A Peek into the Wilsonia Project

Perhaps I should have titled this “Book Report”. Then, you might have gotten it confused with my old Reading Rabbit reports. So many decisions. . .

Remember that I am working almost exclusively on The Cabins of Wilsonia this year? (I told about it here.)

Good thing I love to draw. At the time of this writing, I have 96 pencil drawings of cabins and cabin related items completed. That leaves approximately 133 to go.

 

 

pencil drawing of cabin

Will the owner of this cabin recognize this pencil drawing? Will he and/or she contact me?

More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . .

To follow the progress of The Cabins of Wilsonia and to read about the decisions necessary in order to even begin the book, you are invited to visit my other blog, dubya dubya dubya the cabins of wilsonia dot com

Redwoods, Redwoods, Everywhere

I still have a very large commissioned oil painting of redwoods to complete. Redwoods are sequoia gigantea, not to be confused with California redwoods. We grew up calling them “the big trees”, and I had no clue what a privilege it was to live so close. (I might have been a bit of a twit.) I choose to call them Redwoods now because I went to Redwood High School, and although I will skip the upcoming reunion, I have retained enough loyalty to hang onto the name. But, I digress.

Redwood oil painting in progress

The customer liked a similar painting that I made for someone else, which was based on the pencil drawing called “Redwood & Dogwood”.

You can see the drawing, plus a photo of a sequoia on my laptop. The reason the palette is on the floor is because I was kneeling there to work on the lower portion of the tree. You can see the primary colors running across the top of the palette and the redwood colors running down the side.

But wait! There’s more!

redwood mural, pencil drawing, photo and oil painting

Sheesh. This California artist has a thing about redwood trees. On the left is half of the pair of doors to the painting studio. I had to open them because it is sort of dark in there. Then, the swamp cooler had to be on high, so the doors were blowing around.

It’s rough being a California artist in the heat of summer.

Wah.

commissioned oil painting of redwood in progress

This is how it looked at the end of the noisy, dark, overheated day of painting. It should dry enough overnight to begin adding the dogwood flowers on top of the redwood tree. I mean layered in front of the tree, not up at the top of the painting. You knew that, right?

 

Only in a Small Town Like Three Rivers

Last week I experienced some things that only happen when one lives in a small town. Three Rivers in Central California qualifies as a small town, with a population  around 2600, and many of whom are weekenders.

pencil drawing of the Kaweah Post Office

(The Kaweah Post Office in this pencil drawing isn’t my post office, but it isn’t very far from home.)

As I passed South Fork Drive, a car pulled across my lane onto the highway going the opposite direction. I almost locked up my brakes to avoid him, but there was no audible squeal. He didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.

At my next stop, my very good friend pulled into the lot behind me and said, “I saw that! Are you okay??” Wow, what what a thoughtful friend she is! I was fine, and was especially touched by her kindness.

She told me who the driver was, and we both were a bit a worried and puzzled as to his behavior. We speculated about his state of mind and hoped he was shaken awake.

Back at the studio, I ripped into my mail. It included a bank statement, and I was astonished to see that I’d taken a trip to the coast. My first thought was “OH NO! Identity theft!” Then I had the presence of mind to read the top of the statement. Aha! It belonged to someone else.

I grabbed the phone book and called her. She was home, so I jumped back in the car and zipped over to her house. And, I apologized for reading her business, but hoped she had a great time over at the coast.

Where else but in a small town would you know the one whose mail you received by accident, know where she lives, and just run it over to her?

And, where else would you understand that the more experience postal clerk has hand trouble, so she switched places with the other clerk who isn’t quite as experienced with loading up the P.O. boxes?

P.S. I noticed that this is full of exuberance – “ripped into my mail”, “grabbed the phone book”, “jumped into the car” – may you all be blessed with such energy as fall arrives.

Normally on Tuesday. . .

. . . I would be teaching people how to draw. This happens at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter. No lessons in July or August because in the past, the attendance was abysmal during those months. Besides, it is just hot!

I’ve been teaching people how to draw since 1994. Looking back, I’m not sure I really knew how to draw or how to teach back then. People learned anyway.

Some of my students call what we do “art lessons”. I usually correct them and say “Drawing Lessons – I’m just teaching you how to draw.”

Whenever I take this 2 month break, I really miss my students. The interaction among each class is fun. They learn from me and from each other. I learn from them too. We all become friends, and it is just a thrill to see the progress each of them makes.

Hush up, California Artist, and show us what they have done!

Mrs. Bob's Italian Village

 

Limey Girl's old fashioned rose
Even tennis players can draw! This is plum blossoms, in case you were wondering.
Mae's A-mae-zing Pears in colored pencil

 

For more blog posts about drawing lessons, click here.

From Pencil Drawing to Oil Painting

During Three Rivers Artists Studio Tour Ten, some folks saw the pencil drawing of Redwood and Dogwood. They liked it, but color sells better than black and white and shades of gray, and oil paintings have a greater appeal than pencil. I LOVE PENCIL. Just sayin’.

Something new happened to me as a California artist: these people asked me if I could do an 18×24″ oil painting of the pencil drawing! What a fun challenge – not sure of which photos I used, I just decided to rely solely on the pencil drawing as my reference picture.

When the tree and background were finished, it had to dry before I began the dogwood in the foreground. I don’t have nearly as much experience painting dogwood as Sequoia trees, so I pulled out some photos for that part.

I think the flowers need to be less cultivated looking. A few stray limbs will help. It might need some growing stuff on the right. The drawing has unidentified shrubs, so I may try to make something up. If it looks fake, I can just wipe it off.  (Didn’t want you to get worried!)

The pencil drawing of Redwood & Dogwood is for sale. The shopping cart doesn’t work on my website, so you can email me for information. Sigh.

Eight Reasons this California Artist Chose Pencil

My last post ended with this question: if I am so taken with color, a “color junkie”, then why did I choose graphite as my medium?

Simple – I love to draw. Oh come on, there must be more to it than that! Okay, yes there is.

1. It is easy to find pencil and paper and draw any time. The back of the bulletin in church, a piece of paper from your printer, an envelope from the trash. . .

2. Pencil drawing doesn’t make a mess. No paint brushes to wash, palettes to scrape, clothing to change.

3. Pencil drawing sets up and gets put away easily. How many boring office jobs did I have where I finished my work, and then pulled a drawing out from under my typewriter to fill up the rest of the day with? Lost count!

4. Pencil drawing isn’t very expensive to reproduce as prints or cards. This makes them affordable for you! (I am sorry my shopping cart isn’t working. You may email me via the contact page if you’d like to purchase something.)

5. Pencil used to be a little complicated to reproduce well, so people couldn’t reproduce my work without my help and permission.

6. Pencil erases.

7. Pencil is easy to frame. There aren’t very many mat colors or frame styles to use that won’t just overwhelm it, so it keeps your choices down.

8. I liked to draw so I drew a lot so I got better so I drew more because it was easy and fun because I had practiced so much. Or as my now retired husband likes to say, “Success breeds success”.

Drawing for upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia

Next post will cover the benefits of working in pencil for so many years.

Fourth Blogiversary

Today, April 16, I begin year #5 of blogging. There are many reasons that I blog. Since lists float my boat, here is the list for you:

1. It is fun. Remember Show-and-Tell in grammar school? For some kids it was a chore (and a chore for the rest of us to listen). For others, it was the highlight of their day. I tried to only participate if there was something I was really excited about. That is how I feel about blogging. Every day!

2. It keeps me accountable. Ever tried to work alone, day after day, week after week for 19 years? How did that turn out? Unh-hunh. You HAVE to show someone. You HAVE  to tell someone your progress. (Pity my UPS driver and the mailman!) The blog takes out some of the party-of-one-ness and forces me to produce even when the distractions are oh so very inviting.

3. It gives my work credibility. Published, even if it is online and even if it is self-published, is public. If it is worth putting Out There, it is Real. It counts. (Remember Steve Martin getting all excited about seeing his name in the phone book? It is sort of like that.)

4. It provides a record of my work. (No, I don’t want to keep a journal. The more stuff I own, the more stuff I lose.)

5. It allows me to connect with those who like my work. They can tell me what they think, and I can learn from them. “They”? Who is this “they”? It is YOU!

6. It is a bit like an online brochure, continually being updated, always available. That is a business thing, or perhaps a marketing thing.

7. I am building a platform. Doesn’t that sound fun? No hammer and nails required. It has to do with developing followers so that when I have something to share, there are people to participate.

That is why I blog. I’d love to hear why you read it. Not so I can gather compliments, but so I can learn what is interesting to you and what I should skip!

Completed pencil drawing for upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia

More Drawing Lessons

On Tuesdays, I teach people how to draw. You can read a bit more about it here on my website.

I love to help people draw in pencil. The only people who haven’t learned are the ones who quit too soon. Why did they quit? Because it wasn’t instant. or it was too hard, or it wasn’t what they really wanted to learn.

Nothing worth learning is done well without practice.

Actually, I can’t think of anything that can be done right the first time. Malcolm Gladwell says in his book Outliers that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert. He is talking about intentional focused practice, with the purpose of improving rather than mindless repeating.

Jennifer has been drawing since she was a little girl. I don’t think she had any specific instruction, just some practice, some natural talent, and lots of desire. She is careful, and listens well to directions. This is her first drawing with me,  and it is almost finished.

The photocopies are so that she could try various methods of drawing the mane. I showed her one, and she tried it. She thought of another, and tried that. Suddenly, she got it, she was ready, and now her horse is finished!

Great work, Jennifo! (please excuse the inside joke)

3 Little Known Factors that Could Affect Your Ability to Draw

Pencil drawing from the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia

I have a theory about people who draw. It is based on teaching people how to draw since 1994. In addition to teaching people how to draw, I draw myself. (Oh? You didn’t know that about me?) I have also spoken to many people who draw for fun and those who draw for profit.

If you have the following three qualities, I believe you might be able to really draw well:

  1. Perfectionistic tendencies
  2. Nearsightedness
  3. Lefthandedness

None of these things are necessary, but each one has its strength.

Perfectionism

Perfectionists seem to do well with the finicky detailed nature of pencil drawing. Detail is hugely important in drawing well. So are values (the lights and darks), composition, hard edges and soft edges in the appropriate places. And proportion – oh my goodness – gotta get those shapes and sizes right. Getting the idea yet? There are many things that have to be Just Right in drawing, because there is no color to distract.

I am not a perfectionist and have to work hard to remember to stop the “get-er’dun” tendencies. It is fun to finish things. It isn’t fun to think I am finished and have to return to fix something.

Nearsightedness

If you are nearsighted, you are more tuned in to detail. Sometimes it is all a myopic person can see! I think of it as an asset for a pencil artist. (Glass is always half full!)

Up until a few years ago (ahem) I was able to put my nose a few inches from a pair of ants playing checkers and know who was winning. (What? You’ve never seen ants play checkers?) I might still be able to do this if I pop out my contact lenses. Now, with the contacts, I have to wear old-people-sit-on-your-nose magnifiers. Sometimes they aren’t strong enough. And have you noticed that all the lights are dimmer than they used to be?

Left-handedness

There is a connection between the left hand and the right side of the brain. (There is a book about it called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards.) The right side understands the non-verbal things in life such as proportions, perspective, and values. The theory is that left handed folks are right-brain dominant and thus more naturally equipped for tasks such as drawing.

I am right handed. Oh-oh, I can hear you wondering how I could possibly be an artist with 2 strikes against me. Here is the answer: I am left-eyed. A dominant left-eye is almost as good as a dominant left hand. (Phew, had you worried there, didn’t I?)

If you don’t have a single one of these three qualities but you want to learn how to draw, I can still teach you how.

The only people who haven’t learned to draw from me are the ones who quit too soon!

A Drawing Success Story

I have a favorite customer named Bob. In Artspeak, he would be referred to as a “collector”. (I try to avoid Artspeak in this blog, because I think it is read by more normal folks than those who use Artspeak.)

Bob has a wonderful wife, with whom I have been acquainted since 1973. Really! She began taking drawing lessons from me last fall, and was just sure she would be the exception to my assertion that I can teach anyone to draw. Bob was also sure she would prove me wrong.

Mrs. Bob worked her way through the beginning exercises. She did well. She likes to get an A on her work, so in spite of the fact that drawing lessons come with no homework, no grades, no tests and no deadlines, I happily gave her As. She earned them, too!

When it was time to start, she chose a hairy dog. It scared her a bit. (No, it didn’t bite her!) All my reassurances that it was only paper and we could erase didn’t help.

I realized that she needed a subject that meant less to her. Many of my beginning students have found it easier to draw old wood than anything else, so I found a photo of a window on an old shed wall.

Bob My Favorite Customer occasionally asked Mrs. Bob about her progress. He wasn’t encouraging. He is still My Favorite Customer. They are still married.

Mrs. Bob was very determined, and we slowly worked through many of the techniques that a good pencil drawing requires. She stopped showing Bob her progress, and he stopped asking.

Bob’s birthday was a week ago. Mrs. Bob presented him with this:

Want to know what Bob said?

“Who drew this??”

Isn’t that just the best ever drawing lessons story?? 😎

Here is a closer version, and it really looks better than it photographed while under glass.

Texture, depth, contrast, detail, and precision – WOW! Congratulations, Mrs. Bob!