Category: drawing

Nine One One, part two

Here is a Yokuts shelter. From the diagram that the author provided, I had to ask if these were little Christmas trees made of thatch! She gave me an explanation, so hopefully the drawing will clear up any sort of confusion as to the nature of these little structures. The book will be titled The Sierra Before History: Ancient Landscapes, Early Peoples. It is by Louise Jackson and will be out this spring. The book will be available locally at The Book Garden in Exeter, or through the publisher, Mountain Press http://mountain-press.com/index.php , and other places that carry local writers.

Art Nine One One

Ever notice that the initials of Nine One One are NOO? That is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the words, “I know this is short notice but. . .” Saying “NOO!” would be bad for business. People come to me because I have something they need, and it would cut down on many business opportunities and mess up my hard-won reputation for being a non-flakey artist if I just automatically said “NOO” to these requests. So, I listen to the request, ask for the exact time the piece is required, think about my existing obligations and commitments, ask for specific expectations about the job, and say yes or no based on reality, rather than first instinct. An Art Emergency came to me last week – 2 illustrations for a book on the people of the Sierra. The author was notified by the publisher that the deadline for going to press was moved, and she couldn’t find decent photos of Miwok and Yokuts shelters. She had blurry photos and a diagram, and neither was adequate. She asked me to create drawings – “I know you are busy and this is short notice, but. . .” Since she is a very dear friend who has helped me in more ways than I can ever count, I truly wanted to help her. Besides, have I mentioned how much I love to draw? So, I did the drawings, and this is the first time I have ever confidently made up something without adequate photos and LIKED the results!

These are Miwok shelters made of bark.

Miwok shelter pencil drawing Sierra Before History

Art Emergencies

You’ve learned about odd art jobs such as quilt patches and umbrellas (and NO, I DON’T WANT TO PAINT ON AN OLD SAW!) Now, I bring you Art Emergencies. This is where someone comes to you and says “I know this is short notice but. . .” Generally speaking, 30% of the work that comes to me is an emergency. Granted, there are no true emergencies outside of birth and death and “poor planning on your part does not create an emergency on mine”. However, poor planning on the part of a customer often creates nice jobs for me. And, to be fair, sometimes Art Emergencies are not a result of poor planning but the result of a surprise as in “Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts just announced his retirement and we need a nice personalized gift for him right away!” Here is one from a couple of years ago:

If you are wondering about it, it was for a retiring Visalia City Council member and all the elements of this collage mean something to him. And no, he isn’t Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts; he is more akin to Joe Box-of-Oranges!

Now look!

More flowers needed, and then figure out how to end the bottom river scene. After that, the refining stage where the tiniest changes have a large impact. (Did I mention that I love to draw??)

commission pencil drawing

Getting there

Remember this? On overcast days, I draw in the studio rather than paint in the workshop. Have I mentioned how much I love to draw? 😎 Now that my seasonal shows are behind me, I can finish this so the customer will have it in hand before Christmas.

In progress

When it is overcast, the light is too low for painting. So, I draw instead! Here is the chosen sketch for this comissioned collage piece: Looks like a scribbly mess unless you know the photos. I showed the customers 4 options and they chose A with a few minor changes. Here is the beginning of the drawing:

Snow and other reasons to photograph your home

This was a little tricky. The photos arrived electronically with news that some older photos were coming via snail mail. The older photos showed the house in its pre-remodeled state, and my instructions were to draw it at the angle in the new photo with the details from the earlier style.

Most people don’t take clear photos of their homes just to have the visual documentation. Instead, they photo their home if something unusual is happening. For example, once I was asked to draw the 4 homes a lady had lived in during her lifetime. 2 were in Los Angeles, and 2 were in Exeter, California. 3 of the 4 snapshots showed the houses in snow! Snow in California in the flatlands is definitely unusual, so that is the only reason the homes were photographed. Fortunately the old photos of this house weren’t in snow. Unfortunately, they never showed the entire house, and one had a pile of shingle rubble in the front yard! See? unusual events cause photography!

Do you draw anymore?

Now that I am an oil painter, I get asked this question. The answer is YES!! I LOVE to draw! These days I draw commissions only and am building my “body of work” (Artspeak for “inventory”) in oil. See? Isn’t this a beautiful cabin? It’s a bit reminiscent of the homes around Tahoe near Camp Richardson (in my last blog posting about walking). Love that shingle siding and multiple gables!

pencil drawing Wilsonia cabin

My Story, part 4

Remember Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? I skimmed it and only remember one thing: the most effective way to really learn a new thing is to teach it. Until I began teaching drawing lessons, I had an endless list of things I just couldn’t draw. Once I began teaching, it became imperative to tackle those items! Early on those items included eagle feathers, lion fur, beach sand, and tree bark. As my students looked to me for direction, I had to find a way to draw AND explain the methods. Often we experimented together to find the best way to represent different textures. As I teach drawing, I learn new ways of explaining and demonstrating, and new techniques of drawing. Just to keep from getting too fat-headed, have a look at my early work:

When the reproductions of this sold out, I redrew it and reprinted the new one:

In case you are interested, it is for sale here:

https://www.cabinart.net/reproductions_new.shtml

In the interest of fairness and honesty, there is an even newer one, but it was reproduced as cards only and they have all sold out. If enough people ask, I will show it in another blog, but it won’t get reproduced because it sold and I don’t know to whom!!

My story, part 2

Oops, I said that the building where I paint isn’t very photographic – silly me!

About 3 years ago – who am i fooling?? – exactly 3 years, 5 months and 13 days ago I began oil painting. There were several reasons for it, none of which matter anymore since I am loving the new medium. (If you really want to know, you can email me and I’ll tell you.) One of the reasons is that colored pencil is too slow and really causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to kick in. Since knitting and splitting wood are among my favorite non-work activities, I need my wrists to last as long as possible. Have a look at some colored pencil work:This is available here: https://www.cabinart.net/originals_new.shtml After that shameless commercial, (albeit “soft” since I didn’t put a Paypal button on this site) I will keep you awaiting the next installment of my story!