Suzanna Winton's Workshop

This is Suzanna Winton demonstrating painting a portrait of a cute little girl.  I brought her to town to do a four day workshop with the assistance of three other painters.  It was my first experience running a workshop and I must say that it went well.  I must thank my three partners Denise, Jackie and Julie as well a few helpers Mary, Joyce and Dory for putting forth the effort to make everything go smooth as it did.  I need to thank Suzanna as well for her part as a wonderful teacher with a very easy going way.

Each day we worked on a different painting. Suzanna presented the panting demos and inspired us to paint our hearts out.  It was so much fun as well as very informative.  I gathered so much information and it's still in my head ready to be sorted out and utilized.

I really enjoyed the workshop.  I had been a little nervous about how it would go but all the pieces just came together on their own.



I am basically a realistic painter.  I've had success in painting abstract backgrounds and really enjoy creating them.  I have also taken workshops with artists and tryed to "loosen up" but I've only had limited sucesses.
Usually when I try and paint loosely I come out with a painting that looks "sloppy".

 2013 was a very bad year for my family and it took an emotional toll on me. I have been still processing the grief of the losses.  I have been struggling with my painting and I feel like it hasn't been able to develop the way it should.  I keep trying to do new things, try new styles, painting different things and they have all left me frustrated.  But in Suzanna's workshop I felt that I came alive a little bit and felt the muse inside me inspiring me to paint.  I need to learn how to paint the way I'm inclined to paint and not the way I think I should paint.  I need to loosen up mentally rather than dwelling on painting more loosely.  Then I can find the freedom to express myself more fully.

I feel that I have been taking tiny steps on my journey and that I'm on the verge of taking great strides that will hopefully get me closer to my goals.  And then I will have new goals that I will continue to strive to reach!

Magnolia Workshop

I am teaching a Magnolia Workshop on Saturday June 18th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Artistic Creations Gallery and Classroom.

The first picture shows some of the first steps to painting a magnolia. The first thing I did after drawing the outline was to lay a very light cobalt blue wash over my paper. Then after it dried I layed a light aureolin yellow wash over the background. I call these initial washes underlying washes. I often start a painting withe them. I feel as if they tie the painting together right from the beginning. Then I started painting the petals with very light mixes of cobalt blue, opera rose and aureolin yellow. I then layed thin washes of quinacridone gold and opera rose in the center of the flower.

In the second picture I painted the branches wet on wet. I first layed down quinacridone gold and dropped in a mixture of burnt sienna and cobalt blue on the sides of the branches. I then mixed up my greens using: aureolin yellow, antwerp blue, hookers green, and a little bit of cadmium red. When I mix my colors on my pallette I do not mix them evenly. Instead I leave certain colors in certain spaces and only mix them a little with the other color or colors next to it. I then paint the leaves with this mixture of greens. I finally paint over the center of the flower with a little darker quinacridone gold and underneath that I stipple in some alizron crimson with a litle bit of cobalt blue on the outrsides of it. I then wet the deep part if the petals and allow the crimson color to bleed out.

I paint over the leaves with a thin layer of quinacridone gold. Then on to the most fun part of the whole painting (at least in my opinion.) The background. I first lay in a wash of sap green and quinacridone gold. Then I let it totally dry. I them mix up some hookers green with winsor violet. I then section by section paint the background and lift with a thirsty brush some of the paint to create some texture.

I finish the painting with permanent white guoache mixed with some quinacridone gold in the center of the flower. I then add a little alizron crimson to the little stamens on the petals.

There are still a few spots left for the workshop on Saturday. If you are interested please email me at katsart01@yahoo.com.


Also on Friday evening at Artistic Creations Gallery and Classroom there will be an Grand Opening from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. If you have the chance stop by and meet the artists and view their work.

Teaching

Here's some pictures of me teaching that one of my students took yesterday. I teach watercolors on Thursday and Saturday mornings from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at Artistic Creations Art Gallery and Classroom. They just moved to a new location in Pembroke Mall in the hall going to the food court. They are having their Grand Re-Opening on Friday 6/17th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. If your in the neighborhood stop on by and see the new space and all the wonderful art. I have a wall with my paintings there too and I demonstrate painting on Fridays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

I have been spending a good deal of time planning my summer classes and workshops. The first workshop that I am teaching is next Saturday June 18th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Artistic Creations Classroom. I'm teaching painting a Magnolia in watercolor. I will demonstrate it step by step and take my students from the beginning to the end of the painting process. I will also introduce some of my "ways" of painting and explain why I do things the way I do them. I have painted so many Magnolias in the last couple weeks that I feel like I could paint them in my sleep. (I'm sure that I'm exaggerating just a little bit.) On Wednesday I will post some pictures of the Magnolia as well as some of the steps to painting it. If you are interested in taking the workshop there are still some spots open. Just contact me at katsart01@yahoo.com or 757 650-5765.

I want to give special thanks to Cherrie for bringing in the camera so that you could see me in action and to Laurie and Joyce for allowing their photos to be taken.

Portrait from Suzanna Winton's Workshop

Here is the portrait that I worked on in my class with Suzanna Winton. I took a worshop with her at the Art of the Carolinas a couple weeks ago. She is a wonderful artist and a great teacher.

Yesterday I posted a photo of the painting that was way too pink. I took it again today and I think the colors are a little better. I'm certainly not 100% satisfied with the results but it was so much fun to paint and I did learn so much along the way.

I found myself seeing values on a new level. I took my glasses off and I could really see the shapes and darkness of the skin tones. I wonder if that is like squinting? I saw the larger shapes of dark values as well as the smaller differentiations in value changes within the larger shapes.

I also worked on softening edges and blending the colors from darker to lighter. And I had so much fun doing the background with little circular and squiggly shapes.

I'm going to keep working on painting portraits. I really enjoy capturing the looks as well as the spirit of the person I am painting. I feel that I have a sensitivity to people that I can use to express their personalities and try and capture their essence.

Also a while ago I heard or read that painting portraits is similar to painting flowers by capturing the curves and value changes that represent the soft changes that they both have. I think it is true. I am certainly more comfortable with painting flowers than portraits but am ready to step outside of my comfort zone and work on something more challenging. Maybe that is why I feel I am ready to start working on my portraits again!

The next portrait that I work on I will post it in stages so that you can see the process.

Santas Stocking and Suzanna Winton

I was in the Santa's Stocking show this past weekend. It is a holiday arts and crafts show and it was alot of fun as usual. I painted this poinsettia last year and I took it out for the show. It is certainly festive for the season.

At Art of the Carolinas I took a portrait painting class with Suzanna Winton. It was a great class and it really has inspired me to start working on my portraits again. I really liked her as a person as well as a teacher. She is very down to earth and easy going. She presented the material very clearly, answered questions, gave encouragement and feedback as needed. The one thing I really liked about her is that she gave advise on how to do things and what colors to use but encouraged the students to find the best way for themselves. This is something I try to do in my classes. I believe it helps students to develop their own style. I understand that teachers can only teach from their own experience but I dislike being told that things need to be done the exact way the teacher says. Wouldn't doing things just like an instructor make you into an imitator of the art the teacher is presenting? How can you develop into an artist if you are simply reproducing someone elses paintings?

Today I have been working on the portrait we started in class and I have been in heaven. I think I am finding my new direction!

Art of the Carolinas

I went to Art of the Carolinas this past weekend and it was wonderful. I always want to go to Art Workshops but I usually do not have the time, the money or the company to go with. This time me and three friends went for a very short weekend. (We left Saturday morning and came home Sunday evening.) We walked around with our eyes wide open; we were in awe of everything around us. We checked everything out, shopped, took classes, talked about everything, ate too much, and laughed so much. It was really alot of fun. I just want to thank Joyce, Cherrie and Patti for making the weekend one to remember. You were the best!

I woke up today and told myself that I'm going to only do what I want today. I decided to paint, of cource, and doors just kept opening up for me.

It's funny how sometimes I go through uninspired times with my painting. When I just can't get enthusiastic about anything. When I do not know what direction I'm going in. As a Libra, when trying to make decisions I have to weigh both sides. There is nothing wrong with that except I keep going back and forth and cannot make and easy decision. As an artist I want to learn and do everything. I want to explore all possibilities. I want to do it all. But as I grow, let's say more mature, I know I do not have all the time in the world to do everything I want to. So the decision of which direction I need to go in becomes a little more important.

Then there are other times in my artistic journey that I experience an abundance of inspiration flowing through me. I experienced this when I sat down to start painting this morning. All these new ideas of paintings came flooding in. I know that I cannot do them all right now but it is enlightening to have such an experience.

So I have come through another uninspired period in my life and I am on the verge of unleashing my creativity. And I am thankful to Art of the Carolinas for being a catalyst for this part of my journey.