Struggling To Find His Footing
gouache portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood
Available here
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Mixed Media Artist - daily painter of portraits, flowers, abstracts and birds
Painting a man
with long blonde hair,
beard & mustache
in my art journal
In his face there came to be a brooding peace that is seen most often in the faces of the very sorrowful or the very wise. But still he wandered through the streets of the town, always silent and alone.
Carson McCullers
This is another mixed media portrait using gouache, watercolors, stabilo pencils, craft paint & chalk paint.
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I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.
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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
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
***
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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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. 🙂
Rabbit wearing knitted sweater
11×14 inch
oil pastel portrait drawing
This oil pastel portrait painting has been varnished, and is ready to hang in your favorite frame.
Knit Sweater
Available here
Shipping is free with the USA
I hope you have a lovely creative weekend.
Judgement Call
Oil pastel portrait on cardboard
Available here
These oil pastel portraits were created from my imagination, which is always an excellent jumping off place to begin a creative session.
Imagination is an invincible portrait.
Lailah Gifty Akita
Naive Nomad
Oil pastels on cardboard
Available here
If an image hasn’t already formed within my mind’s eye when I’m ready to draw or paint, I close my eyes for a few seconds, and wait for something to appear.
Money Lover
Oil pastels on cardboard
Available here
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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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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.
***
Sign up now to get my blog posts delivered to your inbox for free.