abstract painting – Page 7 – Katie Jeanne Wood

Painting Regrets – Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday

I paint over my paintings quite often. I’m go through spells of not liking any of my work, and I don’t want to keep something around that’s going to make me cringe every time I see it. lol

“If you visit an artist’s studio and see

something you would like to own…

Buy it quickly and run.

Before it disappears.”
Quote from a great blog post I read about revising paintings
by artist Anne Wood

If I had to guess, I’d say I’ve painted over 300 paintings, and that’s probably being conservative. People have asked me if I have any regrets about painting over my work, and I have only two. I painted over the painting above, and below, and it wasn’t because I didn’t like them.

When I painted over the abstract, I was trying to enhance it, but I knew I had messed up pretty quickly. I tried to get it back to what it was by taking it out to the kitchen sink, and spraying off the paint. It wasn’t happening. The more I tried to wash the top layer of paint off, the more it was peeling off the crucial layers underneath. :/ No matter what I did, I couldn’t restore the painting. I’ve tried to re-paint it several times since then, but the moment has long passed me by. I’ve never been able to recreate it.

The mother and son painting titled “Cart Ride” was a different story. It took me a couple years to realize my mistake. I remember someone on FB told me that it was a special painting, and I’d be sorry if I painted over it. I didn’t listen. The reason I painted over this painting? Because it wasn’t selling. Stupid mistake.

I was inexperienced at selling paintings. I was used to selling handmade books, which were in a whole different price range, and easier to sell quickly. I didn’t know that most paintings don’t sell immediately. There’s sometimes a loooong gap of time between when the painting is finished, and when it finally ships out to its new home. That’s why when I finish a painting, I’m quick to move on to the next one.

I only know a handful of artists who can sell everything they paint fresh off the easel, those lucky dogs. 😉 Their work is in high demand, and that’s really cool for them. For the rest of us, the right person has to come along, and the timing has to be perfect. Not everyone has money to spend on art at any given time, something I never took into consideration.

I was impatient, and instead of hanging the painting on my wall, and enjoying it while I still had it, I painted over it. 🙁 It was a good lesson to learn, tho. I’ve never made these mistakes again, and only paint over something if I don’t like it now. Also, if a painting has good bones, and can be improved, I freshen it up, instead of painting over it.

How to make a digital signature brush for your artwork in Photoshop

Chaos
Acrylic abstract canvas painting
by Katie Jeanne Wood

As always, the signature you see on this first photo isn’t on the painting itself. It’s on the photo only. I watermark my first photo in case the photo gets shared by someone other than me on social media. I like all my paintings to be traceable back to me or my website. If my digital signature is on the painting, my name can be googled, and my art found. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen artwork that I love, but have no idea who the artist was that made it.

Since these photos are going to be on Etsy, I’m using my name as the signature, not my website. I haven’t checked, but I’m assuming it might be against Etsy’s TOS to have your website plastered all over every photo. I’d rather be cautious, and not have to redo thousands of photos or have my shop shut down over it. We all know how persnickety Etsy can be, and how shops have vanished into thin air for no apparent reason, and without explanation.

If you have Photoshop, it’s super easy to make a signature brush that you can then use over and over again. Keep scrolling down for the directions.

How to make a signature brush in PhotoshopCC 20.0.4 (I was finally able to upgrade to the latest version on my Mac. Yay!):

Write your name – you can either use a font or you can use your real handwriting. I personally don’t like the idea of putting my own signature out there online, but if you’re comfortable with that, go for it. If you use your own handwriting, write with a dark magic marker on a piece of paper, then scan or take a photo of it.
Open the scan or photo in Photoshop, and skip down to step No 4. If you’re going to sign your name using a font instead, keep reading.
Start with a new blank canvas. Click File –> New, choose a font that best suits you, and type out your name using the type tool, which is the large T you see in the toolbar.
When you’re finished signing or typing your name, select Edit – Define Brush Preset
Name your brush something simple to identify, such as signature, and click OK.
That’s all there is to it. You now have a new signature brush to use over and over again on all your artwork! Easy peasy!! You can change the size, and use any color you’d like when using the brush, as I demonstrated in the photo above.

Flipping a painting

Abstract No 133

The fun thing about abstract paintings? Whenever you get bored with it hanging in one direction, you can flip it, and have a new painting on your wall. 🙂

The original is mine to keep, but
small to large prints are available here

Pink and gray abstract painting video.

Youtube IS indeed hard work

Colors vary slightly between the finished photo, and the video. The photo is a scan, and the video was taken on my iPhone under not so great lighting. This abstract painting is available for purchase here.

How to Paint an Abstract Painting with Palette Knives video

Only one week to go, and my 31 day challenge of uploading a video a day will be over. Whew! As the Brits say, I’m knackered. I almost didn’t have the energy to write a blog post this week. I thought, what will I write about? All I’ve done is edit video for days on end. Bingo! Start where you are – always. I decided I have plenty to say about my third straight week of daily uploads on YT.

Firstly, I honestly don’t know how the daily vloggers do it, and I’ve said this repeatedly over the past 3 weeks. I’m completely in awe of their dedication, commitment, and work ethic. I knew before I started that it was going to be extra work, but I had no idea the amount of time I was going to spend editing the videos. Some days it takes me 10 or more hours to edit a short video in iMovie, and I’m not doing anything fancy. I mostly edit out my unnecessary hand movements, like every time I reach for paint or wipe my brush on a paper towel. I also edit out pauses I take when I’m thinking or interrupted. Nothing big, but OH, is it ever time consuming..not to mention tedious. I didn’t have that kind of time to dedicate to each video, so some of them I sped up super fast (4000% to 8000%), so my hand movements aren’t as noticeable. It cut my editing time drastically. I didn’t want to do that for every video, so there are varying speeds.

Having reached week three of daily uploads, I now can say without a doubt that Youtube IS indeed hard work, and those who say it’s not a “legit” job need to try it for a month. I can’t imagine having a camera in my face every single day like the daily vloggers do. I didn’t have to look my best, say all the right things, and constantly think of something entertaining to do while making these videos. All I had to do was paint, so I consider myself lucky. It was tough enough just filming my hands.

That all said, it’s still been a fun experiment, and something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. I LOVE the yt community. I’m happy I took the plunge, and I will continue to upload video to both of my YT channels going forward. It won’t be every day like it’s been this month, but probably two or three times a week. I need to think about it, and come up with a schedule that’s doable.

If you haven’t subscribed to my YT channels yet, there’s still plenty of time. I won’t be stopping any time soon, and you can watch past videos anytime you like. I also might get brave, and do some livestreams in the future, which will be fun. You can find my portraits here, and my palette knife paintings here.

I’ve had enough of black cloudy skies, tornado warnings, rain, flooding, and major highways closing down for the second time in a couple weeks. The weather here has been absolute crap for months now, minus a day or two, so I turned this dark photo into a pink one to remind myself that better days are coming. One can only hope. Weirdly, after I made this photo in Photoshop, the sky did turn a yellowy-pink last night. I grabbed a shot of it..

We were under a tornado watch at the time, so seeing this color wasn’t a good sign. You don’t want the sun coming out to heat things up, and cause a tornado, but all was good until I received this email this morning..

ONE TO FIVE INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN THIS AREA OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS, WHICH HAS EXACERBATED ONGOING FLOODING FROM HEAVY RAINS OVER THE PAST WEEK. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT, WITH CONTINUED AND WORSENING FLOODING EXPECTED. * THIS IS A SERIOUS FLOODING SITUATION WITH NO IMMEDIATE END IN SIGHT.

Major highways and interstates have been shut down again for a few days. For the second time in 3 weeks, we can’t get to our other house because the highway is under water. My husband has lost 2 weeks of work because his workplace is underwater. Crossing fingers that better weather is coming our way soon.

GET IN HERE BEFORE YOU DROWN, AND FEED ME!!
Miss Maudie Pawdee is such a demanding girl.

You should check out this clay artist. I’m absolutely fascinated with the itty bitty fine details of their work. I’m not saying that because I’m Jai’s stepmother, and I’m biased, but because you really really should check them out. 😀 You can also hire them to design your website or book cover.

Looking for copyright free images to use as reference photos in your artwork? This site is now my go-to. How generous of these awesome photographers to give their work away for free.

What I’m reading: The Hike by Drew Magary – Hilarious, sci-fi fantasy. I greedily gobbled up part one in one sitting. LOVE it, and I’m not big on sci-fi, so that says a lot.

What I’ve been watching this week: Bless This Mess on Hulu..OMGosh!! Dax Sheppard has been my obsession for months now. I’ve been googling and listening to every interview him and his wife have done. As soon as I heard about his new show, I binged every episode in one sitting. It’s absolutely HILARIOUS. This is my second time watching it, and I’ll probably watch it 3 or 4 more times. Pam Grier, Ed Begley Jr..need I say more??

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Let’s stay in touch. Let me know in the comments how you’re going to spend your long weekend, and if you have anything interesting planned. I plan on painting a lot, and getting some new videos recorded for next month. 🙂

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Luck, Luck, Luck

Friday, April 5th

It’s been a crazy upside kind of day. Had lots of life going on, which took me away from my studio. But hey, I managed to update my About page last night. Check it out if you’re curious! 🙂

Saturday, April 6th

Leaves are coming out, and the grass is long enough to cut now.
80F to 85F is in the forecast for the next several days.

I started working on a new Youtube channel today. I’m still going to keep my Miz Katie channel for portraits, but I’ve decided (finally!!) that I need a separate channel for my palette knife paintings. Now here comes my dilemma. I’m not sure which channel I want to use when I upload videos for 31 days in May. Hm..decisions. If you have a preference let me know in the comments. Portraits or palette knife painting?

Sunday, April 7th

Foggy morning

As soon as I saw how foggy it was, I had to get outside to photograph it quickly before it was gone. When I pulled this photo up in photoshop, I saw the bird flying into the trees. I didn’t see him this morning.

My grandmother used to say “luck, luck, luck” in her thick New England accent every time she saw a lone crow or blackbird. I think the superstition was if you saw one bird alone it meant you were doomed for sorrow because the bird had lost its mate. Saying “luck, luck, luck” immediately reversed your bad luck, and all was well.

If my grandmother saw two birds together it meant she was going to have good luck (or was it joy?) that day, and 3 birds meant it was time to check the post office box. She was going to get a letter (let-TAH). 😀

I’m not superstitious, but upon seeing the bird in this photo, I quickly said out loud, “luck, luck, luck”. I’d advise you to do the same..from now on. Life is difficult. Don’t want to take any chances. 😉

portrait painting

I’ll have to look at her later, and decide, but I think I finally finished her today.

BEFORE

It’s been a long studio day. I pulled a HUGE stack paintings out of storage, so I can revise them. Now that my storage space is limited to a tiny broom closet, I’m definitely not going to keep paintings around that I don’t like. I’m going to spend the next few months revising paintings, but it will be worth it.

The one above is one I painted about 4 years ago, but never offered it for sale because I didn’t like it. After giving it a second look, I like the comp, but the colors were all wrong for my style.

AFTER
drying in the sun

Available here

Monday, April 8th

Pink & white abstract farmhouse painting
Available here

These are the paintings I revised on Sunday. I’m very happy with how they came out. Can you believe one of these used to be a portrait painting?

Pink & white abstract palette knife painting
Available here

White & blue abstract farmhouse painting
Available here

I filmed the process of revising these paintings, and you’ll be able to see how I did it in upcoming videos.

Tuesday, April 9th

Late night in the studio last night. I filmed the making of these two abstract paintings.

The boldness of endurance is
the underline to almost every success.
– Mary Anne Radmacher

Wednesday, April 10th

I spent the entire day with my pal Photoshop today. After a painting spree, I know I have days of work ahead of me photographing, scanning, and editing the photos..kinda takes the fun out of painting for me, if I think of all the work I’m making for myself while I’m painting.

Sooo,
no painting today.
Just 14 hours spent
in Photoshop,
so how about
a photo or two?

I think these abstracts deserve a bit of the spotlight. All the layers are quite lovely when seen up close. This one happens to be my favorite.

Thursday, April 11th

I’m going to leave you with some cute furbaby pics.

Harold hugging his chicken

A drawer full of Sweet Pea

Miss Maudie Maude & Har-wold Har-bear
Yes, I talk baby talk to my furbabies,
and give them all kinds of nicknames.
And?!
😀 😀 😀

A drawer full of Harold

Upside Harold & Chew Chew

Hope you’re having a great week. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.

Experimenting like a mad scientist – Daily painting day 324

© Katie Jeanne Wood
This is how I protect myself from you
White & pink abstract
Art journal page
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 324

I finally got around to fixing this abstract painting. Not sure if it’s finished yet, but the less I see the green, the more I like it.

I’ve been editing the Werewolf video for two days, and I’m still not finished yet. Editing video ain’t no joke. I have no idea how the daily vloggers get it all done. The filming is the easy part. The editing is a whole ‘nother story. sigh.

Mr. Harold: the laundry basket case
:)~

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately, experimenting like a mad scientist, making up new healthy recipes. It’s one of my favorite things to do in my downtime. Chopping, stirring, blending, beating, whirling, spiraling, cooking, and baking helps me destress, and unwind. Whenever I come up with something really tasty, I get so excited. 🙂 I might start sharing some of my recipes when the 365 day project ends. We’ll see.

New video of me painting this oil portrait was uploaded yesterday.
Did you see it?
I was up until 2:30 am finishing up the editing,
uploading and processing.
I would be thrilled if you took the time.
New videos every Wed & Sat.
Don’t miss out.

Like a spring bear – daily painting day 280 & 281

“I really like you, Midori. A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“Like a spring bear,” I said.
“A spring bear?” Midori looked up again. “What’s that all about? A spring bear.”
“You’re walking through a field all by yourself one day in spring, and this sweet little bear cub with velvet fur and shiny little eyes comes walking along. And he says to you, “Hi, there, little lady. Want to tumble with me?’ So you and the bear cub spend the whole day in each other’s arms, tumbling down this clover-covered hill. Nice, huh?”
“Yeah. Really nice.”
“That’s how much I like you.”
— Haruki Murakami

Someone had a bath tonight, just as they issued a tornado watch for our county. I hurried, and got him in and out of the water quickly. All I could think was the city siren was going to start blaring, and freak him out.

I’m thankful the storm didn’t turn out to be scary this time. The watch continues until 10pm, so there’s still a chance of more storms passing through, but so far, so good. At least it cooled it off a bit..it was sticky hot.

Looking forward to the end of the 365 daily painting project – Daily painting day 277 – 279

Chew Chew

Poor little kitten has lost a mitten

Married

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
Robert A. Heinlein

Another month ends. Oh, how time flies. Only 86 days to go, and I’m starting to reallyreallyreally look forward to the end of the 365 daily painting project. 🙂

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