...How To Be a Successful Failure and a Really Cool Loser All At The Same Time...

Become a fine artist!!! 

Yes friends, you too can learn how to gain respect, notoriety, lots of friends all the while earning next to nothing!!!
All kidding and joking aside, it's been a challenging couple months of stress and anxiety over where am I going to find the money for this and that.....
It's been difficult trying to fight off the depression while trying to stoke my creative drive. 
My solution, hole myself up in the studio for that short dose of dopamine bliss interspersed with moments of leaky eyes and thoughts of 'why do I even try?'....

So today I am telling myself to take a huge dose of ------------------------------->
buck up and quit yer crying you big friggin baby!!!!
Crying and complaining doesn't earn praise or create progress!!
Nobody wants to hear your whining and woe is me carrying on!!
So how's my self deprecating pep talk going so far? Good, good! I'm feeling better already!

Here is what I love about people who try to cheer you up....most honestly have no experience for empathy so honestly, trying to 'discuss' things with folks who don't understand, only makes you feel even worse......so time to BUCK UP!!! And now I'm done....I feel better... I really do!  No honestly, I do because I know some artistic,  self deprecating sap might possibly read this and say YES!!!!! So there you go...I too feel what you feel...now let's paint!

...Art News...

Elkhart's Midwest Museum of American Art (photo accredited to their website)

I received an email on Friday from Brian Byrn, the museum's curator, inviting me to be one of the guest speakers at one of their signature 'Noon Time Talks',  held each Thursday afternoon over the lunch hour. It's open to the public and museum members alike. Looks like it will be sometime in the month of June.
I've been invited to speak on the art of the 'still life'. I am excited to do this! I have some non traditional methods that I think some folks will find enjoyable and educational , at least I hope so anyways.
I have a couple months to prepare something so I promise it will be worth your time to attend and participate. I will also bring some new work and a few works in progress so as to show/explain my techniques. I'll chat about how I start a project, from conception to birth, so to speak.

...In the Studio...

   Well, have been working on quite a few things lately. I have a series of smaller works that I have been doing to try and create some affordable works geared  towards average folks like me who don't have a gazillion dollars to spend on art. 

I am calling it the 'IGBTP Series'...that's an acronym(which means another term for) for 'I Got's Bill's To Pay'. It's a tongue in cheek way of saying, yea, I still have to pay for the water bill, phone bill, gas for my car, deodorant, soap, etc....and I have to sell art to do it! ;)

Seriously...it's good work for a fair price....because after all, when I am famous, cold and dead...some unsuspecting person is going to make BANK!!! I'm just sayin!!!

So here are the small painting's I created for the IGBTP Series (and I have sold a couple so you better snatch them up while you can).

 

All of the paintings shown above are all 3" x 3" except for the last one, 'The Boats en Miniature', it is 7.5" x 5". Out of this group, 'My Rose', 'Tea Time' and 'Sushi Anyone?' have all been sold. The rest are available on my Etsy page.

...Works In Progress...

I actually have a few things near completion and one that are in full mid-progress mode at the moment. I feel like I am creating some of my best work at the moment. I have some great ideas in my head for some upcoming still life's I'll be putting together. Anyways enough talking...here is what I have going.... 

This is what I am currently in the middle of right now. It's pretty good sized too.   I actually have it quite a bit further along that what is shown here but I didn't see the point in boring anyone with more unfinished photos. Right now I have pretty well defined and shaped all the grains of rice, knocked them back with tonal grays, started bringing forward some highlights, amping up some colors and knocking others back.

I am also almost done with 'MOoo' here. I still have more work to do on the leaves in the background. I have started softening the lower branches and the treeline in the far back. Need to add a bit of soft opaque color to heighten the illusion of atmospheric distance. The cow is pretty much done save for a few small tweaks here and there. I might heighten the value in her eye to give it a a more wet, reflective quality.

I finally finished 'Smartie Smartie'. I have already given it a coat of intermediate varnish and have been letting it dry enough to give a final coat. This photo was taken pre-varnish so the colors are a bit sunken and flat. Let me tell you, this thing POPPED with vibrancy right when I applied the retouch varnish! WOW does it look good! I did take a photo but I had to take it at such an angle to reduce the glare. It was still hard to get it to accurately portray the depth. So once it's dry enough to take a better photo, I'll post it up.  I am actually VERY proud and happy with this painting. My husband hates it but his opinion really doesn't count anymore IMO... ;)  (I've stopped showing him what I'm working on so as not to get depressed)

...Cool Stuff Not Art Related...

Oh yea baby!!!! Garden 2015 has begun!!!! I even dug the snow off the garden 2 weekends ago and put up my cold frame!! I already have kale, spinach and tomatoes sprouted...soon it will be time to transplant the kales and the spinach into the cold frame so that I get a great harvest this year.

This year's tomatoes are 'BlackSea Man', a Russian heirloom variety(medium large beefsteak type) that is purplish-green when fully ripe. These are the BEST tasting tomatoes I have ever eaten in my life...swear to GERD!!! This will make the third year in a row that I have grown them. I also planted a new heirloom paste tomato. This is the first year I have grown the 'Sheboygan' variety, which also happens to be a Russian strain. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one does. I kind of like the Russian strains because they tend to be more cold tolerant. Our last two summers have been craptasticly cooler so that's why I'm leaning towards those strains.

As far as what hot peppers I am growing, or trying to grow, this year: Mucho Nacho jalapenos(hybrid), Trindad Scorpian peppers, Bhut Jalokia(Ghost) peppers and Medusa (ornamental/edible hybrid). (I decided not to grow a schitload of peppers this years for a change)

I also have a bunch of other stuff like squashes, greens, beans, cukes, rhubarb...but those don't count as much as the tomatoes and peppers do!!!

Oh and this epic tidbit!!! FINALLY going to go see Primus in concert after all these years of being a devoted fan!!!! Can't wait to see Les Claypool and the rest of the freaks at the State Theater in Kazoo on April 11th for the 'Primus and The Chocolate Factory Tour'!!!!!! Going with my brother Tim and my nephew Bill....should be a GREAT time!!!! :D

OK, so yea....I'm about tired of writing now! My work this weekend updating the blog and completely rebuilding my website is now done, thank GOODNESS!!

I think I want to drink a beer now, turn on a movie and relax....been a busy weekend filled with computer work.... 

Now I need to chill and gear up for how much fun painting that sushi is going to be tomorrow because THAT will be the most favorite part of my day tomorrow...good coffee, good music, no distractions and paint, glorious paint!!! :)

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading...

Kath

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

  

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