Not this year, but maybe next year, depending on the response. I didn’t mean to tease you!
Hmmm, this would make a good calendar page. . .
This year I have a calendar with my photos of the most beautiful places in Tulare County. It is selling well – $15 includes tax and shipping. You can see and order one here.
Calendars are risky business for two main reasons:
1. Short window of selling time
2. There are zillions of freebies out there.
As I puzzled over whether or not to make and sell a calendar this year, one idea was to feature the Wilsonia cabins on each page. Photography won out, but I’m still mulling over the feasibility of a Wilsonia cabin drawing calendar.
What do you think about that idea?
P.S. I just found another cabin with a bay window – it is on President’s Lane!
In spite of varied political opinions, most of us with private inholdings or other interests in the National Parks can agree that shutting the parks makes no sense.
Much of what the government does makes no sense to me. If it were run like a private business, it would be bankrupt. Oh. Never mind. It makes no sense any way it gets examined.
There are 12 cabins still standing in Wilsonia that were sold to the government. They now sit empty, neglected, useless, abandoned, falling down, looking sad, of no use to anyone – not private folks, not the government, not park employees, not concessionaires, no one.
As someone who owns a cabin (in Mineral King), who loves cabins (my business name is “Cabin Art”!) and is devoting several years of my life to documenting the cabins of Wilsonia, this makes me sad, puzzled, baffled, and frustrated. As a self-employed, tax paying citizen, it infuriates me! (But, I will conduct myself with dignity here.)
What a waste. The only people who benefited from the sale of this cabin were the sellers. That strikes me as a fairly short-sighted decision on the part of all involved. I have a lot to say about the matter, but since this blog is primarily about drawing a book on the cabins of Wilsonia, I’ll hold back.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope this post wasn’t too off-putting.
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.
The drawing is finished, the cabin folks are happy, and the book continues.
Not putting this drawing in the book gave me the freedom to put color in the flag. This little zinger of color makes me disproportionately happy with a simple pencil drawing.
I wanted to do this with every cabin in the book that has a flag. It would make the cost of the book shockingly high instead of just high. And no, I don’t know how much it will cost yet. But thanks for asking – it shows me that you are still interested in the project. 😎
Park Street (or is it Road?) is completed. There are a number of cabins all in a row, and I had to work very deliberately to not make the chapter full of things that looked alike.
On one cabin I chose their unique entry way door.
Here is an aside: while I was drawing this, I listened to an audio book by Dan Erickson called “A Train Called Forgiveness”. It was a very moving story, and I remember how it made me feel every time I look at this drawing.
The owners of the cabin asked me to draw the entire cabin for them. (That’s called a “commission” – in short, it is custom work for hire.)
In spite of having the pages already finished and no room for additional drawings, I said yes to their request. (Got these habits of needing to eat, put gas in my car, keep Perkins fed and buy yarn.)
We discussed the possibility of putting the flag in color, something I’ve wished I could do throughout the book but it will be cost prohibitive, both for me and for you.
They needed to see sketches in order to decide.
In addition to putting color in the flag, I added a tree to the left foreground. They chose B, and I began drawing.
My friend and regular commenter on this blog said that she thought one of my photos would make a nice painting.
Isn’t that something?? I already painted it 2 years ago!!
It was a gift for my wonderful hosts at one of the cabins in Wilsonia.
This scene epitomizes cabin life to me: welcoming, relaxing, patriotic, simple, traditional, comfortable.
As I progress in my painting skills, this now makes me cringe ever so slightly. Rather than beg them to return it so that I can fix what bothers me, I will simply be thankful for growth.
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)
As I explore Wilsonia, meet people, and bother them about their lives at their cabins, I realize I am experiencing my own version of cabin life. Here is the continuation from Monday’s post.
10. Meeting the delightful owners of Leaky Hollow and learning of their lives, both cabin and “real”. What gifted and creative people, and such an interesting cabin!
11. Meeting Carol in person! She called me out of the blue last year, and it was a privilege to meet her and hear about all the cabins in her family.
12. Talking to someone (who did not introduce himself) about the roads of Wilsonia. He was in disbelief when I told him that many of the cabins share the same address numbers, differentiated only by the road names. He said it wasn’t possible. Clearly, we have different maps!
13. Listening to a presentation by Eric Blehm, author of The Last Season, a book about the search for a missing backcountry ranger. I had no idea that a similar search was taking place in Mineral King at the very time of his presentation. It didn’t turn out well either.
14. Visiting with Joanne, who finally has a cabin after years of only having a lot. What a wonderful lady!
15. Having breakfast with my hosts – cornmeal pancakes!
16. Working out details with the cantankerous, clever, unique and hilarious Dennis, whose wife is a saint, about how to draw his cabin. I am still amazed to have discovered them, because I bunked with their daughter at summer camp in the 5th grade.
17. Meeting Norm, who was very polite in spite of the fact that I failed to recognize him later when he was wearing a hat!
18. Working out details of how to draw another cabin with the very interesting Corky and Larry. Truly nice people with a life of variety. We enjoyed our conversation very much, because it is always refreshing to meet people with shared values.
19. Meeting Mary Anne and re-meeting Mary Ann, who was very kind and understanding about how I am designing the book. Wilsonia is full of very classy people.
The goal of The Cabins of Wilsonia  is to present a picture of cabin life in Wilsonia. It can apply to cabin life in a mountain community in general, and of course I am hoping it will appeal to a broader audience. But, that would be a side benefit.
I had a cabin life in Wilsonia for 4 days in August. Here is what my cabin life looked like:
1. Staying in the cutest cabin in the entire village! (Yes, I am a little biased.) If I stayed in any other of my “favorite” cabins, (the count is now probably up to 8 or 10), I would say that one was the cutest. “Cute” is a dumb word for a cabin, but I’m hoping you get my true meaning – charming, perhaps? Captivating? Enchanting, even?
2. Dinner outside with Gus, Barbara, Uschi, Charlie and Dutch, followed by great conversation around a campfire. A small group is such a good way to share ideas because there aren’t multiple conversations happening at the same time. We brainstormed about the upcoming Wilsonia centennial (Anyone know if it will be 2018 or 2019?? For sure?)Â and discussed the Park’s ownership of 12 cabins.
3. A tour of the newest cabin by the owner, Dutch, revealed some very very beautiful details by the master craftsman, Mark Vetter, whom I have not yet met.
4. Oops, a tree holding power lines crumbled, causing the closure of roads surrounding 14 cabins. This resulted in a fun visit with Penny and Gwen and Dolly and Jessie (the latter 2 are dogs), in which I got to see Gwen’s very authentic cabin interior and a fabulous quilt that was put together by the Wilsonia sewing ladies. (Not called that – maybe called the “Quilter’s Guild?”)
5. Learning about 3 logs that cross the meadow by Hazel, Laurel and Brewer streets. Every time I learn a new connection, I understand the layout of Wilsonia just a little bit more thoroughly.
6. Realizing there are some beautiful things that will not make it into the book, and deciding to share those photos via the blog.
7. Running into my friend Russ from Three Rivers! He regularly visits and maintains a friend’s cabin, and is definitely in the market for one of his own. (Have one for sale or know of one? Please email me so I can put you in touch with Russ!)
8. Sampling gooseberries  – yes I’ve had them before and they are weird and too much trouble!
9. Realizing the book needs more pages, accepting the fact that there will be more than 230 drawings now, and redesigning. It is weird to sit at a Wilsonia cabin and work on the computer, but easier than at home when I know I could and should be drawing AND having the phone ring in the middle of deep thought. It is easier to work away from the studio. Who knew that cabin life would include computer work?
To be continued. . . my cabin life is apparently very very full!
Do you remember back in the olden days of film cameras? Not everyone had a camera, and those who did, used them sparingly.
I was a bit of a dork, because I had 2 cameras going at a time and kept them in the trunk of my car. One was for color prints, and the other was for either black and white, or slides.
Slides?? Are you kidding me? What useless little items they have become.
But, I digress. Now we are all photographers.
When I carry my camera around Wilsonia, I am recording moments and details of cabins for the purpose of drawing. (Hey Mr. Google, the book will be called The Cabins of Wilsonia). These photos need to have great light, good composition, and visible detail. With my computer, I can straighten out sloping cabins (okay, it was me who was sloping with the camera, but you know what I mean), lighten shadows, darken blown-out highlights, increase contrast, and crop. (I love cropping. It was the best thing about working in a dark room back in the days of film photography.)
If someone has commissioned me to draw their cabin outside of the book project, my photos are much more specifically for documentation. I photograph the cabin from several angles, and pull in the details of each angle with the telephoto lens. I have to photograph things that are hidden behind trees, photograph the tops of the trees, back up, get close, and figure out anything that might be a little hard to understand from a photo. (What a weird chimney base. I wonder why those shingles are different sizes. What’s up with those sagging boards?)
As I walk around Wilsonia to become more familiar with each street and cabin, I continue to see beautiful shots that just wouldn’t translate into pencil drawings. They are simply beautiful – colors, light, things that might make nice paintings.
That’s a weird thought – does this mean that pencil drawings aren’t beautiful?
Nope. Some things look best as color photographs, some as black and white photos, some as pencil drawings, and some as paintings.
Different is just different, not qualitative.
End of lecture. Here is your reward for hanging with me to the end:
P.S. This umbrella is a beautiful green that the camera couldn’t pick up no matter how much I messed with it on the computer. Maybe it would make a nice painting. . .
