Acrylic and Collage

Painting on a wrapped canvas is so fun! I usually start by preparing the surface with gesso. Then I made my own collage papers, using a gelli pad. This is so fun!!! I used limited colors, something I learned from Carrie Burns Brown.  Using 2 opposite colors, black and white.  You will be able to achieve at least 20 different colors and your paintings will be unified! Try it! Click on Carrie's name to watch a You tube video. She was a great instructor!!!!
I'm attending a Paint-in now hosted by Karlyn Holman. She is one of my favorite artists! We have so much fun! This painting was completed at the Paint-in, where we all get inspiration from each other. Positive energy floors in the air. This painting, "Shades of Gray" is available for $345.  (12" x12" wrapped canvas)

Blogging with a Friend, (Charcoal Pour Lesson)

"Cardinal Creation"

I have a friend who is going through chemotherapy right now and she asked me to be a guest artist on her blog.  I loved to do it, knowing how miserable she has been from the treatments.  Kathie George is my friend who is such a joy to be around and such a fantastic artist! She's a master of batik paintings!  I got to meet her through Karlyn Holman, another great friend, who I respect so much!  I have met so many lifetime friends through my art.  What a blessing!  Anyway, I'm purposely NOT showing you the steps to this painting, so that you will visit Kathie's blog to see it!  You won't be sorry!  Look back through all of Kathie's posts, for great lessons and what a great writer she is!  Here's the link:  www.kathiegeorge.com/blog  Be sure to hit "read more", so you can see the whole lesson.  And sign up to receive notices of her blog!  Have fun doing the charcoal pour!!!

Day 10- 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"We hold the world in our hands"  11" x 11"  $245 SOLD
Watercolor, permanent marker, and Elegant Writer marker

Yes, I truly believe that each and every one of us makes a difference in our world!  I had this idea of a girl holding the globe in her hands and really enjoyed painting this.  Last year, one of my students (who happens to be a teacher herself in Duluth, MN), Mary Beth Downs taught me how to do "wire drawings".
 At least that's what I call them.  That's because they look like wire to me.  I can't tell you how to do them on this blog; it's actually something that you have to see.  Basically, they are contour drawings with changes afterwards. This will be a process that I will teach in one of my summer workshops if you are interested. (email me to be on the list:  Karen@karenknutson.com )  I use a permanent marker to do the initial sketch picture below.  When I started this, I honestly thought that this would be an easy painting, and picked it, due to babysitting my sick grandson this morning.  But the finishing touches took hours.  I used the Elegant Writer calligraphy pen to make some of the lines thicker and then activated it with a wet brush to cause it to soften a little.  Elegant writer felt markers are water soluble and therefore are really fun to mess around with!  Karlyn Holman introduced me to the Elegant Writer pens years ago, and I love them.  Click on this link to buy them from her store.  One of my heroes is Alphonse Mucha, and I was trying to do this painting in his style.  A lot of doodling, but it was worth it!
 

Value sketch (left) and first drawing using permanent marker (right)

The value of a Design Sketch

"Family Roots", Acrylic, $1500, Image:  21" x 29"

I started this painting in early February at Karlyn Holman's Paint-in.  Then, my teaching schedule got in the way, and it just sat unfinished for 2 months.  I knew that the deadline for Red River Watercolor Society Show was coming up, so I decided yesterday to tackle this painting.  I think it's really hard to pick up where I left off so long ago, don't you?  Anyway, I didn't even have the inspiration piece to look at, since I had given it to my friend, Jennifer, for her birthday.  It's 5" x 7" and is pictured below.

5 x 7 inspiration painting

I knew that I didn't like the design in the inspiration piece, but decided to keep painting, since I had a deadline looming over my head.  ( I liked the colors, but not the design.)  I would have been so wise to stop and do a simple 2 value design sketch.  The painting took me about 2 hours longer than it had to, due to me making corrections and wiping out with rubbing alcohol to reclaim my light pathway. Anyway, the good thing to come out of me flying by the seat of my pants, is that I really like the circular design of the finished painting, "Family Roots".  It's almost like the painting is swirling, directing the viewer's eye to the center of interest.  Still, I'm of the "old school" way of thinking, making a design plan before I start a painting.  Lesson learned!  I was up till 3:00 a.m. last night finishing this painting!

How many tomorrows will I waste?

"Fancy Pants", Acrylic and Collage, $295, image: 15" x 15"

This painting was so much fun to paint.  I painted with 2 friends and we tried to channel a new artist friend, Tonja Sell.  We met her at Karlyn Holman's Paint-in, and have so much respect for her talents, plus she's a really nice person to boot!  I tried to make this painting funky, but this girl just insisted on being pretty, so I decided to title it, "Fancy Pants".  The thing that was most fun was using colored pastel pencils on the face. Below you can see the close up view of the pencil marks. That's one thing that Tonja Sell does so well.  She scribbles lots and it sounds like a little chicken scratching in the dirt.  I grew to love that sound while I painted across the table from her at Karlyn's Paint-in.

So now you're wondering about the title of this post, right?  That is for my Healthy Eating Challenge Group.  I basically wasted this past week, doing little exercise, and going out to eat lots.  I made up this saying, "How many tomorrows will I waste, till I FINALLY REALIZE that TODAY is the DAY?!!"  Today, I feel focused and ready to take on the week.  One thing that I will do is to prepare meals ahead of time.  I tend to make bad choices when I just have to grab something on the run.  BTW, I haven't heard from any of you who are joining me in this challenge.  Am I all alone in this challenge?  Reporting in, I lost 1/2 pound last week, bringing me to a total of 2 pounds since I started on March 19th.  Please email me and tell me how you are doing, and whatever challenges you've had these past weeks.  We can share recipes too!  I've been watching Jaimie's 15 minute meals, and there's some really great healthy meals, and easy like I like them too!   We can cheer each other on! Have a great week, and we'll report back next Wednesday! Here's a writing that is so profound.  :) 

Make Small Commitments. Get Big Changes.

Excerpted from Rules of the Hunt

Taking Care of You

Drink plenty of water.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.
Eat more fruits and vegetables and eat less that is manufactured in processing plants.
Avoid eating food that is handed to you through a window.
Live the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
Play more games.
Read more books than you did last year.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
Sleep for 7 hours.
Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Your Outlook

Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Don't overdo. Keep your limits.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
Dream more while you are awake.

Drawing Challenge, Day 23

Today, Kathie George challenged us to use Elegant Writer Pens or some other pencil that smears when it is moistened.  I first learned about Elegant Writer pens from Karlyn Holman, and you can buy them from her website if you want.  I love using them for shading.  This is one of my funky metal sculptures that holds a wine bottle.  Below is the real photo of the art piece. I had such fun drawing this! I love to make the crosshatch design at the top and then wet between the lines of every other one.

So, I promised you that I would have a lesson on commenting on my blog.  Here goes.  If you are on my blog list, you will receive an email that shows my latest post.  You must click on the title of the article, in order to get to the page, where you can add a comment.  For instance, if the title is "Drawing Challenge, Day 23", you would click on that link, and it will lead you to the correct page.  Now, read the blog, and scan to the bottom of the page.  Beyond the 3 little photos (of past blogs) you will see "no comments" and if you hover your mouse over that, it will highlight.  Double click on that, and a box will appear where you can leave a comment.  Once you type your comment, press "Publish" button.  You will have to wait for me to approve it before it will appear on my site, so just wait a few hours, or if you're lucky that I am close to my computer, it may happen right away.  You may need to answer a test to see if you can read the numbers on the screen (That's something that the blog site does to stop hackers.  It's pretty easy.  Just type the letters and numbers, and you should see a message that says that your message will appear as soon as Karen approves it. ) That's it!

Day 25 of "30 Paintings in 30 Days"

"The Hen Pecked Husband"  $145  watercolor and collage  (11" x 11" image)

This rooster hits me on so many levels.  First of all, I used a photo from a painting trip to France with Karlyn Holman.  Check out her schedule.  Her trips are so fun!!! My friend, Connie and I were taking a walk near the resort which was located in the country.  There were many chickens and roosters, but this guy was clearly in charge!  I took countless photos of all the chickens there.  Aw.....France, what a great trip that was!  I chose the name for this one, because I wanted it to be a mate for the painting that I did yesterday, and I have to say, I wondered if my husband would want it for his office. Now, I wouldn't call myself a nag, but when it comes to road trips, I have been known to pipe up a few times when Dick is driving. :)  I enjoyed painting this so much, that I may be painting a few more chickens this year.  They really do develop their own personalities as I paint them!

Passing it on with Kindness

"With an Angel's Help"

This morning didn't start out so well.  I spotted a cold sore and thought sarcastically, "Oh, that's just great!"  But after driving my granddaughter to daycare (her smile that could melt ANY bad mood), I was again off to a good day.  I stopped at Caribou Coffee, (my favorite coffee place) and ordered my Northern Light Latte, and headed to the restroom to put on my makeup.  Then, I spilled my coffee all over the floor!  The girl who had waited on me, came into the restroom just then, and I apologized about the mess that I had made.  I told her that I would have cleaned it up, but there weren't any paper towels.  "Don't worry, we'll clean it up", she said.  I thanked her, and joked, "That was a very expensive sip of coffee this morning, since I spilled most of it".  She said, "No problem, we'll get you a new one!"  I also had purchased the keurig single serve cup coffees and she had said earlier, "Did you know that there are now dishwasher safe containers where you can put your own coffee in these little containers, and it would be far cheaper for you?"  (It reminded me of one more way that I could use less plastic and be more "green", to be nicer to our world.  Something, I really need to work on!)

What service, and what a difference she had made to my day!  Sometimes, people have no idea what a small gesture can do for someone else who just might be having a bad day.  A smile, or a kind deed can really make the difference!  I asked for her name, so I could write a letter about her kind deed, and her supervisor overheard me doing it.  I gave her the "thumbs up", and told the supervisor about her kindness.  I'll follow up with a letter to Caribou Coffee too.

This painting was done last year, using Elegant Writer pens, which I LOVE.  (Just click on this link and you can order them from Karlyn Holman.)   Karlyn introduced me to Elegant Writer pens some years ago, and I find them so much fun!!!  I've done many of these kinds of paintings.  I call them Story paintings.  They are very simple paintings, and are done totally free and easy with no forethought of what will be done.  I do a contour drawing, and then smear the pen marks for shading on the people.  A few glazes for depth, and they are done.   "With an Angel's Help" is a story about simple good deeds helping others around them. These story paintings are usually 14" x 7" images and are available for $95.    "Statuesque" (Day 28 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days) was also done using Elegant Writer pens.