Category: Going Places

Trip-toe Through The Tulips

Sorry. That was just dumb. Sometimes I am just a real chucklehead. Honestly, I will try to come up with an appropriate title for this triptych, one worthy of the beauty of the scene.

tulip oil painting by jana botkin

Once again I ask, “WHY is a California artist painting the tulips fields of Washington?”

Because:

1. They are beautiful

2. I love them

3. It is my hope to one day have a show called “Going Places” and finally paint and show work from my (somewhat limited) travels. I take many many photos, want to paint them, and wonder how to find a market for those subjects. Perhaps putting them all together in a show would really make a great visual impact. (Perhaps it would look like a mess of unrelated images. Maybe I’d even get arrested for visual assault.)

Meanwhile, I will continue to slowly build up my collection of non-central-valley art.

Do you think a show of China, Washington DC, Washington state, North Carolina, Oregon, and Lake Tahoe would look like a mess?

A California Artist Goes to Washington and Gets Inspired

When I went to Washington (state) in April, the tulips were in bloom. That is the reason I chose April for my visit. They were stunning.

While at the Redbud Festival in Three Rivers, I saw a lady wearing a skirt with a tulip print. The tulips were progressively larger as they got closer to the hem.

It gave me the idea to paint the tulip fields as a triptych. Triptych is Artspeak for three paintings that are meant to be seen as one scene. I have no earthly idea why this looks so cool, but it does. (It is pronounced “trip-tick”)

Turn your head sideways, squint a bit, and imagine these as a triptych. The top piece has more layers than the other two, but you probably figured that out all by yourself. And pay no attention to the gingko leaf in the upper left.

Occasionally this California artist has to take a trip. On this one she got a tych. But not a tick.

Ever seen an entire field of the same flower in bloom at once time? You can share it here.

California Artist oil paintings

A California Artist Goes Coastal

I said “coastal”, not “postal”. Living in rural Tulare County in the foothills of the Sierra in Three Rivers is great. But, I’m 50% beach girl, and the ocean calls to me.

A dear friend and neighbor just graduated from a college in Santa Barbara. We stayed in the lovely town of Ventura, enjoyed her campus and graduation in SB, and stopped by the beach again on the way home.

Just wanted you to know that this California artist gets out and about in her state on occasion. These may or may not become paintings. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

The beach in Ventura has a very sloped surface. If you walk far, one of your legs might shrink. (Perhaps it will rebalance when you walk back.) Would this make a nice painting? Probably has too much sand and not enough water.

The harbor had perfect light in the early evening. Would this make a nice painting? Probably. Not sure I have a market for this subject.

This beach was across the street from Santa Barbara City College. How do those people get any studying accomplished?? If there were little kids playing in the sand, this photo would almost have it all! Lovely lovely town and beach and day.

California Artist

A California Artist Goes to Washington, Part Five

While I was in Washington working diligently on the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, I had the delightful companionship of Penny, a little black dot of a dog, whom I called “Pen Dot”. She took the edge off missing my three cats.

And here is an average view on an average morning on an average walk in Carol’s area. Those are the Olympic Mts. in the distance. (I knew you were just dying to know.)

In addition to slaving away at my upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia”, we went on a yarn crawl. It is sort of like a pub crawl, but it involves yarn shops. (Bet you figured that out on your own.) Have a peek:

This had the most yarn, the most samples, the most customers, and was the friendliest.

And just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be any more new and exciting adventures, Carol pulled this out of her bag of tricks – a scooter! I laughed and laughed until my teeth hurt from the cold wind.

This was my view. The helmet didn’t make my hair nearly as horrid as the ferry. (Thank you for your concern on this matter of extreme importance.) We went off to a place to take in this view.

There might have been a tiny amount of trespassing involved. I’m not sure, and I’m not admitting anything. Just speculating.

When it was time to go home, it got sunny! This is first time I have ever had the thrill of seeing Yosemite from the air. The pilots often point out the various peaks along the way, but no one has ever mentioned Yosemite before. I just happened to look up from my knitting at the right time! Half-Dome and El Capitan show up if you study this photo.

And thus we conclude the five part series about a California artist in Washington. Working, of course. It was a business trip.

The end.

Wilsonia

A California Artist Goes to Washington, Part Four

My trip to Washington was to learn Adobe InDesign so I can put together the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia. It was a business trip, of course. I worked very hard, of course. You’d expect nothing less of me, right?

However, it was necessary to take another ferry ride to another town to visit some of the dearest people on the planet to me. Their names are Ron and Ruth, and they have had a special place in my heart since I was 13 years old. Words fail me when I try to express my respect, love and appreciation for them, so you can just look at this photo and feel the love. Almost makes me go crybaby to see it. (bad hair, but not Ferry-hair yet.)

I was so overcome by getting to spend time with them that I spent the entire ferry ride back just marching around the top deck, around and around and around. It got sunny again, really brilliantly sunny, freezing cold, but fabulous.

Carol taught me to make little origami stars. She taught me many things in addition to Adobe InDesign, which was the reason I went to Washington. (I have to keep saying this in case you think I was just messing around. Adobe InDesign wasn’t something that makes my blog look attractive so I have to supplement this report.)

Wilsonia

A California Artist Goes to Washington, part three

The reason for my visit to my friend Carol in Washington was to get some focused one-on-one help in learning to use Adobe InDesign. The reason for scheduling it in April was because I figured I’d have a decent number of drawings finished for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, which is the purpose of learning InDesign.

Or, was the purpose of going in April THE TULIPS!??

North of Seattle is a wonderful agricultural area called the Skagit Valley. (Not pronounced “skag – it” but “skaj -it”) I used to visit my uncle and aunt in that area and always felt at home because of the agriculture and because the mountains are in the east, just like Tulare County. (minus the heat, foul air, high unemployment and maybe even with fewer fat people – sure, go ahead and move there, I don’t mind! May I visit in April?)

Flower bulbs are grown commercially there. Bulbs have to flower before they can be harvested. Of course, you have to pay to get in. There are no shoulders of the road for pulling over, and all the fields are located away from the roads anyway so even if you wanted to break the rules, there is no point. I believe Roozengaarde is the 2nd best amusement park I’ve ever visited. (The first best was in Gilroy, California, and I have forgotten the name. Again. Natalie, you listening??)

There I go with my primary color obsession again. Perhaps this is the floral interpretation of A River Runs Through It.

There were tons of people, mid-day, mid-week. I overheard one woman say, “Being cold and muddy isn’t my idea of a good time. Besides, I’d like a real toilet.” And I heard the father of a young boy say, “Stay out of the mud because we only brought one pair of pants and we paid $15 to get in here so we are NOT leaving after 2 minutes.” This California artist understands that cold and muddy are a temporary condition, well worth braving for scenes such as these. (Inspired by beauty, nay, DRIVEN by it, as you may recall from this post.)

There were still fields of daffodils that hadn’t yet faded. Those are the Cascade Mts. in the distance. (I knew you were dying to know, because I would have been.)

A good thing about all those people is that you can hand your camera to anyone without first threatening to hitchhike. (Read April 23 to understand that remark.) Most everyone hunkers down in the mud so they are surrounded by blooms. (You’ll be happy to note that my hair has recovered somewhat from that ferry ride and my face looks better than yesterday, although you had far too much class to mention it. I had to show you the bad photo so that you’d appreciate my regular flat hair and smile.)

This is my favorite shot. I was lucky to get it just before a large purple coat entered the scene. Happy to take those cold muddy risks so you all can vicariously experience the joys of the Tulip Season.

A California Artist Goes to Washington, part two

In Washington, this California artist took her first yoga class. Being a get-‘er-dun sort of chick, I think we could have skipped the nap at the end, and possibly some of the soothing talk about erasing our minds at the beginning. (And how in the world is one supposed to “breathe with your spine”? I like using my nose to breathe, but thanks for the {useless} suggestion anyway.) On one of the poses I looked over at Carol and we were both shaking with laughter. I mouthed to her, “I can’t believe we are doing this in public!” Had to stop looking at each other to continue the moves.

I also learned how to use something on my computer called Photobooth. On Carol’s computer actually. I haven’t looked for it on mine because it causes me to laugh so much that I can’t type.

That’s some seriously bad Ferry-hair. (bit of a problem with my face too – try to be polite.)

And, of course I worked on the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, very diligent in learning to use Adobe InDesign. (Oh be quiet!!)

Wilsonia

A California Artist goes to Washington

Washington is a fantastically beautiful state. I’ve been there in many seasons and loved every one. The rain doesn’t bother me because I get to go home. The gray sometimes feels like a relief from relentless sunshine. Grape hyacinth become naturalized. There are trails in neighborhoods for walking. Churches offer coffee in their lobbies and they recycle their bulletins.

In summary, the grass is greener on the other side of the border. (2 borders, actually)

Here is what I experienced while visiting Carol in Washington. (Carol and I have been friends for 35 years – isn’t that a rare and wonderful thing?)

I began the design of The Cabins of Wilsonia with Carol’s expert help on Adobe InDesign.
We took a ferry to Whidbey Island on the only day that had sunshine.

Okay, that’s all for today’s list, because I want to tell you our Whidbey Island story. We had hoped to ride the free bus on the island to visit a town called Langley, about 6 miles from the ferry. Then we learned that the buses don’t run on Sundays.

While on the ferry, a nice lady named Jackie took a photograph of us together. (My hair was all wacky in the wind and I looked fat, so I deleted it. Thought I’d spare you the visual assault.) We got to visiting, and when I suggested to Carol that we hitchhike to Langley, Jackie laughed and then offered to take us there.

We could tell Jackie was a great Mom because of her daughter’s reaction. When we got in the car with her and her 2 daughters, her 13-year old was HORRIFED! “Mom, do you KNOW them from high school or something?? What are you doing?? Are you serious??” The look on her face was priceless!

If I paint tulips, my followers might think I’ve just messed up my poppies.

Langley was beautiful. I could not stop taking photos of tulips in the sunshine, which were in everywhere. The water was visible from many places, and the town was fun even without a yarn store.

Why does everything next to the ocean look more appealing? In Tulare County, the supreme compliment a business can receive is “Oh! This looks like something at the coast!” The buildings have more style, the shops are well-maintained with interesting names, the gardens are lush, and even the fences and gates are creatively built. (And I’m sure the children are all above average, too.)

Can’t remember what the shop was about, but loved the name.

Just your average coastal type fence, I guess.

No big deal – just toss a few bulbs in the ground. Maybe there are no squirrels there? No gophers? No deer?

Did you know that Washington State Ferries are push-me-pull-yous? The captain just moves to the ~~cockpit~~ pilot house on the other end instead of flipping a U or using reverse. (Is it a cockpit? Is there a reverse? Life’s full of questions.) (Thank you, Gus, for teaching me the correct terminology.)

Jackie and Carol texted one another while we poked around town, and then she picked us up to take us back to the ferry! We figured we could walk the 6 miles if necessary (or hitchhike?), but sweet Jackie was there again! Her daughters were really quite lovely – polite, interesting, and adventuresome. Carol and I decided to walk the last 1/2 mile or so to the ferry instead of waiting in the car line, and then we had to RUN to get on board! (Did 52 year olds run in the olden days? I don’t remember seeing it happen when I was a kid, but of course I didn’t know anyone that ancient other than my grandmothers, and they certainly didn’t run.They had to have been waaaaay older than 52.)

Wilsonia

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.