A friend introduced me to his cousin. We became instant friends. Let’s call her Jane, because that is her name.
My friend and Jane’s shared grandparents had a wonderful home in the country south of Farmersville (Yes, that is the name of a town here in Tulare County. Wanna make something of it?) They both thought it would make a great drawing or painting, so I went there to take some photos.
I love the style of this house! I took many photos, from every angle possible.
Want to guess which one I liked best?
Want to guess which one Jane and her husband liked best? (They are my customers for the project.)
Want to guess which medium they chose?
“Medium” means the substance from which I will make the art – pencil or oil paint, in this case.
There is something new coming to Three Rivers, but I don’t yet know any details. Might be a simple retail shop where one can pick up local art, maybe some tchotchkes. This is why I wanted to get those little Three Rivers paintings looking better. This is also why I started a new river painting.
This is painting session #1. I want to do this in many thin layers, striving for perfection. But why?
It might be an overreaction to how I felt about the blurry Kaweah Post Office painting. It might also be some residual from having drawn this exact scene in pencil with a touch of colored pencil a handful of years ago, a commissioned piece. I want to see how close I can get to perfection with paintbrushes. I’ve already decided to leave out the tree on the left side, but like everything I do, more will be revealed in the fullness of time.
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. TWO DAYS LEFT,Thursday, noon-5:30 and Friday, noon-5:00. I will be there on Friday, April 30, and will take away the unsold pieces at 5 p.m.(MB, I will be sending you your painting next week!)
You’ve heard me say (or read on my blog) for about a year now that:
I use pencils, oil paint and murals to make art you understand of places and things you love at prices that won’t scare you.
Today’s blog is just to show you a few of those custom oil paintings through the years. If you have been following my blog for a few years (or maybe many), these will be familiar to you.
Some go back as far as 11 years! I’ve been oil painting since March 8, 2006, so this should not come as a surprise. What still surprises me is that I feel like a beginner; maybe I need my head examined.
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 (5 on Friday). I will be there on Friday, April 30, the last day; the work will be removed at 5 p.m.
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 inI’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.
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.
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.
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:
People need to be shown kindness and treated as if they are significant (because they are).
Custom art commemorates and legitimizes, celebrates and pays tribute to the things that matter in people’s lives.
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.
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.
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.
