Day 13 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Jenna"                 11" x 11" Image                   $145
Watercolor and permanent marker

This is another "wire drawing".  Basically a contour drawing, with changes and doodling afterwards.  In this one, I took it even farther than any others that I've done.  I'm trying to keep the integrity of the wire drawing, but add some depth to the painting too, without making it look like a coloring book.  I'm pleased, but will be trying to improve more as I go along.  The model is Jenna Erickson, who is Director of Programs at Madeline Island School of the Arts.  The first time I saw her, I knew that I wanted to paint her.  To me, she's like a Mona Lisa- very striking, and statuesque.  This isn't as good of a likeness as I would have liked but I'll be painting more paintings of her, and hopefully, one of them will capture her unique spirit.  She frequently wears colorful scarves and lots of jewelry. She is a genius at matching clothes to accessories.  If you get the chance, I strongly recommend the MISA for workshops.  It's beautiful and peaceful; it is located a short ferry ride from Bayfield, WI.  A nice place to reconnect with your inner soul. I've taught 2 workshops there and totally enjoyed the experience.

Beginning wire drawing of Jenna

Day 12 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"In one of my Moods"  11" x 11" commission painting

Sold 

I've had this commission since March of 2014, and the guilt just took over me today, so instead of doing my people paintings with abstract backgrounds, I did a "girl chicken" in front of an abstract background.  I feel like such a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!  Below are the other 2 that are companions for this painting.  The buyer bought the middle painting from my 30 in 30 Challenge from last year, and wanted the chicken and rooster to go with it.  Hope she is pleased with the results. This painting is acrylic, watercolor, and collage.  To hear about the process of the dripping acrylic background, go to last year's blog from January 13, 2014.  Here is the link: http://karenknutson.blogspot.com/2014/01/30-paintings-in-30-days-day-14.html

  I'd love to get a conversation going about commission paintings with other artists out there!  Please post your comments below.  I have a love/hate feeling about them.  It's great to get sales, but I need to set deadlines for completion.  I think they push me to new levels, but obviously (from how long it takes me to complete them), I must not like being told what to paint!  I'm so spoiled!

 

 

 

 



Day 11 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Ooh Lah Lah"            11" x 11" image      $145  SOLD

“Ooh Lah Lah” came into being because I’m excited about the Golden Globe Awards tomorrow night.  I love all that movie star stuff! J  On tracing paper, I did a free hand drawing of the girl all glammed up. To check up on my drawing skills, I then placed the drawing over the actual photo to see how well I did.  I’ve been doing that lately, because I want to improve my drawing skills so much!  I used to think of myself as a pretty good drawer, but really lack confidence in that area lately as I’m really looking more critically at my skills and trying to improve each day.  Next, I drew a value sketch using only 2 values.  This is my road map while I paint.  At the very end, I decide where to put the darkest darks, depending on what I want to accentuate.  When trying to think of a background, I came up blank.  So, I looked through all my 30 minute color studies and found the one pictured below. I made a few changes, but it gave me a good starting point.  I did it on January 27^th of 2011.  That year, I had the goal to do a 30 minute color sketch using Tombow markers every day for a whole YEAR!!!! Yes, I said a whole year!  I only missed 2 days, due to totally forgetting!  How can one forget when you’ve been doing it for that long??!!!!  Life gets busy some days-- that’s how!  Anyway, I love being able to page through the color studies and be inspired for either a total abstract or a background for a semi-abstract painting.  Be sure to check out Leslie Saeta's blog to see other artist's paintings from this challenge.  I notice that many have dropped out by now.  Sure hope I make it to the finish line! Below are my first nine paintings.  I couldn't get the 10th one on there.

color study that I used for inspiration (left)
value study (right)

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)

Day 9 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Waiting Patiently"       11" x 11"        $145

Some days everything goes right in a painting!  Wanting to end with a blue theme, I started my underpainting using warms and brown tones.  I drew a value sketch with only 2 values, so that I would know where to connect my lights. I thought of Polly Hammett and how well she repeated shapes and simplified shapes.  That's what I tried to do! This painting was basically about where to scrub out, rather than painting in layers. (See yesterday's blog to get a more detailed description of scrubbing out with rubbing alcohol.)  Below you will see my underpainting, value sketch and my painting 3/4 done.  I actually considered it done, but after sitting critiquing it during wine o'clock, I decided that I indeed needed to add more darks.  I like the design in this painting.  Notice that even the bracelets are a repetition of the chair curve. 

Day 8 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Love Forever"            11" x 11" Image        $145  SOLD

I was kind of lost when I first started painting today, so I looked back through my 30 minute sketches that I did using Tombow markers, and found the swirl design in one of the sketches. Then I drew another value sketch, using only 2 values, light and medium.  Pictured below are the beginning underpainting and the simple value sketch.


I loved the colors so much in the underpainting that I decided to keep as much of it as possible. Would you like to see how I painted the word, "forever"? I believe that it is much more painterly, if I wipe it out rather than actually painting the letters.  So, the first step is to cover the area with masking tape.  Then carefully cut out the letters, using a single edge razor or exacto knife.  Be careful not to cut too deeply, so you won't cut a hole in the paper.  Then I rub the word out, using a cotton ball that is soaked in rubbing alcohol (91% Isopropyl works better than 70%.  Read at the top of the alcohol label).  (This only will work if you have prepared the paper in the very beginning by coating the surface with matte medium.  Let it dry before painting the underpainting.) **Very important:  Once you have scrubbed out the word, be sure to dry it with a blow dryer.  The heat from the dryer melts the glue from the masking tape and makes it easy to remove.

I've had so much fun painting in acrylics lately, that I've decided to teach a summer workshop in this process. If you would like to be on the list, email me at Karen@karenknutson.com  By the way, I'm so excited that I have over 100 people reading my blog now!  If you want to get on the list, simply provide your email at the top right area of my blog. Happy Painting!

Day 7 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Shop till we Drop"          11" x 11" image          $145

This painting had lots of ups and downs.  But to tell you the truth, I almost get excited when this happens.  I know, you're thinking I'm crazy.  But when I struggle with a painting, usually that's when I have to use my imagination to solve the problem and then I make a breakthrough.  I started with a messy underpainting (as explained in Day 3), and tried some new colors. Micaceous Iron Oxide is the one that I had the most trouble with.  I love the color, mixed with iridescent sparkles, but I know that next time, it should be a finishing coat, not an underpainting.  Anyway, I had a real mess, and then thought that the only thing that would solve the problem was to make complicated paper collage.  This process is explained on a video by Anne Bagby.  I took a workshop from her last summer, and she's a fantastic instructor and really top notch artist!  I strongly recommend her videos! Thanks again, Leslie Saeta for this incredible challenge.  Be sure to check out all the other paintings.  There are really some incredible paintings.  I'm amazed!

Day 6 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Love- Homage to Klimt"         11" x 11"         $395  SOLD

 

 

I started this using the wild underpainting, as explained in Day 3's blog.  This is acrylic on Strathmore Aquarius paper.  I got in a hurry and started putting in my dark values to form the figures.  Then I remembered that I had promised myself to do a value study this time, because I'm almost always more successful when I have a "road map".  I like to use only 2 values, and then put my darkest darks later on within the midtone area, and let the painting tell me where to put those darks.  When I paint with acrylic, I never paint the color that I intend to end up with.  There are at least 4 layers to build up to that color.  You can see the steps pictured below.  Gustav Klimt is one of my favorite artists, and this is in homage to his famous painting, "The Kiss".  I used their position and then took off on my own.  Can you see the hidden word in the painting?  This one is my favorites of all that I've done so far.  Don't forget to write me an email if you want to be on my student email list. Karen@karenknutson.com  I have 3 workshops in my home studio each summer, and they fill up within the same day that I advertise them by email.

Day 5: "30 Paintings in 30 Days"

"Balance in my Life"     11" x 11"         $145

In January every year, I crave balance in my life.  Are you the same?  Housekeeping, cooking, healthy eating, exercise, & painting:  Guess what gets the most attention?  Painting! .....as it should be, right?  :)  And I'm proud of that!  I always make time for friends and family, but I do take my painting seriously, because it's my job, not just a "hobby". (the dreaded word)  But sitting painting all day is not healthy, so I must make time for these other things.  That's my goal!  This painting started out the same as the past 3 posts.  The underpainting is below. Even though you might question this starting pattern, a little of that underpainting shows through to every layer on top of it.  This is acrylic on Strathmore Aquarius paper.  This painting took lots more time than it should have!  Some days are like that!  Many layers of corrections. But then again, that's what makes a deeper layered painting.   I realize today that I've been working without a value design for most of these paintings!  I truly believe in value studies with only 2 values.  So, tomorrow, that will change and the painting will go much more smoothly, I guarantee.  BTW, I've been asked many times about future workshops. If you are interested in my home studio workshops in the summer months at Eden Prairie, MN, email at karen@karenknutson.com  I only advertise through email and they usually fill on the first day!

Day 4: "30 Paintings in 30 Days"

"Boys will be Boys"           11" x 11"              $145

This painting was started just like yesterday's painting, using acrylic paint. It's pictured below.  (See Day 3 for detailed explanation.)  By the way, Carole Barnes was the instructor who taught me how to start with a wild underpainting, and she also was the one who influenced me to use Aquarius Strathmore paper when I do acrylic paintings.  I highly recommend her as an abstract acrylic instructor!  My goal when I started this challenge was to add figures to abstract background and to try to stay loose.  I kind of forgot that last goal today.  Some habits are hard to break. :)  But I was really pleased with the colors!   I named this painting due to the two boys pushing each other.  Yes, boys will be boys!