Thursday, March 18, 2010

A Super Short Post

I'm running late and this time change still has not gotten a foothold in my mental sleep cycle so here goes studio news in a nutshell -

  • got a super interesting email yesterday about an exhibit opp, going to follow up on that today.
  • in the middle of a very cool 12 x 24 inch piece - can not wait to finish this!
  • decided to take my 8 x 10 painting from the other day (the horse portrait) and make it into a 20 x 24 inch. that's how much i love the palette i used.

Sorry for the almost twitter length blog post but this chick has to run. Til next time!

Katie

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Got My Art Supplies In!


I've already used one of the 8" x 10" canvases that came with them, as you can see above! This is also posted to my etsy shop (which has become my sole place to sell my originals online).
I've decided that it is much easier to stick to no more than 3 main sizes of work in order to make shipping easier. I'm learning on the fly, here, people. This one is an 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas.
Most of yesterday was spent going through boxes of supplies but there wasn't much time to do anything with them so that task was left until today. I still have some 8" x 10", 12" x 24" and even some 20" x 24" canvas left, all three becoming my favorite sizes to work on. In addition to ease of box-finding, I also keep open back frames at the ready, which is primarily why I sell them all unframed. I save money by reusing the black frames and whoever purchases my work saves money in buying an unframed piece, and being able to frame it themself(ves).
There are some pictures of my most recent trip to New Orleans on cd around here somewhere and once I find those I may start a few more paintings. Happiness lies for this artist in feeling well equipped to continue painting with a full (unlimited) palette!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Progress and Tips for Blog

Howdy! I'm inserting a picture of where I am on this work in process. As you can see from my pencil marks, erasures, and more marks, I never start out perfectly. The horse in the forefront needs to move up and I believe I'll make the mare and foal in the back a little larger before I make a lot of headway into this one. You can see the ochre ground and some loosely laid highlight and lowlights in prussian blue and titanium white. It's taking shape, though, and I think I will really like this one.

My picture taking ability is gradually getting a little better. Phew for that. I am loving Aviary but Windows 7 has some extremely user-friendly tools that come standard. You may recognize the Picture Manager software right off the bat (is that an Office or an OS thing?) but the regular Windows picture viewer is also pretty cool.

Now I'm off to start dinner and chase down my daughter who is in hot pursuit of the Beagle at the moment...

A QUICK CALL FOR HELP:
I need to make some design changes to At The Studio and am looking for some tips or help from someone who knows html and perhaps some design skills. If doing it for good karma won't work, I'm willing to possibly barter to some extent. If you are this html guru and are thinking of opening a dialogue on this, email me @ katiesstudio@gmail.com. I might also check out the blogger forums on this.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Signs of Spring

This morning I couldn't help but notice the tulip bulbs in the front yard are making a more pronounced appearance out of their winter slumber. I wonder if they stretch and say aaah, that was a good nap...



Nice, hmmm? Watching the garden's progress really helps me to feel invigorated and inspired to create, so now onto the studio.

I applied a layer of yellow ochre yesterday. I like applying the first layer or two with an artist's sponge (or paper towel in a pinch). Using a glazing technique for this piece, I'm planning to gradually build up my layers over the next few weeks, the finished project looking very similar to the other one in the pair, Three Horses. Next I moved on to order my art supplies.

My favorite time saver to ordering paints is to export the paint list from Dick Blick's website and then to mark off the paints I already have. Once I do this I then evaluate which ones I will need for upcoming projects and make my order. I forgot to order the modeling paste I need for an upcoming project so I might have to stop at the local shop for that, but otherwise I did okay. I'm also meaning to check out Artist Supply Warehouse for their selection and pricing, a tip I recently got from another artist. The site isn't much to look at but many times the best ones aren't. Maybe I can cut down on my mounting canvas supply prices. I will let you know how it goes.

Tonight is the BCVAA meeting that we are holding at the local Barnes & Noble. If you live in the Northern Kentucky area meet me there! Starts @ 6:30.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

67 Today!

I feel like my mood the last few weeks has been partly dictated by the weather. Ready for this long and seemingly neverending winter to be over (has it really only been 4 months?), I'm going to be evaluating the waking state of my garden and perhaps prune roses today, Abby in tow.

Over the last few days I've re-organized my studio (thanks honey!) and moved things around in order to provide a clearer workspace. My challenge has been to think outside the box so I can maximize the small space I have in my studio/Abby's playroom. Below are some pictures of the after (and how we share our space).

Abby playing peacefully (for the moment!)


ABBY IN THE STUDIO.egg  on Aviary

Below: My desk/Abby's play area...
STUDIO2.egg  on Aviary

Lastly, my creative space. Easel and painting stuff is stored in another closet in preparation for some fabric projects I'm working out details on.

studio3.egg  on Aviary

How do the other creative parents out there manage their studio work and playspace?

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Super Saturday!

Let me tell you a story. Once there was a budding young artist who, enthralled with the idea of art quilts, starting piecing and learning more about the art of quilting. Then, one morning, the evil fat cat who occasionally slept on her bed decided that a Z quilt loom made for an excellent hammock, and that ruining the quilt in progress was merely collateral damage. Thus, young artist returns from school and, dismayed at the sight of evil fat cat on her quilt, decided that quilting was not for her.

Ten years and 0 quilts later I am going to give it one more shot. Evil fat cat has done to join cat heaven so I am in earnest hopes that my current fat cat, Maggie, does not decide to ruin another stretched quilt in fat cat's memory.

As a painter I love working with bright color and exploring different techniques. In fact, as I emailed to a friend recently, the only real constant about me sometimes seems to be change.

Fabric has much the same allure to me as bright bold color does in my artwork. While working on a painting idea recently it occured to me that many of my painting designs would apply well to an applique and/or piecing technique so today I am oiling my sewing machine and working on some ideas. I'm hoping to create my first design in some mod/retro fabric.

Other things on the studio to-do list today:

Learn Aviary, a great photo editing tool offered FREE online. I'm learning Photoshop and Illustrator in my other career working for a specialty food company so I'm very interested in seeing how the two compare for the moolah. Today will be sunny (yay for almost spring!) so I'm going to take advantage of the natural light.

Complete commission to pair with a sold work I recently completed, Three Horses.

Find some great fabric and research fabric dye. Etsy.com has a supplies section with some great sellers. I try to buy handmade/micro-business whenever possible. New Year's Resolution. Easiest one I've ever had. :-)