One day a week or so ago, I painted in the morning and drew in the afternoon. This is what it looked like:
Then I moved into the studio. It was a sunny day, so I raised the blind and saw this:
And thus we conclude another workday in the life of this Central California artist.
The lanterns languished. Finally, I reminded myself that I am the Mayor of Realville, the lanterns were too hard for me at that size (a paintbrush will never quite behave like a pencil), and it was time to make them go away.
So, I turned the painting into one of pomegranates.
Still, I wanted to do something with those charming little lanterns. If it was too difficult a subject in oil, then surely I could draw them!
This time I had to change the format, because my intention is to use them in the 2019 calendar. I squished them closer together, eliminated a board at the bottom, and began.
When they were in progress, I took them to my students and said, “Do to me what I do to you – evaluate this drawing honestly!”
They told me to forget all the grass and turn the entire background into boards. Being confident that I have taught my students well, I followed their directives. You can see that the grass on the left side is boards; the grass of the right side is still grass (or hair or a weird texture of something?)
I also hadn’t yet decided how much color to include, so the lantern on the far right needs more blue. The shadows aren’t dark enough, and the drawing isn’t finished yet in the top picture.
Now it is finished, photoshopped for best reproduction, and I really really like it!!
P.S. The 2019 calendar will be called “A Touch of Color” and will be pencil drawings with a little bit of color in them, probably all Tulare County subject matter.
Just kidding. I’m not raising a barn, just drawing it. Well, maybe I am raising it out of the vast whiteness of the paper.
I received these 2 photos along with many instructions. The top photo is how the barn looks now; the lower one is how it looked when the customer was a child and what he is wanting me to draw.
He also wanted me to match the size of the barn in this print, drawn (or is that ink with a watercolor wash or something else I don’t recognize?) by one of my art heroes.
Part of the business of art is communicating thoroughly and clearly with customers and potential customers. I realized that this job would require a sketch and approval of the sketch before I began, because there were lots of places for misunderstanding. I sketched it roughly 2″ x 3″, to match the proportions of the size the customer requested (measured in picas, so just trust me that it is proportionally correct).
Got it in one attempt! Sketch approved, drawing begun. The photo isn’t great, nor is the printer. I am working primarily from the sketch and the notes.
A few hours later, this is where I was:
I told the customer it would be 2-3 weeks, but commissions always jump to the front of the queue. (2 poppy paintings need a final layer, there are 4 paintings in Birdland, and I still need a few more paintings of the most popular Mineral King scene because 3 more sold last week. Not complaining, just explaining.)
A customer brought me a pencil drawing from 1995 with the request that I turn it into notecards.
In order to turn an original drawing into a printed piece, there are some tasks to be done on a computer. First, I scan it, then open it in Photoshop, convert it to grayscale, erase anything that is supposed to simply be paper color, resize it to 600 dpi and whatever size in inches it will be printed, then convert it to a PDF and send it to the printshop, where she becomes their direct customer.
When I saw it, I thought it was a reproduction print, not the original. WHY did I draw an original on such flimsy and textured paper?? And why are all the trees on the distant hills the same size, evenly spaced and looking so distinct? Why is there no pencil on those hills? Why does no grass show between the slats of the fence? Why does that main tree look manicured?
Before I did any of those computer tasks, there was some serious pencil work to be accomplished.
Before:
After:
Ready to print: 
The changes are subtle, but important. My drawing students and I will see the difference, and I don’t feel embarrassed to have my name on the drawing any more.
What a boring title – “List of Activity” – I’m sure that got people tripping over the Google to find this post.
Not.
But it has been active around my studio and art business lately with sales of oil paintings and pencil drawing commissions.
Finished and sent to happy customer:
Sold:
Sketch approved and drawing begun:
What is this “pencilization” that you’ve been saying lately?
Just another made up word by your Central California artist, who specializes in pencil art, turning photos and ideas into pencil drawings.
The print arrived from Shutterfly, so I was able to continue with the commissioned pencil drawing. An email arrived also, giving me the freedom to do what needs to be done in order to make the scene mostly accurate and pleasing at the same time.
Hurray! Freedom! (Sometimes customers ask me to do things that will make their drawings look stupid; this customer is not like that at all.)
Once the print arrived, I was off like a rocket, pencils flying. There’s something to be said for being able to see the details clearly! It is now in the happy customer’s hands (or perhaps at a frame shop).
A friend sent me a photograph and asked if I thought it would make a better oil painting or a pencil drawing.
Nothing to see here, folks; just move on. . .
What I mean is that there is very little color to see, so I recommended a pencil drawing. I ordered a good print from Shutterfly, but decided I couldn’t wait for it to arrive to begin drawing, because drawing is my favorite thing. Besides, this might be a lot harder than it looks, and there is a deadline.
There may or may not be a teensy structure that is very important to the friend/customer on the far right. We know it is there, but it isn’t visible.
I can visualize where the structure belongs, but not the shape of the roof, or how much of the roof might even show. Good pencilization requires this information. This scene is a short 1/2 mile walk from home so I can meander over with a camera and see if the structure shows.
Meanwhile, keep drawing. . . one day my prince prints will come.
I get another chance at a do-over!
A customer asked to buy three of the original pencil drawings from The Cabins of Wilsonia. One of them is gone, so I offered to redraw it for him. He agreed.
The one he wants redrawn isn’t one I felt very proud of. Maybe I got sloppy in the midst of 272 drawings (can’t remember the actual number). Maybe I draw better now. Maybe it didn’t reproduce as well as I had hoped. Maybe I did a poor job prepping it for printing. Maybe my standards have been raised or tastes have changed.
Maybe it is all in my head.
Here it is:
I can’t wait to redo this! (Have I told you how much I love to draw, especially architectural scenes?)
First I ate my vegetables of fuzzy faces. I saved dessert for last.
What is she talking about? I can hear you thinking.
My customer brought me three commissions to draw in pencil. The first 2 were the fuzzy photos of faces with no discernible features. The 3rd was a beautiful building, designed by Julia Morgan, the architect most known for her buildings at Asilomar and for the Hearst Castle.
Drawing architecture in pencil is my favorite part of my art business.
Remember Henry and Dora in front of their tent last week? Here, have another look:
I showed my drawing students, because it is good to learn from one another. They were kind and complimentary, but honest, as we are with one another. “What is that thing in the tent?” is something I heard a few times.
I dunno. Some of their belongings covered in a tarp, perhaps.
My curiosity got the best of me, so I returned to the photos, both the original and the photoshopped version where I removed two of the women so the customer could see a version of what he had requested–just Henry and Dora, please.
Original photo:
Photoshopped version:
Well, oops. That thing is the lap and legs of one of the women that I photoshopped out of the photo. The converse to “If I can’t see it, I can’t draw it” is, “If I see it, I draw it”.
That’s why we have erasers. Here is the revised Henry and Dora drawing.