Last Oil Commission of the Year

On December 31, it was cold and gray outside. This meant it would take awhile to get heat up near the easels in the painting workshop, so I chose to paint inside the house. 

The lady from Spain who bought a poppy and requested an orange and a pomegranate to match extended her stay here. (Clearly, she is liking our subject matter.) This meant there was enough time for me to paint a pomegranate. It made me wish I could get the orange painting back in order to touch it up, assign an inventory number, and scan it. (I painted the orange in a day while sitting at the Courthouse Gallery.)

It has a few days to dry before it is ready to be scanned and delivered. 

It is very pleasant to paint in the house – I sit at the dining table instead of standing at the easels. The room is warm, Trail Guy is hanging around, Pippin is in the living room (under strict rules), there are tunes. Yes, I can have tunes in the painting workshop but I generally listen to podcasts instead. Maybe I’ll get my hard-nosed work face in place a little later in the new year. But for now, this is my preference. 

Thank you, Señora España, for choosing the art of this Central California artist!

Why the (beta version) Oil Painting Workshop Was Successful

Yesterday’s blog post told a secret – that I gave an oil painting workshop without publicizing it first, and why I didn’t publicize it.

oil paintings of pomegranates

Today, I will reveal why I believe that workshop was a success. No, I will reveal the reasons that I believe it was a success, not why I believe . . . never mind. Here is the list.

1. All of my students know how to draw – they understand proportion, are confident about putting shapes on paper (now on canvas), understand values (darks and lights), understand about hard and soft edges.

2. All of them understand what I mean when I make up words to explain things – “smoosh that part” or “verticalize those marks”.

3. They are very kind about my inexperience as an oil painter/oil painting teacher and very understanding when I explain that all I know to teach is what I know.

4. They don’t mind when I say “I don’t know – let’s try it both ways and see which turns out better”.

5. They stayed to help me clean up.

6. They brought things – old tablecloths, drop cloths for the floor, soup, brownies, great attitudes!

I just love my drawing students. I’d hang out with any one of them and be thankful for the time together, I respect them and their willingness to learn and try, I understand their frustrations, and I am proud of them!

I gave them each a jar of pomegranate jelly at the end of the workshop. 😎 Gosh. I feel warm and fuzzy.

 

Accepted

The Madera County Art Council notified me that the following pieces have been accepted into their Ag Art Show.

Loves Cotton, Loves To Knit oil painting by Jana Botkin
Loves Cotton, Loves To Knit, 8×8″ oil painting

This will be in the category of Row Crops. It ought to give people pause as they look at pictures of alfalfa and broccoli.

oil painting of pomegranate
Great For Jelly, 10×10″ oil painting

Pomegranates have their own category. I think Madera produces quite a few and has a festival of pomegranates. This might be the 40th painting I’ve done of pomegranates, but it got a real title instead of a numbered series name.

Great For Pies, pumpkin oil painting by Jana Botkin
Great For Pies, 10×10″ oil painting

 

This will be in the category of Vines, which is usually dominated by grapes, vineyards, and wine pictures.  Guess it will stand out – sure hope so!

P.S. I’m not talking about the pieces that weren’t accepted. It will taint them, they will get a complex, and you will not want to buy them.