Abstract Paintings – Page 6 – Katie Jeanne Wood

Recycled cardboard art

Katie Jeanne Wood
Pink and yellow abstract cardboard paintings

These abstracts have already sold, but there are more recycled cardboard abstract art available in my eBay store at low starting bids. Remember to click the ❤️ to save me as a favorite seller, so you don’t miss out.

For example, the first two abstracts below are ending tonight, and the last one ends tomorrow..

This one looks like a fish fin to me.

Click on any photo to go to the auction.

******

We had a tornado watch last night,
but no tacos or
tornadoes were made.
Stormy weather continues today.
Stay safe everyone.
xo

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So where did I go wrong on this large abstract painting?

Edited: I wrote this post last month or maybe in August? This is in regard to the painting which hangs over my couch that I started to revise back in June. Links are below if you want to go back to the beginning, and follow the process. This revision was supposed to be something I did quickly to change the look of the painting for the summer. That “quickly” part obviously didn’t happen, and I’ve struggled with this one for months. As of today, the painting still isn’t finished. Oy. These are my thoughts of why this painting has been so difficult for me…

I think what happened was this..

1. the canvas is super big, and I’ve been painting mostly miniature or small paintings for months on end. The size of the canvas was intimidating. I had no idea what to do with alllll that space.

2. I haven’t painted on an easel in a few years. Standing up to paint is different than sitting down. Seeing a painting vertical, and not flat on a table takes some getting used to, especially with my eyesight being what it is.

3. It’s been about 10 years since I’ve focused solely on abstracts, and abstracts are difficult. It’s just you, blank canvas, and paint. No pressure or anything, but my brain said go make something you and everyone else (who will be judging your work the second they see it, you can be sure) will love. Um..yeah, thanks for setting me up for the impossible, brain.

4. I use reference photos a lot when painting portraits, so using a reference photo for this large abstract canvas felt more comfortable to me at first..until I remembered how trying to copy my old work made me feel.

Lean into the discomfort of the work.
Brené Brown

After finally figuring out what I was doing wrong, I grabbed the painting off the wall, laid it down on my table, and started splashing paint on it. The more splatters I made, the better I felt, and the more I liked the painting because I was experimenting, and making it mine in the present moment.

After the splatters dried, I did some dry brushing, and mark making with a charcoal vine. It’s not finished yet, but it’s feeling more like it was created by the artist I am today, which makes me happier.

The pessimist complains about the wind;
the optimist expects it to change;
the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward

I’m not sure where it’s going, but it finally feels like it’s heading somewhere other than the rubbish. lol I actually could leave it the way it is now, and be happy, but I think I’m probably going to keep going (edited: I have worked on it several times since I took this photo & wrote the post. I still don’t consider it finished). We’ll see. For now, it’s back on the wall, and whenever I look at it I don’t cringe anymore. ha!

You can see the progress I’ve made by reading part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4, and part 5 here.

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New start and figuring out all the things I didn’t like about this painting

new start

This is where I left off on the large painting that hangs over my living room couch. I was too frustrated to even take a photo of it when I hung it back on the wall a few weeks ago. I had put in a lot of time and effort, but I didn’t like anything about the painting. I had to give up on it for a while, and walk away from it.

After days of staring at it, obsessively over-thinking, and trying to figure out where I went wrong, I came to several conclusions:

1. I didn’t like the colors

2. It reminded me too much of my earlier work, which makes me laugh because if you remember, I was using a reference photo of a painting I created back in 2011 or so. So, like duh, why shouldn’t this painting remind me of old work? lol I have painted many large landscape paintings in the past that look just like the one above, which makes no sense to me now in hindsight. I painted over all those paintings because I didn’t like them. Heck, I even painted over the one in the reference photo I was using, so why was I trying to re-create it yet again??? My brain was clinging to my past work for some reason.

3. And..the biggest reason I didn’t like the painting? I find absolutely NO joy in re-painting or trying to copy my old work. Copying takes all the fun out of painting for me. I know that the happiness I feel when I’m painting comes from being alive in the moment, exploring, learning and discovering new things while painting. What happens if I do this? What happens if I try that? How about some pink here? No? Okay, maybe blue?

If I’m just trying to copy myself, there’s no experimenting or excitement because I’m not making new discoveries. I was staring hard at a photograph, trying to make a clone of an old painting, and that just isn’t how I want to work.

Be here now.
Ram Dass

I’m not sure where this painting is going, and that’s okay. Here’s to new discoveries, exploring new options, and having FUN while painting.

Edited: I wrote this post last month, but never got around to posting it. I’m knee deep in work right now, so blog posts will be sparse for the next several weeks, and most likely, throughout the upcoming holiday season. Thanks for understanding, and sticking with me. I appreciate you so much.

******

It’s the perfect time to freshen up your walls for the new fall season, so be sure to check out my eBay store. I’m listing original paintings at low starting bids. Remember to click the ❤️ to save me as a favorite seller, so you don’t miss out. I’m also having a 10% off already marked down paintings in my Etsy shop. Hurry! Sale ends soon.

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New abstract prints available now

All of these prints are available on paper and canvas. There’s a drop down menu with sizes to choose from on each listing.

This green & pink modern dance abstract print is one of my new favs. Really like how this one came out.

Light That Lands On Nothing
Abstract painting print
Prints available here

Katie Jeanne Wood
Conditions of Change
Green & pink abstract painting print
Available here

******

It’s the perfect time to freshen up your walls for the new fall season, so be sure to check out my eBay store. I’m listing paintings at low starting bids every Sunday night at 8pm central, giving you all week to bid on them. Remember to click the ❤️ to save me as a favorite seller, so you don’t miss out.

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Making simplified DIY cardboard for shipping paintings

Katie Jeanne Wood - DIY cardboard for shipping paintings

New simplified abstract cardboard pieces I made for shipping out paintings.
I’m sticking with 2 colors, and quick, easy knife strokes.

Katie Jeanne Wood - DIY cardboard for shipping paintings

I like these new pieces, but I’m starting to think it’s time to scratch the whole DIY packaging idea. Idk how much longer I’m going to keep making them. My studio space is being overrun with them. I have to leave them spread out on my table to dry, which means I have no room to work. That, plus I’m still spending too much time, and effort on something that could potentially be thrown in the garbage after the paintings are unwrapped. I’m questioning whether all this extra work is worth it, and after what happened last weekend, the answer that I keep coming back to is no.

Maybe it’s fatigue talking to me, and through me right now because I’ve made almost 100 of these over the past few days. I’m sooooo burnt out, and the thought of having to create even one more is making me cringe. Soo, it might be back to plain boring cardboard packaging for me. Idk..I’ll think about it, and decide in a week or so.

Have a lovely weekend. xo

******

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Beyond crazy weekend packaging up 33 sold paintings

cardboard diy packaging
these paintings were ready to ship

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining by writing this post because I’m truly most grateful, happy, and thrilled beyond words, but wooweeeee wowza YIKES!! What a busy couple days it’s been. Between my website, eBay, and Etsy, I sold 33 paintings, plus prints over the weekend. !!! My phone seemed like it was making a constant cha-ching sound. It was pretty exciting, but chaotic at the same time. I’ve been living in a giant ship storm ever since. lol

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I make my own DIY cardboard packaging to ship my paintings in. I sandwich each painting between the painted cardboard to keep them safe during transit. Getting so many orders meant I had to ~~quickly~~ frantically create 66 abstract cardboard pieces. !!!

finished cardboard diy packaging
these paintings were ready to ship

Getting hit with a lot of sales for the 3rd time in the past few weeks has made me realize that I need to make some drastic changes. As much as I LOVE being generous, and giving away 2 free abstract paintings on cardboard for every original painting sold, it’s simply not feasible. I can’t continue to put so much time, effort, and thought into each design. Not only did it wipe me out physically, but it also overwhelmed me mentally. I’m not afraid to admit that at one point, I was literally shaking, and in tears from the stress.

On top of having to create 66 abstract pieces on cardboard, I also ran into some major issues. Like, I couldn’t find one of the portrait paintings that sold. I tore my studio and storage apart searching for it. After about 2 hours of looking frantically every place I could think to look – this is the part where the tears started flowing – I finally decided I was wasting time looking for it. I either 1. lost it in the move a couple years back or 2. I gave it away. I give a lot of my work away, so it’s likely that’s what happened. I knew I had to re-paint it. UGH!! Talk about stressful!! It’s never easy to make an exact copy of older work, but to do it under these stressful circumstances really turned up the heat on me.

In the middle of all this chaos, I went to the kitchen for a glass of water, and discovered the fridge had died. I mean, ofc it did, right? So, I had to call my husband – who had his own stress going on. He was in the middle of editing a book for an author, and was under a tight deadline. Ack!! He had to drop everything, and make a mad dash to buy a new fridge. It was like 95F, and food was going bad quickly. I had to throw out a pot of homemade soup, and some other stuff. 🙁 Plus, deal with helping get the new fridge off the truck, inside, switching all the food over to the new one, and moving the old fridge out. When I say it was beyond crazy around here, it definitely was. Holy freaking moly.

finished cardboard diy packaging
these paintings were ready to ship

I definitely learned a big lesson, and that is.. I never want to be caught that far off guard again. Moving forward, I will continue making my own packaging, but I HAVE to simplify the design. No more fancy mark making or drips & drops of paint which take literally forever to dry. I don’t know if you’re familiar with selling on eBay & Etsy, but you only have a short window of time to get your packages wrapped up, and in the mail – no matter how many orders you receive, paintings you can’t find or if your fridge dies in the middle of it all. lol I’m happy to say somehow I did it. I actually got it all shipped out a day early, but man, I never want to go through that again. K.I.S.S is my new mantra.

Okay, now I’m off to get some licensing work done. I don’t know if I’ll be back here this week or not..depends on how everything goes, and how many edibles I have to eat to calm my nerves after all that. LOL If I don’t get the chance to write again, please be sure to check out my eBay store. I have 20 or so new paintings listed at low starting bids, plus more are coming every Sunday night at 8pm central. I just scheduled a bunch of new 9×12 figures and portraits last night for this coming Sunday. Remember to click the ❤️ to save me as a favorite seller, so you don’t miss out.

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You Belong Here – dark cityscape painting

Most or all of the windows were made with collage paper. The painting has a heavy textural feel from all the layers of paper and paint.

Available here

I’m probably going to go quiet here on the blog next week because I have some commissioned paintings I need to focus on, licensing work to do, and lots of orders to package up. I’ll be back when I can. Hope you have a lovely weekend. xo

******

It’s the perfect time to freshen up your walls for the new fall season, so be sure to check out my eBay store. I’m listing paintings at low starting bids – between $5 and $25 every Sunday night at 8pm central, giving you all week to bid on them. Remember to click the ❤️ to save me as a favorite seller, so you don’t miss out.

You can also find me on IG, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Abstract painting – yellow & pink squares

I had so much success with the last abstract painting I created with squares, that I wanted to paint another one. This time I went with pastel colors, toning it down somewhat.

I also went a little crazy scratching this one up with my awl. One of the things I love most about painting abstracts is being able to make all kinds of texture that’s fun to run your hand across.

This is something I wouldn’t do much when painting a portrait because I was afraid it would ruin the piece. I’d almost forgotten how fun it is to be destructive. I can’t wait to see what I find to scratch up next. lol

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