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.

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!