Drawing – Katie Jeanne Wood

Haven’t said this in a while, but I painted some birds

SOLD!

When I ended my bird series a year or two ago, I thought I was done painting them. I had painted 300 or 400 bird paintings, and felt burnt out.

SOLD!

What I’ve learned over time about being an artist is never say never. Artists often get tired and/or bored with a subject matter, but that doesn’t mean those feelings will last forever.

Flicker woodpecker
SOLD!

When I sat down to paint last week, I suddenly got the urge to paint the birds I’m posting here today. When you hear that little voice in your head talking, please listen. I hadn’t planned on painting birds, but I went with it because why not? Sometimes taking a break is all we need to make everything old seem new again.

SOLD

~~Some~~ All of these paintings sold very quickly, so I’m quite happy I listened to my muse.

SOLD!

In other news, things have been crazy busy around here. I’ve been trying to get all my orders shipped out, answer a boat load of emails, and keep up with listing & cross-listing on several selling platforms.

SOLD!

Plus, I’ve had to deal with problems caused by USPS. Gah. I mean, it’s bound to happen when you’re shipping out a lot of orders – this time of year, especially, but for them to mess up several (5) expensive orders (one was over $500) has been stressful.

SOLD!

I reported the issues through usps.com but never received an email back from them – not even an automated acknowledgement that it was received. I’m not sure if this is normal or if it didn’t go through? Still not sure if the issues were fixed, but hopefully things will work out okay. Time will tell.

Needless to say, with all this going on, I haven’t had time to blog.

Santa
Available here
🎅🏻

Thanks for stopping by. If you’ve purchased paintings from me, thank you soooo much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you. I’m still in the process of getting orders out, but I should be caught up soon.

May you all have a happy, peaceful holiday season. I hope to see you in 2025.

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Oil pastel portraits Rescued Series No 4-6

Oil pastel portrait painting
Woman wearing red & black stripes
Rescued Series No 4
Available here

Oil pastel portrait painting
Man with black beard
Rescued Series No 5
Available here

Oil pastel portrait painting
Boy with bangs
Rescued Series No 6
Available here

I’ve completed 77 of these cardboard pieces so far in this series. Many are only $15 in my eBay store. I’m keeping my prices as affordable as possible during these tough economic times, so you can treat yourself to some new art without breaking the bank.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely weekend.

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Sneak peek at an oil pastel portrait painting

Sneak peek at an oil pastel portrait painting
WIP

Are you getting bombarded with Cyber Monday emails today? I’ve had several big companies email me out of the blue with ads for their sales. I never signed up to their mailing list, nor do I want to continue receiving unsolicited emails in the future. Having to take time to unsub from emails I never signed up for was annoying, and it will probably get worse when December gets here.

I’ve also started to unsub from artists who only email when they’re selling something. There will be dead silence for weeks or months, and then BAM. Email after email – buy this, buy that.

Over the weekend, one artist sent out a barrage of emails about her new class. There’s nothing wrong with telling people about your class, but this was over the top. I think I counted 16 emails in two days. This was after already receiving numerous emails about the class & her art sale last week. Oy.

Two days left, one day left, hours left – allll weekend my phone notifications kept going off. I know marketing gurus tell people to do this to create a sense of urgency – “HURRY BUY NOW!!” but please, I beg you, don’t do this – for the sake of your art business & your followers.

Yes, it got my attention but at what cost? This morning after deleting the emails, I had had enough, and I unsubbed. It sucks because I like this artist & her work.

This kind of “marketing” smells heavily of desperation, and it stinks being on the receiving end of it. If someone wants to sign up for your class or buy your art, they will. Please be patient, and give them time to consider what you’re offering. There’s absolutely no need of sending “urgent” repetitive reminders every few hours. You’re just going to annoy people with this tactic, and lose followers in the process. Just my two cents, for whatever it’s worth.

The art supplies from HELL. A (cautionary) Halloween Tale – I’m a little late to the party on this one, but it’s so creative & entertaining, I have to share.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Notes from NYC’s Underground Art Scene

In Praise of Painterly Painters – “painterly painters have little interest in the dogged pursuit of “perfection”. If anything, they’re hostile to it. “Perfection is the enemy of great art,” says one such painter. “Make a few mistakes,” recommends another.”

Artist Insights Georgina Potter – video from Jackson’s Art

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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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Woman & cat oil pastel portrait painting WIP

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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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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Oil pastel men portrait paintings

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. 🙂

Cray-Pas Expressionist oil pastels review

Cray-Pas Expressionist oil pastels

The first time I used these oil pastels, I thought the colors were too basic, so I used other pastels to fill in the colors absent from this set. There isn’t a dark blue, purple or green which I often use for shadows. The red is more of a burnt orange, and not as vibrant as others I use.

This time around I decided to only use the colors in this set, so I could test out how well the pastels work with each other. I also wanted to figure out if this set is the right choice for me, given the limited colors to choose from.

Turns out, I really like these Cray-Pas Expressionist oil pastels. They are similar to other brands I use, like Arrtx. I didn’t find the limited palette all that difficult to use once I set my mind to using less colors.

These Cray-Pas Expressionist oil pastels have a nice creamy texture, and layer quite well. I was able to use white for highlights, and blend it in smoothly with my tortillon. Some brands I’ve tried don’t layer or blend well.

These oil pastels left very little crumbs on my paper. It was easy to blend in the tiny pieces with my tortillon as I was working. The paper I was using is 65 lb toned drawing paper. I’m not sure what the brand is or where I bought it.

I’m pretty sure I used every color in this set on this painting, and they all were consistent in texture. This is important to me because other brands I’ve tried haven’t been consistent – some colors were dry & crumbly, and others were too soft & slippery. See links below for my review of Paul Ruben oil pastels.

If you’re someone who likes to work with a limited palette, you’ll most likely love this set. If you need more color options, you should check out the Arrtx brand.

Other brands of oil pastels I have reviewed so far – Arrtx, Paul Rueben: part one and part two, and Cray-Pas Expressionist.

Reading:

Recreating The Colour Palette Of Helen Frankenthaler – So beautiful! I have often thought of buying a wooden palette to use for a month or so, and then hang it on the wall as a display piece. Also, I couldn’t help notice how Helen looked so much like my mother when she was her age.

7 tips for the self-taught artist

Decaffeinated – Blogpost I read last month, and have reread several times since then – “Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that you’re lucky you get to do this in the first place. If it’s something you get to make any kind of living at, you’re lucky. If you’re someone with the ability or luxury to carve out actual time in your day to be creative, you’re lucky. If you live in a place where freedom of speech is a given, you’re lucky. If your brain is still healthy and working, then you’re goddamn lucky.”

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I’m currently on hiatus from creating new work to sell, but there are plenty of paintings in my shop for sale. Shipping is free within the USA, if you purchase art directly from me. I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy. You can get some great deals on my weekly eBay auctions and/or on some of my flash sales I have on Etsy.

As always, if you want to say hello or have any questions you can write me here. I love getting email, and hearing from you.

Other places to find me online.

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Drawings or paintings?

What Nothing Could Be
Available here

I’m still trying to figure out if art made with oil pastels should be considered drawings or paintings. I go back and forth using the two words when I’m describing my artwork, mostly because I don’t want to be repetitive and write “drawing” a million times.

Until The Feeling Fades Away
Available here

The definition in my mind is – if it’s created with a paintbrush & paint, then it’s a painting. If using oil pastels alone, it’s a drawing.

Straight To The Cutting Edge
Available here

However, when I’ve looked at the drawing category on different sites online, most are done with pencil or charcoal. I don’t see any oil pastel work there, so maybe I should be labeling my pastel portraits as paintings, not drawings?

She Recalls
Available here

At the end of the day, what difference does it make what anyone calls anything? I’ll probably continue to use both drawing and painting interchangeably. I hope this doesn’t confuse anyone.

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As always, if you want to say hello or have any questions you can write me here. I love getting email, and hearing from you.

Other places to find me online.

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Oil pastel portrait painting work in progress – Inviting an Inquiry

Oil pastel portrait painting
work in progress
Inviting an Inquiry

8×8 inch
cardboard art

Drawing is rather like playing chess:
your mind races ahead
of the moves
that you eventually make.
David Hockney

Blending blending and more blending
until my wrist falls off
😂

This was another character who was living in my head. By that I mean, I didn’t use a reference photo to create her because she already existed in my imagination.

Inviting An Inquiry

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely day.

PS: Those of you on my subscription list got a bonus post from me on Friday. Sorry about that! I messed up, and was supposed to schedule one of them for next Friday. I’ve rescheduled it, but you shouldn’t receive another email when it reposts.

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As always, if you want to say hello or have any questions you can write me here. I love getting email, and hearing from you.

Other places to find me online.

***

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