Tag Archives: cabin window

Original Pencil Cabin Drawings Available

As I began selling the original drawings for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, I knew that the cabin owners should have first dibs on the drawings of their own cabins.

Since I am the one who chose which views and which cabins, there was a risk that some folks would not like my choices.

This means LUCKY YOU! These drawings are now available to anyone who wants to buy them. The link to my website with a shopping cart and Paypal is this.

The drawings vary in size from 6×7″ up to 7×10″ and range in price from $100-$150.

I feel pretty sure that there will be more. . . stay tuned!

In Recovery of Excitement and Hope

After some computer research into Adobe Photoshop, which sells for about $600, I learned that Photoshop Elements, the dumbed down program for hobbyists, sells for about $60. If it is “dumbed down”, a degree in advanced computer design may be required for the big girl version!

Perhaps by looking through the window as I did when beginning the project all full of excitement and hope will restore a bit of excitement and hope as I recover from some hard truths.

I bought Photoshop Elements and it should arrive within a week. Because it is by Adobe, the same outfit that made the program I used to design the book, I’m hoping the learning curve won’t be terribly steep. A few years ago, I dabbled in the very earliest version of Photoshop Elements, so maybe this won’t be too hard. Lots of maybe and hope there. . .

The Book Designer recommended a book printing company in Michigan. I sent the preliminary info for a preliminary estimate on the cost of printing. One of the questions was “How many book titles do you publish a year?” Heh, heh, heh. My last book was printed in 1998. That would make about 1/16 of a book title published per year.

Fear and the Building of a Book

I know how to draw in pencil, and I know how to draw cabins. In spite of having put together The Cabins of Mineral King, I have a little bit of fear. It doesn’t paralyze me. Instead, it keeps me on my toes.

The fear is that the book might look like “loving hands at home”. In order to avoid this dreaded description, I plan to hire a book designer as a consultant. Hopefully, he will prevent me from making any lame-o mistakes.

Okay, Mrs. Book Builder, gaze upon the lovely blue shutter and think calming peaceful thoughts.

Bay Windows are Rare in Wilsonia

I only know of two bay windows on Wilsonia cabins. WAIT! I just thought of a third – it is on the newest cabin.

As I designed the book and chose the pictures to include, there was a continual balancing act between the common and the uncommon. Bay windows caught my eye because they are uncommon.

WAIT! I just thought of more: one on Cedar and one on Kaweah.

Here is one on Park and one on Tyndall.

Can you think of any more?

Cabin Life in Wilsonia, Part Three

The saga continues of my cabin life in Wilsonia. This is from only 4 days!! How do people stand the excitement of being there all summer long??

20. Meeting a family from all over California who gathered at their cabin and learning of their very rich history (as in full, not wealthy, although it could have been, but we didn’t get into that!). Almost every time I make new friends in Wilsonia, we discover connections in common.

21. Meeting Katie, whom I talked to on the phone last spring when she scheduled a star thistle eradication spraying appointment for my home in Three Rivers. Really! I recognized her voice when she told me where she works! What a cutie! (Isn’t everyone in their 20s cute??)

22. Re-meeting the superintendent, reassuring him that I don’t have cabins both in Mineral King and Wilsonia and that I am NOT stalking him, and learning that “Woody” is short for Woodrow – would you believe he is named after Woodrow Wilson?? Isn’t that really interesting??

23. Meeting Jill’s brother, Dave’s brother, and Dave’s brother’s wife, who remembers meeting me at my Exeter studio or some show I did way back when. Wow! Thanks, Marguerite!

24. Meeting Ty, who is a fantastic (and perhaps a little crazy) hiker, and hearing his adventuresome tales. This man KNOWS the area!

25. Further cementing my friendship with the wonderful Sheri, who gave me a tour of her beautiful cabin, which is a perfect blend of old and new. (More kudos to the master craftsman Mark Vetter.)

26. Discussing the oddities of running a one-person-business with the very talented and good-natured Paul. We share the inability to properly bill people who have become friends. (DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR WEAKNESSES, I beg you!!)

Original pencil drawing, Redwood & Dogwood, 14×11″, matted and framed, $400, available for sale here (Please forgive the shameless self-promotion. In spite of all the fun, I am earning a living here too.)

27. Meeting David, who is on a quest to visit every one of the largest Sequoias – twenty? forty? We had such a good time looking through his books and maps – Good luck on this, Dave! I will be in touch as I learn a few facts to share with you.

28. Learning with Dick and Mel how to handle the reproduction of my drawings for this project. No conclusions reached yet, but thank you for letting me practice with you two!

29. Enjoying more of the Best Grapes I Have Ever Eaten In My Entire Life – thank you Jill and Dave!

If you made it to the end of this post, you deserve a reward. How about a little eye candy?

There. Isn’t that restful? I hope you feel refreshed after our WWW (Whirlwind Weekend in Wilsonia)

Recalculating

Ever used one of those talking GPS deals when you were driving? If you go a different direction from the instructions, the female robot says “Re-Cal-Cu-La-Ting”.

That’s me, a female robot. A recalculating pencil picture production person.

When I visited Wilsonia in August, I was a little unnerved by how many changes I wanted to make to the design of The Cabins of Wilsonia. I added pages, added cabins that I previously didn’t believe would fit, details that I hadn’t noticed before, and even decided to redraw a couple of completed drawings.

WHAT?? AM I NUTS?

I might be by the time this is finished.

It was my plan to finish all the drawings, 230 of them with a little head start of 78, by the end of 2013.

Now that I have 5 months remaining, it seemed like a good time to assess my progress. This time I added in all the little decorative pieces too. Maybe I just wanted to feel overwhelmed, or maybe I like pain or maybe, just maybe I wanted to impress myself with the magnitude of this project.

Actually, it isn’t a project. It is a

PROJECT

According to my current count, there will be 269 drawings in The Cabins of Wilsonia PLUS the cover, and I’m sure a few more places will crop up that need decorative touches. I have 186 finished, which means there are 73 remaining if I am to accomplish my goal, with the moving carrot dangling out there.

73 divided by 5 equals approximately 15 drawings a month.

‘Scuse me for a bit. I need to go lie down. Maybe have a hit of chocolate, or knit a few rows, or just talk to Perkins, my Wonder Cat The Survivor. (Just heard a bunch of horrid coyotes yipping outside the studio as I type this.

Neal Won!

As an aside, I have an Unca Neil (yep, that’s how we say and spell it), had a friend named Niel, and now I have a friend named Neal who won my little contest. It was a “name that street”, based on a pencil drawing for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia.

(sorry to be so redundant – rumor has it that Mr. Google can find a site easier if I repeat the important words like “pencil drawing” and “cabins of Wilsonia”.)

As I meet and talk with people around Wilsonia, I often have questions about various cabins and lots. It has been very surprising to me to hear, “We never go to that part” or “I only know my immediate neighborhood”, or “I don’t really know the street names”. Maybe my book will help with some of that by creating interest in other neighborhoods.

But I digress. Neal knew exactly where this drawing is:

It is looking down Pine Street. Since I am not naming cabins in my book, I don’t name them on the blog either. I believe in protecting privacy. Besides, cabins change owners in Wilsonia, and if I name a cabin and then it changes hands, my book will be quickly outdated. Nosirree, I’m going for timeless.

What did Neal win? A package of notecards with this image on the front:

Way to go, Neal!!

Drawing # 150 something or other

I remember some numbers, like my second grade best friend’s telephone, or my 6th grade teacher’s birthday, or how many feet in a mile.

But, because the numbers are changing so rapidly, I can’t remember the number of drawing I’m on.

I do remember which street I am on. Park. Park is long. That will be a large-ish chapter.

Pine is next.