Category: Creative Life

Azure Reflections

Azure Refections

Oil and cold wax is one of my favorite mediums. It starts with a layer of acrylic…often in bright bold colors…then after that dries the layers of oil paint and cold wax medium mixed together are layered, scraped back, and layered some more. It’s playtime!

SOAR

It can be soft, subtle and dreamy or sharp, bold and dramatic. It can be representational or abstract, landscapes or cityscapes, faces or figures, animals or the cosmos. As with all art the possibilities are endless!

Rise Up

As you can see …I gravitate to shades of blue for my oil and cold wax layers often with the bright bold colors of sunset underneath. The colors of nature lift me up and somehow ground me at the same time.

Dreams of Lost Memories

Oil and cold wax is a dream to work with. It’s a perfect medium for my intuitive style of painting. It was OCWM that really opened my heart to abstract, intuitive landscapes that seem to exist in some other beautiful dream world. Faces come alive and fill the space with their emotions, dreams, hopes.

Thanks for visiting!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Embellished One of a Kind Lined Journals!

My love of book making has taken me here !

In my last blog I mentioned my love of book making. I had enjoyed collaging on journals and notebooks for myself, as an expression of me at that moment in time. As a member of a local art non profit group, I hosted a pop up class on creating collage on a simple notebook for folks that stopped by to visit and view my mixed media art during our Artists Studio Tour. It was great fun!

That morphed into the accordion books I made for each of my grandchildren. That morphed into gifts for friends. I also took a mini class in book making from another local artist. Now I was really hooked!

One of my daughters asked me if I could create a lined journal for her that would be unique and one of a kind. Of course I said yes! I have a love of flowers, having been a florist at one time. I also had a dried floral design bussiness back when that was all the rage. So when making that first embellished journal for my daughter, I added pressed flowers to the cover, accenting the design of the incredibly beautiful scrapbook papers I use.

Gina’s Journal

As a mixed media artist I always have a lot of “stuff” in my studio that might have the potential to end up in my art…so I decided to add accenting pressed flowers to a small bud vase. It made a beautiful gift set, so yes…I went on to create one of a kind gifts for all my children. I have plans to eventually offer gift sets like these in my Etsy shop as well.

Gina’s Pressed Flower Bud Vase

So, as usual I started by creating for my family. Each journal crafted with the individual in mind…their personality, their interests, their adventurous spirit . I wanted to create something they would want to keep forever.♥️

♥️

Now I am creating embellished lined journals for sale in my Etsy shop. For those looking for that one of a kind, special gift for that one if a kind, special person in your life…My embellished journals are as unique and individual as the people in your life. Not your ordinary, off the shelf journal…but a magical and inspiring journal each created with a special theme that runs throughout the book. Each with it’s uniquely beautiful style, is a joy to write in!

Below is the link to Wildflower & Woods, my Etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/WildflowersandWoods

Take care,

Kathy Ann

A Love of Bookmaking

I started creating accordion books, gift bag books, cards and lots of other fun creations in the last couple of years. All of which got me hooked on book making. There is just something so satisfying about it!

Gift bag card/books for my friends

Then came the idea to make an
accordion book for each of my grandchildren after watching YouTube tutorials from Treasure Books with Natasha! She is amazing by the way! You can find her here…https://youtube.com/@TreasureBooks

I already had become hooked on all the gorgeous scrapbook papers available so I had a plan…This one was for one of my grandsons.

Then came the idea to make a magical
accordion book for each of these three lovely granddaughters with an image to go along with it for their wall using some fabulous scrapbook papers.

And then for my youngest little sweetheart of a granddaughter

Yep, this was the beginning of my love of bookmaking.

Check out my next post to see where this has lead me…

See you next time!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

More Time…

We always want more time.

It doesn’t matter how much you do it right. How much you live in the moment. How much you appreciate those you love. How grateful you are. How much you enjoy each and every good thing in your life…How much you tell them you love them …

When they’re gone, you still want more time. It’s never enough. Never. Memories are not enough. You want the real thing. The real deal. It’s the one thing we can never get more of with those we love that have left us. The one thing we just can’t have.😢💔😥

So we vow to be even better at living in the moment. Appreciating every moment. Sharing our love without limit. Making sure those we love know how important they are to us. With hugs, laughter, kisses and joy.

But in the end…we’re still going to want more time…

Take care, Kathy Ann

Sweet, Sweet Susie Q

My Sweet Susie
They told us she would be about the size of an Aussie…about 30 lbs.
She grew to be a healthy 90 to 100 lbs!
Sweet Little Baby 🥰
Her ‘safe spot’ (during thunder storms) was under our bed… when she got too big (look at those legs!) we raised the bed up on blocks so she could still fit…♥️♥️♥️
Such an important member of our family💖💖💖 and so loved💖
There was this phase with a cazillion dog beds destroyed…but we loved her still🥴
Her favorite place was on our bed…
…with her siblings…♥️
She loved the back acre …
And she loved the front acre…
She loved her life

Gone too soon…only 7 years old …she laid down and passed unexpectedly this morning…on her birthday…My heart is broken💔💔💔
She will be missed terribly♥️

Love you Sweet Baby…♥️♥️♥️. Have fun running and playing over the rainbow. Give our love to Sammy, Sophie & Cooper. ♥️

Take care, Kathy Ann

ART35N Summer Exhibit at Coconino Community College

I am participating in the Exhibit at CCC. Feels good to get back out there again!

Art35N is happy to have been asked to exhibit in the CCC Lobby this summer! Stop by between the hours of 9-5 to view the exhibit.

July First Friday Artwalk!

Come visit some of our artists at the July 1st Friday Artwork in Flagstaff, AZ on July 1st, at the Phoenix Avenue Gallery located at 2 S. Beaver Street Suite 125 (Entrance on Phoenix Avenue).

WIP…Oil & Cold Wax

8”x 8”Oil & Cold Wax on wood.

I love the serenity of this color palette…

I do so love working in this medium. It has the ability to transport me from the sharp planes of reality into an ethereal dream world full of peace and tranquility.

Take care, Kathy Ann

Fun Journal Making!

I’ve been making accordion pocket books for my grandkids. Pocket book on one side, journaling signatures sewn in on the other side. Here’s a sample of my latest batch created from #Stamperia and #Graphic45 scrapbooking paper. So Much Fun!

Picked a page from each theme series and created a lovely plaque to go along with the book.
These girls just fill my heart!
❤️❤️❤️

As Always…

Take care,

Kathy Ann

SOAR – Oil & Cold Wax 10×10 available for purchase -SOLD

SOAR
https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/?fbclid=IwAR39Z3hc377Zg6vMPGZtrF3CUSUVvsmQQf4xNWDpBc3dcvTLQqVj84oHIIg

Available for purchase during the Coconino Center for the Arts 10 x 10 Exhibition and Art Sale through July 10, 2021. Over 100 local to Northern Az artists are featured. All works of art can be view and bid on at the above CCA website.

Thank you all your continued support!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Endless – Oil & Cold Wax 10×10 Available for purchase – SOLD

Endless
https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/?fbclid=IwAR39Z3hc377Zg6vMPGZtrF3CUSUVvsmQQf4xNWDpBc3dcvTLQqVj84oHIIg

Available for purchase during the Coconino Center for the Arts 10 x 10 Exhibition and Art Sale through July 10, 2021. Over 100 local to Northern Az artists are featured. All works of art can be view and bid on at the above CCA website.

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Serenity – Oil & Cold Wax available for purchase – SOLD

Serenity
https://www.ccaflagstaff.org/?fbclid=IwAR39Z3hc377Zg6vMPGZtrF3CUSUVvsmQQf4xNWDpBc3dcvTLQqVj84oHIIg

Available for purchase during the Coconino Center for the Arts 10 x 10 Exhibition and Art Sale through July 10, 2021. Over 100 local to Northern Az artists are featured. All works of art can be view and bid on at the above CCA website.

Love Oil & Cold Wax! 10×10’s process for CCA’s 10×10 Exhibit

I like to play with the acrylic layer under my oil & cold wax paintings…I know they’re going to disappear under the many layers to come, but its a good way to try out ideas for future paintings and they provide great color to scrape back to!

I just love the intuitive process in this medium. One of the things I love the most is also the thing that can frustrate me the most!

I love adding paint, moving it around never really knowing exactly how it’s all going to come together….just working, watching and seeing what arrives. The frustration can arrive when I arrive at something wonderful that doesn’t quite work with the rest of the painting….I try to make it work, but very often I lose the lovely, arrive to not at all lovely🥴, and BAM! Cover it up and start again!

The many personalities of ‘SOAR’

10×10 Oil & Cold Wax on Cradled Wood

The good news is it almost always turns out even better. I have learned to embrace the process and go with the flow. The creative process flows wild & free in this wonderful medium!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

It Takes a Whole Lot of Organizing to be a Creative These Days!

It Takes a Whole Lot of Organizing to be a Creative These Days!

I’ve had my Silhouette since April. Completed a good number of projects for family. But I’ve only just today labeled the storage cabinet drawers I bought months ago to help keep myself organized.

So up until now, every time I started a project, there I was rummaging through drawers looking for scraps. I had purchased hanging folder type thingies for my Vinyl and HTV, but odds & ends were stuffed quickly and haphazardly into drawers.

Heavens Above! WHY does it take me so long to get organized? Life is better organized. I get more done organized. I can find what I need 1,2,3 when I am organized!

But as a mixed media artist there is SO MUCH to organize! Acrylic paint, oil paint, cold wax, matte medium, glossy medium, alcohol inks, solvents, pencils, graphite, charcoal, stubbies, brushes, markers, watercolors, pastels, oil pastels, papers, collage papers, paper cutter, napkins, canvas, cradled wood, wood slabs, tiles, fixatives, do-dads, embellishments, old jewelry pieces, ribbons, silk flowers, dried flowers, glues, glue guns, adhesives, mats, frames, a little of this, a little of that, Silhouette Cameo cutting machine, vinyl, HTV, cutting boards, rulers, scissors, fabric, sewing machines, thread, art journals, spiritual journals, handmade journals, HOLY MOLY! It’s a veritable treasure cache of creative material…oozing and overflowing every inch of my space. Not to mention easels, drawing tables, work tables, display panels, hardware, computer desk, super duper bright lights and overhead lighting. Along with all the magical machines, cameras, laptops and ipads…

Then there is the whole world of the internet to organize as well. WordPress, FaceBook, Instagram, Webpage, Design, Marketing, Selling, Bookkeeping, Classes, Tutorials, Professional Groups, Art Groups…Whew!

Yes indeed! It takes a whole lot of organizing to be a creative these days!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Good Morning on the Day After the 4th of July!

Good Morning!

Happy Day After the 4th of July!

Some of the family spent the weekend playing in the mountains and valleys around the Durango/Silverton area in CO…

Photos courtesy of Teresa Ann Floyd.

So Breathtakingly Gorgeous up there!

But we opted to miss this years trip to take down our front porch with the help of our son and his boys…Pete and his dad put the porch up around 25 years ago…and now he will be helping our son put up the new one . Family is our greatest gift! Demolition was done on the 3rd…finished cleaning up a bit on the morning of of the 4th…had a little rest and then headed out to visit with my Aunt and cousins at their getaway cabin in Munds Park. So good to see everyone!

Then a nice peaceful evening on the back patio, relaxing on the cushy, comfortable swing.

Hope everyone had a safe, relaxing, worry and stress free holiday weekend!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Woodworking, with Love

My husband has been getting back into his woodworking grove. He’s made jewelry boxes for each of our daughters and our daughter in law. They are gorgeous works crafted with love. !cid_619643f5-f553-45e0-85cb-276f98b105d2@namprd03_prod_outlook

Of course we forgot to take a photo of the fourth box…I’ll have to ask our daughter to take a pic and send to us!

It’s been fun to have both of us creating again during this quarantine period…lots to share and lots to encourage!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Inspiration. It’s a Funny Thing…

…the sentiment of a moment in time.

He Is Risen
He Is Risen! Watercolor in my art journal

Inspiration

Someone had posted a photo on social media that I just loved. It touched me in it’s simplicity and it’s beauty. The image stayed with me. I found myself reflecting on it. It was the inspiration for this watercolor in my art journal. You never know when inspiration will strike. When something you see or experience in some way, becomes ingrained in your soul. I sat at my drawing table and wondered if I could do the image justice. If I could capture the feeling it left with me. I love that we get to take the memory of a concrete thing and turn it into a piece of art that evokes the emotion and the sentiment of a moment in time.

 

Finally! Journal Cover!

The Beauty of My Life

The Beauty of My Life!

More on my Oil & Cold Wax Journey…I finally knew what I wanted on the cover of one of my art journals! A journal that I started back in 2016 that has been nondescript and patiently waiting for me to figure it out.

I seem to have found a wonderful passion inspired by this exciting and forgiving medium. I love the intuitive process. I love the colors. I love the mixing. I love the effects. I love the limitless possibilities. I LOVE oil & cold wax.

Enjoy your life!

Kathy Ann

Fire on the Mountain

Fire on the Mountain

I have long been interested in encaustic art. I even bought all the various supplies…small crock pot, griddle, wax, temperature gauge, all of it! But I was intimidated by the process and worried about the fumes since I have asthma. Then I saw a painting from a fellow artist, asking her if it was encaustic and she replied no, thereby introducing me to the world of Oil & Cold Wax.

Of course it took me a while to actually start experimenting with cold wax…starting with this portrait, since I was primarily focused on faces at the time.

So now here I am in 2020 and there has been a definite shift in my art. I joined Matt Tommey’s online artist mentoring program, that I credit for somehow influencing this shift. I have been participating in Created To Thrive for a few months now, and even though I have been sporadic in participating and taking advantage of all the advice and guidance available, I am glad I joined. It feels good to belong to a group of like-minded creatives.

But that’s not the only influence on my dive into oil and cold wax…I have been watching YouTube videos that have inspired me as well. Gently guiding me through the process and man oh man am I having FUN!

So, anyway…here is my jump back into the medium. I feel a newfound passion for the medium and enjoy experimenting like never before! A sense of freedom and a lessening of the fear of failure or screwing up. SO glad I am on this journey and so glad I live in a time with such a tremendous access to learning on the internet!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

 

In My Dreams

In My DreamsIn My Dreams

2020…time really does fly by! I gave myself a year free of pressure to create art…a year to explore…journaling, trying new mediums, time to just play and explore…and journal I did! Thoroughly immersing myself in it, thanks to Ivy Newport and her StudioWorks online membership. Ivy is very inspiring and an amazing Mentor/Teacher/Guide.

So, this is my first real piece of 2020. Acrylic, watercolor style on cradled wood. I pretty much always struggle with titles for my artwork, but not this time…It just came into my head with a clarity that surprised me – In My Dreams. As in “life is but a dream” from the childhood song Row, Row, Row Your Boat. I love my life here in the mountains, and when I no longer dwell on this earth, I hope I will always remember this wonderful life I have been blessed with…family, love, nature, beauty, and blessed with the gift of creating with the greatest Creator of all!