Biographies

Murals Inspired by Nature – Part III

Written by Jana Botkin When I was part of Exeter’s mural team, we used to discuss whether or not Mineral King was part of Exeter’s history. Two members of the team are part of the Mineral King community, and many times we argued in vain for Mineral King.After I left the team, learned to paint, and then learned to paint murals, the team’s membership changed. So did the opinion that Mineral King was not part of Exeter’s history, and I was chosen to paint a huge Mineral King mural!Many folks participated in transferring the image to the 110’ long wall.

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Murals Inspired by Nature – Part II

Written by Jana Botkin My studio is a little shed that we had remodeled in 2001. I didn’t mind its outer appearance, but the big blank door was calling for a mural. I chose the Eagle/Mosquito trail. Over time, I decided I wanted something else on that door. I never did like it will enough to photograph it up close or to even finish it.  After we gussied up the studio, it deserved something even better.

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Murals Inspired by Nature

Written by Jana Botkin This is the first post in a series by artist Jana Botkin; over the next few weeks join us for a behind the scenes look at her inspiration and process of some of the beautiful murals she has created. Mineral King has had an enormous influence on my art. When I started painting murals, I had to first practice painting larger in the medium I was used to. 24×36” was the largest oil painting I had ever attempted. Our home in Three Rivers had a collection of shabby buildings in need of facelifts, perfect for practicing.

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An Artist’s Inspiration: Part 7

Written by Jana Botkin In digging through my stacks (figuratively speaking, since they are digital) of Mineral King pencil drawings, I came up with some of the commissioned cabin drawings to share with you today. The most common style of architecture on Mineral King cabins is board and batten. One of the examples today is shingle-sided. This is the little Mixter cabin, now owned by Mary Megalli. Jan Fleek asked me to adjust reality a bit, so perhaps this isn’t exactly the way you’d see West Florence behind the cabin. When someone commissions me, they become my boss and I

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