Katie Jeanne Wood

Mixed Media Artist - daily painter of portraits, flowers, abstracts and birds

Orange bird painting No 40

Katherine Jeanne Wood - 4x4 Bird Series No 40 01
acrylic on panel, 4×4, animals
Available here

Katie Jeanne Wood - oil palette
Prepping a new oil palette
I need the first few layers to be thin. Fat over lean, so the oil doesn’t crack.

Everything starts somewhere, though many physicists disagree. But people have always been dimly aware of the problem with the start of things. They wonder how the snowplough driver gets to work, or how the makers of dictionaries look up the spelling of words. ― Terry Pratchett

I’m teaming up with my husband on my next few paintings. He’s loaning me some of his photos to use as my reference, which is a pretty big deal to me. I stopped using reference photos over a year ago, and have been working straight from my imagination and memory ever since. While some artists might find it stressful to have to come up with a new idea for a painting without a photo to rely on, I prefer it. I find reference photos to be extremely restricting, and leaves no room for imagination or artistic expression. That, and I tend to fuss over little details until I’m ready to pull my hair out.

Thinking about the old way I used to paint breaks me out in hives. So why I am painting with reference photos again? Good question! My inspiration for this little project is coming from two different sources. 1. Having great reference photos to choose from because my husband is a nature photographer. 2. From a book I’m reading called The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting by Suzanne Brooker. I’ll be writing a book review sometime within the next week or two, so stay tuned for that. 

Okay, now to get to work. 

Blackbird oil painting – Bird Series No 35

Katherine Jeanne Wood - 4x4 Bird Series No 35 01
oil on canvas, 4×4, animals
Available here
Small to large prints available here

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I used to think it was impossible to be a daily blogger. I remember writing several times that IF I could post artwork, and not words, I could do it. Yet here I am, not just posting art, I’m actually writing every day. Weird, I know, but it’s happening because of a huge shift in my thinking.

I remember thinking to myself..I’m a painter, what do I have to say? All I do is work all day in the studio ALONE..my life is pretty boring. I figured out I was looking at it all wrong, and I began to make some changes to my thinking. Instead of saying “I can’t, I can’t” I started saying “I can” for starters.

I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow. – Julia Cameron

I also decided instead of trying to find a topic to write about, I’d instead ask myself one question when I sat down to write..”what’s going on today?” By answering that one little question, I filled up the post, and didn’t have much trouble finding words to do it. I tried it again the next day, and the next. I’m now in a writing groove, no longer at a loss for words. What surprised me the most is I no longer hate writing here, nor do I find it nearly as difficult as it used to be. Instead of having no words, I find myself editing out huge giant paragraphs to shorten my posts because I’m writing too much. ha! Never thought I’d say that in my lifetime. Well, it’s true. I did indeed write too much today, and I’m going to keep writing because the more I do it, the easier it gets.

If you’re finding it hard to write a blog post, try starting from where you are in that moment when you sit down to write, and go from there.

Writing makes you alive, and awake, and happy. – Natalie Goldberg

 

June chickadee bird painting No 33

Katherine Jeanne Wood - 4x4 Bird Series No 33 01
acrylic on panel, 4×4, animals
Available here
Prints are not available at this time.
This is the last one of a series of three.

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I think it’s because of the new year, but I had the urge to make some changes here on my website. First off, I changed how my subscriber emails are sent out, so if it looks different to you, there is no need to email me about it. I already know, and I changed it on purpose, which I’ll explain in an upcoming post..whenever I get time to write it.

Secondly, a new profile pic has been uploaded..aww, Sweet Pea and me. Every time I see that photo, I’m going to imagine her purring loudly, and that will make me happy. 🙂

Last but not least, I decided to close comments here on my blog. I’ve actually been thinking about doing this for sometime now, probably about a year, but obviously, it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I’ve tried to write about it several times, but never could get the words right. Instead, a quick Bing search found some bloggers who said it better than me, such as this post written by Seth Godin. He seems to have a way with words that I don’t. Here’s what he wrote..

I think comments are terrific, and they are the key attraction for some blogs and some bloggers. Not for me, though. First, I feel compelled to clarify or to answer every objection or to point out every flaw in reasoning. Second, it takes way too much of my time to even think about them, never mind curate them. And finally, and most important for you, it permanently changes the way I write. Instead of writing for everyone, I find myself writing in anticipation of the commenters. I’m already itching to rewrite my traffic post below. So, given a choice between a blog with comments or no blog at all, I think I’d have to choose the latter. So, bloggers who like comments, blog on. Commenters, feel free. But not here. Sorry.

I also found this blog post by Kelly Rae Roberts about the pressure of writing for an audience, and why she closed her comments. You’ll have to scroll about half way down the page to read it.

Like Seth, I think comments are great (for the most part), but, he’s right..I always have the commenters in mind as I’m writing my posts. Unfortunately, when you approach blogging this way, day after day, you begin to lose little pieces of yourself in the process. It starts to be more like “what will they say?” instead of “what will I say?” Like Kelly Rae, I want this space to be my sanctuary. It is my daily art/life journal after all. If I allow any stranger with internet access to weigh in with their thoughts and opinions about my online business, and personal life, it doesn’t feel like a sanctuary to me.

I hope you understand and respect my decision. Please note that if you ever want to send me a private message, the contact form is available here on my site. I usually get back to everyone without 24 hours.

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