New Oil Commission

“Commission” is fancy talk for custom art.

A friend requested an 8×10″ oil painting from a photo she took in Yosemite.

I haven’t been to Yosemite very often and don’t really know it but somehow I knew to ask if this was Yosemite Falls, and doesn’t it have 2 parts? The oak tree in the foreground was obstructing the shapes of the cliffs, and I also needed to know if the barely visible cabin in the lower right mattered.

After a bit of back-and-forth, I went to the World Wide Web, found many photos that showed the dual nature of these famous falls, and proceeded to make up my own version. 

Since when have I become such a rogue painter??

Here are the steps (without showing you the photo from the WWW because I do not have permission.) I began the painting in the studio (the reasons are boring), where oil painting does not belong, but I was very very careful.  I worked from my friend’s photo on the laptop. You can see that I chose to keep and enhance the little structure, because I am into cabins (hence “Cabin Art”).

The next painting session was in the painting workshop, where it is not a tragedy to drop and spill things. The natural light is better there than in the artificial light of the studio, so it was a much better place to finish the painting.

The last photo was taken with the phone instead of the camera. Neither one is adequate, but will have to suffice until the painting is dry and can be scanned.

 

Four Places to Buy My Art

Apparently, in spite of not having pop-up ads, here is my own ad on my blog. Self-promotion and marketing are the most difficult parts of being a self-employed artist. However, if you are a reader of my blog, I am assuming you like my art. Therefore, telling you where to find it is simply providing you with a service, yes? (I refuse to end my sentences with “right?” as so many people do these days, a nervous vocal tick that sticks up my nose).

  1. Kaweah Arts in Three Rivers has been selling very steadily for me. This is an art consignment shop located along the main road through town, on the river side of the highway, AKA Sierra Drive. Great variety of local original art, open Thursday – Tuesday. No website, but on Instagram and probably Fakebook. They have my paintings (mostly Sequoia and Three Rivers subjects) and notecards.
  2. Farmer Bob’s World is a new adventure in agri-tourism in Ivanhoe, which is a citrus growing area north of Visalia. They offer tours and have a venue for events. It is new, and I am honored to be part of this, since citrus growing is my heritage. They have paintings (mostly citrus) and notecards. Their website is Farmer Bob’s World.
  3. The Mural Gallery, a store for Exeter, A Festival of Arts on E Street in Exeter just reopened. They have a good variety of mural related merchandise and the muralists are invited to show and sell their work. They carry my Exeter coloring books and paintings (citrus, Sequoia, foothill scenery). No website, but here is a youtube video discussing the murals. Exeter, A Festival of Arts. (The first 2 murals shown in the video are mine!)
  4. Silver City Resort, 4 miles below Mineral King (or 21 miles up the MK Road) has been selling my paintings for over 10 years. Now they also carry Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names. Their website is Silver City Mountain Resort. (P.S. This is an old photo – the store is fancier these days.)
  5. A bonus place to buy my art is from me directly, either off the website (yikes, hope the piece didn’t already sell somewhere else before I learned about it!) or from me in person.

And remember, I make custom art.

Using pencils, oil paint and murals, I make art you can understand about places and things you love for prices that won’t scare you.

We now resume our normal broadcast schedule.

Big Old Country House, Done!

Done? That word brings biscuits to mind, or perhaps a tri-tip. “Completed” is probably a better word for a custom pencil drawing.

Because of the influence of my drawing students, I decided to put clouds in the sky rather than oranges or walnuts. (Oranges in the sky? Walnuts in the sky? Riders in the sky?)

Because I love our flag and love to add color, Jane and I decided to add a flag to the drawing that wasn’t there in person.

Because I want the colors to be right on the flag, I experimented on a piece of scrap paper on the drawing table.

Because it is a huge drawing, I decided to sign with my huge name. (When I paint, all I can manage with that uncontrollable paintbrush is “J. Botkin”.) I don’t know why I got into the habit of not capitalizing, but now it is an established habit.

And because it is so vulnerable, just a piece of paper, until Jane and I decide a retrieval/transfer date and method, it has to remain flat on the table, covered by tissue paper. (The drawing has [t]issues?)

The most difficult part of the entire drawing was getting a good photo. It was too bright outside, too dark in the studio, and so no matter what I tried, it had to be photoshopped to be worthy of showing to Jane. It is just too big for the scanner, so all that fiddling around had to be done.

Enough teasing. Here is the Big Old Country House custom pencil drawing, 16×20″:

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.

Better Sequoia

From 2012:

2012
Thought it was finished and changed my mind.
Best Sequoia painting, titled “Sandy’s Sequoia”.

Since everything looks measurably better in person, I am wondering if the differences are just due to camera variations. I don’t know where the original painting from 2012 is, nor can I find the photo that I used, so this is a mystery to be lived with. Not everything has an answer (Uncle Google may be omnipresent but he is not omniscient.)

This is custom art, Gentle Blog Reader. Custom art works like this:

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

P.S. My business manager made me put that in the blog. She is mean like that.

I Can Do Better

I thought the commissioned oil painting of a Giant Sequoia was finished. I photographed it, fixed the photo on Photoshop Junior (because there is no way to hold the camera perfectly aligned with the painting), and even varnished it.

Then I decided to compare it to the one that my customer saw and liked, painted back in 2012.

2012

The darks are darker in this one, and it just looks better. 

Back to the easel with my newest Big Tree oil painting, since I can do better, because. . .

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

Big Old Country House Drawing, 2

Another day at the drawing table, and only 2 photos in progress. Watching this part is a little like watching paint dry, or watching grass grow.

Because of pruning back the shrubs on the left, I needed more photos to show what is behind them. The shrubs on the right are also being pruned in the drawing, so more photos of that side of the house will help fill in some blanks. The very tall valley oak tree on the right is a bit of a mystery too, as is the mass of confusing growth behind it. I can’t figure out the detail on the front door, and the shapes of the windows are confounding me.

A field trip is in order for more photos. Let’s go!

The front door is wider than it appears in my drawing and has more detail on the screen than I could see in my earlier photos.
Nice detail on this window. I missed it entirely. It might not show in the angle of the house that I am drawing, but more photos than necessary are a better “problem” than not enough.
Is this thing important? I’d better ask.
Now I can see that the window over here is square and centered. (I saw the square part in real life – may not have been able to capture that in a photo without crawling into a shrub.)
How many trees are over there??
It splits into 2 massive parts but from a distance, appears to be 2 separate trees.
Wait a minute. There are several trees over there, and one is a pine.

Good thing Jane isn’t in a big hurry for this drawing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RACHELLE LEDBETTER!!!

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.

2012
2012, a little later
2013
2013, a little later 
2017 (a gap of 4 years?!)
2018
2021 (a 3 year gap?!)

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).

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. 

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.