Day 6: 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"The Green Apple"  $65  (8" x 8" image)

"The Green Apple” is a watercolor and collage abstract.  I call these little paintings, “Little Abbeys”. (Small abstracts)  I love doing these as warmups.  They teach me good painting habits.  I start out colorful and add collage for special effects, then tie it together with a unifying color.  This painting is available on my website, karenknutson.com  if you are interested.  I’m offering these paintings at lower prices than normal, just during this month.  

Tip of the day:  How to add metallics for that finishing touch.  Using double stick tape, ( I use an ATG gun, with 1/2 " double stick tape)  apply gold foil paper, (or gold reactive foil).  It’s so much easier than gold leaf.  Available at joggles.com It comes in many different colors too!  Fun, fun!  I have a video on my Facebook page, but can't figure out how to put it on this blog, so you will have to look that up there. 

Announcing New Zoom class- Little Abbeys (small abstracts)

Announcing NEW Zoom class!

My Zoom Little Abbey workshop is posted on my home page of my website, with a link to sign up. Only taking 25 students. It is $65 and will be on March 2. (10:00 -4:00 Eastern time) www.karenknutson.com. This is filling fast! Be sure to get your place today!

Living your Best Life- Finding Balance!

Little Abbeys  (5" x 7" small abstracts)

Full disclosure:  I've started a new diet and welcome you to join me if you feel so inclined.  I've let myself go due to stress, poor management of time, and disorganization.  So, I'm eating mainly protein and green vegetables now.  Hoping to get the sugar cravings out of my head!  This is DAY 2 and I'm feeling empowered!  So far, so good!  It just feels so good to have a plan.  The other promise I've made to myself is to take a 30 minute walk EVERY DAY.  No excuses.  Just do it.  I always feel better afterwards, and we have so many beautiful places here in Minneapolis to walk.  Yesterday, I walked in Excelsior, along Lake Minnetonka and it felt so good to be outdoors in the open air, watching a guy throw a frisbee for his dog to retrieve, seeing young families at the beach....and even getting a little out of breath felt good! By the way, have I mentioned that our daughter is getting married in a month, so that deadline is a great motivator for me too!  :)  My master plan includes staying busy and trying to organize and think ahead.   Many new paintings will be done, I'm sure!  I make a menu for the following day, so I'm one day ahead.

My studio is being prepared for 2 upcoming home studio workshops that I will be teaching next week.  Little abbeys are so fun to paint and they really teach me to think of the important design principles of a painting.  They are my warm-ups when I haven't been painting for awhile.  If you'd like to get on my student list, send me your email, and I will inform you of future workshops.

Tricks to break through a painter's block

Wire drawing (7" x 10"). "The Hikers"

This is the sketch that I used for a reference for a pure watercolor painting.   I hadn't done a pure watercolor for a year, so it didn't surprise me when I failed at the first attempt.  I'm starting to really love acrylics, but the deadline for the Transparent Watercolor Society show is coming up, and since I'm a lifetime member, it doesn't cost me anything to try to be juried in each year.  I do have my signature membership, but it's still such a great challenge to try to get in!  So, here I am, trying to remember how I used to get such glowing colors.  Here's what I did to get out of my slump.

1. Go back to what you know.  Do whatever you used to do that was so easy and foolproof.  For me, it is little abbeys.  You can look back at earlier blogs to see them.  Just put a search in for Little Abbeys. I love them because they remind me of the way that I should be painting all of my paintings.  Starting at your center of interest with bright colors, working towards the edges.  Saving your whites for sparkle.  Weaving a unifying color from the center of interest towards the edges.  Lastly, staging your center of interest with a darkest dark and then changing to a less dark color as you approach the edges.  Keep the edges simple and keep the whitest white near the center of interest.  Those are my rules for Little Abbeys (small abstract collages). (Look back to June 13, 2015 for directions for little abbeys.)
2. Use limited colors
3. Use limited shapes
4. Think cool or warm as the dominant washes and then add pops of the opposite color later within the light pathway.
5. Trust your value sketch and keep the light pathway connected.

I'm not going to post my failure, but below are my 2 small paintings that I did AFTER I went through the above rules. Now, I think I'm ready to do the big quarter sheet painting next.  These 2 paintings are 7" x 10".

Too many small shapes, but interesting colors

Good design but I miss the bright colors. 

Color Studies- great warm-ups!

Pick ONLY 3 colors and write them on the back of your 5" x 7" watercolor paper.  This Color Study started by making 3 shapes and painting each shape a different color.

Draw 3 shapes that don’t overlap.  You should have 4 areas now.  Choose 3 colors.  Leave one of the shapes white and color each of the others a separate color. Leave a tiny border between the colors so they won’t bleed into each other.  Repeat this process until you get lots of different layers and colors created by overlapping colors.  I add black at the very end to "lace" the viewer's eye through the painting.  I do these instead of color graphs.  So much more fun!  

Day 10 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Valentine Wishes"         $75
Watercolor and Collage          7" x 10"

Happy Valentines Day a few days early.  I wanted to post this one now, in case anyone wants to purchase this for their sweetheart or possibly for themselves.  The hearts in this painting truly just showed up!  I love the way the big heart seems to be breaking up into little hearts and then they are blown in the wind, as if you were blowing a kiss.  May you all have a special Valentine's Day!  Love yourselves and be happy! 

Day 9 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Looped on Life"       $75
Watercolor and Collage      7" x 10"   

 This is one of  my favorites of this challenge.  I started like usual, and the collage pieces that had loops.  So in the finishing touches, I added line-work, using my wire drawing technique, to repeat the loops from the collage.  I'm teaching this technique at several workshops coming up.  Bradenton, FL on April 10th and at Dillman's Resort in northern WI on June 18 - 21.  It's my new favorite thing to do!  It has helped ALL of my artwork AND I'm a better drawer now too.   Check out my website, www.karenknutson.com  to see my schedule.

Day 8 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Size 10 Dreams"     Watercolor and Collage
7" x 10"           $75

In this painting, I used pattern pieces for the collage, and there it was, "Size 10".  Look in the bottom middle to find it.  Yes, I used to be a size 10, and I used to sew a lot of my own clothing.  Those days are over, but I can dream about again getting back to that size.  We are taking daily walks now that we are in sunny Florida.  Maybe that will help.  Below is the first step to this painting, dry brush watercolor and adding collage.  I used the butterfly napkin as my color inspiration for this one.

First step of this painting

Day 6 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Trapeze Act"      7" x 10"
Watercolor and Collage     $75

I had a GREAT day today!  Went to Casperson Beach with the Venice Plein Air Club and actually pretended like I knew what I was doing.  I was so nervous to paint with all the pros from this area.  The funny thing was that everyone who I met, immediately stated that they don't know how to paint on location and usually don't like what they do.  I thought to myself, "Who knew?  We are all alike with the same fears and the same feelings of inadequacy."  Anyway, I truly loved the experience.  I did a value sketch first in my small notebook, just to warm up and to figure out my "light Pathway", that I always preach about in my workshops.  It was a beautiful day, 75 degrees, sunny with great long shadows.  I found a shady spot, and painted a quarter sheet watercolor painting of the scene.  It isn't done yet, but so far, I kind of like it.  Anyway, when I got home in the afternoon, I was excited about painting my 30 Day Challenge painting, and this was the outcome.  If you look closely, you will see hearts all over the place.  I did NOT paint them.  They just showed up.  My late friend, Connie Cuthbertson used to collect heart rocks, and now that she is passed on, I know when hearts show up in my painting, it means that she is with me.  I really believe that.  Anyway, after I completed this painting, I thought it resembled a trapeze act, thus the title. 

Day 5 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Tangled Life Story"    7" x 10"
Watercolor and collage     $75

I've been having troubles with my computer, so I apologize for this late posted of Day 5.  This painting was fun to do, because I was learning during the process. My goal was to try new colors and see what happens when certain colors are place right next to other colors.  I have a new love of raw sienna, but only when I use 3 layers to get the richness of the color.  I love the vibration of color against the lime green.  Adding a neutral grey color was also effective to calm certain areas.  And then the Pop of the salmon color was just what this painting needed.  I have never been one to do graphs of color studies.  I like to do a miniature painting and try the colors there! So far, I'm really enjoying this 30 Day Challenge.  I've got some goals for myself for future paintings.  Maybe even some people in these abstract starts!  :)

Day 4 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Hidden Butterflies"     7" x 10"
Watercolor and Collage     $95

Somewhere in the middle of this painting, I decided to add images of butterflies.  My objective was to make this painting abstract first and then if the viewer happened to find the butterflies that was great, but that wasn't what I want the viewer to see first.  I told you that my colors would most likely change after I had been in Florida a few days and it really has!  Our view of a golf course with all the greens and a small pond outside our house is totally influencing my color choices. 

Day 3 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Recollecions"    7" x 10"
Watercolor and Collage     $75

I am a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and my goal when I started this was to get more geometrical angles in this painting.  I collaged with old pattern pieces, which I used back in the day when I sewed most of my clothing.  You didn't know that about me, did you?  Colors used in this painting were scarlet lake, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna, new gamboge, and Holbein cobalt turquoise.  It always amazes me how these turn out.  I just let the painting guide me as I go along. Many of you have requested progressive photos.  Here are the steps to this painting:

Step One, Dry brush with watercolor

Step 2:  Add Collage

Day 2 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Flags Waving"       Image:  7" x 10"
Original Watercolor and Collage     $75

This is a companion painting for yesterday's painting, "Bridge over Troubled Waters".  I used Cobalt turquoise, raw sienna, burnt sienna, and quinacridone gold for both paintings.  Limited pallette is one way to avoid color troubles.  We are now in Florida, enjoying our escape from winter weather, so I expect my colors to change dramatically.   Full disclosure: These first 2 paintings, I had done ahead, knowing that I would be traveling for 4 days to get down here.  :)

30 Paintings in 30 Days-2018!

"Bridge over Troubled Waters"

Image:  7" x 10.5"       $75

Original watercolor and Collage

I'm so excited to again participate in Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!  Click on this link to check out all of the other participants in this challenge.   https://www.saetastudio.com/30-in-30.html This year, my theme is to paint abstract collage paintings.  I predict that these will eventually have something recognizable in them, but to start with, I'd like to keep them totally abstract.  These colors were requested by my friend, Jennifer Stone.  And since I just returned from the Sedona area,  I was easily inspired to paint in these colors.  Look closely and you will see the collage in this piece too.  I thought it resembled a river with a bridge over it, so that's where the title came from.  All of my paintings in this 30 day challenge are available for the reduced price of $75 each.  Heads up:  tomorrow's painting is a companion piece for this one.  I usually paint 2 of these at once.  It's a win/win.  2 paintings that go together AND it helps with the timing, so no blow dryer is needed.  :)

Little Abbeys- Great Warm ups!

"Hope"    Original watercolor and Collage
5" x 7" Image,   $45 plus shipping

Whenever I'm feeling scared to face that white sheet of paper, I turn to a variety of warm up exercises.  One of those is painting "little abbeys".  This is a nickname that I gave to little abstracts many years ago.  The process is that you start with only 3 colors and paint a cruciform design.  Then you add that collage papers for pops of color and textures that are hard to paint.  I use napkins, gelli print papers, newspapers, and magazines for the collage papers.  I use acrylic matte medium to adhere them to the underpainting.  I'm teaching this process in Watertown, SD on October 18 and 19, 2018.  Contact Jennifer Stone at  jstone@wat.midco.net to sign up!
These paintings teach you some very good painting habits and I use these for studies for larger paintings too.  They really get my imagination going!  This one is called "Hope".  I used Spring colors to signify regrowth, and bright yellow for a happy color! 

"Every Trick in the Book" by Karen Knutson

"Every Trick in the Book"  $395
Original watercolor and collage,  Image:  15" x 21"

This painting was inspired from the little abbey (my nickname for small abstracts) below.  I talked about it in my last blog.  To enlarge the little abbies, you must think about big shapes and also be willing to do multiple glazes to make the values darker.  Otherwise, the process is very much the same as the little abbies.  We start by mimicking the little abbey, but then, we let the painting talk to us, and put the little abbey away.  There are collage papers in this painting that I made by creating a charcoal pour.  I know that the students are going to LOVE this process.  We actually throw a big bucket of water on the paper that has charcoal powder on it.  I named it "Every Trick in the Book", because it has lessons on the drip process, collage, masking, making a charcoal pour, glazing, unifying color, and ending with Tulip black outliner paint.  I'm teaching an abstract watercolor/ collage workshop on November 1-3 at the Lakeville Center for the Arts.  It's one of the few local workshops that I teach anymore.  To sign up, contact Suzi McArdle Suzimcardlehood@gmail.com

612-281-6781.  There are only 2 spots remaining, so act quickly! 

Little abbey (5" x 7")

Out with the Old, In with the New!

Little Abbeys, 5" x 7" each,  $45 each
2 versions of little abbeys, using the same colors
 

After getting very sick with pneumonia, being hospitalized for 4 days during Thanksgiving time....  I am SO READY to paint again!!!!!  All of December, I have been just trying to regain my strength.  So I started out easy, doing a little abbey (small abstract), size 5" x 7".  My goal was to stay with soft edges, and use only 3 colors.  I used cadmium yellow, opera pink, and French ultramarine blue.  Why I picked these colors, I'll never know.  I hardly ever use these colors!  But, I knew from experience, that if I stayed with only those 3 colors, I would have pretty colors. I love the red color that comes from mixing cadmium yellow with opera pink!  Who knew?  My friend, Ressie Burrows predicted that I would be painting with vibrant colors since I had it all bottled up for 2 months.  She was so right! The second day, I used the same colors, but instead of soft edges, I went with some hard and some soft.  I also added wire drawing to complete the painting.  To see more wire drawings, go back to some of my past blogs.  Sadly, I've made the decision to NOT do the 30 paintings in 30 Day Challenge, like I usually do in January.  I'm still rebuilding my strength, so it's not a wise idea to put that kind of pressure on myself.  I will, however, be posting wire drawings many of the days in January, and they will be for sale at a low price, so if you're interested, stay tuned!  Happy New Year, everyone!  I wish you all a healthy new year! 

Paintings LIttle Abbeys (small abstracts)

"Little Abbey 1", Original watercolor and collage, $45

"Little Abbey 2"  Original watercolor and collage, $45

I just finished teaching 2 separate workshops on Painting Little Abbeys.  "Little Abbey" is my nickname for little abstracts (5" x 7" images).  I use these as warm ups whenever I haven't painted for more than 3 days.  It's amazing how much I forget in those 3 days that usually comes naturally.  I sell them for $45 each.  We start these by laying in analogous colors.  Then I add collage for texture.  The things that I keep telling myself are 1. Simple shapes to start with. 2. Keep colors pretty by remembering the "clean color" rule. 3. Let my painting talk to me, so that I get interesting shapes.  4.  Repetition and variation of shapes and colors.  5. Make sure that I have accentuated the center of interest.  These paintings are so fun to do!  I've been asked to do another workshop on October 29 and 30th in my home studio here in Eden Prairie, MN.  It's a 2 day workshop: one of the days will be Little Abbeys and the other day will be Funky Ladies.  If interested, please email me.  Karen@karenknutson.com   Below are the student's paintings:

How I get my ideas for paintings!

"Rhythm of my Mind"

 

Do you ever wonder where I come up with my ideas for abstracts?  I have many different triggers to get ideas, but one of my favorites is to do "little abbeys" and then use that little 4" x 6" painting as my study for a larger painting.  I start out by dragging my loaded brush across the cold press 140 lb. watercolor paper, and the skipping action is how the whites are saved.  (I do this in a drybrush fashion.)  Then I add collage papers to liven up the colors and add a center of interest by adding a totally opposite color in that area.  After that dries, I weave a unifying color through the painting, and lastly add blacks near the center of interest.  Below is the small study that I used for the finished painting, "Rhythm of my Mind".  Even though the colors are different, you can see some similarities, I hope.

I'm going to be giving a demonstration on this process this Thursday night for the Minnesota Watercolor Society.  The meeting starts at 7:00 and is held at the Christ Presbyterian Church, 6901 Normandale Boulevard, Edina, MN. Hope to see you all there!