New York, New York!!!

Life goal achieved....my painting awarded in NYC

Accepting the Katherine A. Lovell Award at the National Arts Club in NYC, 12-19-2014.

   So I have finally been able to achieve another life goal! I showed one of my paintings in New York, New York and I also won an award for it! I was stunned to even get accepted into the show and was beyond thrilled to win something!!

   Back in early September, an artist friend of mine, Anne Kullaf, encouraged me to enter the CLWAC (Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club) 118th Annual Juried Art Show in NYC. I mulled it over and thought what the heck, it would not be the first time I blew $50.00 on something but it's a chance.
I submitted what I felt was one of my strongest paintings.  For me, it had the most soul and was most representative of my personality. I entered my small painting (9"x11"), 'Sweet Slice'.

The subject of this painting, I felt,  represented me for a few reasons: it symbolizes tradition, reverence, family, my respect of all things vintage as well as my love affair with my kitchen.
My Grandmother Hall was such a wonderful cook and baker. She taught me how to do things at an early age and it was fun. I loved helping her make noodle dough and bake sweet rolls, pie, cookies, make grape juice, garden.... I still make a few things just like she did all those years ago. The one thing I make just like her is her very simple apple pie. It was nothing fancy but it was pure in flavor and delicious, no frills. I am much like that, no frills and for lack of a better word, pretty 'basic'.
The vintage Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook was my Grandmother Brouse's cookbook. The pastry cook book is mine (pastry, pie specifically, is my specialty). The blue crock bowl is one of many antique crockery bowl's I collect as is the plate and art deco silverware. That fork is literally my very favorite for to use in the silverware drawer. The slice of apple pie represents my Grandmother Hall and the traditions she taught me.
So in essence this painting is very special to me, it represents me...

I never thought I would even get accepted for the show. Part of my nature is that I never feel like I am ever quite good enough to be recognized for anything so imagine my surprise when I recieved the notification that I actually won an award!!!
For me, just getting in the show was my award and I still feel that way.

'Sweet Slice', 9"x11", acrylic and oil on board,  2014.

 My two good friends were with me for the dinner.

L to R: Rhonda Nelson, me, Tom Nguyen.

That was pretty special for me!
I think they both felt a bit out of their element but it was pretty cool!

Short video of me accepting the award

My Mother was supposed to attend the show with me but due to some recent health issues, she was not able to go on the trip.
In her place I took my best friend Rhonda Nelson. My good friend Tom Nguyen met us out there just to support me at the show and to celebrate my birthday.

Tom videoed the award acceptance so that Mom could see it. I showed this to her yesterday and she was so happy and so very proud! Thats one thing I really strive for in life is to make my parents proud....mission accomplished! :)

 

 

...getting older...

So I hit a milestone birthday (I turned 50) the day we arrived in NYC. The plan was to celebrate it by going out for sushi. Tom and I had always said if we ever met in person (we've known each other for years via art forums, email, Skype, but never in person) we would eat sushi so that was decided a few years in advance.  Within moments of arriving, we all met up, and hit the street in search of sushi. It was not hard to find, there was a little local place right across the street from our hotel that was fantastic and inexpensive! I was amazed! It was all so good!! I've been craving sushi ever since!

 This was the little local place across from our hotel. It was kind of a dive looking place but the food was amazing and the Asian 007 (for real, there was a dude wearing a shirt that said 'Asian 007' on the back, LOL) knocked it out of the park with the killer sushi!!

This was some part of what they called their 'eat in Special' menu. a $7.00 sashimi assortment.... well HELL YEA!!!
Not sure what it all was but I am guessing it was tuna, salmon, shrimp and scallops. 2 pieces each. It was delicious!!!
the bowl of  steamed edemame was like $3.00 yet another score!!

  This was something Tom ordered, I think this was the Dragon Roll. It had some tempura crab(I think), avocado, and green onion topped with a spicy sriracha and another sauce. It was amazing!!! So good!!

I wish I had taken a picture of the Dynamite Roll I ordered. It was impressive to look at. It was spicy and topped with some interesting tiny green fish roe. When you bit into the roe, it popped in your mouth and released a mild sweet tasting liquid, not really salty at all. It was interesting and surprising. I will need to find some and try and replicate that sushi at home.

Meeting Tom for first time.

Friends..... It was pretty special to finally meet and spend some fun time together acting like idiots.

You never know whom you will meet in life and my good friends are very special to me. 

I am so touched that Tom came out to NYC for this. The 3 of us had a blast together! :)

Looking forward to going back to NYC again in the future!

Empire State building, 86th floor. 12-19-2014

 Views from the 86th floor of the
Empire State  at dusk.
We were unaware that it would take 2 friggin hours to get to the top! We thought, buy the ticket, get on the elevator and done!

Nope...people, turnstiles, more people, more turnstiles, some sill Imax thing....but we made it, we got there and managed to take some incredible photos and cross one things off our 

bucket list of things to do in this lifetime...visit Empire State Building!!! it was just spectacular!!! The lights of the city at night were amazing and the sheer size was astounding....memory of a lifetime right there. :)

Empire State building, 86th floor. 12-19-2014.

...new things in the works...

I have not actually had a lot of time to paint recently due to my Mothers health issues so have put some things on hold for a while. My family is much more important to me...

I've still found a bit of time to paint here and there. Some things will be easing up soon and I'll have a bit more time to relax and paint again so it's all good.

Here is something I am currently nearly finished with, I call this 'Smartie Smartie'.

It's 11"x14", acrylic and oil on birch panel. All that I have left to do now is heat up the highlights and add some subtle value here and there...pretty much done.

Some of the colors have sunken but that will be remedied once I oil it out a bit. I have gotten quite a bit further on this since this photo was taken but you get the general idea.

I'm having fun with this painting! I am really excited about creating some quirky narrative work for a change. This is a good fit for me. I think I have finally come into my own techniques and style and I am enjoying that immensely! :)

Well that's about all I have for now....hope you have enjoyed reading my rambles...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I wish you all good health and much happiness for 2015!

Kathy

Hello cold air....ARTBERNATION BEGINS!!! YES!!!

Photo I took a couple years back during one of our fall drives in the area.

Man I love the when fall rolls around!!! I know... I know... y'all think I am crazy and most everyone who knows me personally, WILL agree with that assessment!!!

Why do I love fall? Well it's mainly because I can wear Levi's and sweatshirts again and luxuriate in the ultimate cozy comfort they bring but also it's because I love all the intense pretty colors the trees and plants show which brings me, full circle, right back to art!!

Fall means I am able to spend more time at the studio, which is where I am going right after I post this so it will be short and sweet.

Fall is the beginning of the art hibernation, or if you will, the Artbernation!
This is the time I cloister myself away in the studio for much of the day, ignoring the foul weather outside and sipping glorious rich coffee and painting all day long....or at least until the faint smell of my neighbors cigarette smoke starts to faintly tinge the air and I hightail it out the door before the full blown migraine begins(it doesn't take much to set me off unfortunately). (My plan is to move the studio back home in the spring, into a renovated barn out behind my house so that I don't have to deal with that anymore and save some money)

So to be able to maximize my time at the studio before my neighbor gets home, I am going to keep this quick....here is what I have been up to since July's last blog post: painting, gardening, painting, more gardening , canning, canning, hot sauce making, painting and more painting!

On the painting front, I feel am doing my very BEST work right now! I fully believe that soon there will be a turning point for me...not sure what that will be but I am hoping that more success will burgeon soon. I 'feel' it and I believe in it.... I just have to keep painting and growing my art in order to fully realize it.
I have recently entered two juried shows, one local and one national.
The national show(NYC) is a first for me. I am nervous and excited about it. Of course, I HOPE I get accepted but understand that I may be declined....par for the course but I will persevere and keep plodding onward. My fingers are crossed though! I should know something in a couple weeks. If I get in (BIG IF) and IF I place, I will somehow, someway get my butt to New York City for the awards reception. :)

My latest painting that I am working on, REALLY excites me!!!  Here is what it looks like almost done(have just  few tweaks left to do) and pre-varnish....the varnish will make it EXPLODE with color so that will be very exciting!!!

'Reflections of Summer', acrylic and oil on board (work in progress)

I am so close to being finished with this. I have a more recent image on my camera but since it's so close, at this point, I will just wait to show it until I am completely done.

I am really enjoying this food series and think I will keep going with it. It gives me joy!
I think I may have found my niche painting food....it just excites me and everything that I paint, has a story behind it so there is that as well.

The story of this one: The apex of summer culminates in late July, early August when the tomatoes in my garden ripen. The first toasted tomato sandwich of the summer is like a national holiday for me! :) I eat them as often as I can!!
I love, love, LOVE to grow heirloom tomatoes and this particular tomato, as painted here, is the best I have ever grown! This variety is called Black Sea Man and it hails from Russia originally, or so the story is. I have been an organic gardener since I was a child. It's something ingrained in me...I love to grow things and can't wait for the new seed catalog's to come out every year.
I also love everything old and things that sparkle...my running joke is that I am part magpie, in that I am attracted to shiny objects!
I feel like I am keeping the past alive by using vintage or antique things regularly...it gives them life, hence to 1950's Toastmaster Toaster in the painting. Yes, it works perfectly!  It sits in my kitchen as does the stand mixer (bowl reflection to the right). The salt shaker is vintage diner ware (my favorite salt shaker) and just goes hand in hand with fresh tomatoes in summer.
So, in part, 'Reflection's of Summer' is also reflections of the past and we can see the past over and over again if we just close our eyes... it lives always.....


A couple things I have up on the sale block right now are these items

I have this one on both Etsy and Ebay: 

'Sunbathing', miniature oil, 3"x3" oil on board created 2014.

I also have this painting listed up on Etsy and may list it to Ebay as well to try and move it. It's time to clean the studio to make room for more things.

'Garden Guardian', acrylic on board, 12"x16".

Alright....I think I have dawdled enough here...it's time to go Artbernate and lay down some paint! :)
I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful day!


Kathy

The Calendar Project: The foodie series becomes reality!!

'B Squared', acrylic and oil on panel, 2014.

For starters...I can NOT believe that April was my last post! I'm sucha slacker.....psssst...that's me being ironic!! ;)
Honestly, I have been so flippin busy it's not even funny!!! So today is the day to be completely relaxed(still in my jammies BTW) and catch up on a few things I haven't had enough time for, namely my blog.

So lets catch everyone up to date since April... Here is how it all went down:
Gardening, gardening, gardening, paint, paint, paint, paint, teach class, teach class, paint, paint, art show, art show, paint, paint, edit, edit, edit, edit, complete calendar, mow grass, mow grass, mow grass, garden, garden, weed flipping garden, weed again, more weeding, mow a bazillion times, pick strawberries, strawberries, strawberries, pick more fricken strawberries, make jam, make BBQ sauce, make ketchup, pick blueberries, paint, paint paint.......feel me? ;)

Art Calendar Complete!!

So I completed the calendar project and I have to say, I am over the moon with how this thing turned out!!!! I have new paintings that some may not have seen. If your not a follower of my Facebook art page, you may not have seen it since I have yet to put all of my most recent paintings on my website. Hope to do that today at some point.  The above painting, 'B Squared', is one of my very favorites has not yet been published to my website.
It is also one of 3 paintings that I am taking a poll on to determine which I place up for sale next week. It's time to offer up something again and this one is in the running!
If you want to vote on which painting you like the best, go visit my FB page and leave it in the comments section so I can tally the votes. Whichever wins, will be the painting I offer.

2015 'The Art of Kathy Leib: Whimsical Paintings of Food' art calendar.

   Onward here...so this calendar deal.... I finally had all the images completed by June, one month ahead of schedule since I had been painting like a mad woman! Spent June tweaking/editing all the images and designing the calendar layout. July rolled around and I ordered the prototype to be printed! It came, and I fell in love!!
Here is the advertisement I created for the calendar. If you would like to add your name to the RSVP list, send me an email with your name and I'll add you to the ever growing list. :)

 

Art shows and Awards

June 14th, 2014 marked the 5th year for the Annual DeFries Garden Juried Art Show.
This year I entered 3 pieces. I won BOTH Honorable Mention and The Peoples Choice Award(2nd year in a row) for my painting of my cat, Molly, as seen above. I was thrilled and very honored to be chosen again this year. Just being juried in is validation enough but winning is an incredible honor. :)

'Garden Guardian', acrylic on panel, 2013

This years big winner, Best of Show, was created by one of my favorite local artists, Jan Lucking. Her works tell incredible stories and I love, love LOVE all the symbolism she employs. This year they got it right, in my opinion!

 

I spoke briefly with Jan after the awards and told her how very much I enjoyed her piece last year and how much I loved her entry this year. We congratulated each other and shook hands. It's so nice to get to know other artists and share why we like one anothers work. You learn so much from other people and it's indeed inspiring to hear the story behind their works.  All in all, it was  indeed a great day at the DeFries Garden Show this year!!!

Well, I suppose I have rambled enough...it's currently 11:04am and I am still in my jammies and my hair is still a mess but boy am I enjoying my lazy day!! 

The other half will fire up the BBQ when he gets back from his bike ride. We are going to test out the home made sausages(along with ribs) I made last night! I told him last night I don't want to hear any complaints for this first attempt! They look and smell great! We did actually try a couple patties(what didn't fit in the casing) of it last night and it was deelish! They should be better today since the flavors have had time to marry and develop over night! :D

Have a great day everyone! :)

Kathy

Food, food....glorious food : An artful series...

The Foodie Series

'Sweet Slice',  acrylic and oil on panel, 2014

'Breakfast', acrylic and oil on panel, 2014

   So a few months back I had an idea about possibly publishing an art calender of my paintings. I tried to figure out what people enjoy looking at and I decided it would have to be paintings of food, glorious food!

I had already created a few paintings containing various edibles so  I tallied up how many more paintings I would need and so it began....

   January/February of 2014 were pretty productive in that I created 4 paintings. The two shown above were completed and finished in February. So far this year has been quite productive and this proves I have not been slacking very much in the art department.

   I really, really love how 'Sweet Slice' turned out. I loved painting all the elements.

It seems that when you focus and spend time painting and creating different elements you get drawn and attached to them. You focus so much time on these areas that a little artful love affair begins.

The elements of that painting I enjoyed the most were of course the slice of pie and the glistening filling. You have to get the values correct in order to nail that effect and I think I pulled it off pretty well. Still room for improvement there however. 

The blue bowls reflections were quite fun as well. I also really enjoyed painting the books. The first one with all the tiny pasty images on it's cover was fun and instead of putting the title of the book on there, I placed my name in a similar font style for a bit of ownership and kitsch.

Of course the vintage Better Homes and Gardens cookbook binding was fun to paint with all its textures and old worn binding edges. I collect cookbooks and this particular book and the two featured in the 'Breakfast' paintings were some that my Grandmother owned. It brought me so my pleasure to leaf through all these old books and read some of the recipes.

I purchased them at her estate sale last fall and decided I need to paint some of these.

Each item in these paintings are some of my vintage collectibles. I really love old things, especially vintage kitchen ware, glass, utensils and crock pottery...

   The 'Breakfast' painting was NOT one of my favorites to paint. There were areas that I felt like I was fighting with.

The surface of the gessoed panel was a bit pebbly. It was difficult to get smooth transitions when blending some of my glazes and that gave me some trouble. 

I have also decided that painting lettering was not one of my better decisions! I had to repaint the lettering on the old Calumet book because I screwed them up the first time so I had to resize and get things proportioned better and start over. I did better the second time around and suspect IF I painted it a third time, it would be better still but after all that, our love affair was OVER because I only ever give two chances then I'm DONE! ;)

Now I must admit, I really enjoyed painting the coffee cup the best. 

I sure love my coffee and I really enjoyed painting all the reflections so that big cup and I had a very nice 'rendezvous' together! The element I enjoyed the most was probably the reflection of the plate and the fork and of course all the other reflections. I do not know why I am drawn to reflective surfaces but I have joked that I was likely a magpie in a former life! :)

Three new ones in the works

This week I have started two new paintings. In fact I started them on Thursday. So far they are turning out rather nice! I won't go into too much detail because our love affair has just begun so I don't have a lot of juicy tidbits to share as of yet. We will just have to wait until our relationship develops a bit more. Of course it could all fall flat with one or the other but right at this moment, it's hard to say which one I am crushing on the most. They each have their elements so far....

 I had made cupcakes for a class I was teaching not so long ago and I like to display my creations as best as I can.
These cupcakes turned out so lovely.
They were delicious too, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, sprinkled lightly with cinnamon.
So far I am just mapping things out with light color washes of oil. Not sure if I am doing things the right way but I am certainly doing them my way! :)

 Next we have Cranberry Orange Scones. They turned out JUST LOVELY! The top was sprinkled with sparkly sanding sugar.
I sure love a good scone and since I am watching my carbs, most of these went into the freezer! I did however eat this one and it was just delicious!
Again, so far I am just doing thin color washes of oil and OMS (odorless mineral spirits). Its more like a water color at this point.

Self portrait, Steamboat Springs, Feb 2000, acrylic and oil on canvas.

So before I started the two newest foodie paintings, I decided it was time to try my hand at another portrait to keep my skills honed. So far so good. this is my husband and myself while we were on a  Colorado skiing trip in 2000. It was a beautiful day. My sister in law took this photo while we stopped to have french fries and beer at a mid mountain chalet. I am still working on this and still have much to do yet to get the values and hues right but it's gelling together pretty well. I was a little heavier then so my face is a bit chubbier. I had thinned my cheek down a bit and I think I will thin my 'inherited' (thank you so much Grandma Hall!!) double chin down a bit more. It doesn't matter what size I am, I still have that dang chin!! BUT, I am the holder of the paint brush so I can edit that right out! ;)

I was having a bit of trouble with my husband's head and face but I think I finally nailed it. I had his ear a bit too small and that made him a bit 'fetal alcohol syndrome' looking. He does have a big head so I did get that part right. He say's its because it houses his massive brain...whatever! ;)

I am having fun painting all the little people in the back ground and they are mostly completed now. The size of this is 20"x30"...I think. I started it out by airbrushing most of the under-painting in until I got to the detail phase. I can airbrush pretty fast so i just kind of busted this out by blocking things in. Now I am layering oil glazes on top for depth and details. I love this method! :)

A 'MAJOR' repair job

So I sold the 'My Iris' painting and as I was pulling it down off my studio wall to get ready to pack her up to ship, to my HORROR, I discovered the surface had crazed...and it crazed quite a bit! :(

I was just shocked and sick inside! This is the first and only painting that has done this.

In talking and sharing many photo's with one of my 'waaaaaaaaay better than me' artist friends, we determined what I had suspected had happened. The clear coating I had given it became brittle and didn't flex when the painting did. The canvas loosened up a bit and the clear had become brittle and it crazed.

One artist friend implied it was application error on my part but that was not the case it was just something that happened and not my fault.

So I decided to talk my customer into another painting but she was game to see if I could repair this one as it's the one she really wanted. I was planning to repair it anyways so that's what we did. She actually ended up with a waaaaaay better painting in the end and I gave her a good deal.

 As you can see, this is a pretty major crack HOWEVER, it fortunately DID NOT go through the paint layer! It ONLY affected the clear gloss layer.
I will refrain from naming the product so that I don't slander the company but it came in a white rattle can and was an 'archival, UV resistant, gloss clear' made for art work. It's readily availbale in the art section.
I quit using this on art about 1 years or so  back because I had had another issue with it..

 More cracks....

 More....


The lines you see on the surface is where the gloss clear didn't flex when the canvas lessened up a bit. Instead it became brittle.
I even tested it a bit by gently applying a bit of pressure to the back of the canvas and it crackled so that told me what I knew.
Now to formulate the fix...
I needed this canvas to be stable and to not flex at all in order to save the painting..
I re-tightened the canvas to get the cracks to flatten out and then I gave it a coat of Liquitex Gloss clear(it stays flexible) to seal the cracks and allow it to flex.
Next I built a cradled wood panel to glue the canvas too. it was the best plan I could think of the anchor this down so it didn't flex at all and to save the art work. The plan worked beautifully! Albeit it time consuming and labor intensive, it turned out as well as I had hoped and a few lessons learned..

 

   So as you can see, it turned out jut lovely once I was able to affix the canvas to the surface of the panel. I gave it a few coats of Liquitex Gloss Varnish(flexible) to seal everything. Added a tack strip to hold down the original gallery wrap edges, trimmed the excess and painted the cradled edge and tack strip a satin black. I am very pleased with how this turned out. 

I am happy to report she arrived safely and now resides in her new home in Arizona!

   Alright...I think I have talked enough about whats been going on in the past couple of months...except for my garden...seedlings are up, cold frame up, pea's and lettuce planted... OK, I'll save that for next time...

Right now I need another cup of coffee and a shower! Have a GREAT day! :)

Kath

Slingin Paint and Sloggin Coffee...

An AWESOME January!!

'Tea or One', 11"x14" acrylic/oil on board, © 2014

As many of my friends are aware of, I decided to hang up my nurses cap after 25 years as a nurse. In place of taking care of people, I have decided finally do what makes me the happiest, paint! January 2014 marked my first full month as a full-time artist and it was a very productive month!!

I completed two paintings' during that time and started two more while waiting for paint to dry. I have a project goal with these 'foodie' themed paintings. I am right on deadline which is a great thing.

The other painting I completed in January was this one:

'Asparagus Meets Eggplant', acrylic/oil on board, © 2014.

Of the two, I am not sure which one is my favorite. I absolutely LOVE the classic feel of  'Asparagus Meets Eggplant'. I wanted to create a warm mood with the lighting and I think I achieved that. The elements in the painting that I loved creating the most, were the reflections. I love things that shine and sparkle. I love old glass. I liked how the lemon reflected up onto the old aluminum colander and onto the jar. I really had fun with this painting. I simply like looking at it... :)

The 'Tea Time' painting was created partly because I have a vintage set of canisters and I love old tea cups. This particular tea cup is special because my Dad purchased it for me while on an antique forage right before Christmas. It wasn't expensive because it has a hairline crack in it that isn't particularly visible, however, it certainly doesn't detract from it's beauty. Because of the crack, I could not put any liquid in it so painting the tea was something I just winged. I am sure the reflections are not quite right on the surface of the 'tea' but it is what it is.
I liked creating this painting, again, the reflections are what draw me. I loved painting the bowl of the vintage art deco spoon. I loved painting the patina of the old canister with all its stains and paint chips. The vintage Brown Betty teapot and canister pair together quite well however the addition of the ornate and delicate bone china tea cup seems to be an odd addition, or is it?  I loved pairing this lovely, delicate, cup with these old, well worn pieces. They directly reflect my personality and style. I love old things, used things, lovely things that nobody wants anymore. This painting fits.
I think it turned out just lovely and it's really a toss up as to which one I favor the most.

While paint was drying....two more paintings started...

So while I was waiting for paint to dry, I started two new 'foodie' themed paintings. I recently acquired a collection of cookbooks that were my maternal Grandmothers. I loved the look of them and I even read each one. I thought what a lovely addition they would be to some paintings.
I am an avid cookbook collector and I love, love love to bake. I rarely ever follow a recipe but I like to read them to get ideas. While looking at the Better Homes and Gardens cook book, my old pastry cook book and the Calumet Baking books, my first thought was pie. I collect vintage pie tins because pie is my very favorite thing to bake. I like making the pastry because making pastry is challenging and I love a good challenge. A pie painting it would be then. So I baked an apple pie and took it to the studio the next day. I did a photoshoot creating several compositions. One of these was just kind of a spur of the moment shot to say 'Good Morning' on Facebook. I liked how it looked...here is how that painting looks right now:

'Sweet Slice', oil/acrylic on panel.

When I took the reference photograph, I had just finished shooting several composed shots and had sat down with a hot cup of coffee.
I was getting ready to eat that piece of pie for breakfast while looking at the cook books.  I was walking back to the table and saw this and though that look's cool! It would make a great 'Good Morning' image to use on Facebook. I liked it so much that I decided it needed to be painted. That's how I arrived at this again. Again, we have a theme going, vintage things and reflections.
The pie was quite tasty too! :)

This is my set up where I do my detail work. I have a rolling cart to my right that contains all my tube paints and supplies. On top of that sits my large, always hot cup of coffee. Beside that is the large flat black wooden lightbox I created to take photos of my still life's and finished works.  It also acts as a dust free zone where I can prop the tacky or wet paintings. I keep a couple pieces of canvas clipped on the front to act as a curtain to keep out dust. It works PERFECT!!
As you can see here, I am painting upside down for accuracy. I have the reference image I shot handy beside the painting so I can study the elements. I know, some people will poo poo the fact that I work from photos but all I can say is, who care...Chuck Close didn't give a damn and hey, he's Chuck Close!!!

The other painting I had started is this one and it is the one I am enjoying painting the most partly because there is little lettering to screw up...I mean , paint. The surface of the board is also very, very smooth in that its easy to paint and blend soft, subtle transitions which contributes to a cleaner and tighter effect. This painting will be very tight while in contrast I will leave the Sweet Slice painting a bit more loose and include some impasto on that one.

'Sweet Slice'

In this painting, the elements I am enjoying painting again are the reflections and the highlights. I just like shiny things. I have gotten a bit farther on this piece yesterday but neglected to take a photo of it. Yesterday I worked more on tightening up the bowl, tinting the apples, the pastry book cover and the spine texture and defects on the Better Homes and Garden cookbook.
I am currently working on this piece upside-down because you tend to be  more accurate.

(that's a Betty Edwards trick...Google Betty Edwards then buy the book). I am enjoying painting this one quite a bit. I start by blocking in all the painting elements in acrylic and I bring the painting up to the detailing stage.This is a stage where most people might say it's 'done enough' but it really needs refinement to make it POP alive! I have taken to adding oil paints atop the acrylic because it gives it a luster and patina that acrylics can't achieve or achieve as well. Oils are also easier to manipulate for very very subtle transitions.
I think I have found the methods that work best for me. Painting like this incorporates everything I enjoy: airbrushing with acrylics, and traditional painting with oils and brushes.
I am not a traditional 'airbrusher' in that I prefer to paint fine art rather than auto's and tee-shirts, both of which I have done but this is where I am happiest.
I will add, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with automotive and tee shirt artist because those guys can ROCK!!

A complete bum....no makeup,and bed head...

Here is how I look these days, like a complete bum!!!! Carefree, throw on some clothes and go!!
My local friends are used to it. There used to be a time when I would NEVER set foot out of the house without makeup and nice hair...my how things change as you age! :D
I have ruined so many pairs of Levi's with paint that I have decided it is time to dig out the old paint covered overalls and just put them on first thing when I arrive at the studio.
I have also dropped a bit of weight in the last several months and I can not afford to ruin anymore clothes since it will be time to shop for new jeans that fit soon!!!
Down 22lbs  overall in the last couple years but down 20 in the past 4-5 months. I still have more to go to hit my goal buy I'll get there.
I saw a photo of myself from last summer that really motivated me to make some changes. I don't think I will ever completely lose that damned 'Hall' genetic chin flap but at least I feel better and am proud of my hard work!!



With all that, it's time to go do the dishes, hit the treadmill, tidy the house and do some laundry.
I hope you all have a fantastic Sunday! :)

Kath

Snowpocalypse or Creative Opportunity???

First BIG(ish) snow storm of 2014!!

Snowpocalyspe 2014!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

   So all the news outlets were bracing us here in the north central midwest for the worst storm in decades...the arctic vortex they were/are/is calling it! Snowocalypse!!! Snowmageddon!! Snowvalanche!! Snowapture!!!! people fleeing, running for their lives...scared that we are finally, FINALLY gonna bite the big one!!! be assured, big brother is there for you to warn you( fear mongering) and protect you(don't go outside or we'll give you a ticket).......

PISH POSH!!!!!!!!!

Here is what REAL mid-westerners do...ya put some clothes on and you dig out!!!! 

THIS storm was NOTHING compared to the Blizzard of 1978 baby!!! :)

Snow??? I say so what, BRING IT cuz I DIG IT!!!

All said and done we received about 16 inches in a 24 hour time frame. I was so excited I could hardly stand it!!! I was posting photo updates on Facebook for all my friends.
I couldn't wait to see how much snow we would get in total. We estimated about 14" just judging by the fact we already had about 4" of residual snow on our table from earlier in the week.
In the morning I called my folks, who live just a mile or so away. My Dad had measured the snow in an area that was previously bare. He measured 14" on Saturday night but we got an additional 2-3" over night. So I'm going with a grand total accumulation of 16inches!
SCORE!!!!!!

 I suppose some people would freak out by that amount of snow but we DIG IT!!! LITERALLY!!