Category Archives: Commissions

Pencil Drawing of Wilsonia Cabin

The book The Cabins of Wilsonia is completed, published and for sale.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (where did that saying come from?), I still draw cabins in pencil. (I oil paint too, but that’s a different subject on a different blog, cabinart.net, a blog that covers all aspects of my art business).

Some folks liked my work in the book, but it only contained a drawing of their chimney. They asked me to draw their entire cabin.

It took us over a year to work out the details of what they wanted, We began with a few sketches, which then needed to be discussed and revised.

There were details they wanted to be sure appeared in the drawing that were just too small to appear in the sketches. When they were convinced that I knew all the little things that mattered to them, I was able to begin.

I work from left to right, top to bottom, to avoid smearing.

And finally, finished!

We were all very pleased with the outcome!

I Can Draw Your Cabin

Do you have a cabin in Wilsonia? Big Bear? Montana? Hume Lake? Hartland? Camp Nelson? Alaska?

I can draw it for you in pencil. I am Cabinart, and have been since 1987.

If your cabin is already in the Wilsonia book, The Cabins of Wilsonia, the drawing might available.

If it is in The Cabins of Wilsonia, but you prefer a different view, I can do that.

Ask.

I price by size. 9×12 – $200, 11×14 – $275, 12×16 – $275, and on up.

There is sales tax. Welcome to California.

Finished Pencil Commission

After a rough start of a missed deadline, wrong address and incorrect face of a cabin, this is the completed commissioned pencil cabin drawing of a Wilsonia cabin.

What a long long sentence. A picture is worth 1000 words.

Do you have a cabin you would like me to draw?

Incompetence and Awkwardness Corrected

I kept emailing the Wilsonia cabin owner to inquire if the Post Office had forwarded my incorrectly addressed card.

Nope.

Finally, I asked if she’d like me to copy the sketch and email it to her. Being a gracious and understanding customer, she was agreeable.

Well, oops.

I drew the wrong side of the cabin. She wanted the front, I drew the back. I didn’t look at the photos she sent me, only looked at the ones I had taken. Knowing that more living happens on the back side than the front, I just wasn’t really paying attention.

Holy cow.

What a gracious and forgiving customer, who kindly let me know that wasn’t the view she had asked for.

That’s the reason I do sketches! Let’s get it all figured out at the small scribbly stage before I pour hours into the precision and detail that make up my pencil commissions.

Quickly, I did 2 more sketches for her. Fast. Immediately. Scanned. Emailed. Red-faced. Git-er-dun. Giddy-up. Hubba, hubba, hubba.

She preferred the extra width showing in version B, and you can believe I got on it, immediately without delay!

Incompetence and Awkwardness

Last winter, a Wilsonia cabin owner contacted me about drawing her cabin. It was to be a gift for her sweet mama. Getting photos wasn’t going to be easy, in spite of the lack of snow. Cabins are closed in the winter, which means there are shutters on the windows which makes them look quite uninviting.

No hurry, said she.

No worry, summer’s coming, said me.

Suddenly, Sweet Mama’s birthday was almost here. Customer said, “Oops”, maybe you can do a quick sketch or something and send it to Sweet Mama in time for her birthday and here is the down payment on the drawing and here are a few photos.

No problem. I did the sketch, turned it into a birthday card, and sent it off.

TO THE WRONG ADDRESS!

Yes, they had moved and I didn’t make note of which address was correct – from the check or from the envelope.

THE CARD NEVER ARRIVED!

What is an incompetent artist to do in this awkward situation?

Tune in on Monday, August 17 to see what happened next.

Fancy Drawing of a Plain Cabin

There is a very sweet woman whom I have never met, but we seem to have become pen pals. We write notes to one another about Wilsonia, particularly about the upcoming book and about her cabin.

She asked me to draw her cabin, and let me know that it is very plain but means very much to her.

Because it is so plain, and because there are more cabins than I could possibly fit into the book and have it be interesting (that is for another post), I opted to not include hers in the book.

She is gracious and kind and honest. She bought 4 books in spite of the fact that her cabin is not in it, and then asked me to draw it for her.

You can see it doesn’t have many details architecturally:

I photographed it at 2 separate times of day, looking for the best light and best angle.

She asked for a collage, which shows different angles, views and details, all in one drawing.

I came up with 2 ideas, both quite pleasing. Now the ball is in her court!

Do you have a preference?

Nothing to See Here, Folks

Several cabin folks in Wilsonia have asked me to draw their cabins. One wasn’t built yet, one is very plain, and one is almost impossible to photograph or see.

Today I’ll show you the one that is almost impossible to see because of the wall of cedar trees. I tried and tried to find the right view for the book and finally said to myself, “Never mind! This is too hard, you cannot include every cabin anyway, so just move on.”

Just move on, folks. There’s nothing to see here.

But wait! There must be something. I did several sketches from different angles, scanned them, and wrote to the cabin owner. No word back yet.

You can see these are just sketches as opposed to drawings. Scribbly, loose, lots of trees pruned or removed, missing detail. . . good thing the owner knows I can draw.

Now, I just need to hear from him so I can begin the actual drawing.

There is one I like the best and hope he picks. Do you have a favorite angle?

Who Wants a Book About Wilsonia?

When someone wants to self-publish a book, one of the biggest puzzles to solve is who will want to buy the book. If someone wants to publish a book traditionally, that is probably the most important question too.

Let’s answer that question about The Cabins of Wilsonia, an upcoming book about cabin life in a mountain community, told in drawings and quotations from the residents.

1. People who love Wilsonia

This could be people who have visited, who have a cabin, who used to have a cabin, who have friends with a cabin or who wish they had a cabin.

Surprising fact: many cabin folks have asked if their cabin will appear in the book. If it doesn’t, or if it doesn’t appear in the way that they think it should, they are not shy in letting me know they will not be buying a book!

2. People who love cabins

Did you know there is a website of beautiful cabin photos called “cabin corn”? (Not really called that, but I didn’t want to type the second word which actually begins with the letter “P” – you figure it out!) There are people who just love cabins and small homes and mountain living.

3. People who love pencil

This book will have 276 pencil drawings. There are people who love to draw, people who love pencil drawings, people who love detail, drawing students past and present.

4. People who love local information

There are people who buy all books of local history. The Cabins of Wilsonia is not yet a history book, but it will be some day. It is a look at life today in a cabin community in Tulare County. The folks who collect information about this place we live are likely to want this book.

5. People who love me

Ahem. This last one is a little embarrassing. However, my friend Mark used to tell me (because his Dad used to tell him), “If your friends and family won’t do business with you, who will?”

And now you know who comprises the market for the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia. Do you fit into one of these categories?

Commissions of Wilsonia Cabins

I got to visit Wilsonia again. In spite of the book being finished on my end, there are some more cabins to draw. In fact, there are enough cabins that I could make another book.

Forget it.

There are 4-5 cabin folks who said they’d like me to draw their cabins. One chose the size and put down a 50% deposit. The others did not.

I took the photos anyway. In the olden days of film, I didn’t take photos until I had that deposit. Otherwise, it was just conversation.

Guess I’ve dropped my guard or my standards or my business-like demeanor. Maybe I’m more trusting. Maybe it just doesn’t matter if they change their minds.

These are cabins that only appear in the book as a detail or two. That is because they were too hard to photograph. With 200+ cabins to draw, it wasn’t necessary to do the really difficult ones.

Looks as if I might get to do some of the really difficult ones after all.

That’s fine. I love to draw. Have I mentioned that yet?

Wilsonia Cabin Commission

As the book grows, so does my other work. Another commission came for another cabin on another street that has already been completely designed and drawn. No problem! Drawing cabins in pencil is what I do and have done since 1985. Really! (No, I wasn’t 5 years old at the time, but thanks for thinking I’m just a youngster.)

Once again we began with photos, and from these, I made 3 sketches. There was a question of which might be the best angle of the cabin, and sketches seem to be more helpful in deciding than photos.

I had to remove many trees in order to be able to see the cabin, but don’t worry because it was a figurative removal, not a literal one. (Has anyone besides me noticed how many people misuse the word “literally” these days?? “He literally shot himself in the foot.” Really? Can he walk any more?)

B was the choice. Bet you are wondering which sketch is B, since there is no B on the page of sketches. (It is the one that isn’t A or C.)

I waited awhile to begin. There is a large painting on the easel, 2 other commission drawings, and then, of course there is The Book with its revised and loaded up schedule. Finally, I decided it wasn’t going to draw itself, so this is what I did:

Next, I wait to hear from the customers. If they are pleased, I will be pleased and I will spray fix it so it doesn’t smear. If they want changes, I won’t be as pleased, but I will do my best. It will be me that I am displeased with for not getting it right the first time, not the customers.