Poinsettia

I just want to say Merry Christmas to all before I'm caught in the last minute things to do for the holiday itself.  It has been fun sharing my paintings and my experiences as an artist this past year. 

I have not been as energetic as the previous years and must apologize for not keeping up my blog the way I would have liked too.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and enjoy your family and friends.

Three Roses

My Three Roses are complete.  They started out so much fun but then they came back and presented quite a challange.  Not that I don't like challanges. I definitely do. 

I think one of the most important things that I learned about watercolors was not to give up.  (I'm not saying I never give up but usually I try to see the painting to it's finish.)  I used to give up on a painting when I wasn't happy with were it was going.  then an instructor of mine said to keep on going.  I didn't learn to do this overnight but eventually I did.  I must say that I have learned more about watercolors by not giving up but working through my frustrations.  Not every painting comes out great but sometimes I'm really surprised.

Daffodils

I recently went on our annual painting trip to Duck on the Outerbanks of North Carolina with some friends.  It was a wonderful retreat very relaxing and yet stimulating to the creative process.  We truly had a wonderful time. 

I have been painting so many portraits for a while now and it was great to take my mind off them and concentrate on my true love of flowers.  I have been wanting to paint daffodils this spring.  They were blooming everywhere but every time I went out to photo them it was too windy to get a good picture.  So I had to take the pictures I had and use my imagination and I was able to come up with this small little painting.  I can't tell you how much fun it was to paint.

Sun Dancer

This is my latest succulent painting. I must apologize for the photo as I finished the painting just in time to frame it and it was a cloudy day. The painting is much brighter than the photo.

I painted a series of succulents and I'm putting them in the Norfolk Collegiate Art Show. It is at the Lower School on 5429 Tidewater Ave., Norfolk from 1/27th to 2/1st. There is an Opening 1/27th but it costs $50.00 and reservations were supposed to be in by 1/24th. If you are interested in going contact the school at 757 625-0471. You can view the art at the following times: 1/28th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, 1/29th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and 1/30th 1/31st and 2/1st from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you get the chance stop by and view the art. It's usually a very good show.

When I first started this painting it was so much fun. Then as I got closer to my deadline I was under so much pressure to get it done that I no longer enjoyed the painting process as much. I must say that I function fairly well under pressure in terms of getting the work done; I perform my technical skills well. But I feel like I have sacrificed some of the magic of feeling the painting flowing from within me as I am on the journey expressing myself. It would be nice to never have these deadlines but that would never be as I create them myself!

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.

Gladiola

This is my Gladiola painting that I worked on in Corolla. It was so much fun. I love the colors and the values as well as the size of the paper. I feel like it represents the direction that my style is going in. It was also nice working on a flower for the first time in a long time.

This weekend I'm in the Gosport Art Festival in Old Towne Portsmouth from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. It is a nice Mother's day weekend art show. You can come and see my Gladiola as well as the other artist's work. I think you will enjoy it.

Japanese Magnolia

I am back in my painting mode. I have started working on paintings for the upcoming Art Shows and not my learning mode of painting portraits.

Here is my Japanese Magnolia. When looking at the photo I used a magnifying glass and it looked so three dimensional. It was like putting on those glasses to watch a 3-D movie. I tried to capture that in the painting and even though it looks 3-D it does not pop off the paper as much as I would like it too.

I have so many paintings to do and such little time to do them in. My mind is painting faster then the time I have left.

This weekend I have wonderful plans to go to Corolla, NC with three painting friends for three days. The Outer Banks of NC is a beautiful, breathtaking beach community with wonderful places to look at and paint and photo. We are also bringing some DVD's to watch indoors during our downtime or (knock wood) bad weather. It is going to be so much fun and I can hardly wait.

Cactus Flower

This is my sixth and final painting that I did for the One Foot Square show at the Artist's Gallery.
The yellows are a little brighter in real life. I loved mixing the purple with the yellow for the shadows of the flower. It is another one of my "dirty color" mixes. I also like the hint of cactus in the background.

I have been busy, as usual. I'm teaching four classes a week from Wednesday to Saturday. So I have three free days, so to speak. But there are always meetings and other art related things to do. This is all besides painting. But I do like to have my teaching days and my free days grouped together like this. I have been pretty much painting daily. So that is good. I do need to decide on at least one large painting for the Spring and Summer shows as well as some smaller ones. I have been thinking about doing a large Magnolia painting. That ought to be fun.

On Wednesday I'm bringing in three of my paintings of flowers to be in the Artists Alley Art Show at the Mid Atlantic Home and Flower Show at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The paintings are in the lobby before you have to pay for the Home and Flower Show. The show will be up until Sunday at 6:00 pm. If your in the neighborhood stop by and see some great floral paintings.

Magnolia Bud

I put my Magnolia Bud in the Chesapeake Bay Watercolorist's Winter Art Show at St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children and I am so pleased to tell you that it won Honorable Mention. Thanks to Norman Goodwin who was the judge of the show.

I started painting this painting a few times and was disappointed in how it turned out. But I loved the photo so much that I finally painted this one and I really do like it. I do love painting magnolias and green is still one of my favorite colors to paint. I tried to vary the greens in the painting so that the leaves were distinguishable. The bud is so delicate with just a little bit of color on it. I have been thinking of doing a large Magnolia painting for the Stockley Gardens Art Show and I think I just might do it.

A Dozen Roses

These are my "Dozen Roses". The colors are not quite as bright as they really are and I must say they look better in real life. They are taken from a rose named Flutterbye that changes colors from yellow to pink and gold. They are so delicate and strong.

It is a very large painting at 22 x 30 and it took somewhere between 5 and 6 weeks to complete. It was alot of work and a tremendous learning experience. The application of layer after layer of color, the portrayal of folds in the petals and highlights on the leaves, and the final application of shadows as well as reflected light helped to make it a very exciting journey on the path of my artistic life.

Stockley Gardens was a great weekend. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. I really enjoyed the show. I saw alot of friends and met some new ones. I received a very positive comment from the judge. I sold many prints and notecards. I would have liked to have sold a painting or two (or even more). But other than that it was a terrific outdoor Art Show.

Roses for Mom

Here are the Roses for my Mom. I really enjoyed painting them. Very detailed.

Right now I'm painting a large (22 x 30) painting of a dozen roses. So far it's coming out good. It has over a hundred leaves and will take a long time to finish but I hope that I will have it done for the Stockley Gardens Art Show October 16th and 17th.

I am really enjoying painting flowers right now and I feel that I've recently made great progress in my technique. I feel like my paintings are more realistic and more three dimensional than they were. And I have found a confidence in my painting that I have not experienced before.

My mother loved flowers, especially roses. When I'm painting them I feel as if my love for her is experientially there and hopefully shows through the painting itself.

Peace

I have been in an unusual frame of mind lately as I have not been able to decide what I want to paint. I have many ideas for paintings but none have really excited me. I'm tired of repainting subjects for art shows. I am doing Stockley Gardens in October and I need some new and exciting themes to paint to put in that show. I found a picture of three roses that I'm going to work on in a square format. I think that I'm getting excited about painting it. We'll see how it goes!

I have been painting flowers for a long time. Roses are very challenging but I keep going back to them. They are absolutely beautiful and the remind me so much of my mom. She had about 50 rose bushes in her gardens. And they were magnificent. I really miss her and I think that painting roses is a way of staying close to her.

Magnolia Bud

This is my latest painting. I have been able to work it with no deadlines and have totally enjoyed painting it. Again I must say that pleasure is a factor that contributes to the quality of a painting.

I have worked on the three dimensionality of it paying special attention to the light and shadows. I think it has allowed me a most valuable learning experience and I am very pleased with the results. Unfortunately the photo does not do it justice.

While painting this picture I again was drawn to realistically capturing the visuality of the bud and the many leaves. (I think there were about 36 leaves in it!) I am continually pulled to do more abstract work and yet I strive to create pieces that are realistic. I enjoy painting more abstract backgrounds but usually for the foreground I'm compelled to paint it realistically. I really do not know yet whether to go with my realistic tendencies or force myself to try and do more abstract work. What do you think?

I have two weeks until my teaching schedule picks up again. And I have not accomplished much on my to do lists. But I'm starting to think about my upcoming classes and what I hope to achieve with them.

Yellow Rose Garden II

This is another "Yellow Rose Garden". When I first painted it I brought it to a show and afterwards a woman contacted me to purchase it. I missed it very much and decided to repaint it again. I tried the background with a different color scheme and I don't like it as much. But I think the roses themselves came out good.


Yellow Rose Garden will debut this weekend at the

Seawall Art Show

in downtown Portsmouth. I will be down by Riverview Gallery across from where the ferry from Norfolk docks. The show is Saturday August 28th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday August 29th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. It's a wonderful art show and the weather should be great so if you have the opportunity come and see what the artists have been doing lately. You should be pleasantly surprised.

Multicolored Magnolias

When I was in California relaxing next to my daughters pool, I painted four small Multicolored Magnolias. The colors were so bright and cheerful and they expressed the vacation mood that I was experiencing. (The colors look brighter and more cheerful than they do in this post.)

Last night I started teaching my watercolor class at the Artistic Creations Classroom in Pembroke Mall. I decided to have my students paint the multicolored magnolias. They were all bright and colorful and each and every one was different from the other. I could see the beginnings of each student's style coming out in this painting project. the brightness of the flowers permeated the room and I do believe that everyone had a great time. I really believe that when you are having fun and experience joy when you paint it comes out in your art work.

I know that this is going to be a great class. We have spaces available. If you are interested please contact me at katsart01@yahoo.com and I'll give you all the information.

Yellow Rose Garden

This is my most recent watercolor painting. I am very pleased with it. (OK only I know where the problem areas are.) It was a wonderful experience painting it on Masa paper. I feel as if I'm really coming along with painting on Masa paper. It can be pushed alot further then I had first thought. I actually felt like I was making breakthroughs while working on this painting. I also enjoyed painting multiple flowers in the same painting. I'm planning on trying another one soon.

Happy New Year

I want to wish everyone a wonderful New Year. I hope it is a great year in the world as far as world peace and economic prosperity. I hope everyone enjoys their family and friends and they experience good health. And I hope that you continue on the path of learning to see and appreciate the beauty in the world.


I have thought long and hard about the past year and the up and coming 2010. I have not made any New Year's resolutions as I hardly ever keep them. Why is that? Last year I made about five or six resolutions all with the greatest intentions on improving my life and the only one I kept was starting this blog!!! (I also had intentions on starting a website.) But if I was to make any resolutions they would be:
1. Loose weight.
2. Get fit.
3. Start my own website.
4. Sketch more often. (Last year I had said I would sketch every day. That lasted about 10 days.)
5. Organize all the stuff in my life.
And of coarse continue to paint and to improve my technique and style. Maybe I could just set these up as goals, not resolutions.


In looking back at 2009 I feel that I have developed as artist in many ways. I had a very busy year and I actually kept up with everything. (Well almost.) I was in approximately 20 art shows. I plan on doing less outdoor art shows this year and more indoor shows. I feel that I have improved my teaching skills and am getting ready to start a busy semester at the end of this month. I have worked primarily in watercolor and have really enjoyed it but I still keep trying new things. I spent alot of time working with Masa paper and feel that my paintings are improving. I posted Magnolias IV because I think it was one of the best paintings that I completed last year. I was sad to see it get sold. Right now I'm working on A Yellow Rose Garden. It has so much more to it and I'm being more daring in what I try to do on the Masa paper. I just hope everything goes well with it. One thing that I've learned from my teacher Rieneke Leenders is that watercolor is so much more forgiving than I thought it was. If I do something that does not work out so well there are ways of changing it so that you do not have to give up on the painting. And that is wonderful!

Poinsettia

I have been painting poinsettias for the last couple of weeks including two 9 X 12's for shows and multiple hand painted greeting cards. They have been alot of fun to do and have helped put me in the spirit. (Even though next year I need to start doing some Christmas things a little earlier.)

This photo does not capture the brightness of the colors in the painting but I do like the veins in the petals and leaves. I painted this on Masa paper therefore the texture throughout the picture.

I want to take this time to wish everyone a joyous holiday season. Try and relax from some of the hustle and bustle and truly enjoy those around you. Remember it is the people in your lives that are really important. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Magnolia II and Magnolia III

If you have not figured it out yet I love painting Magnolias. I was not that familiar with them as I grew up in the North. But when I moved down here I became fascinated by them. I have painted them many times, in many media and colors and styles. They are always fun to do. I guess over the last ten years or so they have become my friends.

These paintings came from demonstrations in one of my classes. I was presenting how to paint in light colors and how to paint in dark colors. I probably did not get my light colors as light as I had wanted to but I got carried away with the colors of the petals. (How unusual for me to allow color to dictate my Painting choices.) In painting light colors you need to mix your color with a good amount of water to make it very light in value and when painting dark colors you need to mix the color up very thickly, but not so it is dry. This goes back to one of my "rules" of watercolor painting. Always keep scrap paper by your side to test colors as well as techniques for your painting.

It is helpful to keep painting the same subject over and over again. It helps you explore and re explore all the different way one subject can be presented. It becomes a learning process that I do not know if ever wears out. I'll tell you if I ever get tired of painting Magnolias!

Santa's Stocking

Santa's Stocking was a very good show. It is always alot of fun.

I have to say goodbye to my Magnolias IV and two other paintings that I sold. I will really miss my Magnolias IV. It was a fun painting to do. It was my third painting that I did on Masa paper and I really like the textures and colors of the painting. I think it will enjoy it's new home.