Orange You Glad You Live in California (or Sorry That You Don’t)?

group of citrus oil paintings in progress
Morning sun in the summer dries oil paintings quickly.

Orange you glad you live in California? Or perhaps you aren’t so glad – the state is way over its head financially, we have both sales tax and state income tax, our gas is almost the most expensive in the country, and it is stinkin’ hot.

But we can grow oranges, and we can paint them. That’s what California artists do who get calls from realtors who sell lots of citrus orchards. Blessings on you, Oh Realtors of Good Taste.

In case you were wondering, my favorite color isn’t orange. Besides, it looks terrible on me. Not my color. Maybe that is why it is fun to paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squeezing Out Some Citrus (Paintings, that is)

A good customer requested 14 paintings of citrus. He specified a certain number of Tangerines (aka Clementines or Mandarins), Lemons and Navel oranges.

Among the excitement of replacing paintings burned up in a cabin fire and replenishing the stock at the Silver City Store, I’ve been squeezing out these paintings.

Come on! You KNOW that was cute!

Tangerine oil painting by Jana Botkin
Tangerine, oil painting on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, private collection
Tangerine oil painting
Tangerine, oil painting on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, private collection
Lemon oil painting
Lemon, oil painting on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, private collection
Lemon oil painting by Jana Botkin
Lemon, oil painting on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, private collection

Orange You Glad I Can Paint Citrus?

Tulare County grows, sells and eats a ton of citrus. Probably several million tons. I learned to oil paint by using the subject of oranges over and over and over. When an orange would sell, I’d paint another. The last one was #103, I think. There were also a handful that I didn’t title or number in the beginning, so who really knows?

 oil paintings of tangerines and lemons photo by Jana Botkin

Tangerines and Lemons

A few years ago I was at some art thing with my dear friend D. I introduced her to another friend, one who sells ag real estate. D said, “Oh my goodness, you should be buying Jana’s orange paintings to give to your clients!” (She has been a great supporter and encourager to me in the 13 years we’ve been friends, always looking for ways to promote my work.)

Mr. Real Estate said, “That’s a great idea!” Now he and his partner have placed 3 or 4 orders for 6×6 and 8×10 paintings of citrus since then – mostly navel oranges, and some tangerines/mandarins/Clementines and some lemons. It is fun to do these – bright, simple, not too difficult. (I am THRILLED to paint simple things after Put-My-Parents-In-The Painting, THRILLED, I say.)

What else would you expect from a central California artist, daughter, granddaughter and niece of citrus farmers?

Is There An Echo In Here??

What is the visual equivalent of an echo? A shadow? A reflection, perhaps. . .

Is there a reflection in this studio? A reflection of Mineral King, to be exact? Because I see an awful lot of Mineral King Oil Paintings drying on your wall!

Seems that way. Mineral King is de ja vu all over again.

Same scene, different viewpoints.

Same bridge twice, different paint jobs, different directions.

Same cabin, different times of day, different times of year.

Same place, favorite view, over and over and over. Mineral King oil paintings, on miles and miles of canvas. Mineral King, Farewell Gap, over and over and over. Instead of the California artist, I am the Mineral King artist. Perhaps I should change my tagline in this blog.

Nope. Oranges and poppies don’t grow in Mineral King.

Are you tired of this view yet? (that question is for you, the reader, not me, the California Artist!) Tell me about it here.

2012 Redbud Festival

The Redbud Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 at the Lions Roping Arena in Three Rivers. Saturday is 10-5, Sunday is 10-4.

Redbud Festival is named after this flowering tree which grows wild in Three Rivers. It blooms in March, so the name of the Festival doesn’t correspond with nature. However, it does coincide with Mother’s Day, so here is something to do with your Mom this year.

My space looked like this 2 years ago. (I didn’t participate last year because all my work was in the Tulare Historical Museum for a solo show.) It will look different this year.

As I continue to read art marketing sites and blogs and to interact with other artists, I continue to make changes to the way I display my work.

The changes won’t be huge, but the hope is that my work will look better.

If my work looks better, you will stay in my booth longer. If you stay in my booth longer, you will study the work more. If you study the work more, you will get attached to something. If you get attached to something, you will want to buy it. If you want to buy it, I will sell it to you.

Oh great. Now you will be afraid to come see my booth at the Redbud Festival because you will get sold! No, I won’t sell to you unless you want me to. I don’t know how to “hard-sell” stuff, much less my own art. If I did, I’d, ummm. . .  no, I love my life. It would be the same as it is now!

There will be a new painting of the Kaweah Post Office, 2 of fields of California poppies, a Sequoia painting in a new shape, and maybe, just maybe a new painting of the Kaweah River. And there will be oranges, of course. And some small paintings of California poppies that sit on easels on a table top.

 See you at the Redbud Festival?

Four Benefits of Learning to Draw Before Learning to Paint

As a self-confessed color junkie, I’ve pondered the question of why pencil? Was I just a chicken? That’s all water under the bridge, and now I am just accepting the fact of 13 years of drawing with a late start to oil and mural painting.

It ain’t all bad!

Drawing in pencil helped me develop several areas of skill. The subject has been covered very thoroughly here and here. Since I like lists, here is a list of the benefits of learning to draw well before learning to paint.

  1. Drawing teaches perspective. That is how things look distant or close.
  2. Drawing teaches proportion. That is how one size relates to another.
  3. Drawing forces an understanding of values. That is the darks and lights.
  4. Drawing teaches composition. That is the way things are arranged on a page or canvas

If I hadn’t learned to draw first, it would have taken me much longer to learn how to paint. Not saying I know how to paint well, just saying that I’m grateful to have had all those years of drawing first!

If you would like to learn about drawing lessons, you can read this blog post or check the lessons page on my website. Or both.

Meanwhile, have a look at this California artist’s pencil and oil renderings of oranges. You can see that the pencil picture has more precision and detail – needs it, because there is no color. Someone said recently “Values do all the work, but color gets all the credit!” True, but I think detail does a ton of work too.

Washington Navels, graphite, sold

One of the 100+ oil paintings of oranges so far, sold

California Art

(Tomorrow I will have a guest post on Brendon Wilson’s blog. It will probably cause you to think “Who is this preachy chick and where is Jana The California Artist?” The subject is gossip. . . not related to my blog at all, but a subject that really triggered many thoughts in my pea-brain.)

Our interviewer got annoyed with me, so today’s blog entry will be unassisted.

The redwood boards are slats that will serve as the backs to Adirondack chairs. You may recall my throne, or even want to see the chairs as sold on eBay. The furniture maker and I enjoy working together and are figuring out a way to dress the chairs up a bit more.

Meanwhile, I do know how to paint oranges, poppies and Sequoia trees/Big trees/Redwoods on canvas. After all, I am a California artist!

You Know You’re A California Artist When. . . Part 3

It was getting a bit long yesterday so here is the rest of my pencil version of California artist.

5. . . . the houses you draw often have palm trees.

6. . . . sometimes you draw poppies.

7. . . and you keep drawing oranges because everyone likes them.

5×7 reproduction with color added, $10, email me to buy  (not on website)

8. . . . you wade through dirt clods in your friend’s vineyard to get good photos of grapes for drawing.

Sweet and Seedless, colored pencil, matted and framed, 12×15″, $150

Fruit on the Vine, reproduction of pencil with colored pencil accents, 11×14″, $20

9. . . . you draw lots and lots of Giant Sequoias and call them “big trees” but think of them as Redwoods because you went to Redwood High School

Redwood & Dogwood, 14×11″, pencil, matted and framed, $400

Over And Out

The show, Images of Home, is over, and I’m out of these paintings. The museum tells me that was a very good response. If you feel disappointed because your heart was set on one of these, I can paint any of them over again. Won’t be exactly the same, but it will be close. (There I go again, being pushy. Sigh. Sorry.)

My high school buddies with whom I had lunch on December 31 will undoubtedly recognize several of these, since they helped me choose the subject matter. Thanks, Redwood Rangerettes, because many of the ones you chose SOLD, as you can see!

You can also see that Sequoia trees and oranges were very popular. Hmmm, guess I’m a California Artist!

(In case you are wondering why this post looks like Captain Obvious put it together: Mr. Google Who Knows All likes to have words that match the hidden words that help him to find me. So, the silly labeling is for Mr. Google.)

Thank you for putting up with this techno-jive-stuff.

Mostly, thank you so much for taking the time to attend the show, read about it here, and buy my paintings. Without all you all, I might have to be a waitress or a secretary, so I deeply deeply appreciate you! And get this – it WASN’T all my friends and relatives because they felt sorry for me – there were some people I’ve never met who bought my work! ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL??!!! (deep breaths, calm down, breathe. . . .)

This posting is so long that I will take tomorrow off. You can read this one again, or maybe go through the archives. Or, maybe just lie down from exhaustion at all the information presented here.

Yokohl Valley

Oranges

Mineral King

Kaweah Post Office

Orange

Sequoia Trees

Sequoia Tree

Sequoia Trees

Orange You Glad!

I am, because I got an order for 12 paintings of oranges. There are a couple of realtors who specialize in ag property. Whenever they sell an orange grove, the buyer receives one of my paintings. Isn’t that just the best idea? Thank you, Diana, for thinking of it and suggesting it to Matt, and thank you, Matt, for agreeing with Diana! Oranges are just the most fitting symbol for central California, and this California artist from Tulare County is the daughter, granddaughter, niece and grand-niece of many orange growers.

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