Katie Jeanne Wood

Mixed Media Artist - daily painter of portraits, flowers, abstracts and birds

Water-babies oil portrait painting

Katherine Jeanne Wood - 81617 5x7 Water Babies

Water-babies
oil portrait painting
Daily painting day 23/365

Since I had leftover fleshy toned oil paint on my palette from the two black and white portraits I finished last week, I decided to use it up. I hate to have paint go to waste. I still want to go in with another layer or two, but that will mean mixing more paint. That in turn, will lead to more leftover paint because I’m not good at judging how much I’ll need. Oils are tricky that way. I always mix too much, and then I’ll be forced to paint another oil painting. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time, I prefer using oils, but because of the long drying time, I’m more into acrylics right now. So, I’m just going to go ahead, and post this unfinished.

It might show up again in an altered state sometime in the near future. Or I just might wipe the entire painting, and call it practice. I don’t love it or feel any attachment to it at this point. 

“water-babies” just happened to be there on the collage paper, so I left it, for now. 

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir oil portrait painting

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir
Oil portrait painting on panel
Will be ready to ship in 4 to 6 weeks, depending on how fast it dries
Prints available here
Daily painting day 19/365

I’m kinda getting off track a little, I realize this. I said just a couple days ago that this month was all about 5×7 acrylic mixed media portraits, and I wouldn’t be changing it up until the 24th. Just as soon as I wrote those words, I wanted to change everything!! I’m such a flip flopping rebel when it comes to creating art..or maybe it goes even deeper than that (it does!). ha! Sometimes, I swear I make up stupid rules for myself just so I can break every last one of them. 

Hell, there are no rules here; we’re trying to accomplish something.
Thomas Edison

Here’s the thing, I’ve put off finishing this painting for over a month now, so I figured since the mood struck me that I better ride that wave. I don’t ever leave paintings unfinished (anymore). Taking my hesitation to finish these portraits into consideration, I’m not exactly sure if I’m going to continue this black and white series. Or if I should call it a series at all at this point.

The timing seems off to me. I think a b&w series is something I’d be more interested in doing in the middle of the winter when I’m feeling more poetic. Right now I’m all about color, and character development. I want to continue to explore the Raw Storytelling series I’ve been doing for the past 4 or 5 weeks, and see where it leads me. That said, I’m going to shelf the b&w series, for now. I’ll leave the option open for sometime down the road. 

And now that I’ve said that, I’ll want to paint more b&w paintings, no doubt. 

Intense Vibes

Intense Vibes
Acrylic mixed media collage portrait painting
Daily painting day 17/365
Prints available here

Omgosh! I’m sitting here at my desk, head full of “I gots to do this”, and “I gots to do that” when all of a sudden I felt a tap my shoulder. I jumped and screamed bloody murder. Turned around and looked, and was my cat, Harold. Whew! 

Sweet Pea and Harold

Harold and Sweet Pea both have a habit of coming up to me, and tapping my shoulder when I’m sitting at my desk. It’s cute as heck, and I LOVE when they do it. However, it can feel like a person tapping me. When I’m suppose to be alone in the house, and they catch me off guard, it can be quite unnerving. ha! 

Maudie and Harold

If Sweet Pea taps me, it signals “I want kitty treat NOW”. She can be the most persistent little thing until she gets her way. If I don’t respond to her tapping the right way – by opening the drawer beside my desk, and pulling out the magical morsels – her claws start coming out more, and the tapping gets more frantic. HURRY UP!! GIVE ME KTs!! I don’t know what they put in the kitty treats these days, but that girl is addicted to them. 

Btw, we started to call them KTs because we thought we could get away with talking about kitty treats without the cats knowing. That worked for about 2 days, and Sweet Pea, that wise little girl, figured it out. ha! I swear, NOTHING gets by her. She is soooo smart. 

So anyway, Mr. Har-bear wanted to snuggle, and that’s why he was tapping me. Now he’s run off with Maudie, so it’s time for some laughs. Tom Sitter is hysterical. 😀 I would definitely give him a Valentine’s card. See if you agree..

I want to come back home

Pink & blue acrylic mixed media collage woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Be Openbe open
7.28.17
Prints are available here

Last time I posted I told you about my new blog over on Blogger. Unfortunately, it’s not going so well over there. Not well at all. :/ I feel like a kid who’s gone off to summer camp, and what I’m about to write is a desperate plea. I miss you soooo much, and I want to come back home!!

Green & purple acrylic mixed media collage Asian woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Taking a BreakTaking a Break
7.29.17
Prints

It’s been a long while since I’ve used Blogger, and it’s obvious, it hasn’t changed a bit. I’m suddenly reminded of all the reasons I got my own website in the first place. Blogger is still as wonky, and difficult to get along with as ever. My hat goes off to all of you hardcore Blogger users. I don’t know how you put up with that every day. I’m about ready to pull my hair out. 

Tales Such as These
7.30.17
Prints

Firstly, it was brought to my attention that a bunch of comments were missing from my blog. I had been approving comments as they came into my inbox, so I had no idea any were missing. Other than a few comments that had been left that day, which I hadn’t gotten to yet, I didn’t have any others. Or so I thought. It took me a couple days to discover I had comments in my dashboard that I needed to approve. Doh! I guess you get emails when Blogger wants you to get emails. No more, no less. 

Purple woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Stuck FeelingsStuck Feelings
7.31.17
Prints

Yesterday, I went to write a post, but didn’t have a “New Post” button in my dashboard. It took me a while, but I figured out a different way of getting in, somehow. Once I had the post written I realized I didn’t have publish button on my post. ???!!! I could only save it or revert to draft. I’m not sure how you could revert a draft to a draft. If it’s not published, isn’t it already a draft?? lol

Yellow & red acrylic mixed media collage woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Somber OneSomber One
8.01.17
Prints

Then I noticed the one page I have there called “365 days of art” was missing. I went looking for it, and found it had reverted itself to a draft. There was no way for me to make it public again because the Publish button was missing there, also. Arrrrgh!!

I did finally figure out a backwards way of publishing the post, and page, but it took me a while. I hate wasting time like that. The stupid publish button should have been there!! I mean, what good is a blog post without the publish button?? Grr! 

Pink tonal acrylic mixed media collage woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Where Do You Start, Where Do I Begin

Where Do You Start, Where Do I Begin
8.2.17
Prints

This morning, Dotty pointed out yet another glaring Blogger error, and it’s another one I have no control over. Nor can I fix it. She wanted to sign up for my updates via email, so she doesn’t have to keep checking back. I already have the gadget in my sidebar, but for whatever reason, it’s not showing up on my blog. Just another little thing that is adding up to soooo many issues. I’m ready to throw in the towel. 

Yellow & teal acrylic mixed media collage woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Voyager's DreamVoyager’s Dream
8.03.17
Prints

I mean, why make things harder on myself than I have to? It’s difficult enough to create something new every day for 365 days, but to have constant blog trouble on top of that will make it extremely frustrating. I’m sure I’m going to come up against days where I feel I’ve got nothing to give. Yet, I’ll still have to show up, and paint something anyway. On those days, I’m going to need everything else in the process to run smoothly. 

Pink minty green acrylic mixed media collage woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Mind ControlMind Control
8.4.17
Prints

MOMMY, I WANT TO COME BACK HOME!! WordPress isn’t perfect, by far, but it doesn’t have nearly as many problems as Blogger. I can post here, and go about my day. 

Blue woman portrait painting by Katie Jeanne Wood - Feeling RawFeeling Raw
8.5.17
Prints

So, I guess that’s that. The towel has not only been thrown in, but it’s waaaay out my reach. Me and my 365 day of art project are coming home. I’ll see you tomorrow – right here – with my next daily painting. 

Edited: I spent the afternoon bringing my posts from blogger over here, so they’d all be in one place. What a pain this all has been. 

Mind Control

Mind Control
Mind Control
acrylic mixed media collage
Prints are available here
Day 11/365

 
I could have spent a lot more time on this one, but I’m kinda in a rush to get to other stuff today. 
 
I only captured one progress shot, but I guess that’s better than none, right? 🙂 
 
Woo..the scary, ugly stage. lol

 When I first started creating mixed media portraits (back in the caveman days), I used to be terrified of this stage. Now it’s my favorite part of the process. The choices at this point are endless, and ahhh..it quickens the beat of my heart every time. LOVE it!! 

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your support more than words can say. Hope to see you again tomorrow. xo 

Somber One

Katherine Jeanne Wood - 80117 5x7 Somber OneSomber One
8/365
Acrylic mixed media collage on panel
Prints are available here

I’m loving the lighter, brighter backgrounds I’ve been painting lately. I wasn’t sure if I was going to adjust well because for a long while, I used either black or dark gray paint for most of my portrait backgrounds. I still prefer dark backgrounds, and the moody tone, which goes so well with my paintings.

The problem was dark colors show every little speck of dust, and by “every” I mean hundreds of little white dust specks can be seen on a photo when you view it in Photoshop at 100%. Doesn’t matter how new or old the painting is, I can bring it directly to my photography table after painting a fresh background on it, and it will be covered. My camera lens is sensitive, and picks up every little thing. I would end up clicking on each of those little specks with the healing tool in PS to edit them out. I didn’t want my prints to look like they have dandruff. Most people order large prints, so it would definitely show up.

Acrylic mixed media collage

If you think that sounds like a lot of work, you’d be right! Sometimes, it would take me two or three hours to get one photo edited, and my finger would be aching from overuse of the mouse.

That’s why I’ve switched to brighter colors. Bright colors don’t show dust, so I can quickly edit a photo in five or ten minutes now. I’d much rather spend more time painting than killing my index finger in Photoshop.

I’m always looking for ways I can make my job easier, and this one little change has shaved hours off my work week. Gotta love that!!

Katie Jeanne Wood - 80117 5x7 Somber

This painting is one from the first or second day that I ended up wet sanding because I didn’t like it. I decided to keep working on it, and I’m so glad I did because now I love her. Her eyes are telling the whole story, are they not?

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