Mineral King Time Already – Early Early Early

It has been a dry winter. Trail Guy has been hiking this week.

Wow. This is early early early.

This is our friend and neighbor Keith. He is eating an orange on the bridge on April 26, 2013. There doesn’t appear to be any snow. Early early early.

The Park is officially opening the gate to the public on May 22. Early, early, early.

 Is “early” really a word? Looks funny. Nothing like a little overuse of a word to destroy one’s vocabulary.

Me? Just painting Mineral King scenes so that the Silver City Store can sell them for me this summer. They sell my Mineral King oil paintings very well. Maybe my prices are too low. Maybe you should pick one up this summer before I decide that my prices are too low. Then you can say, “I got her early work”. Early early early.

I was able to paint this week because I finished my April drawing quota for The Cabins of Wilsonia.  I finished them early.

Next week? Back to the drawing board.

Do you know anyone else who can honestly and literally say that?

More Mineral King for Christmas

You are probably thinking about Christmas shopping. If you are like me, the simpler the better. Not leaving home? The best way to shop! (I used catalogs for shopping long before they were considered normal.)

Here is an easy way to please someone on your list who loves Mineral King.

Honeymoon Cabin oil painting

Honeymoon Cabin XI, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50




Mineral King for Christmas

Friends who care enough to tell me the truth have suggested I be a bit more bold about the fact that I have original oil paintings for sale at ridiculously low prices. Okay. Here goes. Try not to be disgusted by my crass commercialism.

Mineral King oil painting of Crowley Cabin

The Crowley Cabin, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50, SOLD

 


2013 Calendars Now Available

The first 2 orders of 2013 calendars were all spoken for. Now I have the calendars available for order, right here on my bl0g!

The price including tax and shipping is $21. The earlier price was less because that’s just the way things roll. . . sigh. (Worm, anyone?) If you reserved one by email earlier, I will let you know when the calendars arrive and you can mail me a check.

 

oak grove bridge painting for cover of jana botkin's 2013 calendar




To see the pictures of each month, here is the link to the blog post that showed each  painting.

If you don’t want to click that link right now, here is a summary: Mineral King, Three Rivers, Sequoia, oranges, Yokohl Valley. What else would you expect from a regionalist from Quaintsville, a central California artist?
P.S. The type on this blog post is all in different sizes because sometimes it won’t fix, no matter how many times I try. I give up!

Sawtooth on a Cupboard Door?

Usually at a garage sale I am overtaken by the desire to go home, fill a box with stuff, and bring it back, sneak it onto a table, and tiptoe away. Stuff stresses me out. Too much stuff makes me twitch, mumble to myself, and randomly toss objects into the trash or a give-away barrel.

There might be a mental disorder that is the opposite of Hoarding. I might have it.

HEY! I THOUGHT THIS BLOG WAS ABOUT ART!

I’m getting there; keep your shirt on.

I found a cupboard door at a garage sale. It was all alone, no cupboard, no twin, no handle. It suddenly looked like a canvas that wanted paint.

So, I bought it and painted it. Stuff with a clear use is exempt from my Too-Much-Stuff-Problem.

Sawtooth is one of the prominent landmark peaks of Mineral King, visible from Visalia. (I prefer to look at it, hike beneath it, photograph, paint and draw it rather than climb it or be flown off of it.)

Sawtooth oil painting on a cupboard door

Sawtooth on cupboard door, approximately  9×21″, oil, sold

It sold to a visitor to my studio on First Saturday Three Rivers while it was wet. As long as it was signed, she was happy. And if the customer is happy, I am happy.

Shhhhhh. . .

. . . I’m going quiet on my blog for a few days. Don’t worry, just taking some time off from blogging. I’ll be back next week, maybe on Tuesday. Enjoy the silence, but don’t forget to check back in next week!

Honeymoon Cabin oil painting by Jana Botkin
Honeymoon Cabin, 6×6″, $50, oil on wrapped canvas

 

Taste The Arts

Taste the Arts takes place on Saturday, September 29 in Visalia, California. It is a little division of a week long event called “Taste of Visalia“. Maybe. I’m quite confused on the whole shebang.

What I am not confused about is that I will be one of many artists showing and selling my work at a former lumberyard in downtown Visalia from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The former lumberyard is encircled by Oak, Garden, School and Bridge Streets. I think the entrance is on Oak. I think it is free.

I am also not confused about the fact that I did several new paintings for the event. Here is one:

sawtooth oil painting by Jana Botkin

This is Sawtooth, in Mineral King. The painting is 16×20, the price is $375. Maybe people in Visalia aren’t as interested in Mineral King as people on this blog, in Mineral King and in Three Rivers. We shall see! (Who uses the word “shall” seriously??)

I Paint Better Now

See what I mean?

farewell gap oil painting, old version

 

This was the largest painting I had ever done back when I did it. Can’t remember, but I think it was in 2007, after I’d been oil painting for about one year. I thought it was mighty fine indeed. This year I took a long hard critical look at it and came to the conclusion that I paint better now.

Farewell Gap oil painting new version

Maybe it is just my opnion, or maybe it is true. Regardless, it is my goal to invoke the same feeling one gets while sitting on the bridge in Mineral King and looking at Farewell Gap. I think this painting is closer to that. Here, I’ll make them smaller so they can be side-by-side.

“Better” is a somewhat subjective term. Perhaps it is more modest and honest to say that I like my work better now. It has more detail. I like detail.

 

farewell gap oil painting, old versionFarewell Gap oil painting new version

 

Frankly, I am too chicken to ask for your opinions today!

Cluck-cluck.


Mineral King Paintings and 3 Reasons Why They Are Selling Well

Mineral King is the second most popular subject that I paint. Oranges are first, pomegranates are third. Thanks for asking – does me good to know you care.

 

Farewell Gap oil painting by Jana Botkin
Farewell Gap, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50, available at the Silver City Resort
alpenglow on vandever oil painting by jana Botkin
Sunset on Vandever, 6×6″ oil on wrapped canvas, $50, available at the Silver City Resort (should have titled it “Alpenglow”)
oil painting of Sawtooth Peak by Jana Botkin
Sawtooth #8, 6×6 oil on wrapped canvas, $50, available at the Silver City Resort
oil painting of the Oak Grove Bridge by Jana Botkin
Oak Grove Bridge VIII, 6×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, $50, available at the Silver City Resort (This is my favorite bridge, but you already knew that.)

Many of the artists I know have taken to creating small paintings in this crummy economy. Since Tulare County’s economy is usually crummy anyway, I was already doing that. It is very seldom that I am on the cutting edge of anything, so this has just been a real thrill, I tell you, a real thrill.

Stop yawning.

I’ve been really working hard on these little jewels this summer, because the Silver City Resort is doing a great job of selling them. They’re selling well for 3 reasons (just my opinion):

1. $50 is dirt cheap for an original oil painting (especially if you are from a big city)

2. People on vacation in the area would like a real souvenir of their trip that isn’t an unnecessary plastic item stamped with Mineral King.

3. (Ahem). They are sort of good. Not as tight with the detail as many of my other paintings, but whaddya expect for $50, hmmmm?

Just try to be polite, ‘kay? And might want to duck, in case there is a lightning strike for excessive braggadocio.

 

P.S. These might have sold – I haven’t checked since delivering them to Silver City a few weeks ago. BUT, do not lose heart – I can repaint anything for you. Just ask!