Turning Leaves

I painted this painting last year and I don't think I ever posted it.  I pulled it out recently to frame for Occasion for the Arts.  I remember when I painted it I really enjoyed the fall colors both bright and muted.  It really was alot of fun.

Recently I lost all my pictures in my computer as well as my documents.  So I've been a little disabled in pulling paintings to blog.  I have been so busy getting ready for shows as well as starting my teaching season.  I have cut back my classes as I want more time to devote to my painting.  Right now I have four or five paintings that I need to get finished after the show is oover.

Next weekend I'm in Occasion for the Arts in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.  I am so looking forward to it.  I just hope that the weather is bright and sunny as it was in my Turning Leaves painting.

Claws

I did this painting in the class I teach Friday mornings.  The photo does not show how bright it really is.  (It was a cloudy day.)  It was alot of fun and my students did great. 

I must apologize for not posting for a while.  I have been way too busy.  So I started wondering why I'm so busy when I'm only teaching two classes a week.  Then I mentally made a list of everything I'm currently involved in and I began to understand.  I am taking two classes on line and I will tell you all about them on a future post.  I am teaching two classes at the Art Studio which I'm slowly moving in to.  I am busy getting ready for the Seawall Art Festival and being I haven't done an out door show in a while I have a great deal of work to do.  I have to deframe paintings, have prints and notecards made, package and price all of them, frame paintings and go and all sorts of miscellaneous little jobs.  I'm trying to redo my website as well as make a brochure to give out at the upcoming show.  On top of all of that I am on the board of the CBAA as well as the membership chairperson and we have recently developed a new membership procedure that is more time-consuming.  And I have just begun being the recording secretary for the CBW and trying to learn more about the organization.  Whew!

I don't know why I do this to myself.  I just take on a little bit too much and I feel like I cannot get everything done.  I have done it for my entire life and I never learn my lesson.   Well one good thing is I am never bored!

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.

Succulents

Here are my three Succulents.
I framed them together. I really enjoyed painting them. They went so smoothly from beginning to end. And you know I love the colors!

I need to find other subjects to paint that give me as much pleasure as these did. I have been trying to paint subjects for the coming up art shows without much success. I have been dealing with some personal health issues that will become problematic in the future. It has taken so much out of me. I just want to paint for the fun of it right now!

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.

Saturday Afternoon

Saturdays I usually teach a class at the classroom connected with Artistic Creations Art gallery from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. I have lunch after that and then I paint at the gallery for a few hours in the afternoon. (This is unless I'm in an art show for the weekend.)

Yesterday a gentleman came into the gallery and bought 5 paintings from me and the demo on negative space I had started in class that morning and finished up at the gallery. It was a wonderful experience and I am very thankful. Now I have to say goodbye to Koi IV, Sweet Lips, Website, Monarch Queen and In the Reeds. I will miss them. Now I have to get painting so that I have enough paintings to put in my spring shows!

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.

Seashells on the Beach

I had so much fun painting the rocks that I decided to do seashells. (Some of which I like better than others.) I think the style of both paintings are very similar and different than my usual style. Afterall I didn't even use the color green!

Tomorrow I'm going to Charlotte, NC for a three day workshop with Suzanna Winton. I am so much looking forward to it. Just think of me spending three days working on portraits without a care in the world. (At least until I come home.) She is a wonderful teacher and her portaits are amazing. Check her out at www.suzannawintonwatercolors.com. The only thing that could be better is if it was in a warm place!

Monarch Queen

Here is my Monarch Queen. (Again I question telling the gender of small animals.) She was alot of fun to paint. Another 8 x 8 painting for the One Foot Square show. I enjoyed using the warm bright colors and hoped they would keep the chill away.

As you can see I'm in the process of changing my blog a little bit. I have put some of the topics that were on my sidebar on separate pages and you can just click on them across the top of the page. I always welcome feedback so if you have any comments please let me know. I will be redoing my gallery and hope to post that soon.

Holly Berries

Here are my completed Holly Berries. Just in time for the holidays! In the first picture you can see that I took out the upper right leave to be repainted. I just did not like the shape or size of it so I decided to take it out and redo it. I also continued adding more greens and reds. My first background was in a lighter color scheme but I didn't like that either. So then I made the background darker and it really make the foreground pop. Then I continued working the leaves and the berries just darkening some areas so that the light areas look lighter and brighter. See how shiny the leaves and berries appear in the final picture.

I think that you can still appreciate the first colors that I painted in the final picture after putting many layers over it. It is in the nature of transparent watercolors that allows you to accomplish this look.

As I mentioned before there were a couple things that I was not pleased with in the process of creating this painting. This happens often enough. The longer I work with watercolors the easier it is to see what I feel needs to be changed to improve the painting and find the way to do it.

Holly Berries WIP

I have been working on this painting for my Saturday morning class. I saw the turquoise colors under the green colors and wanted the demonstration to show how to paint undercolors and have them coming through the later layers of colors. What I learned in the class on Saturday was that different people see different colors that they choose to express. This is part of what makes different artists paint in different styles. It is also one of the reasons I enjoy teaching as I am always learning something new!

In the first step I layed in the lightest colors and I varied the values of them to start to capture some three dimensionality. Then I started to add a variety of green as well as more blue and turquoise. I mixed dark green with red for the darker colors for the stem and created some texture by lifting some of the color down to the previous light yellow green that was there. I also put in the first layer of reds for the berries. As the painting moves on you can still see the first colors that I used.

In my next post I will show you how it looks so different with the background in place.

Seashells by the Seashore

In one of my watercolor classes about a month ago I was demonstrating how you go from putting down general colors to putting down the details. I was working on the middle seashell and I had so much fun with it that I went home and did two more. They are only 5 x 7 so I decided to frame them in one frame. I think they look pretty good together.

I really enjoy teaching and it really amazes me how well my students are able to pick up on the little things that I suggest to them to try. I try to open them up to having positive experiences with the painting process. I feel that they should have fun while painting because if it isn't fun then why bother. This does not mean that there aren't setbacks and frustrations in the process because


there are but the sense of enjoyment should make up for the negatives.

I the middle of September starts my new teaching year. I'm already starting to think of new ways to present information that will make the learning process smoother and I want to continue to explore ways to make classes more fun.

I will keep you informed on the dates and times of the new classes and hopefully some of you will be able to join me.

Koi IV

Here's my latest Koi painting for your viewing pleasure. (LOL) I think I only have a few more of them in me. I really cannot figure it out but everyone loves them. At the Artisans in the Park Art Show this weekend almost everyone that came into my tent commented on the Koi. Is it because they have such bright colors? They are very simple in shape and look almost like cartoon Koi to me. Does that make them more abstract than my usual paintings and more interesting? Maybe it's the crazy looking eyes. Or is it the feeling of freedom of movement that they seem to have? I really cannot figure it out but I'm not complaining!

I poured the paint to do the background and I must say that I really like the way it turned out. I mixed a blue, yellow and red and in no place does it look muddy. The colors are clear, transparent and bright. I then painted the Koi in fluid acrylics. They are so much fun to paint.

I'm planning on doing two new paintings for the Seawall Art Show later on this month so I have to buckle down to work on them. Then I'll be free for a while before any other art shows and taking on my fall teaching schedule. I want to explore my style and try and expand my horizons as far as my subject matter is concerned. Either that or I might just collapse for a couple weeks!!! Not likely.

Website

Here is my painting of a spider spinning his web. This is one of the paintings that I did for the show at Pembroke 4 Art Gallery. The theme was home and I painted animals in their habitats. The spider web was a great deal of fum. First of all I painted it on Masa paper which gives the background it's texture. Then I used guoache to paint the web itself. (I had originally tried using masking fluid on regular watercolor paper but it came out too thick.) It's certainly not the best painting I've ever done but it is kind of cute. Don't you think?

Lately I've been painting for the fun of it. I'm currently painting roses, seashells and another pineapple. Next weekend is Artisans in the Park. After that I have to crack down again start working on some paintings for the Seawall Art Festival. Does it ever end? I sure hope not.

Blue Crab

Well so much has happened since my last post. On Friday I received a call to be in the Stockley Gardens Art Show. I had applied and was put on the waiting list. I was already in show mode so I was ready to go. It was a great show and I sold 4 paintings. Including Blue Crab, Koi 3, Multicolored Magnolia 2 and Trees on the River. I cannot believe that I sold the Koi painting so quickly. Two of the paintings that I sold were going to show at Pembroke 4 Gallery starting July 23rd. Of course I knew they might sell if I put them in a show.

After the show this weekend I need to get back into painting mode. I really cannot wait to start my days painting again. I really miss that. It is meditative. Recently I've been so busy with Art Shows that painting time is scarce. It will be a nice place to go back to for a while.

Next year I'm planning on picking and choosing my Art Shows a little more carefully. I want to do less shows and be able to keep on painting. Now I only have to listen to myself.

Oak Tree

I painted this Oak Tree with the memory of my mother in the back of my mind. And I wished her a Happy Mother's Day from my booth at the Gosport Art Festival. This year Mother's Day was sad again but not as bad as last year. I still miss her and when certian things come up I say to myself, I need to remember to tell my mom. Then I realize that just thinking it sends the mesage to her as she watches over me. She is the Oak Tree that we have come from and her roots help keep us strong while her branches allow us to dance in the wind.

Sweetlips

Here are my Sweetlips. Aren't they sweet as they swim in the Indian Ocean? They appear so free and happy as the move along the coral reefs.

After painting three Koi paintings, I decided to try a different fish in watercolors and fluid acrylics.

I am very pleased with the overall look of the painting. I added the texture to the background and I really like it but it brings the value too close to the value of the fish. Otherwise I love the colors of the painting. They are so bright and clear as they depict the fish.

I just want to remind everyone that this Saturday I will be in the East Beach Art Show. It is from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and it is on 27th Street off Pretty Lake, East Beach, Norfolk. Then on Sunday I'm doing a watercolor demo at Artistic Creations Gallery in Pembroke Mall, Virignia Beach form 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Monday I am starting a watercolor class at Artistic Creations Gallery from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Please contact me if you have any questions. My email address is katsart01@gmail.com.

Koi III

I recently finished my latest Koi painting. Unfortunately the background is a little darker in the painting than in the photo. Whenever I paint the same subject over again, I am prone to compare the two paintings. And as usual there are things I like better about the first two and things I like better about this one.

In my previous Koi paintings the colors were more coordinated and I feel as if the fish and the water were more connected. In the water I had poured yellows and reds and they brought out those colors in the Koi. In this painting I think the fish themselves are more three dimensional . I also have slowly improved with the use of the fluid acrylics. Yes I will paint Koi again and this time I want to vary the shapes of the fish a little bit. They are certainly fun to paint.

Right now I'm busy going back to teaching and that means I'm getting into my teaching mentality. I keep striving for the perfect classes and yet I always end up finding somewhat better ways of presenting the same materials. I want to entice my students to come out of their selves and allow their paintings to soar. It is a very moving, changing and growing process.