Author: cabinart

Big Old Country House Drawing, 1

After finishing the 3 small custom pencil drawings of 3 small houses from 3 small photos, my confidence returned to begin the big custom drawing of the big old country house, working from about a dozen big photos, enlarged on my laptop screen in order to see the details clearly, drawing while looking under my big magnifying glass.

Big job. Good thing I love to draw.

These photos represent 2 days of working on the picture.

You can see in the last photo that I pruned the bushes back on the left in order to show more of the structure. It was a little tricky to figure out the size and placement of the window on that segment of newly exposed wall. Working from multiple photos is full of challenges, because I leave behind the security of being able to measure directly from a photo. Instead, I look at one that shows a particular item, put it in the drawing, and realize that I don’t know where it truly belongs in relation to the things that don’t appear in the photo where I got it.

See? Can’t even explain it simply. Guess you’d have to be there.

The goal is believability AND with a piece of custom art, recognizability.

Big Trees in Order

After posting about Seven Big Tree Oil Paintings, it seemed like a good idea to figure out when I painted which one so I could see them in order and decide if I am improving or going the other direction. So, here they are in order.

Interesting – I think the 2 best are the first and the last. So much depends on the quality of the photo, and I don’t have very many to choose from that show the entire tree. But there is also the color variance from photo to photo and tree to tree. As I gain confidence, which happens with experience, I am able to just figure out what colors please me rather than feeling bound to the photo.

If you want a tree like this, the size is 6×18″, the price $165 (plus tax if you live in California). Of course there are larger canvas sizes available (smaller too, but those are for younger eyes and fingers more agile than mine at manipulating paintbrushes). Remember,

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

(I hope $165 isn’t scary).

Sequoia sequoia oil painting

Things Learned in May

Butternut squash – time consuming to prepare, decent eating. A friend once told me, “Squash is the past tense of squish, and squish is not a food.” However, I kind of like this stuff!
Lung transplants – all aboard the Rachelle Express, with many ups and downs. She and I never discussed the details of what the surgery and recovery might entail, and I am stunned by the difficulties. I am also in awe of Rachelle and Steven’s courage, persistence, patience, determination, and strong strong faith.
Rachelle helped me with Studio Tour in 2014.
I used to get azaleas and rhododendrons mixed up. I think I can tell them apart now, and so far, my rhododendron has escaped the deers’ notice.
Maeve Binchy has long been my favorite novelist. I found her after I ran out of Rosamunde Pilcher (before she wrote The Shell Seekers — now all those older novels seem so silly). JoJo Moyes’ Me Before You became a very well-loved story, and then I found that she has been writing full time since 2001 and has a pile of very well-written books. (Don’t you just love it when you discover a great author and then hate it when you run out of their books?)
Did you ever use those colored aluminum tumblers when you were a kid? I bought some reproductions and use them regularly. I left water in one for quite awhile, and then had to soak it with vinegar to get the hard water marks out. IT LEAKED!! Leaked, I say! Developed a bunch of holes in the bottom from the acid in the vinegar. If you have those tumblers, consider yourself warned. (Trail Guy says I had probably weakened the bottom by jabbing something frozen in it with an ice pick awhile ago).
I learned how to set a gopher trap, the kind called “macabee”. I’ve never done this, because between Trail Guy and our ever-changing stable of cats, the gophers were somewhat under control. Trail Guy finds this task to be repugnant (it is), and our three cats seem to prefer hunting on the neighbors’ properties. Meanwhile, those rodents are just wrecking my herb garden. All the vegetables are planted in wire baskets, but everything else, in particular the ground-cover thymes, went from full to spotty. Caught one, fed it to Tucker, and still, the destruction continues, but I will not stop trying to protect my garden. (Those macabees are crazy hard to set!)
If the gauge on your propane tank is not working, you can estimate how much propane is in the tank by putting your hand on it, rubbing downward until you feel it turn colder. That is the level of propane.
Movies are not a large part of my life – we don’t have (or is it “get” or is it “belong to”?) Netflix (or is it “the Netflix”?), and I always prefer the book version of a story. (Yeppers, always.) However, I watched 2 movies in May, both of which were excellent (used Amazon on my laptop computer). Fisherman’s Friends, and Accidental Courtesy, and both of which I recommend.

Remember

Involved

Success breeds success. After finishing the two custom pencil drawings, it seemed easy to just finish the third.

Yeppers. Still procrastinating on the giant pencil commission of the big old country house. Productively procrastinating, because I really do like to finish things.

I started out taking photos so I could show you the steps, but then I got so involved that I forgot to stop and take more pictures.

It would have been easier if the tree in the foreground was pruned before the photographer took the shot, but alas, no one was thinking about the fact that someday, some pencil artist might want to know what was behind the branch. I decided it must have been hiding a dormer window.

There are quite a few erasing tools showing up in those 2 progress photos. I used to think that erasing meant I was just an incompetent artist; eventually I have learned to accept it as part of drawing.

Nothing left to procrastinate with, so it is time to become involved with the giant pencil drawing of the big old country house.

custom art pencil drawing

Inspired

The custom pencil drawing of a big old country house was intimidating, so I quickly completed a smaller commissioned pencil drawing. It went so well that I was inspired, even eager*, to begin the second piece in the series of three.

That big window on the left (a sun room?), the shadow cast by the door overhang, the slightly opened window on the right, a hint of stepping stones leading from the drive to the front door, and of course the car in the carport are the details that add charm to this little house. The only change I made was to straighten out the sidewalk.

This was a very satisfying job. Two down, two to go.

*Have you noticed how many people use the word “anxious” when they mean eager?

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

commission commissioned pencil drawing custom art

Intimidated

I began working on the 16×20″ commissioned pencil drawing of the big old country house. It is a challenge, due to combining several views into one scene, and due to the size. It is intimidating, so I decided to warm up to the task by working on the little old houses from the single little old photos.

No people will be included in the drawing. Can’t see ’em, can’t draw ’em.

That was fun and maybe even a little bit easy. Not too easy, because some of it just had to be guessed at. There is a mop drying on the roof, a broom leaning up against the front window, and the handle of a hoe or shovel leaning against the wall. I don’t know what those vines are or what is supporting them. The shingles on the roof were hard until I figured out how to duplicate the pattern. Grass, in case you are interested, is just organized scribbling.

NEXT! I love to draw, particularly architectural subjects. But you knew that, didn’t you?

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

commission pencil drawing pencil drawing

Big Old Country House, 3

In case you are just now tuning in, I am making custom art of a big old country house, south of Farmersville in Tulare County, for my new friend Jane and her husband. They chose the angle they like best, and I was so happy that we both liked the same angle.

They were thinking about an oil painting, and chose the size of 16×20″. They also asked if that was a good size to capture all the details, and on this house, there are many many details. Many.

Honesty is the best policy. I showed them a custom 16×20″ oil painting of a house, and said it was not my best work. This meant that although I did the best I could, it wasn’t something that showed the house or my skills very well. The photos I had for that painting weren’t very helpful, so that may have had something to do with it. Indeed, but also everything was just too small for a paintbrush.

I also showed them a custom 24×30″ oil painting of a house, and said that this was a painting I felt proud of. I was not trying to upsell them at all, only to make it clear that I could do a better job on a larger painting.

Then I told them that I do my best detail work in pencil, so if details are what matter the most, then they will be happiest with pencil.

They chose a 16×20″ PENCIL DRAWING!!

Alrightythen (yes, I always think of this as one word), let’s git-‘er-dun!

I love to draw, because I am a Central California artist who uses PENCIL, oil paint, and murals to make art you can understand of places and things you love at prices that won’t scare you.

Big Old Country House, 2

After going through 40 photos of the big old country house, I organized them by main views with accompanying details, and labeled each photo. I’ve learned that this is a very necessary step if I am going to do the best job possible. (In the olden days, I would take a couple of snapshots with my film camera, get them developed, pick one and then just draw it without even showing the customer first. It is a wonder I had any customers at all.)

I have learned to not overwhelm my customers with too many choices. I have also learned that it is good to show some sketches first. I chose the 2 best options, and began to sketch them. Because Jane and I have a lively texting correspondence as we get to know one another better, I sent her this photo of my sketches in progress.

I was adding color in case she and her husband were going to choose an oil painting over a pencil drawing. The idea of sending the photo was to show her that I was working on her project. I messed up by not telling her the reason I was sending these and that they were not finished.

Jane and her husband were very excited and chose the top view. Wait, what? These aren’t finished. I am so embarrassed to have sent them prematurely. (Texting is a dangerous form of communication).

The good news is that the top view was also my favorite. (The other good news is that Jane laughed when I told her that I was embarrassed.)

Then we had to decide pencil drawing or oil painting.

Tomorrow, oh patient (and impatient) Blog Readers!

Big Old Country House

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.