Tag: AZ

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

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’s not Summer without a Pretty Wreath on the Door!

Enjoying today’s Flagstaff summer monsoon storm…Perfect weather for finally getting around to creating my summer wreath for the front door. What better way to welcome guests than with pretty flowers on the door!


Too bad these are not quite as popular as they once were…I used to have my own dried floral business back in the day…Always so easy to get lost in the creation of pretty arrangements. Still love it! And it’s second nature to me….I can whip out a wreath in no time at all. 

I could never figure out a good way to ship them…otherwise I could perhaps still sell them in my Etsy shop…I know there are places were they are still popular and people would prefer hand made to Walmart mass-produced versions….

Anyway, Happy Summer!

Take care, Kathy Ann

First Lake Trip of the Season

We are a family of boaters. Mention  a coming lake trip and we are ALL onboard! Chomping at the bit, waiting for the day of departure to arrive. Seriously. Waiting.

Waiting to take that 2 hour drive to Lake Powell. Waiting to drive down that hot, loooong ramp and launch into that gorgeous, cool water.
Waiting for that moment when we find just the right spot. The perfect beach. That beach where the shade comes early after a long hot day of sun & fun.

Ahhhhhh….That’s it. That’s what it is all about. The Lake Trip.From the youngest…

To the oldest…
To the furriest …
We love the lake!

Wishing everyone a lovely, wonderful, super-duper Summer filled with love, family, friends…

And good food!

Take care, 

Kathy Ann

Oh My Gosh…

“…the curious jumping around of a creative mind”

Oh my gosh…Once again I have been neglecting my little blog. No excuses, other than the fact that apparently I am consistently inconsistent. Not a quality that I am particularly proud of, but I am hoping goes along with the curious jumping around of a creative mind! That and a supreme lack of creative discipline!

I tend to follow my crazy thoughts and ideas here there and everywhere…picking up something new, following that around, while forgetting (not really forgetting…more like ignoring) those other things that caught my fancy.

And then there’s real life in there too…family & friends, busy days, lazy days & days in between, days spent traveling, days spent celebrating family milestones…

Oh my gosh…days spent Living!

There’s ups & downs…insecurities, doubt and wondering why I am writing a blog at all…Is it my own personal online journal? Well that’s pretty self-involved isn’t it?!

Okaaaaaayyyyyy…Well here’s what I know.

I am not writing to pour my heart out or make a big, beautiful statement about life.

I am not writing to impress anyone.

I am not writing to purge my soul.

I am certainly not looking for fame or fortune (I am sure there are better ways to go about that!).

I am writing just because I want to.

I like to.

I enjoy sharing my little piece of the world, as sporadic as it may be.

It is not my main objective.

It is not my job. It is not my end all, be all.

I do not need it to feel complete.

I just like doing it…

That’s  it… pure & simple.

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Can you believe this sunset?!

If I had painted it, no one would believe that straight line between dark & light really existed. Makes you wonder…perhaps that line in real life is more obvious than some in this world would have us believe…
Beautiful, at any rate.

Spring (Garden) Cleaning…so much more fun than spring house cleaning!

Pete has the veggie garden all cleaned up and ready to go…and working on the front flowerbeds…almost porch sittin’ time (actually we have already started doing that)!
Lovin Spring,
Kathy
 

She wore ‘Flowers in her Hair’

There have been many, many discussions in the workshop I am currently taking, about copyrights as they apply to collage artists, and I must admit, it made me so very nervous about using collage as a background. Legal stuff…

My latest on a collage has gone through many revisions. Not my flower girl herself, but the collage background.

There have been many, many discussions in the workshop I am currently taking, about copyrights as they apply to collage artists, and I must admit, it made me so very nervous about using collage as a background. Legal stuff…

So, although I absolutely loved my original…I was not comfortable about some of the collage elements and the whole copyright thing…there was even mention of not being able to use scrap booking papers, ephemera, stamps, etc. if you are planning to sell your work…aargh!

I was really bummed, cause I really thought collage might be my “niche”…ah well…Apparently it’s ok to use items like ephemera, letters, music, etc., from before 1922. Will have to research further…

At any rate…here she is for now!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

 

Crazy, Wonderful!

…You know that feeling when you look at something grand (at least to you) that you have achieved and all you can do is stare in wonder and amazement?

Serene_IMG_0340 [92944]

My first ever watercolor face…definitely a complicated medium. Seems less forgiving than acrylics…I would think the shading was looking good and then I would add to it and BAM!  I would totally ruin it! Wet paper + inexperience with a new medium= scary! So glad to have tackled this. Didn’t have all the suggested supplies, but didn’t want to wait for my Amazon order…learned a lot, with a whole lot more learning to go.

I stood in my studio(that I used to call my craft room)after finishing the above piece…looking at my drawings & paintings from the last six weeks…this is CRAZY! Crazy & Wonderful & Exciting to realize that my forever dream is actually coming true…You know that feeling when you look at something grand (at least to you) that you have achieved and all you can do is stare in surprise, wonder and amazement? Yeah, that’s where I’m at…Happy & Enjoying the Journey!

Studio_IMG_0341 [92960]

Retirement – and Art! (or…Art & Retirement!)

World_Canvas_IMG_0308 [45247]

Yes! I did it! I finally got to that golden utopia of retirement…and I am loving it!

I spent the first six months adjusting to the new non-schedule. I have to say, I never found this to be difficult nor boring. I have been looking forward to this for so long, with so many endeavors planned, that it has been pretty easy and definitely painless.

Since I retired in July, I spent the summer and fall enjoying the great outdoors, grandkids, friends, and holidays. Trips to Lake Powell, kayaking adventures, helping with grandkids occasionally, hiking and porch sitting took up the summer. Next came all the holidays and family fun!

Now it is February and I have embarked on my most anticipated and treasured journey. I have re-ignited my creative dreams of being an artist…not a florist or a crafter, not an amateur photographer…but an honest to goodness artist. The journey has begun…

I am taking an online Mixed Media workshop titled, Let’s Face it, which is a fabulous year long workshop with an emphasis on portraits/faces. The workshop includes lessons by a total of 17 Artists, so we get to see, experience, and learn lots of different styles and techniques. A new lesson with video instructions arrives in my inbox each week. There is also a private Facebook group that we all (520+ artists strong from all over the world) share our work and receive support and kudos from. It is AMAZING and I am so impressed by the wonderful artists I get to be a part of.

Drawing faces is my long time passion…I have been drawing faces since I was a young girl. I would go to BINGO with my mom…she would doodle all these women profiles and I was enthralled! So I copied her style, learned by watching her, and would spend the hours at BINGO happily drawing away!

I believe this will be one of my greatest adventures. I am already learning SO much and we are only 5 weeks in!

Below is my first ever painted face – titled her “Imagine!”

In Process #1
#2
#3
#4
#5
Finished – Imagine!

Till next time!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

 

 

%d bloggers like this: