An Artist’s Inspiration

This post is the first of seven in a series by artist Jana Botkin, visit weekly for a glimpse into her process as an artist, previews of her work over the years, and a unique look at some of Mineral King’s most historic cabins.

By Jana Botkin


Cabin Art began when I drew the Botkin cabin in East Mineral King as a Christmas gift for Michael in 1985 before we were married. He told me there were 60 other cabin owners who would probably pay me to draw their cabins. He was right.
This is that first drawing. I will always feel deep gratitude to people who encouraged me and bought my art back when it looked like this.

After practicing on other people’s cabins for 16 years, I redrew it. 

In a series of posts to the MKPS blog, I’ll show you the many ways that Mineral King has influenced my art through the years.

Jana Botkin is a lifelong resident of Tulare County, a farmer’s daughter from Ivanhoe, and wife to Michael Botkin for 33 years. Using pencils, oil paint, and murals, she makes art that people can understand, of places and things they love, at prices that won’t scare them, always wanting to provide visible reminders that Tulare County is a place to be proud of. She has been a full time artist since 1993, working from her Three Rivers home studio. She has published two books of local cabin communities, The Cabins of Mineral King (with Jane Coughran)and The Cabins of Wilsonia, five local coloring books, and Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names. Jana accepts commissions, teaches drawing lessons, and blogs about her artful life five days a week on her website, www.cabinart.net.

3 Comments

  1. I am the happy recipient of several of Jana’s beautiful artwork, both pencil drawings and oil paintings. I love her work, and am blessed to know such a talented lady who is a part of our special Mineral King community!

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