Is this going to be a regular feature of the blog? I hope so.
These are the paintings that sold in July. Did I show you these yet? I can’t find an answer to this question, so if you have seen this, consider it a rerun, because it is a rerun, unless it isn’t.
Good Grief Charlie Brown.
This is Labor Day, so this is about some completed labors. Today I will share some oil paintings of Mineral King that sold as of mid-August at the Silver City Resort/Store.
I can’t decide if the sales are unusually high, or if I am simply thrilled because much of life seems less than thrilling these days. So, in the spirit of celebrating things for which to be thankful, rejoice with me.
Maybe it is showing off. Nah. I am just trying to be businesslike, reminding you all that:
More oil paintings, finished and drying. Have a look at the process. The first one is a commission, the second is just because.
Oops. I forgot to take in-progress photos.
This one has more steps. You already saw the completed version in the Friday post about Mineral King, because this is a Mineral King oil painting, and I delivered it to the Silver City Store. (It could even be sold by now.)
I was very thankful to be able to find the original photo on the computer so I could enlarge to see what the mess of rocks in the stream truly looked like.
Sawtooth as it looks (okay, I admit to slightly enhancing it) from the Nature Trail and the now famous Alpenglow on Farewell Gap, a commission delivered a few days ago.
“Famous”? Okay, I admit to slightly enhancing the claim.
I went to Mineral King with the weight of the world on my shoulders and heart. Terrible things in the world, the country, the state of California, and among several dear friends made me want to run away. It was a relief, but it wasn’t very pretty. My knee hurt, so I didn’t hike. Instead, I did a few chores, lots of knitting, sitting, and reading.
Here is one strange chore: Trail Guy and I noticed a tremendous number of nails near the old dance floor, so I took up a big magnet on a pole and together, we cleaned them up.
We stopped by the Honeymoon Cabin/Mineral King Preservation Society Museum to see a new item – a stamp from the stamp mill below the mines on Empire peak (and a couple of other unidentified metal objects). This is a surprisingly heavy piece of metal that smashed the ore to separate out the precious metals. I didn’t even try to lift it (my knee hurts).
In other news, I got some new “hiking boots”. Heh heh, this is what passes for hiking boots in my world of peculiar feet. Did you know Crocs makes a type of clogs with “Vibram” soles? They even have adjustable straps, fastened with Velcro. I hope my knee stops hurting soon so I can try them.
I spied some going-ons near the cabin. It was the wedding of a neighbor we don’t really know (because we are closer to her grandparents and there are way too many grandchildren to keep up with on their one weekend/year visits). They set up some sort of an archway, and I snooped through the trees.
Finally, I delivered another painting to the Silver City Store. It had to dry in the trunk of my car for a few days before I could leave it at the the store. Still striking while the iron is hot, in hopes that the great sales continue at least through Labor Day weekend. 
. . .in a barely cool painting workshop in early August, but thankful for the swamp cooler. The day before, I stood the entire time while painting. This day I sat the entire time.
Thank you to Reader Anne for the suggestion of using an egg carton for the ornaments. It sort of worked, but I ended up holding each one in my hand. They are looking better, but still have many layers ahead. These photos are just more teasers about how they are moving ahead without revealing much except that Hume Lake will be on one side.
I touched up the 8×16″ of Farewell Gap in Mineral King, but you might have to see it in person to catch the improvements.
Since Kelly’s Sunset (also in Mineral King) has sold, I painted another one. I have altered the placement of trees from Kelly’s original photo, and altered them again in version #2. In these photos, I can see that the angle of the left flank of Vandever (peak on the right) is too steep. Will anyone else notice? Will the piece not sell? More will be revealed in the fullness of time.
P.S. UPDATE: the smaller sunset painting with the wrong angle on Vandever and a single tree sold immediately.
Central Calif. artist Jana Botkin works on a bright oil painting of Mineral King.
Continue readingThis large important oil painting commission is getting to be fun. With some custom art, the customer directs many parts of the process. With others, they cut me loose to just do my best and make it look good. This project is the latter. (so far)
The color on the top photo is early morning light in the painting workshop. I started with the close orange tree on the left, worked across the front row of the orchard, moved into the shadows beneath the orchard, and then began laying stones on the wall. The final photo shows the beginnings of rose bushes in the foreground.
I will continue correcting the colors, tightening the details, fixing wonky stone walls, and studying this until I know it by heart. It is large (for me), important, and deserves as much attention and care as I can possibly give, because there is no deadline!
P.S. Yes, that is a little stack of books. It will be improved on as the project progresses. Remember, this is for the Tulare County Library, to be displayed in their Woodlake branch.
It was time to get back to the Large Important Commission. I repainted the sky, mountains and foothills, this time adding detail. I wanted to copy the rocks EXACTLY, which is ridiculous, because the hills are sort of made up. So I made up the rocks, and when I stepped back, they looked believable. That is the goal, rather than becoming a human Xerox machine. 
I stopped for a minute to sit down and mix some colors, and immediately Tucker jumped onto my lap. He was lucky to not get any paint on his tail, which was sticking straight up toward my palette.
The last time, the barn roof got a little bit pink. You know how I love to draw with my paintbrushes – this was a very satisfying fix. Because the paint is wet, it is shiny. And isn’t this the strangest roof? 
Next session I will keep adding detail to the orange trees, maybe add fruit, put the dirt and shadows in, start the wall, maybe even indicate where the roses will go.
In other painterly news, since Kelly’s Mineral King Sunset sold, I am painting another one to sell at Silver City, continuing to strike while the iron is hot. And since I am on a roll with Farewell Gap on very horizontal canvases, might as well start a second one, this time 8×16″ instead of 6×12″. This is the base coat on each one, just covering the canvas, getting the pieces in place, using colors that are close enough. Some people start with just browns or grays, but I think color is more fun.
OF COURSE THAT WASN’T THE REASON! But look what my camera started doing when I was in the midst of my painting marathon.
Houston, we have a problem.
Ick, you all know how I feel about shopping – all those confusing almost alike products, decisions, too many details, too many choices. I just skated by with my inferior phone photos for awhile. It is an iPhone 7, and it hasn’t lived up to my expectations. However, I do not dive quickly into things, so I imagine that I will make it work for at least another 10 years or so. (Remember, I went 2 years without a cell phone at all, I drive a ’96, bought my only purse in ’95, and my wallet in ’79. Wanna make somethin’ of it??)
Where were we. . . painting fast, a painting marathon, a painting factory.
My new friend Kelly showed me a fabulous sunset over Farewell Gap on her phone (hmmm, I wonder what model she has), and then offered to share it with me so I could paint it.
I put the first layer on so that it was obvious where the shapes and the general color would go, then I put it outside to dry in the 102 degree weather and went back inside, grateful for the swamp cooler, to finish this little gem.
When it was finished, I put it outside, and then thought it would be a hoot to photograph the drying paintings in front of their big brother. (Simple pleasures for simple people).
Back to Kelly’s sunset. I haven’t done a ton of sunsetty cloud colors, so I mixed to sort of match the photo and then just decided to make sure the colors made sense, but didn’t overpower Farewell Gap in intensity. (See? Too many decisions wore out my ability to go online and choose from 70 cameras that all look alike.)
SOLD! But that’s okay, because I can paint another one for you. Remember. . .
P.S. I found a camera at a place called B&H, with identical controls to the one that croaked. It arrived within a week, and IT TAKES BETTER PHOTOS!! (better photos than the old one did before it turned pinky-purple).
Almost finished with 4 new ones. The swamp cooler was okay, and am I very VERY thankful for generous neighbors with a swimming pool.
As always, they look WAY BETTER in person. But by the time you are reading this post, the paintings might be already sold!