Katie Jeanne Wood

Woman & cat oil pastel portrait painting WIP

November 13th, 2023

Woman & cat
oil pastel portrait painting
WIP

What I’ve been watching:

Is Instagram Toxic For Artists – this was interesting to watch because I’m the complete opposite of addicted when it comes to IG. I’ve tried to like it, but there are too many NFT scammers, endless insincere fake messages to wade through, loads of reels which annoyingly autoplay (UGH so tired of having reels shoved down my throat), ads every couple posts, plus all the hoops to jump through for the sake of their algorithm. I prefer being quietly, and peacefully alone here on blog island, rather than to put up with all the nonsense.

REALTIME Drawing in my Sketchbook (1 hour!) – Peter Draws…love that he’s back posting yt videos again

TUTORIAL: How I Make My Mini Scrap Journals – I’ve made 100s of books over the years, but I still love watching how other artists make theirs. You never know when you’ll glean something new.

Drawing on a rainy autumn afternoon by Cathy Cullis

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Total Absorption gouache & watercolor portrait painting

November 10th, 2023

Total Absorption
Portrait painting
Gouache & watercolors
8×8 on 135 lb paper

Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.

Buddha

Salvakalpa samadhi is like a sea of perfect light; nirvikalpa samadhi is no light, no darkness, no way to describe it. Absorption is complete, that’s nirvana.

Frederick Lindemann

Available here

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Watercolor & gouache portrait paintings in my art journal

November 8th, 2023

Katie Jeanne Wood
art journal portrait paintings
Gouache & watercolors

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Blue gouache portrait painting – Calm Abiding

November 6th, 2023

Katie Jeanne Wood
Blue gouache mixed media portrait painting
WIP
Calm Abiding
This portrait is available to purchase here.

Today I’m sharing something I read on Monday Monday written by Marlee Grace

“I find that now more than ever the effort it takes to begin anything is completely daunting and insurmountable. We ask ourselves the question – why would we invent a class, launch a product, promote ourselves, and share our wins with a relentless genocide happening, mass shootings at every turn, death at every corner, confusion and pain in our personal lives? When is the right time?”

“The answer is now – now more than ever we must continue to create. We must continue to make art. To make art in these times is what the artist does. We do not shrink, we do not hide. We weave in our values and our politics into the work. We weave in our voice and actions into the paintings, into the chores, into the dog walks, into the new podcasts and the book you’re promoting and the class you’re teaching.”

Beautifully said. I hope you create something today. xo

Creativity. It takes us out of our thinking brain and puts us right into this exact moment.

Colleen Attara

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I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.

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Oil pastel men portrait paintings

November 3rd, 2023

Remembering The Last Time He Saw Her
Oil pastels on construction paper
Available here

Today I’m sharing some portraits of men, which I created back in the summer. They’re all available in my shop.

The Art of Mindfulness
Oil pastels on cardboard
Available here

Sad Tragic Tale
Oil pastels on cardboard
Available here

I tried out this new tan board for photographing my paintings, but after using it one time, I switched back to a white background. Turns out my phone hates this color, and did all kinds of weird things to the photos, including turning some a purpley red. I would have spent hours in Photoshop trying to color correct each one, and who has time for all that? So the white background is here to stay…for now.

It gets boring doing the same thing over & over, so it’s fun to try something new, and experiment. You’ll never know unless you try, even tho most of the time I fail, fail, fail, fail & waste loads of time. <— Ain’t that the truth, tho? Ha! Oh, well.

Purity of Youth
Oil pastels on cardboard
Available here

I Need You To Tell Me
Oil pastels on cardboard
Available here

I’m off to spend the evening with my husband. We finished watching Anatomy of a Scandal on Netflix last night, and went on to watch 3 episodes of Six Feet Under. I had no idea this series was a comedy. It’s pretty funny. I’m not completely hooked yet, but most likely will be soon.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂

Portrait portrait of an older lady

November 1st, 2023

Portrait portrait of an older lady
in my art journal

I used gouache, watercolors, and craft & chalk paint for this portrait in my 9×9 inch art journal.

When it comes to staying young,
a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day.

Marty Buccella

What I’ve been reading:

Does anyone else feel like current events are too upsetting to do frivolous daily posting? – Reddit thread

I’ve been feeling the same way, especially about the incident in Lewiston, ME. Years ago, Lewiston was my home. My job at that time was working with deaf & autistic infants and children. When the news broke that the deaf community was targeted, I was absolutely gutted.

While that tragedy was going on, I found reading the replies in this thread helpful. Perhaps you will, also, if you’re struggling.

What I’ve been watching:

Make a Lovely Drawing of a Child – love her art & videos. Makes me miss oil pastels, so I’ll have to get back to drawing soon.

Why do I sketch?

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I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.

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Putting my own spin on things

October 28th, 2023

Art journal portrait paintings
using
chalk & craft paint,
watercolors & gouache
on construction paper

I’ve been wanting to add more drama to my portraits lately, so I’ve been using reference photos that have deep dark shadows, shadows within shadows, and bright highlights.

When I’m finished with the painting, I don’t want it to look anything like the photo – that’s not my goal. I’m only using the reference photo as a guide to know where to place the darkest darks, and lightest lights.

Often I’ll using a reference photo of a man, but I’m actually painting a woman – or vice versa. Sometimes, I’ll use the same reference photo for days, but my paintings are all different.

Putting my own spin on things is key to me. I want to look at a painting, and know it’s my own creation – not a copy of a photo.

I hope you have a lovely creative day.

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Purchase original art through me, and get free shipping.

I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.

You can message me here.

Other places to find me online.

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Portrait painting using COLOUR BLOCK watercolor paints

October 25th, 2023

This is a small example of the portraits I’ve been creating using the Colour Block watercolor paints I wrote about yesterday.

This was a portrait I made with acrylic markers. I decided to paint over the markers with the watercolors to test what kind of coverage the paint has, and I was happy with the result. For watercolor paint, I think it did a great job covering up the markers, and almost looks like I used acrylic paints. You can see a before shot of this painting here.

As I said in my last post, I’ve used these watercolor paints just about every day since I got them in July. Except for the white, which I use A LOT to mix lighter colors, I’ve barely made a dent in the tubes. The tubes are small, but last a long time because the pigment is quite rich. A little goes a long way.

I’m not an expert at grading paint, by any means. I just go by whether or not I like it, and I like this set. If you’re looking for an inexpensive set of watercolors, you should give these a try. Link to Amazon is in my last post.

***

Purchase original art through me, and get free shipping.

I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.

You can message me here.

Other places to find me online.

***

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