Jana Botkin | Cabin Art

His Other Car, graphite, framed 14×26, $450  If you are learning to draw, you get to decide which you want to be: fast or good? There are people who crank out drawings faster than I can instruct them on how to avoid difficulties. They end up with a stack of pictures that they hate in [...]

Oak Grove Bridge II, oil, wrapped canvas, 11×14, SOLD  People ask from time to time, “Is it hard to sell your work?” My first smart-alecky response is, “It’s only hard to sell the ugly ones”. However, I don’t think that is the answer anyone is looking for. They are asking about an emotional attachment to [...]

Okay, so the too blue water was bugging me on the mural. This a.m. I studied and stared at photos of rivers trying to discern what was lacking in my river. It needed more colors and more ripples and textures. Every river looks different depending on the depth of the water and the time of [...]

A friend stopped by while I was working on the mural. He said, “There is definitely some talent going into this project.” Not having the grace to accept a compliment, I immediately responded with, “Not really. It is mostly hard work, desire and determination.” We had other business to conduct, so it didn’t develop into [...]

  And just in case you are interested, the river is NOT this blue in the real thing. Also, I only went 3.25 hours over my estimate! Not too bad. . . never mind about all the time spent searching for photos, because I didn’t know to include that in the bid. This was the [...]

 Another morning looking for photos, another redesign on panel #6 with LJ, more toning down of the river, but no brushes or palettes dropped today. I boiled my brains out standing outside observing lichen on rocks – that was fun! (the fact that it is outside my door, not the boiling brains part). Tomorrow I [...]

When I was a kid and liked to draw, I collected a folder of pictures that I liked. Some were photographs, some were drawings, and all were interesting to me for various reasons. In college I took photography and learned to develop and print my own photos. Wow! My real collection of photos began at that [...]

I have a friend from Michigan who says on a regular basis, “You’re killing me!” She is very cute and feminine and is usually giggling when she says it, so I think it means “you are making me laugh more than this situation warrants.” So today I am painting and I keep hearing her voice, [...]

The mural I am working on is a result of a friendship with a wonderful woman whom I shall refer to as LJ. It is her idea, her planning and her persuasive powers that landed me this job.   I love the way LJ and I work together. It is the strangest thing – she is [...]

Tee hee, heard that phrase yesterday and decided to borrow it! Today I painted like a maniac, and now every one of the six panels has paint on it. Some of the earlier – HOLY GUACAMOLE, WHAT IS THIS???    This creature just sauntered past my window. Looks  like a giant, scruffy, Perkins-and-Zeke-eating cannibalistic feline! [...]