It took me 4 years to learn Wilsonia, plan the book, take the photos, design the book, gather the quotes and complete 272 drawings.
The book is available here: The Cabins of Wilsonia
Here is another drawing for you from the book. Thanks for looking!
Commission of Cats with Colored Eyes
Remember, Mr. Customer chose view “C” – a Commission of Cats with Colored eyes?
Here it is, Tabby as a kitten and an adult, Sasha as a kitten and an adult.
The kitten on the lower right is perched on some sort of a figurine. I don’t know what it is, but Sasha is in charge of it.
And just for fun, as I was finishing up, I was drinking coffee from a mug that says “. . .and thou shalt have dominion over all the beasts, except, of course, for CATS.”
2015 Cabin Calendars for Sale
There are still a few of the 2016 calendars, “The Cabins of Tulare County” for sale. This calendar is a collection of pencil drawings of cabins in Tulare County. (Captain Obvious speaks again.) It is heavy on Wilsonia, followed by Mineral King, and there is one token Camp Nelson. These drawings are gathered from the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, and various commissioned drawings I’ve done in the past year or two.
Have a look at the unidentified months. I didn’t attempt to find seasonal pictures, other than a snowy cabin in December. Cabins, for the most part, are summer homes.
The calendars are $15 each, including sales tax. If you send me a check in the mail or money using Paypal, AND YOU GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS (excuse me for shouting – someone ordered via Paypal and didn’t give me her address or answer my email – how is she going to get her calendar??), then I will get your calendar to you and pay the mailing costs. (in the USA only)
Cats!
For someone who does not consider herself a kitty-puppy artist, I seem to be over-run by pencil drawing commissions of cats and dogs.
That’s okay. I love to draw in pencil.
First, the sketch. The customer chose C.
Second, begin the real drawing.
Third, keep drawing.
When I told a friend about this drawing, I couldn’t think of the kind of cat called “Persian”. So, I took the palm of my hand and smashed it against my nose, and she got it.
Okay, Central California Artist, quit talking and nose-smashing, and get back to the drawing table.
Dogs!
I have no intention of becoming a kitty–puppy artist. However, when I receive commissions to draw cats or dogs, if the photos are decent and I have the time, I usually say yes to those jobs.
This one began with sketches, as most commissioned pencil drawings do.
Not quite it. More sketches requested.
Mr. Customer chose C. Now we’re cooking with gas!
The printed photos weren’t detailed enough so I also worked from the laptop screen.
Mr. Customer changed mind about toy in front of dachshund. Back to the drawing board.
And thus we have 3 dogs all together, being quiet and well-behaved. Mr. Customer informed me that this NEVER happens. That explains why he sent me so many separate photos.
If you recognize these dogs, SHHHHHH. It’s a Christmas present surprise.
Cat Commission Collage
A customer has asked me to draw 2 cats, each one as a kitten and as an adult cat.
Have I ever mentioned that I might maybe perhaps just may have a teensy bit of a Cat Disorder? Ahem. Probably not. But still. . .
The customer sent me the photographs of his cats, and I worked out some sketches for him to choose from.
He said I was making it hard on him, but eventually decided that C was the best choice.
Of course “C” is the right choice for a Cats Collage Commission.
So, it was with great pleasure that I began this drawing. I will try to get it finished in a timely manner instead of spending endless amounts of time on it, dragging it out because I do love cats.
But I’m fine. No disorders here, nosiree Bob.
Cabin Commission Continued
Thank you, Veterans. You probably didn’t want to go, probably didn’t like being there, maybe questioned why, but you did it so we didn’t have to. Thank you! (including, especially, Cousin Bruce)
I would have said “Wilsonia Cabin Commission”, but I liked 3 Cs in a row in the title.
When you compare this to yesterday’s work, you can see that it is inching forward to the right. You can also see that some of the shadows have been darkened. If you are really focused, you might detect that some of the edges are sharper and see that there is more detail on individual rocks and more pencil on the ground.
The right edge of this image is dark and fuzzy because this drawing is 12×16 and doesn’t fit very well on the scanner. Inquiring minds need to know these things.
Pencil Commission of Wilsonia Cabin
For over a year, a pencil commission of a Wilsonia cabin has been waiting for decisions to be made by the cabin owners. I too have been waiting. And waiting and waiting and waiting.
We finally got together in person and discussed some details. They chose a view, chose a size, and paid a deposit.
I got a little ahead of myself in this commission. Normally the customer decides the size, pays 1/2 down, and then I take the photos and do the sketches. For several reasons, I didn’t do this one in the right order, which made me nervous. In the past, when the steps get out of sequence, I usually do a bunch of work for free. Then, the customer just flakes away, because he has no monetary commitment, or as in today’s vernacular, “no skin in the game”.
Not these folks. I persisted, we finally connected, and now this drawing is in progress!
Lots of fuzzy background trees – my hope is to add interest (and distract from all the vagueness) by adding that closer branch.
Lots and lots of little details too. I was relieved they didn’t want all the signs, the 2 bridges, the bird house, the bird bath, the wind chimes, the plaque, etc. The water wheel and wishing well were fiddly enough.
As a right-hander, I work from top to bottom, left to right. This minimizes the smearing from my hand dragging across the piece as I draw.
Drawing a Cabin
My business is called “Cabinart” because when I began, I lived in a cabin and I drew people’s cabins.
I still live in a cabin part time and I still draw cabins. When someone pays me to draw a specific cabin, that is a commission.
A friend asked me to draw a cabin that he borrows as a gift for the owner. I asked for specifics, and he said, “Do the voodoo that only you do so well”, or something equally unusual. He is an unusual person – no one like him in the world, and I think he is a treasure.
Sorry. Distracted by thoughts of my funny clever friend.
I drew it.
Not enough pizazz. Let’s add some color.
Still not quite good enough.
Nice. Commissioned pencil drawing of a cabin.
Sketchy Decisions
So many pencil drawing commissions are awaiting decisions. I’ve sent sketches and more sketches. Can’t start drawing until I know what the customer/commissioner wants!
Sketches, called “thumbnails” or “thumbnail sketches” were required in most of the assignments in art classes, both in high school and college (I went to 4 different colleges – a full-fledged Transfer Student) More often than not, I had one good idea, and the rest of the sketches were just a waste of time, mindlessly fulfilling the assignment. The reason for the sketches was never clearly articulated – just do it because the teacher said to do it. (As a Questioner, I despise that sort of “teaching”.)
Now that I am a professional artist, I know that customers need to see things sketched out because photos don’t do the trick. People also like choices, but not too many.
Too bad the “teachers” didn’t teach us how to guide a customer to a decision. My cynical mind says this is because those “teachers” never had any customers. They only had teachers, giving them time-filling assignments.
COME ON, PEOPLE, DECIDE, PLEASE? Please? pleeeeeeese? I really want to start drawing!