Green Dahlia

Green Dahlia is hanging in the Chesapeake Bay Watercolorists Show at the Wells Fargo Advisers in the Dominion Towers building down by Waterside in Norfolk.  It will be there until December 13 and can be viewed by appointment by calling 757 622-8261.  It won an honorable mention in the show.

This flower was part of a Mother's Day bouquet that I received from my daughter Kim.  The color was so unusual it inspired me to paint it.

As I started the painting I gave myself some challenges to work on.  First of all  I wanted to have both soft edges and hard edges.  I think that I could have had more soft edges as the hard edges prevail.  I also wanted to work my values.  I usually have different values in my paintings but they blend together and do not have great contrast.  In this painting I definitely have the contrast and I really enjoyed making the lights pop out by being next to the darks.

Setting up challenges is a good way to move your painting skills to the next level.  Meeting the challenges is very satisfying.  But you need to remember that this is still working your technique and that is only the tool that you use to to express your inspiration.

My New Studio

This is a photo of my new studio at the Artists Gallery.  I have room for paintings and notecards on the wall, art supplies on the shelves, prints in a rack, and plenty of room to paint.  I really enjoy my time there and have actually gotten some painting done.  It is a great environment to be inspired by the art and the artists themselves.  I feel I'm on the verge of a new growth period on my art journey.

The Artists Gallery is a coop of local artists.  It has monthly shows and other events in the community.  Check it out at 608 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach.  It is closed on Mondays, open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sunday from noon to 4:00 pm.  The website is www.theartistsgallery.com. Have fun exploring all the different art media and artist's styles.

Textured Watercolors

This is a painting I did a while ago using all sorts of ways of adding textures to the seashells.  I used watercolor, watercolor pencils, gesso, pen and ink, calligraphy pens and pastels.

I am teaching a class in Watercolor Textures on Sunday, September 14 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm at the Artists Gallery where we will be painting seashells.

The cost is $45.00 and you need to contact the Artists Gallery at 757 425-6671 to register.

The Artists Gallery

On Friday I received a call from the Artists Gallery letting me know that one of the studio artists is leaving and would I be interested in her space.  I went down to the gallery and looked at the studio and decided to take it.  It is a shared studio but there is plenty of room.  I will be able to hang my paintings in the studio and I will have a space to paint.

I am thrilled that this is happening.  It is a great opportunity and I intend to make the best of it.  I'm mentally preparing for the move, planning of setting up the space and making lists of what I need to bring in.  I want to make it a special place for me to paint, and think, and dream, and be inspired by the other artists surrounding me and even find time to work on my lap top.

Fall Watercolor Classes

The fall is approaching and so are my Watercolor Classes. Come and paint with me!!!
Here's my schedule:

The Art Studio Virginia Beach
Thursdays and Saturdays 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Intermediate Watercolors
(Thursdays an Saturdays at 9:00 am I will be happy to take in any Beginning students.  I will give an hour class with assignments and you are welcome to stay and work on your assignments.)
Cost:  $110.00 for eight classes, $70.00 for four classes or $25.00 for a drop in.
Contact me at katsart01@yahoo.com or 757 650-5765 for more information or registration.

The Artists Gallery Virginia Beach
Watercolor Texture classes:  We will explore doing different textures with watercolor techniques, tricks and other media.  I will provide all the texture tools so you only have to bring your watercolor supplies.
September 14 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm Textured Seashells in the sand
October 19 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm Textures Rocks on the Ground
November 16 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm Textured Colorful Autumn Leaves
These classes cost $45.00 and registration goes through the Artists Gallery at 425-6671

My primary goal as a teacher is to help you to relax and enjoy the painting process.  I teach the basics and then I encourage my students to develop their own style.  In my classes I do demos and give technical and artistic information , I assist my students individually as needed and then we have a constructive critique.  I teach my students the rules then I encourage them to break them!

Upside Down

I started painting this beautiful Dahlia in the May workshop with Suzanna Winton.  She offered this painting on her first day of teaching.  I really felt like I came home.  For the past year or two I've been struggling with my style.  I have taken workshops and tryed to learn ways to "loosen up" with no success.  When I attempt to paint loosely I just get a mess.  My natural inclination is to paint realistically.  I am not a hyperrealistic painter and I love painting more abstract backgrounds but I'm more of a contemporary realist.  I do not know why I'm like this but I am coming to accept that is the way I am.  Now I feel like I can concentrate on my style and try and develop it more fully.

I have recently joined the Artists Gallery at 608 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach, VA.  The gallery is a coop and it represents local artists.  Currently there are two shows running.  The first show is themed Surf and Sand and it's at the Artists Gallery which is open for viewing Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sunday from noon to 4:00 pm until Sunday 9/7/14.  The second one is at the Pavilion Gallery and the Towne Bank Building at 600 22nd St., Virginia Beach.  It runs until September 25th and is open for visitors from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Mondays through Fridays.   If your in the area please check it out.  The gallery's website is theartistsgallery.org.

My blog can now be viewed at my website at katsartstudio.com.

New Website

I am happy to say that I have created a new website. It took longer than I thought it would and it had it's share of frustrations. But it is done and I am pleased with it! I will be able to keep it up on my own and make changes as I need to which gives me a great deal more freedom than my previous website did. Now I can return to being an artist as I have been masquerading as a computer geek! Check it out at http://katsartstudio.com or you can find it by Kathy Staicer Fine Art or katsartstudio. Let me know what you think.

Summer Lovin' and Summer Changes

My Summer Lovin' painting is in the Beaches, Beacons and Boats Show at The Artists Gallery on 608 Norfolk Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. The show runs until July 6th and is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sundays from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. If you're in the area stop by and see the show. It has some great paintings in it. I have just joined the Artists Gallery and will be hanging my art there on Friday. I am working on a new website and it is taking me more time than I had anticipated. It is coming out well and I can't wait for it to be ready to post. I will also be doing a newsletter from the website and sending it out monthly. I have been studying pastel painting with Nancy Mansfield at MOCA and going out Sunday mornings and plein air painting. I am also working on an oil portrait of my sister-in-law that we lost last year. I am certainly keeping busy and enjoying my art work. I will let you know when my website is ready to view. Have a wonderful summer. I plan on it!

Suzanna Winton's Workshop

This is Suzanna Winton demonstrating painting a portrait of a cute little girl.  I brought her to town to do a four day workshop with the assistance of three other painters.  It was my first experience running a workshop and I must say that it went well.  I must thank my three partners Denise, Jackie and Julie as well a few helpers Mary, Joyce and Dory for putting forth the effort to make everything go smooth as it did.  I need to thank Suzanna as well for her part as a wonderful teacher with a very easy going way.

Each day we worked on a different painting. Suzanna presented the panting demos and inspired us to paint our hearts out.  It was so much fun as well as very informative.  I gathered so much information and it's still in my head ready to be sorted out and utilized.

I really enjoyed the workshop.  I had been a little nervous about how it would go but all the pieces just came together on their own.



I am basically a realistic painter.  I've had success in painting abstract backgrounds and really enjoy creating them.  I have also taken workshops with artists and tryed to "loosen up" but I've only had limited sucesses.
Usually when I try and paint loosely I come out with a painting that looks "sloppy".

 2013 was a very bad year for my family and it took an emotional toll on me. I have been still processing the grief of the losses.  I have been struggling with my painting and I feel like it hasn't been able to develop the way it should.  I keep trying to do new things, try new styles, painting different things and they have all left me frustrated.  But in Suzanna's workshop I felt that I came alive a little bit and felt the muse inside me inspiring me to paint.  I need to learn how to paint the way I'm inclined to paint and not the way I think I should paint.  I need to loosen up mentally rather than dwelling on painting more loosely.  Then I can find the freedom to express myself more fully.

I feel that I have been taking tiny steps on my journey and that I'm on the verge of taking great strides that will hopefully get me closer to my goals.  And then I will have new goals that I will continue to strive to reach!

Serenade

I recently went to a four day workshop with Sterling Edwards.  He is not only a terrific artist but he is a wonderful person and teacher.  He has a very specific style and he paints much quicker than I do.  When I try and paint quickly I end up with a mess.  But on day three we worked on abstract painting and voila I got a painting.
In a way when you are a realistic painter like I am and you do an abstract painting it frees you up.  You do not feel the need to depict what your painting in a way that is not only exciting but that duplicates the look of the object itself.  You just need to think about shapes and lines and colors and values and textures and put them in an interesting composition. It is fun to do it and you do not have the anxiety of getting it to look like what you think it should look like.  You can just let it develop on its own and if you do not like it then you can just turn the paper to the other side.  Now if I was an abstract painter I probably would not feel the same freedom because I would expect something from myself.  But what if one day we could all just let go of our expectations and just paint.  It would be a wonderful day!

Lemon Apothecary

I recently painted Lemon Apothecary.  I used a limited palette of mostly cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, aureolin yellow, new gamboge and scarlet lake.  It is a mixed media because I used a little acrylic ink and soft pastels.  I really enjoyed working on it and it was great watching the lemons appear and the fabric fold.

It is currently hanging at the Chesapeake Bay Watercolorists' show at The Wells Fargo Advisors in the Dominion Tower in Norfolk.  It is a great show and if you want to see it you can call 757 622-8261 to make an appointment

CBW Winter Show

You are invited to the Chesapeake Bay Watercolorists Winter Art Show's Opening Reception on Saturday February 8th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  I've heard that it is a beautiful show and I will be there along with  five of my paintings.  Hope to see you there.

Artist's Alley

If you are planning on going to the Virginia Beach Conference Center this weekend to see the Flower and Garden show make sure you see the Artist's Alley exhibit.  It consists of paintings, prints and note cards with the theme of landscapes, gardens and flowers.  These are the paintings that I have in the show this year. The Succulents are framed as a triptych.  It will be nice to visit the gardens inside the Conference Center while the snow is still out side!

Kristin

Here is my daughter Kristin's portrait that I recently painted. It was different from painting my daughter Kim's portrait and certainly just as challenging. Even though their features are so similar; their coloring is very different.

I have been working on portraits on and off for a couple years now.  I can certainly see improvement in my work but I don't feel like I'm there yet.  (Of course I don't think you are ever where you want to be as your expectations continue to grow.)  Recently I've been struggling with making the portrait look like the person.  This may have to do with painting people that I know.  Like my daughters.

Amy Snowden had talked about painting the shapes of the nose and other parts of the face.  Then a nose or whatever you are painting starts to look like what it is.  This is very helpful advise.  I have really worked on copying the shapes of my faces and they do begin to appear.

But then there is the gestalt of the face, the expressive feeling of the person that you are looking at.  It seems to be more than a summation of shapes.  It seems to come from within the person and gives the face life. This is something that I see when looking at someone or a photo but I do not know how to capture.

There are many moments when painting that I am just performing techniques.  Some of them have gotten easier and some of them are more of a struggle.  Then there are those times that I go into the zone and the painting starts painting itself.  I think this is where I will find the way to expressing the feeling of a person or maybe it's the feeling I have about the person.

My First Oil Portrait

I want to say Happy 2014 to all my readers.  2013 was not a very good year and we are hoping for a better year.  I hope that everyone's holiday season was joyful and that we can carry the good feelings into the new year.

I'm not really making any resolutions but there are things that I hope to accomplish in 2014.  I am planning on making some changes with my blog and I'll explain them as they develop.  I am also going to redo my website which is very out of date.  I'm planning on continuing my painting and hope to continue to develop my skills.  I also hope to be able to use my techniques to support my ability to become more expressive in my paintings.  I'm hoping to expand my teaching skills and I have some ideas of directions I can go in.  This is a wonderful journey I am on and I hope it continues a long time.

This is my first oil portrait.  I started it at the workshop with Suzanna Winton.  I had tried an oil portrait many years ago and could not get the skin tones.  Comparing this portrait to the one Suzanna had started her colors are much warmer than mine.  I painted mostly from the photo.  Painting this portrait was so much fun and very frustrating.  I loved the feeling of the oils on the canvas.  I liked that it allowed me to lay down paint and if I did not like the results I could just paint over it.  (Like I did a million times with her eyes!)   But it took so much longer to paint than I'm used to.  I'm sure if I do more oil portrait it will get quicker.  I really like way the hair and the dress turned out.  I am overall pleased with the results being it is only my first but I certainly can see areas that need improvement!