A List and request for your opinions

Hope you all enjoyed the week of fall photos! I loved taking and posting them for you. Okay, I did it for me too. 😎

With shows on three consecutive weekends thus far, I feel a little tired. Lists are an easy way to blog choppy unrelated ideas without sounding choppy and unrelated.

  1. This is the last week of drawing lessons for the year. I have a waiting list to get into lessons now so will have to ask the folks who aren’t attending regularly what their intentions are. Sometimes that feels very awkward – “Sorry to hear of your troubles – will you be continuing in lessons?” Or how about this version: “Haven’t seen you for a few weeks. Since you haven’t come, called, or paid, did you quit and forget to tell me?”
  2. The Perfect Gift Boutique was fun for several reasons. I like that little old building, it is a chance to hang out with some artist friends, and it is a chance to see folks who regularly visit Three Rivers over the Thanksgiving weekend.
  3. The Perfect Gift Boutique wasn’t fun for several reasons. It was hard to be indoors for 2 very nice days. It didn’t seem as if we had nearly as many visitors. Sometimes it feels as if shows aren’t really worth the amount of work. (I must be a little tired to be admitting that!)
  4. My husband thinks maybe I cram too many paintings into my booth and it overwhelms customers. He may be right. May I have your opinions in this matter?
  5. The handful of blogs I regularly read often use bold in the middle of their posts. I wonder why. Do you find it distracting?

Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad we had this little talk.


Thoughts on Drawing Lessons


The show for my drawing students is still hanging in the workshop room of the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter. Their hours are Saturday and Sunday, 10-4. You can also stop by on Tuesday afternoons. They will be removing their pieces on November 29.

One of my more blunt straightforward students said something to the effect of “a room full of yous!” That was in response to me telling her how proud I felt of my students.

That is something that I struggle with a little bit. I want to teach people how to draw. I can only teach what I know. I only know how to draw like me.

Is that bad?

If I tell fail to tell them that my style is all I know and all I can teach, if I tell them other styles are wrong, then maybe it is bad.
I have to pay attention to several things – letting them pick their own subjects even if I don’t like their choices. Drawing a creepy heavy metal band doesn’t inspire me, but helping a student draw something she loves is very rewarding. I tell each person, “Pick something you love, because you’ll be looking at it for a very long time.”
If someone wants to work from a calendar, I have to explain about the copyright laws. Ultimately, I tell that student it is his choice but he needs to know that he cannot reproduce the work. It is very difficult to find good photos of one’s own unless one has been taking photos for awhile with drawing in mind.
Sometimes a student wants to copy someone else’s work. I explain that while it is easier in some ways, in others it is more difficult. I tell the reasons and let the student decide.
When a student brings in a photo he loves, instead of saying, “Sure, go for it”, sometimes I suggest we try different cropping to see if there is a simpler way to draw the subject. In this too, I back off and let the student decide what he likes best.
There are even times I have to tell them that their chosen subject is too hard. Sometimes it is too many steps beyond the student’s current skill. Sometimes it is too hard for me to demonstrate, and sometimes it is too hard for me to draw!

Often, I provide photos for those who have none. That really makes the subject matter look like my work!
As I view the show and contemplate my pride, I realize the joy is in their accomplishments, how great stuff looks in frames, and how great it looks as a group.
Mostly, I think about how much I enjoy them and the process of helping them learn to draw.

I also have to view the teaching of drawing as a beginning of their art education, not drawing as the final goal. It has always been my Main Event, but i know it isn’t like that for everyone, even those who love drawing as I do.


What If I Gave A Party. . .

. . . and EVERYONE came! The art show for my students was a HUGE success. It was elbow to elbow for almost the entire 2 hours. The work looked stunning, and if I had been any prouder of my students, lightning might have struck us all.

First, HUGE THANK YOU to Michael, Robin and Sylvia for taking charge of the food and beverages so that no one else got stuck in the kitchen and could just enjoy the show. THANK YOU!

One of my long term students, Jackie, helped me hang the show. I think she has been taking drawing lessons for around 6 years. We grouped the pieces by subject – portraits, florals, landscapes, animals. Then, I just enjoyed it by myself for awhile in the afternoon. (There is more art than appears in this photo, of course. Just didn’t want to antagonize you by showing you all 52 pieces so far away that you can’t really see them.)

The brown box is where you put your ballot after you vote for your 3 favorite pieces. The artist whose piece has the most votes will get a month of free drawing lessons!

This is Jerry – he is the husband of one of my drawing students. He bravely volunteered to be the first at the food table, and to let me photograph him “for scale”. 😎

Kirby and me – 2 different people want to buy her swan drawing! (I couldn’t get the silly happy grin off my face for the entire evening, and my hair did look better in the morning, thanks for asking.)

Kim and me – between us is her first pencil drawing, her cat Scooter. And isn’t it cool that Kim and I are birthday twins, although I am about 1 hour older which means I get to boss her around.

The show will be on display at the Courthouse Gallery of the Arts in Exeter until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (because that is the last day of drawing lessons for the year and everyone will take their pieces home then.) The hours are Tuesdays 12:30-5:30, and Saturdays and Sundays 10-4.

Student Art Show!

COURTHOUSE GALLERY HOURS

Tuesday 12:30-5:30

Saturday/Sunday 10-4

You are invited to the
STUDENT ART SHOW
an exhibit of original drawings
by the students of
Jana Botkin
November 4 – 27, 2011
RECEPTION NOVEMBER 4, 5-7 PM

Courthouse Gallery of the Arts
Workshop Room
125 South B Street
Exeter, California

Things to be learned in drawing lessons, part 2

If you would like to see the completed piece shown in progress here, come to the student art show!

Start with simple things.

Get help on big things.

Good tools make a job easier.

Learn from others who know how.

A second set of eyes is helpful.

Sometimes you just have to do the work, no matter how tedious.

Sometimes you have to walk away and wait for your head to clear so you can get a new perspective on a project.

Good planning pays off.

Not everything can be fixed.

Ignorant gushing praise feels good; experienced honesty is helpful.

Things to be learned in drawing lessons, part 1

You can see this drawing at the upcoming student art show.

Because a show for my students is coming up soon, I’d like to share with you some of the things learned when taking drawing lessons from me.

How to see, really see.

How to break down a complicated picture into manageable parts.

Lots of little steps add up to something good.

Not everything is worth messing with.

Little tiny things do make a difference.

How to take criticism.

How to give criticism.

How to be honest and kind at the same time.

Age differences make no difference in many settings.

There are many different styles of drawing.

There are many different ways to tackle a problem.

If you procrastinate on a difficult problem, over time more will be revealed.

Teaching without a degree

Honeymoon Cabin, pencil, 11×14, unframed, $300

A few years ago I took 1/2 a semester of oil painting at a local junior college. I learned more about painting from only the primary colors, and I learned about layering (called “glazing” in Artspeak). I learned that I need more light to see than a 19 year old, that just because a class is labeled something (“Photorealism”) doesn’t mean it is that class (it was Studio painting), that I have very little tolerance for rap “music” (rhythmic and profane chanting would be a more accurate term for it), and that the teacher was still trying to “stick it to The Man”. Hunh? He also had very little tolerance for my ilk – a wannabe without a Master’s of Fine Arts posing as an artist and an art teacher.

That’s me – a poser of the first degree!  Gotta have a degree in something to teach, I suppose.

So, Mr. Stick-It-To-The-Man, why are you bitterly and loudly complaining about working at a junior college while I am making and selling art? Hmmmm???

In addition, I learned that there is a real contempt out there for those of us who chose to paint from photos. One of the most influential painters and writers in my so-called art career is Jack White, and he says “All realistic artists either work from photos or they lie about it.”

I do teach people how to draw and they learn and they love it. The only ones who don’t learn are the ones who quit too soon!

I quit the painting class. But, I continue to paint, to learn more about painting by reading and practicing, and I sell lots of paintings. Take that, Mr. Stick-it-to-the-man!

But I’m not bitter. 😎

I believe strongly and whole-heartedly that drawing well is the basis for painting well.

Look at this – Shereen learned to draw!

Drawing Lessons

I teach people how to draw. The lessons are probably considered “semi-private” because each student receives one-on-one instruction, but in a small class.

Just the facts: 4 people at one time, one hour each week, each working on her own piece at her own pace. Youngest – 6th grade. Oldest – too polite to ask! Cost – $50 per month.

We meet every Tuesday afternoon at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter, except for July, August and December. We draw from photos, see each other’s progress, learn from doing, learn from watching, learn from one another. (And yes, I am speaking in the royal “we”.) July and August feel like a long time to go without drawing. Often I lose a student or 2 during this break; more often, I gain new students.

Why learn to draw? You can read about the reasons here: Reasons To Learn To Draw (Thank you, Captain Obvious!)

If you are interested in taking drawing lessons, you may call or email me to get on a waiting list. Or, if you would rather learn in private, you can schedule private lessons. This means all my attention, all to, by, and for yourself! Is that a good thing? Ask my drawing students!

Pencil Explanation, Part Four

This is a post on how to layer with drawing pencils. I used to only use a 6B; you can read about it here. Then, I met someone who drew beautifully using the full range. I had no idea how to use them and figured they must layered  lightest to darkest. Or maybe they were meant to be used one at a time, depending on how you wanted things to look. Kind of weird that as an art major I never learned these techniques. Anyway, I never could quite achieve the kind of blacks that my drawings needed. After joining the Colored Pencil Society of America, I began applying things learned from their workshops to my graphite pencil drawings. Look at what I learned about layering graphite pencils:

Defies logic! But the evidence is right here. If you have paper and pencils, try it for yourself! I’d love to read your comments once you have experimented with this sort of layering.

Pencil Explanation, Part Three

School pencils are rated #1, #2 and #3.  It is a different rating system, one which I haven’t researched because I am a pencil artist, not a student nor a school teacher. #3 is really hard, and it is horrible if you are writing on a soft surface such as a math workbook. #1 is really dark and wonderful if you get one by accident. #2  are the most common and are the same as the HB drawing pencils. Ever notice that before?

School pencils come with erasers. Those erasers never last as long as the pencils. Drawing pencils don’t come with erasers. My theory is this: the eraser will wear out very quickly but you will have the habit of flipping the pencil over. If you have that habit, when your eraser is gone, you will scratch the heck out of your drawing. Then you will cry. Your drawing will be wrecked. If you are used to reaching for a separate eraser, there is less chance of this sort of disaster. Or tragedy.