This Wilsonia cabin kept me confused for a long time. The cabin sits on a corner of 2 roads. On one road, it looks very rustic. On the other, it looks like this.
You can see this drawing and one of the other side in The Cabins of Wilsonia, available for sale here.
The book was a huge project. Confusion was a regular occurrence as I worked through how to depict a cabin community with 212 cabins.
This cabin is in Wilsonia and appears in my book The Cabins of Wilsonia, available for $80 here: The Cabins of Wilsonia
My dear friend to whom I occasionally refer on this blog as “The Captain” knits with a woman who married into this cabin.
I know about marrying in. I did it in Mineral King. It’s a great way to get a cabin.
This is a simple board and batten cabin in a box shape, very reminiscent of Mineral King cabins.
The owner was delightful. Her extended family has about 3 cabins, all within shouting distance of one another. We talked on the phone at least one time and she was so encouraging as I was deep into the project of making The Cabins of Wilsonia.
(It is available here at this link: The Cabins of Wilsonia)
The original pencil drawing of this cabin is available for sale.
All the drawings from The Cabins of Mineral King have sold. Most of the original drawings from The Cabins of Wilsonia are still available.
I wonder why? I definitely draw better now!
Life is full of mysteries.
The light on this cabin is just beautiful. Light is EVERYTHING in art.
I never did meet the people who own this cabin. They might not even know there is a book called The Cabins of Wilsonia (available here. for $80) They might not even know that there is a great drawing of their cabin in the book. They might not even know that the original drawing of their cabin is for sale.
Isn’t it great to live in The Information Age??
Here are some works of art that were done for Christmas gifts. I heard back from 3 of the 5 about the happiness of the recipients. The fourth and fifth are most likely very happy – an email and a phone call would confirm it, but I don’t like fishing for praise. So, I will assume that the recipients are happy.
People say they love my pencil drawings, and I believe them. That’s what they choose for commissioned work.
As far as “off the shelf” work goes, the oil paintings far outsell the pencil.
Go figure. . .
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.”
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.
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.
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.
That would be “commissioned pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin completed”, but that title was stupid-long.
This drawing is 12×16″, and chock full of details. (What does “chock full” mean??)
It has been a couple of weeks since you saw the progression, so let’s review.
First, the sketches so the customer could choose the angle. Then, some revisions, which don’t appear in these sketches.
Next, I began the drawing, working from top to bottom and left to right. That is because I am right-handed, and don’t want to drag my hand across the piece as I’m working it. If I have to revisit an area on the left, I rest my hand on a piece of paper to protect the other parts from smearing.
The customers wanted their water wheel added, which didn’t show in the sketch. It was tiny, but it is there!
I spent a week on this, refining, darkening, figuring out what was in the shadows, sharpening up edges so the cabin would pop out from the background, experimenting with ways to make the forest look better than just scribbles. You’d think I’d have that figured out after drawing the entire book The Cabins of Wilsonia, but it never comes easy.
And at the end of a week of very concentrated drawing, here is the final result.
The customers were very happy, and that is always my goal, so I am very happy too.
Happy, happy, happy.