Custom Complicated Collage

When a group of words begin with the same letter, it’s called “alliteration”. Did you know that? Do you care?

The owner of this cabin has hired me to draw a 14×18″ collage that incorporates many different views and pieces of her unique and well-designed place.

After several versions, this is the one that pleases her the most.

Can you use the word “mayonnaise” in a sentence?

How about this: “Man-aze a lotta stuff in ‘at pitcher!” (Say it out loud; you will get it in a minute.)

In addition to messing around with words, I do love to draw. Good thing, eh?

Mineral King, Another Person’s Story

Today we have the pleasure of a guest post, something I have never had in 12 years of blogging! Sharon Devol is a real life friend, and the most regular commenter on this blog. She always has something interesting to add, and when I half-jokingly suggested she write a guest post, she was graciously eager.

This is Sharon’s personal story of her family’s Mineral King cabin.

My family connection to Mineral King starts in 1930 when my grandparents, Van and Mary Dixon, visited Faculty Flat (JB here – Faculty Flat is about a mile below the end of the Mineral King Road, so called because it was first settled by educators from Southern California) on the invitation of faculty colleague, Dr. Bates of the Bates-Bell Cabin.  For the next 20 years Van and Mary and their two daughters, Diane and Shirley, used the Bates-Bell Cabin until the cabin built in 1926 by Lou and Mary Lou Coole came up for sale. Despite its primitive condition, the daughters begged Daddy to buy it, and the Dixon family set to work to clean and improve the cabin.

I first visited our cabin when I was one year old, and time at Mineral King has been a part of my summer ever since. 

Coole Cabin as built in 1926
2020, same cabin

Quite an improvement made by a physics professor married to a home economics teacher with elbow grease provided by various family members.  And we descendants of Van and Mary Dixon so appreciate their love, care, and hard work to make our family a warm and inviting place to visit each summer.

P.S. by Jana – A few years ago, I got the chance to update the drawing I did of Sharon’s cabin in 1992, because I draw better now. Goodness, an artist would certainly hope so. (Nope, not going to show you the first version because I deleted it, so there.) 

Finished Pencil Drawing Two

Two pencil drawings of one boat – one truly beautiful boat, called a Chris Craft. These are quite a Thing, maybe the Rolls Royce or the Harley Davidson of the water. (I just made that up and hope I didn’t insult anyone or any brand here.)

Can I drive?? Is that what it is called to run a boat? Or is “pilot” the correct verb? 

Finished Pencil Drawing One

Color has been added to the Chris Craft flag and to the reflection. Another happy customer, and of course the artist is also happy.

P.S. The pinstripes were intense, and the flags were pure joy. I am particularly taken by the way the American flag curls. Simple things, for a simple person. (Me, not the customer) 

Are We Happy Yet?

I don’t want to talk about wildfires, evacuation orders, plagues, epidemics, or politics. I just want to draw and make my customers happy.

This is before:

And this is after:

Now I am waiting for my customer to tell me if this is what she requested. I can keep going, if I have good instruction. It is a pleasure to work for people who know what they want and express it clearly.

Yes! Happy customer!

P.S. Happy artist too.

Three Rivers Post Office

When it was time to mail the cabin drawing to the customer, I packaged it. Trail Guy came out to the studio to offer his delivery services, and I was delighted to not have to interrupt my work with a trip to the Post Office. Yes, I know it is only 3-4 miles away, but in the summers, my work days are limited because I keep going to Mineral King instead of keeping my feet planted in front of the easels. So, I value my work time and appreciate not having to do my own errands.

Trail Guy returned from the Post Office with the receipt and an explanation of why it cost $18 to send a piece of paper to San Diego – had to buy a box, pay for insurance, etc. And “piece of paper” isn’t meant to discount the value of an original pencil drawing, but essentially, to the post office, it was a highly insured piece of paper packaged carefully in an overpriced box.

He turned toward the counter in the painting workshop, picked up a taped-together bundle of cardboard and said, “What is this?”

Ahem. That would be the drawing that I thought he had just mailed.

When I got back up off the floor from laughing, I emailed my customer to tell her to expect a box of cardboard, minus her drawing before actually receiving the drawing.

Later that afternoon, I went to the Post Office with the actual drawing. The clerk retrieved the box from the back, we opened it, inserted the drawing, and she taped it back up. No new packaging, no new payments. It was in time to go out with that day’s mail.

I LOVE THE POST OFFICE IN THREE RIVERS!!

This is the Kaweah Post Office, not the Three Rivers Post Office. The unframed original is available for $200. Interested? Give me a pair of minutes to look for it because I can’t find it right now. What else would you expect from someone who mails empty boxes to customers?

 

Pencil Drawing of a Cabin

“Cabin Art” or “Cabinart”* began with pencil drawings of cabins. It it a treat to be able to draw cabins when those jobs come in. 

Someone saw a copy of my book The Cabins of Wilsonia and asked if I could draw her parents’ cabin, working from emailed photographs. 

You betcha!

I showed it to you a bit earlier while in progress. I gave it my best effort to work from the customer’s photos and a sketch, and then sent her a scan of the almost finished drawing to her. She asked if I could add something that didn’t really show in the photos, a procedure that is almost always dicey. Since she communicated clearly throughout the project, I was willing to try. 

Got it!

We talked about possibly having cards made in the future, so she paid the fee to do the digitization. Now you get to see what it looks like before and after getting digitally prepared. Something about scanning a drawing picks up every little anything that appears in and on the paper. Can you see the difference?

*It puzzles me that as a Typo-psycho, I never figured out how the name of my business should be spelled.

Custom Art From Far Away Places

I had* a good customer who used to email me photos of places to draw that he would give as gifts. I don’t know where many of the houses were and just had to do my best with a single snapshot. He kept giving me work, so I guess my best was good enough for him. Some friends have made several trips to Ireland and hired me draw memories for them of their trips. They haven’t yet invited me to go with them – they are regular friends, not Really Really Great Friends.

Some other friends have had several visits to this “cabin” in Colorado. They provided photos, but alas, no invitation to accompany them either.

Another cute house from a provided snapshot of an unidentified place by former* customer.

I am your Central California artist, using pencils to make art that people understand of places and things they love at prices that won’t scare them. (One who won’t turn down an offer to visit a beautiful location to take my own photos).

*He was a good customer, a joy to work with, but the last time we communicated, he said he couldn’t think of anyone else to give drawings to!

Custom Art From Old Blurry Photos

Custom art, also known as commissioned art, is a communication challenge.If someone asks me in advance of taking photos, I instruct him to take many photos of the place from different angles, and then up close for all detail that might be hidden in shade or behind trees.Often there are giant obstacles, such as old blurry photos of places that are no longer in existence, places that are far far away (Montana, South Africa, Cape Cod all come to mind from past experiences), or places that are only accessible in one season or not visible due to weird angles of land or too many trees. .

Times have changed, and most people have lots of photos on their phones, so I get what I get and I don’t get upset. Basically, people do the best they can, so I’ve learned to work with whatever comes. The key is clear communication – someone who is responsive and can explain things that aren’t visible in the photos can make up for weak reference photos.

Today’s  drawings are examples of having worked from blurry or old photos that could not be supplemented with more details. The customer had to fill in with memories, supplied to me in words rather than pictures.

Tomorrow I’ll show you drawings from places that are far away. Maybe we can discuss why it is that customers won’t fly me to Montana to take my own photos. . .