satisfied.

*Ditch-bank-Okie is supposed to be a pejorative term, but I view it as a compliment.