Seawall, Hurricane Irene and Art Studio

I spent a couple days this week waiting to see what they were going to do about the Seawall Art Festival due to the impending hurricane. They cancelled it yesterday not to anyone's surprise. We will probably get hit but hopefully not too hard. I certainly have mixed feelings about the cancellation. I'm disappointed as it is usually a good show. But I certainly did not want to be out in pouring rain and strong winds.

So instead of preparing prints, cutting mats and framing paintings I started cleaning out my old art studio. Two years ago my grandson came to live in the room and now that he has moved out I get it back. I had been temporarily painting in my dining room but certainly missed my studio. The room is not done yet but I have completed a work area right in front of my window. It was such a pleasant place to paint and dream a little too.

I guess it's time to do all my hurricane preparations and batten down the hatches so to speak. I want to wish everyone in the path of Irene good luck and hope that the damage is minimal.

An Apple A Day

I have been obsessed with painting fruits and vegetables lately. When I first started painting I painted many fruits and vegetables and it's like going back to basics. Besides being alot of fun to paint, I'm refining my skills in a simple painting. I'm painting light and shadows to define the shape of the image and to achieve three dimensionality and I'm painting wet on wet to mix my colors and achieve different values.

I framed the three apples together and I'm very pleased with the results. I hope you like them too. My simple little apples!

Lemonade?

Here's my recent painting of a pitcher of lemonade. It sure looks refreshing! The painting is a touch brighter than the picture on the post. I have been spending alot of my time painting still lives lately. I don't really know why but I feel that if I'm motivated to paint something then I need to put forth the effort to pursue it. When I first studied watercolors I used to set up still lives and paint them. I need to pull some of them out and compare them for the fun of it!

This weekend, Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm I'm in Artisans in the Park at Great Neck Park. It is a lovely park with paths through the trees providing shade. It is a large arts and crafts show with music, food and activities for children. If your in the neighborhood check it out. It's a nice way to spend a Saturday or Sunday.

After Artisans in the Park this weekend I'm going to paint another Koi painting. It will be the fifth in a series. All previous four paintings have sold!

Then in the fall I will be teaching many classes and I will reorganize all my teaching supplies and class outlines. Then in my spare time I will start working on developing my portraits again.

Not that I have any specific plans. But if I'm motivated to paint something then I will paint it!

Artistic Creations Gallery and Classroom

Here's my wall at the Artistic Creations Gallery. (I must apologize about the glare.) They recently moved to a new and larger location in Pembroke Mall and it really looks good. It features local artists work including not only paintings but sculpture, glassware, jewelry, pottery and ceramics. If you are in the neighborhood stop by and check it out. It is in the hallway heading to the food court. I think you'll really enjoy it.

There is a classroom in the back that offers classes in watercolors, oils, pottery and ceramics as well as classes for children. (I teach watercolors on Thursday and Saturday mornings.)

Watercolor Sketches

Last week I went to the Japanese Garden at the Botanical Gardens with a couple of my painting buddies. It was a wonderful morning. It is such a peaceful and serene place to sit and sketch. I did the lotus garden in watercolors and on a previous visit I did the pagoda in watercolor pencils. It is so much fun just doing sketches. If lifts any tension you might have doing a painting. And it fits right in with the location that we were at.

I have just started painting seriously again. I am working on another still life that is a little more challenging then previous paintings I have worked on. I feel that I am starting to go through another learning phase. And I am really enjoying it. It seems that for the last few years I have gone through this phase in the summers. To balance things out I have been painting fruit and finding it to be great fun. A little bit lighter and more pure pleasure. Just like sketching in a beautiful location.

I must admit that I have not been as consistent with my recent posts as I would like to have been. I want you to know that it's on my list of things to improve! In the mean time I hope that you all have a wonderful summer and relax with a nice glass of lemonade!

Gladiola

The Fairfield Art Show was alot of fun. The student tents looked great. I was so proud of all my students. They presented their paintings in such a professional way and they really looked wonderful. Then on top of that Cherrie won 2nd place and Linda won honorable mention. They both really deserved it. They have worked very hard and their painting has come such a long way. And they were complimented by the Judge, Kay Hofler.

I sold my Gladiola to of all people my father-in-law, who celebrated his 90th birthday July 5th. When he said he wanted to buy a painting I told him that I didn't invite him to the show to make a purchase. He told me not to tell him how to spend his money. This was a good purchase because now I can see my painting whenever I'm at his house!

Tomorrow evening from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm is the Opening at the East Beach Gallery for the show 8 Women. If your in the neighborhood come on down and see what we've been working on. There will be food and wine and art. Who could ask for more!

Fairfield Art Show

Tomorrow, Saturday July 2nd is the Fairfield Art Show. It is in conjunction with Jerry's Artarama, Farfield Shopping Center and the Creative Artists of Tidewater.
There will be free lunch, a band, children's activities and the art show. We will have painters, sculptors, crafts people, jewelers and two student art tents with some great drawings and paintings!
We have made Vetshouse our charity this year. They are very successful in providing a program that assists homeless vets in our area to rebuild their lives. They will have a tent and will be providing information as well as taking donations of non-perishable food items.
So if you're in the neighborhood come and start your 4th of July at Fairfield Shopping Center on the corner of Kempsville Rd. and Providence Rd.
It ought to be alot of fun!

Caliente

I have spent alot of time working on paintings for the workshops I'm going to be teaching this summer. But here is a painting that I did just for the fun of it. And it was a great deal of fun. I must thank my friend Patti for helping me name it.

I have wanted to paint peppers for a long time and have never got around to it. At first I was going to just paint them in the ceramic bowl but then I remembered a Christmas dish towel I had. So I dug it out and simplified it and added it to the painting. I love the colors in the painting they were so much fun to work with and they certainly can spice up a painting.

Now that I am getting back into painting I hope to be posting more often!

Magnolia Workshop

I am teaching a Magnolia Workshop on Saturday June 18th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Artistic Creations Gallery and Classroom.

The first picture shows some of the first steps to painting a magnolia. The first thing I did after drawing the outline was to lay a very light cobalt blue wash over my paper. Then after it dried I layed a light aureolin yellow wash over the background. I call these initial washes underlying washes. I often start a painting withe them. I feel as if they tie the painting together right from the beginning. Then I started painting the petals with very light mixes of cobalt blue, opera rose and aureolin yellow. I then layed thin washes of quinacridone gold and opera rose in the center of the flower.

In the second picture I painted the branches wet on wet. I first layed down quinacridone gold and dropped in a mixture of burnt sienna and cobalt blue on the sides of the branches. I then mixed up my greens using: aureolin yellow, antwerp blue, hookers green, and a little bit of cadmium red. When I mix my colors on my pallette I do not mix them evenly. Instead I leave certain colors in certain spaces and only mix them a little with the other color or colors next to it. I then paint the leaves with this mixture of greens. I finally paint over the center of the flower with a little darker quinacridone gold and underneath that I stipple in some alizron crimson with a litle bit of cobalt blue on the outrsides of it. I then wet the deep part if the petals and allow the crimson color to bleed out.

I paint over the leaves with a thin layer of quinacridone gold. Then on to the most fun part of the whole painting (at least in my opinion.) The background. I first lay in a wash of sap green and quinacridone gold. Then I let it totally dry. I them mix up some hookers green with winsor violet. I then section by section paint the background and lift with a thirsty brush some of the paint to create some texture.

I finish the painting with permanent white guoache mixed with some quinacridone gold in the center of the flower. I then add a little alizron crimson to the little stamens on the petals.

There are still a few spots left for the workshop on Saturday. If you are interested please email me at katsart01@yahoo.com.


Also on Friday evening at Artistic Creations Gallery and Classroom there will be an Grand Opening from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. If you have the chance stop by and meet the artists and view their work.

Teaching

Here's some pictures of me teaching that one of my students took yesterday. I teach watercolors on Thursday and Saturday mornings from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at Artistic Creations Art Gallery and Classroom. They just moved to a new location in Pembroke Mall in the hall going to the food court. They are having their Grand Re-Opening on Friday 6/17th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. If your in the neighborhood stop on by and see the new space and all the wonderful art. I have a wall with my paintings there too and I demonstrate painting on Fridays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

I have been spending a good deal of time planning my summer classes and workshops. The first workshop that I am teaching is next Saturday June 18th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Artistic Creations Classroom. I'm teaching painting a Magnolia in watercolor. I will demonstrate it step by step and take my students from the beginning to the end of the painting process. I will also introduce some of my "ways" of painting and explain why I do things the way I do them. I have painted so many Magnolias in the last couple weeks that I feel like I could paint them in my sleep. (I'm sure that I'm exaggerating just a little bit.) On Wednesday I will post some pictures of the Magnolia as well as some of the steps to painting it. If you are interested in taking the workshop there are still some spots open. Just contact me at katsart01@yahoo.com or 757 650-5765.

I want to give special thanks to Cherrie for bringing in the camera so that you could see me in action and to Laurie and Joyce for allowing their photos to be taken.