Blog – Page 30 – Katie Jeanne Wood

Holy Cow!! I painted 72 paintings in October!!

Katherine Wood - stack of 4x4s for October 2013

26 4×4 paintings

16 6x6s 2 8x8s 25 8x10s + 9x12s 1 10×10 1 12×12 1 16×20

Whew! This post took forever. I’m going to have a better system for November, so I’m not rummaging all over my computer for photos. I think the grand total is 72 paintings for October. !!! Why I thought I wasn’t painting enough is beyond me. I knew I completely depleted my stash of canvas, but I didn’t think much of it. Being my own boss, I always have trouble knowing when enough is enough. It’s going to take me the entire month of November to get these listed on Etsy. Good thing I’m going back to one painting a day, huh? lol

I stopped at 17 new faces

I stopped at 17 new faces.

Sold!
3 Sisters on a Camping Trip Prints are available at Etsy

acrylic mixed media collage portrait painting

It’s time to tally up the paintings for the month of October. I’m thinking I might do a video this time around, but I don’t know if that will be too boring. We’ll see..maybe just another end of the month collage?Happy Halloween! Be safe. Yes, Halloween excites me. That whole time of year, autumn, I find exhilarating. A passionate season. The others are so bland. In the fall, you see opportunities for change. Real change. Possibilities present themselves. None of the renewal and redemption cliches of spring. No. Something darker and more primal and more important than that. ~Alice LaPlante

Basically, I think I was crazy in the head

9 new faces

So, yesterday was day three of my new studio hours, which, if you missed it, my hours are were 4pm to 8pm every night. I must say, four hours is a looong time to paint. As much as I love to paint, I found myself looking at the clock a lot, and wishing the hours would go a bit faster..just like I used to do at my office job. haha It’s true! Since I have the best job on earth, I should be ashamed of myself for admitting that I was a bored artist. It’s the first that’s ever happened, and I hope it never does again. An artist who’s bored??!! Unheard of!!

I found out I can get 9 4×4 inch faces done in my four hours of studio time. I also found out that painting for 4 hours straight makes me dizzy, but that could be because I have this ongoing inner ear problem, which causes vertigo. Or, it could have been the jello shots I started doing because I was so bored. I don’t know. Yawn.

Acrylic Portrait Painting, Collage, Girl, Face, Orange, Flowers, Abstract, 6x6 canvas panel, Free Shipping USA

From What She Knows Free shipping within the USA

Available for purchase here

Basically, I think I was crazy in the head to think I could paint for 4 hours straight every day. What was I thinking? I know I have the attention span of a gnat, so how did I think I could focus for 4 hours straight? I guess I thought because it was painting, and I love to paint, it would be no problem. ha ha I laugh loudly at myself.It was the clock thing that threw me off tho. I’ve painted waaaay longer than 4 hours before..I’ve had some days that I didn’t put the brush down for 10 or 12 hours straight, and it wasn’t a problem at all. But, I wasn’t on any time schedule then. I wasn’t telling myself I HAD to paint for so many hours. Ahh, see what’s going on here? I’m deathly allergic to the clock, and having it tell me when I’ve painted enough for the day. Sooo, no more clocks, time checking, and schedules. That’s for 9 to 5ers, and there’s a BIG reason I’m not an office worker anymore. Omgosh, I hated hated hated being told when I could eat lunch..what if I wasn’t hungry??, when I could go home for the day..what if I need a nap at 3pm??, and all those stupid rules to follow..like don’t eat other people’s food in the fridge..what if it smelled and looked delicious??? Oh, and how those minutes before 6pm would drag ooooooon for sooooooo long..because y’know..I couldn’t leave work until 6 on the dot. Ack!! I don’t want to live my life like that ever again. I guess it doesn’t matter what job I have, if there are too many rules to follow, and I’m watching time slowly tick by on the clock, I balk. It’s just my nature. So, no more of that..instead, I’m going back to what I was doing last month, and that’s a painting, and blog post a day. If it takes me 1 hour or 10 hours to paint, it doesn’t matter. No more clocks!!! No more checking the time. I quit!! ha ha Yeah sure..can’t stop! Won’t stop!!

Some paintings have a mind of their own

on the easel

I thought she should be pale. I was in a muted color kind of mood. She screamed back at me, “I want to be colorful.” So, she’s more colorful. Who am I to argue with my paintings? 😉

Acrylic Portrait Painting, Woman, Pink, Rose in Hair, 12x12 Canvas

She Wanted to Be Colorful
acrylic mixed media collage portrait painting
12×12 on canvas
SOLD!

Miss Me a Little and more talk about my painting schedule

Acrylic Portrait Painting, Original, Woman, Blue Bonnet, Green Shawl, 8x10 Mixed Media, Canvas Panel

sold!
acrylic mixed media collage portrait painting

Miss Me a Little Prints are available here

Yesterday I was writing about blocking out some time in my day for painting because if I don’t make time, I end up sitting at my desk all day. Having an online presence is vital to my job, but so is getting into the studio and painting. I’d love to spend every day just painting, and have someone take over all the online work for me, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. So, I thought a lot about it, and decided that 4pm – 8pm are going to be my studio hours. That means no answering emails or Internet during those hours.

Henry, 4x4 Mini Acrylic Portrait Painting on Chipboard, Original, Boy, Winter Coat, Scarf, Peachy Pink

Henry Available for purchase here

Being an artist, and working for yourself, is no different that any other job. You have to show up, and work. I honestly don’t know how I’ve been accomplishing anything lately. I paint for ten minutes, then I’m back doing computer work. Four hours later, I remember I was painting something, and I paint for 20 minutes. Back to the computer. I need to rein myself in, and focus for longer periods of time. It feels great knowing that later today I’ll be painting for 4 whole hours, nonstop. Yes!!

What does your painting schedule look like?

Maria

Acrylic collage portrait painting

9×12 inches

Heavily collaged portrait painting of a pretty girl with black hair and ruby red lips. She’s wearing a pink shirt with a blue collar. You can see handwriting from old handwritten letters under the paint, plus stripes, and other goodies.

Maria

9×12 on canvas panel

Available on Etsy or directly through me.

I’m sitting here with my pen and notebook, trying to nail down a painting schedule that will work for me. I need one..nothing crazy or rigid, but I need to block out some time every day for painting. Right now, I’m doing about 95% internet stuff.Etsy listings, FB, FB page, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, some Ning sites, my new website (which isn’t completed yet), and my blog here. I also spend a great deal of time with my camera, and in Photoshop making these photos you see here and in my listings. It takes a huge chunk out of my day. It gets to be 2am, and I still haven’t painted yet that day. I need to block out some painting time or I’ll never find time to paint again.

One thing that’s been throwing me off lately is my husband’s hours keep changing. One week he works nights, the next week he works early day shift, then nights, then days. This has been going on for a month now. We just get used to going to bed reallllly late, like 4am, for me, and bam. Gotta get up at 6am again. I’m working a million hours a day on no sleep, and I’m not functioning the best. So, I decided he’s on his own. I can create at any time of day, I don’t need to find my muse or be inspired or be in the mood. I just get to work, but my prefered hours are nights. I love the dark, and quiet best. So, I’m back on my night shift, and loving it. I just have to paint more, and spend less time online. Wish me luck! haha

What’s your painting schedule like? Have you set daily studio time for yourself? Or are you flying by the seat of your pants? Having an open schedule is fine, but when everything else starts crowding out my painting time, I know it’s time to rein myself in.

Carla – Collage Portrait Painting Photo booth Series

Acrylic Portrait Painting Collage 9x12 Canvas Panel, Original, Colorful, Mixed Media, Carla, Girl, Beehive Red Hair, Pastel Colors

acrylic mixed media collage portrait painting

I’m continuing on with my Photo booth Series that I started last month. I don’t know if I’ll ever grow tired of this series. I have always loved old black and white photographs, so this series is right up my alley. I love the hairstyles, and being able to use my creative license, and add color where there wasn’t any in the photo.

I found out an easy way to have reference photos delivered to my inbox every day. I went to Ebay, and did a search for vintage photo booth photos, and saved the search. Now, every day I get email with numerous photos in it. I sit at my desk with a photo open on the screen in front of me, and I very loosely draw the person. I usually exaggerate the hair or some facial feature..in other words, I make the painting my own, and I don’t copy the photo exactly. If I like the photo, I bid on it. 🙂 I have a huge collection of photos that I’ve bought on Ebay, and it grows by the month. It’s kinda an obsession with me, just a wee bit one.

Carla with the beehive hairdo is available for purchase on Etsy or directly through me.

Don’t Look, But Isn’t He Cute

Acrylic Portrait Painting, Large, 16x20, Original, Canvas, 3 girls, Collaged, Mixed Media, Orange, Green, Purple, Mixed Media

Don’t Look, But Isn’t He Cute
Title of the painting by Mary Hunt
16×20 inches
Mixed media
collage portrait painting

About: I asked my FB friends what they thought I should title this painting. I got so many responses, and it was hard to choose. I liked the idea that the three high school girls are standing at their locker, and they’re trying hard not to look at a cute boy they see down the hall. I think this is exactly how girls act when they see a boy they like. It’s easier to pretend not to see, and act coy.

Type: mixed media acrylic painting on wrapped canvas. The sides are 3/4 inches. Staples on back. All sides are painted black.

Sealed several times to protect it from dirt and dust. It has a slight glossy shine, and a gritty feel when you run your hand across it. If it gets dusty, all you have to do is wipe with a dry cloth. It is signed and titled on the back.

In progress shot

I really wish you could see this painting in person. I don’t think I captured it well with my camera lens. There’s so much layering, and things you can see with your eyes better than my camera picked up. The camera flattened everything.

This painting is available for purchase at Etsy or directly through me. I will invoice you through Paypal for $425, plus $25.00 shipping within the USA. Since this is a large painting, I will not be shipping Internationally.

To see more of my affordable collage paintings in my Etsy shop, please click here

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