Maude
wren
canvas panels
Harold
It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done. Vincent van Gogh
Art is never finished
Art journal
Spring, my least favorite season, has begun. You might be thinking, aw, how can she say that?? Easy! Spring around here means tornadoes and bad weather. We can count on about 3 to 4 months of it, usually starting the end of February, beginning of March. We’ve been lucky, and it’s been quiet, until today. We don’t have any tornado watches for tonight, yet, but it looks like it’s going to be stormy through tomorrow night. Hope I’m able to get some sleep.
Paint a little, then step back
On the easel
16×20 acrylic impasto palette knife floral painting
Flower Series 148
Sometimes, I find that with larger canvases, it’s easier to lay them flat on the table, rather than use my easel. I can move around the painting better this way. The easel comes in handy when I think the painting is finished or when I want to examine the painting in its upright position to make sure everything looks right. Sometimes, when I work flat, I fail to see the vase is crooked or the flowers aren’t placed as well as they could be.
It helps greatly to place the canvas on the easel to get an idea of how it will look hanging on a wall. If I need to add more to the painting, I usually leave it on the easel. I paint a little, then step back. Paint a little, and step back. You should always do that to get a viewer’s perspective of a painting because you can’t always trust your view as an artist. Most of the time, an artist stands way too close to a painting to be able to really see it as others do.
Mother and Baby Boy
How I take photos of my paintings
before – dark and gloomy
As I said yesterday, I’m on a painting break. I’ve decided to spruce up my Etsy shops with new, improved photos. I finished up my Art by Katie Jeanne shop last week, and now I’m on to my Miz Katie shop.
after – lighter, brighter, prettier
Like I’ve said a few times now, I bought a new slr camera last summer. It has 24 megapixels, whereas my old Nikon only had 6 or 8. You probably already know that the more megapixels your camera has the larger the prints you can make. The higher the megapixels the better quality your photos will be, too. Long story short, I’m able to make much larger, better quality prints and photos now.
This is how I take photos of my paintings
I also bought new lighting last year, and have a photography table set up specifically for taking photos of my paintings. These were all big changes. I used to use my worktable to take photos of my work, and I’d have to clear it off every time I needed photos. Now I have a table in my office with a nice white lace tablecloth on it. It’s some different than that dark old paint stained table I was shooting on. My paintings look 100% better now. Don’t you agree?
before
Now
Slowly, but surely, all of my Etsy listings (roughly 1000, including all those expired. ack!) will have these new bright shiny photos in them. I just need time to retake all the photos of my paintings. Then there’s a little thing called editing each one in Photoshop. This is why I’m taking a studio break. It’s a long, daunting process, but so worth the time. Every time I see a listing with my old photos in it, I cringe. So dark and gloomy. I’m going to work my tail off until all my listings have these new lighter, brighter photos, even if it takes me all spring and summer to do it. Don’t worry. I’ll still be blogging. I’ll probably update you now and then on my progress.
It makes blogging soooo much easier
Abstract paintings that still need a lot of work, but I’m on a painting break right now. More on that tomorrow.
Sure signs of Spring.
Maudie and Harold
A small pile of heart rocks that my husband collected for me. Yes, this is only a small pile. You won’t believe how many heart rocks he has gathered for me. I feel so spoiled, and unworthy. I tell him that, but he just laughs, and brings me more.
Work table
Here’s the thing, sometimes I love my camera, and I take 500 photos a day. Literally. Other times, I completely forget I even own a camera. Weeks go by, and I take maybe 3 photos. This probably explains why my blog has been bursting with photographs this week, and other weeks, meh..not so much. I seriously need to keep up this pace. It makes blogging soooo much easier when I have photos to share. I don’t have to sit here, and think of something to write. What a relief.
Abstract painting in my art journal
One of my favorite things to do in my art journals is abstract painting. Nothing is expected of me, and I can experiment all I like without any worry of the outcome. (I don’t ever actually worry about the outcome of any of my artwork, but it’s still nice not to feel pressure to make something pretty) The texture on these pages, I wish you could feel it because it’s what makes these pages really special. I love to run my hand over the roughness of all the layers.
On the easel
This is the painting I posted last week titled Time Tested. I didn’t realize I had taken photos of it in progress or I would have posted this first. Oops!
I used to do a series called On the Easel, and I showed progress shots of a new painting just about every week. I fell out of doing that, but I’m thinking I should bring it back. I’m always looking for something to blog about. The hardest part for me is remembering to pick up the camera or phone while I’m working. Usually my hands are completely covered in paint, so I don’t like to stop, and clean up every few minutes. It interrupts the flow, and I tend to work very fast. I’ll try, tho..it might be fun, at least every once in a while.
In case you’re wondering, the kitties are home, and doing fine. They are even more hyper than usual, and keeping them quiet for the next 2 to 3 days is going to be tough. I think, at best, I can keep them away from Sweet Pea, but keep them quiet? I highly doubt it. So far, all they’ve wanted to do is run around, and wrestle, as if nothing happened. Maude just had Harold around the neck, choking him so hard he started coughing..I had to go separate them. haha
I have them up here in my office, but it’s a constant “dodge Mom and run FAST” every time I try to open the door..they want out, bad!! Other than feeling cooped up already, they seem like nothing ever happened. The only weird difference is the noise Harold keeps making..it’s like a constant little mrrrrow noise. He doesn’t seem in pain or anything..maybe it’s the meds making him more vocal than usual? Or maybe he has lots of stories he’s trying to tell me of his adventure to the vet for the first time?
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