I'm Settling In and Buckling Down...

   Many of my friends know that this past five months have been very emotionally taxing on my family. Our matriarch, my Mother, was diagnosed with cancer.
There are things that just come completely out of no where and hit you full-on on like a truck. This was one of those things... It was due to this that I let my painting take a back seat and I have not been as creative in the last several months.

Christmas 2015: Me, Mom and my brother photo-bombing.

    It's been very stressful on everyone in our family. The world was turned upside down for a while...but now things are getting back to a new normal.
It's been a huge time of adjustment, introspection and discovering what matters the most.
Since I'm a nurse by trade, I have been trying to be her advocate and have accompanied her to all doctors visits, tests, etc... My folks don't have the best understanding of body process's, general health and physiology so I have been trying to be the bridge. That has been quite stressful. The biggest stressor, for all of us, was just not having any control.
So, we all had to learn to accept what was going on and do what the good doctors planned. She has THE BEST doctor taking care of her! We are all so very pleased with Dr. Method!

Mom's recovery has not been 'uneventful', to say the least, HOWEVER I'm happy to admit that she is doing quite well in treatment and her health is improving!!!!
She has lost most of her hair and what's left is pure white so now she looks like a fuzzy little pinky mouse now! She is taking it in stride and has a great sense of humor about the whole thing! She is WINNING!!!!! We are all so, very, very proud of her and we love her so much!
I have been crocheting chemo caps for her. It's kind of been fun and a nice way to keep me occupied in the evenings. She really likes the ones I have made.
All the prayers and support of friends has been very helpful and she appreciates it more than anyone knows.

...MOOooving Along...

Since Mom's health has improved and she now knows what to expect with her treatment, I have resumed painting and being creative. Life has begun to get back to normal...thankfully! I feel like I can breathe again and it feels great!

So in the last few weeks I have started a couple fun paintings. 

I am painting a collection of whimsical, fun paintings to sell basically at fairly inexpensive prices. I am calling these paintings my 'IGBTP Series'. That's an acronym for 'I Got's Bills To Pay'. :)

Seriously....if I don't paint, I don't have money and if I don't earn money, I can't pay my bills and I got's bill's to pay! :)

   

 This is one little gem I just recently sold. It's one of my miniature paintings. This is 3"x3" oil on canvas wrapped board. It is HIGHLY detailed!

I purchased a stock open back frame. 

I constructed a wood liner and finished it in a complimentary creamy color.

The back mounting board was also cut and hand finished in a complimentary color and pattern. I painted an antique gold filigree pattern over the chocolate brown background. It matches the frame detail extremely well. I thought it added an overall nice bit of class and whimsy to the piece.

The antiqued bronze label holder also added a nice touch. The back was then painted antique gold and affixed with my authenticity certificate.

Here is another I just recently started I am calling this one 'MOooo'.  This one is so FUN!!!

I absolutely LOVE cows!!! This happy and curious gal was one I had photographed last summer on our local bike trail. I went up and visited her while I snapped a few pics. 

She is now being painted. Here is where I am at so far.

 Yesterday I started doing the detail glazing to amp up the color and overall tighten things up. I always work loose to tight and flat to bright.

I just love how this is coming together. After I am done writing up this blog installment, I might head down to the studio to paint for the day. ...but it depends on what time it is since I generally leave the studio by 2:00- 2:30pm. I try and leave when my neighbors come home.

 This is one I had started working on last fall 'Smartie Smartie'.  11"x14" acrylic/oil on canvas/wood panel. I started it sometime before Mom was diagnosed and I put it on hold for a while until she improved.
I finally finished it at the end of January 2015. This took a great deal of time to complete. It is quite dynamic and detailed.
This painting is NOT in my IGBTP series as it is waaaaay too detailed.
This painting will be a juried show/gallery painting. I have recently given it the first coat of intermediate varnish and I must say, it just POPPED with intensity and color! I am very, VERY proud of this one!!!







Now this little painting is one I started a couple weeks ago. I drew this on the same day I sketched up MOoooo.  Went to meet my friend Cindy over at the Painters Guild and I didn't have anything to paint so I decided just to start drawing up a few new ones. So that's what I did the day I was at the Guild. I used a grid method. Nothing is square or exact and it honestly doesn't have to be because it's a painting. :)

This is fairly small but not micro small like the 'Tea for One' painting.
This is 'The Boat's en Miniature'.  It is 7.5"x 5", oil on canvas and wood panel.
I do make almost all my own panels and I have taken a liking to affixing canvas to wood boards I cut. Then I gesso and sand. It's a fun process that I actually get quite a bit of satisfaction out of.
I save all my wood panel scraps and I make smaller boards like this.
I did paint a larger version(18" x 24", I think) of this particular painting a few years back. It resides in a lake cottage somewhere near Howe, IN.
So I decided to paint a mini version for the IGBTP Series. I finished this yesterday. For something small and quick, I think it turned out rather nice.
I will be offering this one up for sale very soon at a very affordable price! Thats the whole point of the IGBTP Series, it's original art most people can afford. The way I achieve this is by working smaller and quickly like with this painting. I am price pointing all paintings to be $150.00 or less. I set the price by taking into account level of detail, whether it's framed, unframed. This one will be sold unframed for $125.00. If anyone is interested,
message me.

Oh....have also decide that I am going to place 'A Mighty Cock' up for sale as well and I will offer it at a bargain price of $200.00 plus shipping. Size is 11"x 14" oil on wood panel.
Reason I am selling it at this price is because I lost my love affair with the subject matter about 3/4 of the way through. I will not enter this in any shows so I've decided to just move it.                                                                                                                    

'A Mighty Cock', 11"x 14", oil on wood panel, 2014.

Everyone who has seen it
just LOVES it but to me...it's just 'OK'.
  However that doesn't mean I will sell it at Walmart pricing. The price remains at $200.00 (plus shipping) FIRM.
If anyone is interested in owning this, send me a message and let me know.

 

 

 

 

...Entering Shows and keeping a low profile...

      I have decided to really buckle down, paint as much as possible and start entering more shows. I have a goal of getting a couple more national shows under my belt and on my resume. Once I complete that, I will start seeking gallery representation.

I finally sat down a few months back and wrote my first artists resume. I needed one for the last juried show. I was honestly quite surprised how well padded my artists resume had become.  I guess I hadn't realized how long I've been at this! 

   As part of my new schedule, I've decided to curtail my activities on social media and maintain a low profile. I'll still have a presence, I just won't be on it nearly as much. 

I do have a lot of friends and I found myself spending WAY too much time seeing what everyone is up and wasting time.  

I was also allowing myself to get annoyed at the bold audacity of some people who become keyboard commandos once you put a keyboard in front of them. 

I was so upset by something one of my 'friends' posted about racism the other day that I had an awakening. If seeing the flippant words of a hypocrite on a computer screen can annoy me so much, then I need to change my focus and take a step back. I just need to change my reaction, eliminate some people from my life and walk away. So that's what I am doing. 

I will focus my time on creating art, working towards my goals, marketing my art, spending quality time with my family and earning a living.

 The ignorance of others really has no place of value in my life so I'm going to focus my time more on whats important and less on what doesn't matter...

With that....I think it's time to go work out, get some laundry started, and do some work around the house.

I hope you all have a great day! :)

Kathy