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.

White Lily

Here is my completed White Lily. I touched up the colors a little bit and I added some white gouache to the petals. I have enjoyed sharing painting this picture in stages and sharing it with you. It will make it's debut at the Stockley Gardens Art Festival this weekend. It is in Ghent, Norfolk close to the Children's Hospital. The festival runs on Saturday October 16th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Sunday from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. The weather should be good and it is a really nice show. So hopefully I will see you there.

I have finished my large painting and it will also be in the show. I am overall pleased with the results. I will post it next week.

White Lily WIP 3

Here is the next phase of my White Lily. I painted the leaves and decided the background needed to be darker. I had thought about adding some mid ground but decided the Lily can stand on it's own. I photoed the painting indoors so the colors are not as bright as they would be in the sunshine. But alas there is very little sunshine out right now. I do think the colors are blending together better than before. I just need to work on the details and clean it up a little and then it will be done.

I'm spending a great deal of my time working on my large painting for Stockley Gardens. Some days I like the way it is going and other days I am a little frustrated. When I start a painting, I have a vision of what I want it to look like. Sometimes the painting comes out just that way. (Like the White Lily is coming.) Other times I just cannot capture my imagined version. The painting can find a vision of it's own that is very satisfying or it just does not work. I feel like I am on the fence with this painting and I'm just not sure what direction it is taking me!!!

I think that I'm getting a little tired of painting flowers. Just like I had become tired of painting fish. I just don't know what I'll work on next.

White Lily WIP 2

I worked on the White Lily last Sunday at the Artistic Creations classroom but then I forgot to photo the painting at that stage. So here is the next stage.

The leaves still need another layer or two. I think that the colors will work together a little better then. And I'm not sure about the background. I think I might need to make a mid-ground or maybe I just need to make it darker. Then I need to finish up the details and shadows as well as cleaning it up. I'm pretty happy with the Lily itself except it looks like it's floating a little bit. And it is looking almost white isn't it?

I have to get working on it some more as well a working on my large painting for Stockley Gardens.

I'm putting in my first full week of teaching and I'm really feeling exhausted. But I will get back in the groove once I get used to the schedule. (This also means going to sleep earlier to get up in the am!)

White Lily WIP

This is the first stage of painting a white lily that we are working on in my Watercolor Class at the Classroom in the Art Space in Pembroke Mall. I am changing the day of the class to Saturday on October 2nd. It will be from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. I will have a class on every Saturday in October except for October 16th as I will be at the Stockley Garden Art Show that weekend.

Tomorrow Sunday September 26th, I will be at the monthly Open House for the Art Space and I will be demonstrating the White Lily as well as a large painting that I'm working on for Stockley Gardens.

I have just moved many of my paintings into Artistic Creations also at the Art Space at Pembroke Mall. I will be painting there Saturday afternoons after the art class.

The white lily is a study in painting white. I have begun by putting in very "light" colors to shape the flower. Tomorrow I will put in some slightly darker colors into the flower and start working on the stem, bud, leaves as well as the stamens. Then, in the next class, I will put in the background in a significantly darker color mixture that will make the white flower pop. The final step will be to add a little bit of white gouache to capture some of the details.

I really want to work on painting it now and can hardly wait to paint it! But I need to wait until tomorrow or else I'll have to paint another!

Hope that I'll see some of you in the near future.

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.

Gallery

I've added a gallery to my blog as I'm sure some of you have found it. You can click on it right at the top of the right side of the page. I wanted to be able to put some of my newer paintings all together in a place where they can be seen. It is a work in progress, like so many things in my life. But I wanted to work out the other page format before I get back into my teaching mode. Check out the gallery and if you have any suggestions as what to add I'd love to hear them.

I hardly can wait to start my teaching as I have so many new ideas of ways to present materials. If you are interested in any of my classes they are listed on the right side of my blog. You can certainly make a comment or email me at katsart01@yahoo.com and I will be happy to answer your questions.

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.

Seawall Art Show

The Seawall Art Show was wonderful. So many talented artists displaying their work on the two sunny days. I had the benefit of a beautiful breeze coming off the Elizabeth River while totally enjoying the view.

My Yellow Roses made their debut and I sold them to a gentleman wearing an island shirt with yellow flowers on it. I guess he was the most appropriate person to make the purchase. I was happy/sad to see them go but I'm sure he will give them a good home. Now I feel compelled to paint them again!

I have three weeks off now before I need to start teaching again and I do not have any shows until October. I have so many things on my to do list (art stuff and non art stuff.) I know I won't get them all accomplished but it would be nice to put a dent in them. But most of all I want to paint paint paint. My eleven year old granddaughter had asked me if I was addicted to painting and I had to confess to her that I guessed I was.