That’s Paradise Ridge, not Paradise the town, which we know burned a couple of years ago (or was it last year? It’s all a smoky blur).
Trail Guy and I spent a good chunk of a morning talking about what to take, making piles, filling boxes. All the while, we had no intention of evacuating unless the fire gave us no choice.
What are these relics? Is that ash? Are there any treats? Tucker wants to know.
After getting our piles somewhat in order (oh dear, I have way too many sweaters – how am I supposed to decide which ones to leave behind, possibly to never see again??), I went out to the studio to get some work done. Having an emergency doesn’t give me license to create emergencies for my customers.
This drawing might be a little bit too hard for me. Many details are hidden in shadow, and there is a horse. (At least his tongue is inside his mouth). It is good to tackle the hardest part first.
There might be a problem with his feet, so I moved onto the things that I can do with one hand tied behind my back and half my brain occupied with wildfires (and sweaters).
Working from the laptop screen definitely has its advantages. I can embiggen the photos and even lighten the shadows to understand what the various black blobs are.
I drew most of the afternoon while listening to helicopters overhead, a welcome sound after they were silent throughout the smoky and worrisome morning.
And this is how it looked at the end of the day.
This is a commissioned pencil drawing of a cabin in Montana for a repeat customer who is a joy to work with and for.
In case you were wondering about the reference to the horse’s tongue, here you go. 
18 Comments
Oh, Jana. My heart hurts for you. We ran, 4 years ago, when Hurricane Irma was coming straight at us as a Cat 3. What to bring? What to leave? So many memories in the house. Framed family pictures. Travel momentos. The family heirlooms from generations back. And the paintings! The studio! We realized how little is most important. Packed a week’s clothes and an external hard drive backup, and left. Please bring food and water for a day, as the travel traffic out may not go as quickly as you might think. And, a pillow and cosy blanket. My thoughts are with you. Keep safe.
Nance, great to hear from you and good to know how evacuation was for you. I don’t think we will need to leave as the ground crews are making firebreaks around the communities (both up the hill at our cabin and down here in town). We have a friend with tremendous knowledge and experience who has sent us photos and reassurances. Day by day it gets less scary.
Morning Jana! If you need us, Jeff and I can attach the trailer and but up to you in 20 minutes! You can stay here, cats and all! Trusting the Lord!
Hugs,
Melissa
Melissa, you are dear, kind, generous, and thoughtful. We are doing fine, and God is answering prayers for protection.
Nice! Thank you for letting me know! I’ll get it now.
Eric, even though it says paperback or softcover, you might be surprised to find it is hardcover. Will you let me know when it arrives?
yes, I will
Just came this afternoon and it’s a signed hardcover. I was very pleasantly surprised. I spent the afternoon reading and my wife and I went down to our “cabin” that I built on the property and looked at the original art for three of the pieces which are housed in that space. Thanks Jana for creating/interpreting such beauty and thanks Sharon for linking something I have been looking for such a long time!
Right on! So many people have bought used from Amazon thinking they were getting softcover and then it was a hardcover! I signed every single one of those 1000 books, and Janey also signed many.
Thank you, Eric, for letting me know and for your kind words. Made my day, you did indeed.
I am happy to help! It’s a great book, isn’t it? Especially the illustrations. 🙂
Sharon, you are a great connector of people and information!
First Priority: living creatures, both 2-legged and 4-legged. Everything else is replaceable in some way or another. Replacing stuff is pricey; loved ones and pets are priceless.
I have an evacuation list for both the cabin and my home. If I were given 5 minutes to grab & go, I would start at the top of the page (listed in order of priority) and work my way down until I was forced out. The time to put this list together is, of course, before you need it, so if you don’t have such a document, think about creating one for both of your precious dwellings!
Sharon, I put together a list last year. It is seared in my memory, but the actual paper is lying on the dining table so that after I fling the boxes and suitcases into the vehicles, I can review it and grab the rest. But we aren’t leaving!
Your pencil art, like all your other formats, is so beautiful and detailed. I once bought thee cabin drawings that were left over from your original pencil pieces of the Mineral King cabins. They now hang proudly in a shed/cabin I built while in the early months quarantine. I went to Visalia over the early summer months to see your small room exhibition and really thought the whitewater closeup was fantastic. My wife and I ended up buying a copy of The Cabins of Wilsonia…one day I’ll find a copy of the Mineral King version. I have traveled to Mineral King every year for the last 20 years. My first trip was on a whim (a solo backpacking excursion over Farewell Gap where I stayed the night on the Little Kern River by a stunning waterfall). I have been on almost every trail since (crossing the western divide in the dark, coming over Sawtooth Pass in both directions, crossing rivers that had overrun their banks in Wet Meadow, and surviving a nearly golf ball-sized hailstorm under the overhang of the Hockett Meadow Ranger Station). The local cabin owners especially the old-timers have always been so interested and kind. It saddens me to think of how close the fire is to the valley and surrounding areas (including over Farewell Gap). I wish you and your husband/friends/family and other cabin owners the best and hope the valley can survive this terrible situation. Thank you for the work that you do; your art means a lot to me and many others. Stay safe and take care of yourselves!
Eric, it is so good to hear about your experiences in Mineral King. I remember sending you the cabin drawings and am pleased they decorate your “man cave”. Thank you for visiting my exhibit last spring, thank you for sharing your memories, thank you for your kindness. I am feeling quite hopeful about Mineral King because there are so many ground crews (Please, kind sirs, leave my currant bushes alone!)
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