Watermelon
acrylic on birch plywood
2010
The original has been sold.
Prints are available here
Happy 4th of July to those in the USA. I thought this painting went well with the holiday theme today.
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.
Turning an acrylic portrait into an oil painting
She’ll Figure Something Out
How I turned an acrylic portrait into an oil painting
Oil portrait painting video
Happy Tuesday! This new week is taking off at rocket speed for me, and I have a hunch it is for you, too. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and for watching the video. I really appreciate it. xo
Morning Walk – Acrylic painting of a woman walking her dog
Woman walking her dog paintingI’ve been busy revising paintings this week. I went through an orange phase a few years back, so she had a burnt orange skirt. I liked it, but I think she looks better in pink. 🙂
The only thing I don’t like about this painting is that I didn’t film the making of it, which bums me out now. I was in the middle of moving stuff around again, and trying a different setup in my studio. I didn’t have the camera tripod available, and the room was a disaster. I was in the mood to revise, so I didn’t let the mess stop me. Now I regret not taking the time to get things situated before I painted it. Aw, well..it’s done, and that’s all that really matters.
Morning Walk
Acrylic mixed media painting
woman wearing a pink pleated skirt walking her dog
woman wearing a pink pleated skirt walking her dog
road, blue sky, Mary Jane shoes
11 x 8.5 inches on birch plywood
11 x 8.5 inches on birch plywood
Available for purchase here
Halloween portrait painting video
before and after revising
Everyone Wants a Piece of the Pie
Revising mini portrait paintings
Revising mini portrait paintings
Since I’m on a roll
revising Halloween paintings,
I figured I might as well keep going.
Meditating girl
Norwegian Girl
acrylic portrait painting
Polka dot scarf portrait painting
Masquerade Masks Portrait Paintings
being listed now
While working I’ve been listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s greatest hits, Songs of Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave: The Good Son, Eminem’s new songs, and 4 part interview.
Last night I watched several documentaries on youtube, and found a slew of artists to follow: Salvador Dali doc, Sparta 300, collection of 825 Van Gogh paintings, Ray Johnson, Peter Blake, Andreas Gursky, Basquiat Boom for Real, Dali and Duchamp, James Turrell & Rachel Whiteread. Yes, I went on quite a YT watching spree, and I haven’t even started listing all the new artists (to me) I found.
I actually binge watch youtube quite often (much more than Netflix) because the selection is so awesome, and bingeing helps me decompress. Most of these weren’t full documentaries. The Van Gogh one was the most relaxing, and I think I nodded off a few times while watching it. I will be watching that one again soon.
Tonight I’m planning on watching The Fake Van Gogh’s Counterfeit art documentary. If you have time, check out the first comment under the doc by Alexandra Zeres. I think she has a valid point. “Have we become that pretentious?” Unfortunately, yes.
Revising Halloween paintings
Revising Halloween paintings
Work in progress
Those who have followed me for a while know
I used to paint a lot of masquerade mask portrait paintings,
like, a lot, a lot.
And then I stopped.
Because, nothing lasts forever,
y’know?
Over my summer hiatus I found a stash
of 4×4 miniatures
hanging out behind the scenes.
Because I painted them so long ago,
all were in desperate need of
revision. So I figured,
why not?
Once these are finished,
it’s hard to say if or when I’ll paint more.
I’m trying to hurry,
so I can
get them revised, photographed,
and listed here in my shop before Halloween.
I’m also listing them in my Etsy shop
so these are time sensitive,
and might not last long.
First come, first serve basis.
I’ll be adding more as I finish them,
but these are
one of a kind original paintings.
If you see one you like,
get it while you can.
You don’t have to be good at drawing to be an artist/painter – Daily painting days 361 – 363
© Katie Jeanne Wood
Oil portrait painting
daily painting: 364 day art project
Day 361
If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.
Peace Pilgrim
People have told me they don’t paint because they can’t draw. My advice is always this: you don’t have to be good at drawing to be an artist/painter. You actually don’t have to draw at all. Not today or any day. I know plenty of artists who don’t start their paintings by drawing first.
© Katie Jeanne Wood
WIP
Oil portrait painting
daily painting: 364 day art project
Day 362
While I greatly admire the work of artists who draw well, I hate to draw, myself. Well, maybe not hate hate, but it’s not how I like to spend my time. I’ve heard it relaxes some artists, but it gives me great anxiety for some reason..probably because I know I’m not good at it. I don’t even like to doodle. If left alone with a pencil and paper, I prefer to write, not draw. This is why I keep my line drawings simple. I don’t shade or get fancy with crosshatching. It’s just not my thing, and yet somehow I’ve survived as an artist for many years now.
It takes a great deal of patience to make a good drawing, and I have zero. I figure I’m going to cover up the drawing with paint anyway, so why work that hard? I don’t like to waste time or energy, and I’m incredibly lazy when it comes to things I don’t like doing.
© Katie Jeanne Wood
Oil portrait painting
WIP
daily painting: 364 day art project
Day 363
That said, I’m also not comfortable staring at a blank canvas for hours or days, wondering what I’m going to paint or how to begin, so that’s why I do a quick contour line drawing to get the ball moving. I don’t spend much time on these drawings, maybe 2 or 3 minutes tops. I use the lines as a jumping off point only, which is subject to change as I move forward with the painting.
A tip for line drawing: Use watercolor pencils because you can easily erase lines with a tiny bit of water, no eraser needed. When I use a No 2 pencil, as I did in this drawing, I always get black smudge lines when I erase, which you can see in the first photo.
When you’re painting with oils, as I did, the oil tends to smear the pencil lines and the smudges created with the eraser react with the paint. This painting got pretty ugly, and I had to wipe the oil off her chin a couple times because it was black smeared mess. If you’re painting an oil portrait, it’s better to use a red watercolor pencil in your line drawing because it blends in better with the paint.
Some links I found about line drawing:
Line drawing: a guide for students