Big Trees

When you grow up in the same county as the Sequoia Gigantea, you tend to call these guys “big trees”.

That is sort of a Duh thing, but maybe we are a little duh-ish in Tulare County.

As a graduate of Redwood High School, you’d think I’d call them “Redwoods”. But Noooo, I still call them “Big Trees”. (Grow up, already, California Artist.)

oil painting of giant sequoia tree by Jana Botkin

Big Tree III, 6×18″, commissioned oil painting

Sometimes I think I am a fake California artist because I am not painting the beach or palm trees, or eucalyptus trees like those California plein air guys from the early (or was it mid?) 1900s.

Then I think – WAIT A DOGGONE MINUTE! Why am I treating Central California as if it is fly-over country, a place unworthy of mention?

Tulare County has the highest point in the contiguous United States, the largest trees by volume in the world, the oldest oaks in the world (I think that is right), and we feed the world!

Take that, you beach bums. I am a California artist, so there. (Hmmm, a small amount of insecurity, perhaps?)

Name This Painting. . .

. . . and the chosen titler will receive a token of my appreciation! (That means a prize, but not a huge one.)

Unnamed Barn, formerly known as Tulare County Barn, 10×10″ oil painting on wrapped canvas

You might remember this painting from last year’s show called Images of Home. It was titled “Tulare County Barn”, because the show was about Tulare County images. Duh.

This painting will be entered in the Madera Ag Art Show. Madera is 2 counties away. (They might not even know how to pronounce “Too-Larry” there!)

Titles matter. particularly in a juried (Shall we let this piece in our show?) and judged (Hmmm, that looks like a first place!) show.

The last time I entered the show, you helped me name my pencil drawing of a barn and tractor. Your choices were wonderful, better than what my mind could conceive.

Will you help me choose the new title for this painting? The suggester of the winning title will receive a prize. Haven’t decided what. I should be able to figure that out on my own. . .

THANK YOU, THANK YOU in advance for your help!

Contests need deadlines – how about July 18? That’s a Wednesday. 

Why Artists Choose Three Rivers, a rerun

Because I just began year 5 of blogging, I decided to repost some of my earlier blogs for my newer readers.

When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually do live here and have become a painter, I recognize a multitude of reasons that any artist would want to reside in Three Rivers.

We are surrounded by beauty that takes no effort to see. There are incomparable views from my yard, studio, mailbox, and even from in my neighbor’s pool. The beauty continues as we go to the post office, the Memorial Building, the golf course, or maybe even from the dentist’s office!

Then there is the beauty that might require a little more effort to take in: the North Fork, the South Fork, Kaweah River Drive, and the Salt Creek area of BLM land come to mind. If you are able to walk, there is so much more that becomes visible.

Another great enticement to living in Three Rivers is the shorter drive to Sequoia and to Mineral King. In less than an hour you can be among the big trees and in a little longer than an hour, you can be in a valley that I have heard resembles the Swiss Alps.

Everywhere I look there are subjects to paint. The wildflowers could keep my brush flying for several seasons. The gates alone could occupy my pencils for a year. I could produce an entire series of drawings and paintings simply of loading chutes. Curves in the road, bends in the river, the autumn leaves, light on the rocks, Moro Rock from every possible angle, Alta Peak from every attainable viewpoint, sycamores all around town, the grand oak trees of every variety, the assortment of fence styles – every one of these subjects could be depicted in pencil or paint.

It is true that there is beauty in almost any location if one learns to recognize it. I certainly had plenty of subjects available in my former locations.  Now, the accessibility of paintable scenes is almost overwhelming!

The Kaweah Post Office V, oil on wrapped canvas, sold

It’s Pretty Here

Three Rivers, Tulare County, central California, is GORGEOUS in the spring. Here are 4000 words worth of photos:

Looks as if Michael is leading horses to water.

He didn’t have to make them drink.

This is just an average morning, out on an average walk, on an average spring day.

My yard only looks like this for about 12 seconds a year. Good thing I had my camera!

(Don’t move here – the unemployment is awful, the air is nasty in the fall, and we are all fat.)

Oak Mural

Call me “Butter” – I’m on a roll! A tree mural roll, that is. This time the wall was inside someone’s home. It began looking like this:

There was a pile of scaffolding outside, and 4 strong men available to assemble it.

And a sister on hand to tell Jeremy how dangerous his position was. (He’s been through police academy and did much scarier stuff there so this wasn’t a problem to him.)

Looks a little bit scary from this angle, doesn’t it? This California artist wasn’t scared, but ready to get started painting a Valley Oak, the largest oaks in the world, right here in Tulare County!

The Business of Art in Tulare County

This began as a plum orchard, then I added pink and renamed it Peach Orchard. February is so beautiful here in Tulare County!

The drawing is sold, but I can always do another one for you.

Today you can find me at the Farm Equipment Show, also known as The World Ag Expo.

I’ll be hanging out with my cousins who will be demonstrating a wood splitter. (I still prefer an ax.)

UPDATE – that was the best splitter I’ve ever seen. EVER!

It might seem like a waste of time, but I can assure you (and my Very Mean Boss) that I will have my camera so I can take photos while in transit. (Might even pull over and stop to do so.) And I will have a pocketful of my business cards. An artist has to interact with the real folks from time-to-time. This is all about the business of art. Really! The business of art in Tulare County means going where the people are, and they are at the World Ag Expo in great numbers.


You Know You’re A California Artist When. . . part 2

That was so fun that I decided to do it again in pencil. Split personality? No, same subjects (California, mostly Tulare County), same tight style.

1 . . . you draw the beach.

Wood, Wind, Waves, pencil on paper, 12×16, matted and  framed, $500


Central California Coastal Pier, sold

Beach Birds, sold

Wave Action, 11×14, unframed, $100 (email me, it’s not on my website)

2. . . . and the mountains

Honeymoon Cabin, pencil on paper, 11×14″, unframed, $300

Crescent Meadow II, reproduction of pencil with colored pencil accents, $25

original also available here

Sawtooth, reproduction of pencil on paper, $20

3. . . . you draw lots of oranges.

Sun Kissed, reproduction of pencil with colored pencil accents, $25, 8×10

4. . . . and sometimes you draw your friend’s tractors.

His Other Car, pencil on paper, framed and matted, 19×26″, $400

Size Matters, 16×20, pencil and colored pencil, framed and matted, $350

Walk in the Park

Today that animal I am married to is turning 59. We did a stroll in The Park. Anything feels like a stroll after attempting Monarch Lake on the old “trail” last week. We stayed in the foothills, and almost wished for shorts and were annoyed by the face flies. Hard to believe it is January. (Are you praying for rain? You need to be!!) Anyway, I talk too much, so have a look at some nice photos. These fall under the broad category of Sources of Inspiration, which also means things I might want to paint someday. Oh, and if Mr. Google is paying attention, this is the blog of a California Artist who paints Sequoia National Park, Tulare County and Three Rivers.

P.S. I am an animal too, if banana slug counts as an animal.

Rural Living

Homer’s Nose, 16×12″, oil on wrapped canvas, $225

As a California artist, it is a little strange to have chosen this rural, central valley for my home. I like living in Tulare County. Sometimes I actually revel in it. Representing the beautiful parts of my home motivate, inspire and give me purpose with my art.

Only once in a blue moon do I wish I lived in or near a city. Here is one of the reasons that it sounds tempting to me:

I Heart Art: Portland — a collaboration between handcrafted retail site Etsy; the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Craft; and the Portland Etsy street team, a group of local artists who sell on Etsy — had initially planned a series of professional workshops. Instead, a member of the artists’ group suggested a way to hook up makers with sellers.

Just like speed dating, artists rotate on short “dates” with businesses and must make an impression in a short time. Their elevator pitches help determine if their art gains a buyer that night.

“The idea of an elevator pitch is very familiar to the business world,” says Watson, but not so much in the art world. “This whole idea of going to a shop and trying to build a relationship and get an account … was very foreign to a lot of people. It became really apparent to us that we needed to do something like this.”

via I Heart Art: Portland is like speed dating for artists | OregonLive.com.

Can you imagine having so many places to sell and so many working artists that such an event is actually necessary???

Tulare County has about 450,000 people in it. That is a large number, but small enough that I can pick up the phone, call any artist here, state my name, and whether or not we have met, we know of each other and respond with instant friendliness and enthusiasm. Maybe that is a better situation that so many galleries and artist that they are strangers to one another!

Why I make art, #4

Reason #4: It shows off Tulare County.

My art provides a way to share beautiful places and moments of time with others. This is a natural thing – aren’t you just dying to tell someone or show someone or lend a book or see a movie with someone else? Me too. (You should have seen me running down the street to share the book “The Help” with my neighbor!)

And, living in Tulare County with its bad rep, I feel an obligation to share the good parts with those of us who are “trapped” here. Sharing our beautiful spots helps our self-esteem as a county. It helps our self-esteem as residents of this place (“You live there? WHY???”)