Summer Lovin'

This is my latest painting. I took the photo a couple years ago when Bob and I were on the Outer Banks for a wonderful little retreat. He blew the photo up and framed it for a Christmas present that year and it has been up in our home ever since.

Recently I was having a hard time trying to decide what to paint next. I wanted to use it to send in with my application for the Virginia Watercolor Art Show and I wanted it to be special. That's what made it so difficult to decide what to paint. There are certainly many paintings on my list of things to do but I wanted it to be a little different. So I took photos and put together some still lives and thought up some unusual topics but nothing really motivated me. I was starting taking up too much time and was not any closer to making a decision.

I had always wanted to paint this photo and when I first thought about doing it at this time I was a little hesitant. I was afraid to go out on a limb. Or to step out of the safe little box that I keep myself in where I feel oh so much more comfortable. When I realized this I had to paint this painting. I did not know how it would work out but it needed to be done. So I finally decided what I was painting.

When I first started painting I kept thinking of that day and the time we spent together. I enjoyed the little trip down memory lane and then I moved into feeling so familiar with the subject matter. I visually knew the subject that I was painting and grew to know it better. It was like when I'm painting a portrait and I begin to feel so intimate with the subject. I get to know the person so deeply from seeing so many details in their features and emotions in their demeanor.

This was a wonderful learning experience. I think that being willing to step outside the box motivated me to paint a different subject matter and to enjoy it so much that I hardly worried about the techniques used to produce the finished product. I think that learning your techniques are of great importance but being willing to paint on another level and using your technical skills but not focusing on them brings you closer to experiencing your expressive process. And isn't that why we paint to express ourselves.

Now the only problem I'm having is to decide what to paint next!

Merry Christmas

Here's a picture from my Saturday's class's Christmas Party. It was a great deal of fun and I want to thank Patti, Cherrie, Laurie, Cherie and Joyce for making it a special day. We had wonderful food, great gifts and most of all good company. And we even got some painting done!

I want to take this time to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and Holiday season. It is a wonderful time of the year to be with family and friends and to share those special moments. It is a time to reflect on those good things we have in our lives and to feel blessed. This year I am relaxing and taking things slower than usual and I've still gotten everything done (well almost everything.)

So this evening when your going to bed listen carefully and you will hear "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

Poinsettia III

Here's my 2011 Poinsettia. It is so very red. I don't think the photo does it justice. I can't tell you how much fun it was to paint. I love all the bright colors and I love exaggerating them.

I'm currently working on a new painting and I cannot wait to finish it and share it with you. It is such a wonderful learning experience and I really feel I'm taking a step forward as an artist. Of course I need to be careful what I say as the next thing will probably be a step backward. Afterall what is that saying?

Happy Holidays from the Poinsettia and me!

Kay Kat

Here is my Kitty Kat painting. The title is a little too cutesy but I think the cat is kind of cutesy! (I may decide to change the title though.)

I started painting the cat when I started painting Murphy. I got carried away painting my Jack Russell and put the cat to the side. I finally got back to it and finished it.

What I loved about this painting is the majority is painted in winsor yellow and winsor violet. I just love mixing my complements to get neutral colors. I think the complements are filled with color as opposed to just mixing browns and greys.

I need to get myself organized. When I was younger I was such an organized person. (I was actually a little OCD. ) Now I'm a little all over the place. I feel if I could get myself a little more organized then I could accomplish more with my time. So today I will take the step of making lists of things that I need to do. I will concentrate on the things that I need to complete by the end of the month and then the things that I need to focus on in the New Year. Wish me luck!

I've renamed the painting Kay Kat. I think thats a little less corny!

Koi Jigsaw Puzzle

Well I have been sick in bed with a bad cold and yestarday I found this website to make jigsaw puzzles from your paintings or photos. It is so much fun. The website is www.jigidi.com and I'm in there as kathystaicer. You can go directly to my Koi by www.jigidi.com/solve.php?id=CRT3HGYU.

Happy Thaksgiving

I just want to take a few moments today to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that you have a wonderful, joyous day with your family and friends. I'm going to share the day with my in-laws and so I do not have to cook a big meal. (I am bringing the macaroni and cheese and a spinach casserole.) But on Sunday I'm cooking a turkey so that we will have left-overs!

I will be back soon with a new art post.

CBAA Pre-Holiday Art Show

Here's a picture of me at the Art Show this weekend. It was very slow but I sold seven of my new ornaments. So I think they are going to be a hit. I think the Art Show would have done alot better if it was closer to Christmas. I must say that it was alot of fun being with my artist friends. We joked and fooled around and some of use even danced. You have to find a way to get the most out of everything!

CBAA Pre-Holiday Art Show

The holidays have snuck up on us again and they will be here in no time at all. I have started working on my Christmas ornaments. These are new this year. They have seashells handpainted on them and little seashells in side of them. After all I live in Virginia Beach. They were so much fun to create and I think they are cute!

The Chesapeake Bay Artists Association is having it's first Pre-Holiday Art Show at Pembroke Mall this weekend. It will be Saturday November 12th from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm and Sunday November 13th from noon to 6:00 pm. The concept of the show is for the Artists to offer affordable art for gift giving. We will have girl scouts providing gift wrapping for all purchases and they will be happy for any donations that you are able to give. If you are in the neighborhood please stop by and see what we have been doing. I will be in booth #6 close to Bath and Body Works. I hope to see you there!

Untitled

Here are my four peppers that I painted a while ago. This was when I was enjoying going back to basics and painting simple fruits and vegetables. I really enjoyed painting the peppers. While I was painting them I could smell their aroma. It felt as if I could actually smell the peppers on my paper.

I enjoy my senses (at least most of the time). I use them to gather information from the world around me and they become part of my artistic process. Then I try and express the sensations that I have experienced and I try and depict them through painting.

I'm going to frame the four of them together but I haven't come up with a name for them yet. Any ideas?

A Gala Basket

I know it's been two weeks since my last post and I must apologize. But I have been busy teaching and working on my Gala Basket. (I'm also working on another painting too.) I guess I'm still a little obsessed with my fruits and vegetables, as well as going through a still life phase!

I really enjoyed this painting except for the fact that one of the apples gave me a hard time. The problems of mixing green and red. But I think I finally won the battle. I had so much fun building the rich reds and well as mixing the colors to capture the basket itself. What colors do you think that I used? Well I mixed green with red. Oh the joy of mixing green and red. And of course I loved painting my green and red cloth.

I have started a new blog: Katsart Studio. You can click on it at the top of my Katsart blog. In this blog I'm going to focus on the steps that I take for completing a painting. I am going to be discussing A Gala Basket in it soon. Check it out and let me know what you think of it.