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.

The Queen

My latest portrait The Queen.  This is the second time that I have painted her.  I really feel that I have come a long way in my choice of colors for the skin tones.  Using transparent colors really allows you to see through the different colors in the skin.  When you look at someones skin you can almost see through it. 

I have recently taken a little break from painting portraits and I have been painting some less intense paintings.  I will show you some of them soon.  It has been alot of fun just painting for the fun of it!  But I need to start putting some energy into one or two large paintings for the upcoming shows.  I hope return soon. 

Whitney Houston

I painted Whitney Houston because she was a very beautiful and talented woman. I know she will be missed by her family and friends as well as her fans.

I went through two different phases in this painting. The first phase was when I was painting her face. I really feel that I "got to know her" in a way that I certainly never have before. I really enjoyed the process of capturing her spirit. I am very satisfied with the results especially her eyes and the tilts at the sides of her mouth.

Then I went into phase two, her hair. It absoulutely drove me crazy! The curls and the highlights really challenged me to the max. I'm not totally satisfied with the results but I think it came to a natural state of being. I am glad of that as I don't think I could put another drop of paint on her hair.

I'm almost done with another portrait and will be posting it soon.

Untitiled

This is a little landscape that I painted as a demo in one of my classes. I started with the sky and that was not fun at all. But I persevered and the rest of the painting came easily.

I don't usually paint landscapes that much any more. I usually prefer painting something close up. Landscapes are often breathtaking in reality. And I feel that it is very difficult to capture the same feeling in a painting. Maybe I should try doing a very large one someday.

I usually like to zero in and capture the nuances of my subject and present it to the world as looking through my eyes.

Recently I read Mary Whytes book "An Artist's Way of Seeing". It is out of print and I couldn't afford to but it for close to $300.00 and I couldn't find it in my local library. So I purchased it on my Kindle for $8.00. At first I was disappointed because with art books I enjoy seeing the colored pictures of the artist's work. But unlike most of my art books I actually read it from beginning to end. In the book she says that learning technique is important but it is not what makes you an artist. It is expressing your feelings and communicating them to the viewer that makes a painting a work of art. I feel that I have worked very hard on getting my technique down pat and that the longer that I paint the more I feel what she is talking about. I see a subject that I want to paint in a way that is more than it is an interesing to look at subject. It kind of tugs at my heart strings in a way that I become almost obsessed with painting the subject. I depend on my technique that I have accumulated to depict my subject but it is flowing from inside of me. Sometimes it even feels like it is painting itself.

A Country Boy

Here's my latest portrait. A Country Boy. He was so much fun to paint. I just loved his smiling face and eyes and painting his hat and clothes. I also enjoyed his character.

He is so different than most of the people I normally interact with but I think that I visited his world while paiting him.

I am really enjoying painting portraits. They are taking me about two weeks to complete which is a bit faster than they used to take me and I can see that they are getting better. What do I tell my students all the time? Practice practice practice!

I really must apologize that it's been so long since my last post. I really have been busy and it will continue right through to the summer. I just keep thinking that if I got myself organized that I would have more time but somehow it's not working that way for me these days!

Allisha

Here's my latest portrait. I really loved painting her. For the first time I started to play with the colors for the skin tones on my own. (As opposed to the way a specific teacher has taught me.) I began experimenting with the quinacridone colors but I didn't stick with them. In the early stages of the painting I added the brown tones on the neck and I didn't like the look of them. Then I mixed quinacridone magenta with burnt sienna for her lips and I found it made a great mix for the darker shades of the face.
It was a great learning experience as far as finding colors that work and colors that don't. I do not have a formula for mixing skin tones yet but hopefully some day I will.

I am so glad that I started the portrait painting group. It really gives me a time that I can concentrate on painting portraits. I'm always working on paintings for art shows as well as projects for the five classes that I am currently teaching that it's hard to find the time to paint portraits. I think now that I have the group I will focus on painting them more often. I've recently started a portrait that the subject is a little different for me. I sure hope it comes out good.

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!

Portrait Painting Group

I want to let everyone know that I have started a portrait painting group on Mondays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Art Studio which is close to Bayside Hospital. The group will meet weekly to get together and work on painting portraits with the support and encouragement of the others. So far everyone is working in watercolors but all media is accepted. (If you paint in oils make sure your supplies are odorless.) The cost is minimal; $30.00 divided by the number of people that show up. This covers the rent of the studio. If anyone is interested please contact me at katsart01@yahoo.com or 757 650-5765.

Bromeliad

Here's my Bromeliad. It was fun painting in the beginning. I really enjoyed the three dimensionality of the painting. But then there were so many petals. (I'm not even sure if they are called petals.) They all need to be differentiated from each other and have some light and shadows and whew they we alot of work.

I painted this for the Norfolk Collegiate Art Show later this month.

My paintings are going to be in three indoor Art Shows this month. The first is with the Chesapeake Bay Watercolorists and it runs from Tuesday January 11th with an opening from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm at Runnymead at the Towne Bank building in Virginia Beach at the end of the interstate. The show runs there until March 23rd and can be seen from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. The next show is Artist's Alley at the Virginia Beach Coliseum's Home and Garden Show from January 20th to January 22nd. The Arist's Alley exhibit is in the lobby and is free to view. Then the Norfolk Collegiate School's Off the Wall Art Show is from January 27th to February 1st at the lower school with an opening on January 27th from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The show can also be viewed on January 28th from 10:00 am, January 29th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and January 30th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Now I understand why I have been so busy painting!

Happy New Year!!!

I just want to take this time to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope that all of my family and friends have a great year and get what you desire the most.

I usually make resolutions but I hardly ever keep them. I can certainly think of some for this year. I just don't know whether its a good thing to make them as it gives you the chance to think about improvements that you want to make in your life. Or is it basically a waste of time because we hardly ever keep them.

I know I will continue painting. It is so ingrained in my life and it's what I live and breathe for. (It's not everything but almost!) I hope I continue to grow as an artist and keep finding new ways to connect with my students to share my love of creating though watercolors.

I want to take this time to thank everyone that reads my blog and supports me in my artistic pursuits. Your comments to me on my blog or by email or in person are so positive and they really help me on my artistic journey. (I also enjoy some constructive criticism once in a while!) Thank you to everyone who participates in my journey right alongside of me.