Wild about Painting

Plein aire painting from Puerto Rico trip

2012-02-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

Painting on location can be very challenging. For me, the biggest challenge is that I prefer to sit while I paint, and in a perfect world, I would bring a large table, a comfortable chair, and a cooler with cool beverages. Of course, I need to keep it simple and light for carrying; so instead, I bring a fold up chair, hold my painting on my lap, and bend over to the ground to get paint from my palette. I did something different this time, though, and it really helped. I did a wet wash ahead of time, and let it dry before painting on location with it. I also found that if I took a photo of the scene, and then drew from the camera image, that I could draw the scene lots more successfully! Thank you, modern technology! I did this painting while on a wonderful painting trip with 6 other artists. There were palm trees everywhere, so I decided to do my abstract version of them. I'll always remember the perfect sunny day, the sounds of kids on kayaks nearby, and the peace that I felt painting this scene. A great big "thank you" to Jim Turner, my friend who owns a house on Puerto Rico, and graciously invites me to come paint with many other artists there. This was our second time there, and we had a wonderful time, escaping the Minnesota winter for a week.

Good News! Missouri National Watercolor Society Show entry accepted!

2012-02-17T06:47:00.000-08:00

Just got my letter of acceptance from the Missouri National Watercolor Society 2012 Exhibition! This painting is of a student, who took my workshop in Thunder Bay, Canada. She was so striking, that I asked her if I could take some photos and got her permission to paint her portrait. I didn't mean to get so detailed with the facial features. Most of my paintings have more simple shapes to form the contour of the face. But I did like the results, and intend to do lots more paintings of Anne (pronounced Annie). I made my own collage papers, using deli paper and carved my own rubber stamps for the impression on the papers. This is mainly watercolor, but also has acrylic and collage. I learned how to do the collage papers from the Anne Bagby video. It is one of my all time favorite art videos. http://www.annebagby.com/

Acrylic painting, Letting Go

2012-02-15T19:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the finished painting from my study that I posted on January 24th. I'm pleased with the simple shapes and the drama factor of this one. I've been having so much fun painting in acrylics lately. I use Strathmore Aquarius paper for the large paintings and I paint on stretched canvases for the smaller ones. I use completely different procedures for the 2 of them. This painting was one of the first paintings that I liked after going through the dreaded "January artists' block". I'm having so much fun looking back through all the 30 minute studies that I've done over the last year and a half, and intend to do many paintings in the next few weeks, using the studies.

New painting, "The Journey"

2012-02-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

OK, here it is! The finished painting, that I called, "The Journey". It was a struggle to finish this one, but it turned out to be one of my favorites that I've ever painted. I brought it along to Karlyn's Paint-in last week, and the group really liked it. In fact, it sold there!!! I love it because it tells a story of my journey as an artist, with lots of inspiration from all the friends in my life. I try to surround myself with positive people. No time for negative vibes! And that tall person right next to me, would be my husband, my greatest support ever, and the love of my life! I got permission from the buyer to keep it till the end of May, so I'll be able to show it at my open house, and it matches my sister's pillows so well. I'm going to enter it in a national show also.

Acrylic painting

2012-02-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

I'm falling in love with acrylics lately. I still love watercolor, but only if I can add collage with it. I'm almost finished with a painting that I started many months ago. I used this 30 minute study as my model. (done with Tombo markers) I had set the painting aside for several months, due to other things taking priority. I came up with this idea, that my sister and I should coordinate our art. She is a seamstress, and makes wonderful pillows and a variety of functional art. In fact, her business is called Functional Art. She sewed some beautiful pillows, and I painted a painting to go with them. They are pictured below. This will be my first coordinating painting! I'll post it tomorrow. I really enjoy the process of having fabric as a starting off point for my paintings. Love the freedom of painting whatever I want, as long as it matches the pillows. And sometimes, it takes away the stress of picking colors when the artists' block sets in. Today, I painted with a few friends and we painted from 9:30 till 3:00 p.m. It was so fun to hear feedback on each other's paintings. If you don't have a group to paint with, I strongly advise it. We artists are alone too much of the time, and it feels so good to have friends to talk with, while I paint. Granted, I wouldn't work well like this every day, but once or twice a month is so good for me! By the way, my sister's fabric pieces are featured on http://www.etsy.com/ Her name is Nancy Klapmeier. Her link is http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?q=Nancy%20Klapmeier&order=undefined&view_type=gallery&ship_to=&min=0&max=0&removeLocation=1

2012-01-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

30 minute study

So, as usual, January has been a tough month for me to get back into my painting. I take so much time off during December, that I honestly start to doubt myself in January, and there's always a big scary learning curve to get back into my rhythm. Thank goodness that I do my 30 minute studies! I turned this one into a painting called "Letting Go..." because that's literally what I had to do, to finally get past the ugly teenage stage. I just had to "let go" and let whatever happens, be OK. I’ll post it later on, after I’m done judging it. What do you do to break though your blocks? One thing that I do is promise myself that I will paint for only one hour. It’s hard to even go to my studio, when the artist’s block is in full force. I even set a timer to make sure that I stay in my studio for that hour. Usually, once I start painting, the fear goes away, and I get involved in a painting, and before I know it, my husband is home wondering what’s for supper.

5 minute warm up

Lots of times, I do little 5x 7’s to just get my brush wet, and to loosen up. One of my students, Anne, reminded me of a lesson that I taught last year- A simple landscape that is a great warm up exercise. I do these in only 5 minutes! It’s posted on the left. If anyone is interested, I'll be featuring these on my website, http://www.karenknutson.com/ for only $25. Hope this has been helpful to those artists out there that have the same anxiety as me, with the artist’s block. Just go to your studio and paint for an hour. Bet you can’t just stay there for only an hour…..

Kim Grant Workshop in Guatamala

2012-01-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who is teaching a workshop in Guatamala on March 21 - 30th, 2012. She's a great artist, and really fun to be around. I can personally vouch for her as a great teacher. What's not to love about spending time painting in warm climate this time of year??? Sign up soon in order to reserve your spot! Kim's website is http://www.kimgrantdesigns.com/ Here is a description of the workshop:
Join Kim Grant for 10 days in beautiful Antigua,Guatemala. Find your own personal artistic expression through creative experimentation with mixed media and collage, layered on paper surfaces. Art in the morning and sightseeing in the afternoon. The total package includes tuition, lodging, transportation, and field trips for $1925. More more information go to http://artguat.org/docsclasses/classgrant.html or contact Kim at 952-445-8108

First people painting of 2012

2012-01-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this painting for the last 4 days. There are a few things that I like about it, but mostly, I'm just relieved to be done. It was not fun to paint. And when it comes down to it, isn't that what we're in this for.....the experience of ENJOYING the process? It's been so long since I've worked in pure watercolor, and I needed a painting for the Transparent Watercolor of America show, so I promised myself to get one done! I called it, "Between 2 Worlds" because I could see orbs floating around. I used a 30 minute study for the idea for this painting.

Goals for the New Year!

2012-01-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

After reading Myrna Wachnov's blog this morning, I decided that I, too, must write down my goals. Myrna's blog is one of my favorites. She is such a gifted artist. You, too, should check it out! http://myrnawacknov.blogspot.com/

My goals for 2012 are:

1. Work on my new book

2. Do more people paintings

3. Continue my 30 minute studies every day

4. Lead a more balanced life!

This sketch is one I did in early December when I was at a Paint-in with 3 other friends in Wisconsin. I just let myself sketch without a plan, and as I was sketching the people, I thought how odd that I had sketched 5 people, when there were only 4 of us there at the Paint-in. Then, in studying it further, I saw that the 3 people were separated by a fence from the other 2 people. Now, you might think I'm off my rocker when I tell you this, but the truth was that one friend who was supposed to be at our Paint-in, actually was traveling back and forth every day, visiting her husband in the hospital, and therefore, wasn't able to participate in our Paint-in very much. I truly had nothing in mind when I started this sketch, and look what came out of my subconscious! I'm thinking that the 2 houses in the background must be the fact that Janice was going from our house to the hospital every day. Wow, spooky!!! My intention is to paint from this 30 minute sketch later this month. I'll post it when it happens. Happy New Year, everyone!

Going down Memory Lane

2011-12-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

As usual, I'm late in painting my Christmas card. I've started 2 different paintings for this purpose, and didn't finish either one of them. Then, looking through my finished paintings, I liked this painting because it reminded me of my roots. I grew up on a ranch in Montana, and our Christmas celebrations were very simple, with handmade construction paper chains and popcorn that trimmed our tree. Of course, the tree was a real tree. Dad would drive us through the hills on our ranch, and we'd pick our favorite tree each year. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm going to try to keep this holiday more simple and remember the special traditions of my earlier years. Happy Holidays to all of you!
By the way, this painting started with charcoal sprinkled on the paper, and then pouring a big bucket of water on the charcoal to create the wonderful texture. I'll be teaching this process at my workshop at Madeline Island on August 6 - 10, 2012. Go to my website for details. http://www.karenknutson.com/

Redoing Old Paintings

2011-11-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

I belong to a critique group, called Critical Thumb Group. We meet once per month and critique each other's paintings. By the way, I encourage all of you to form a critique group. It's a great way to get feedback from other artists. A new set of eyes to challenge you to be a better artist. Our group has 10 members, and that is the maximum that I would recommend. This month, we were instructed to bring old paintings that we didn't like. We all exchanged paintings, and then painted revisions, using acrylic, caran d'ache crayons, and whatever else we could find. It was great fun, a lot of laughs and a great lesson for me. Below is the painting that I started with. My favorite part of the painting was the right flower section. I liked the rhythm there. These were colors that I usually don't use, so that was a fun challenge too. I kept telling myself, get big simple shapes in, but my brush had other ideas. We only worked on these for about an hour, which is hard for me, since I am typically a slow painter. In analyzing the finished painting now, I can tell you that my brain was right. I should have gotten the big simple shapes in there first. Way too busy! Tomorrow, I will show you what I do with busy paintings. This one's not done yet!

Two Faced Turkey

2011-11-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to the Minnesota Watercolor Society meeting, where EmmyWhite was the demonstrator. Her demonstration was a fun, whimsical painting of turkeys who had been pardoned, and were in a shelter. There were so many laughs as she told her thought process and basically, became a kid again. We all need to find the kid within us when we paint, don't you think? I decided to do a turkey painting this morning in homage to Emmy. It was so fun to play, and I can honestly say that I didn't look up turkeys before sketching this. I went from my memory. No surprise by the look of it, right? It was a stretch and a big risk, but so much fun!!!! This painting is called Two Faced Turkey. See the 2 headed turkey in the background? I really admire Emmy's paintings, and love that she follows her true spirit evey time she paints. Check out Emmy's paintings at http://www.emmywhite.com/

Life is good!

2011-11-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

I got my 30 minute study done early this morning. I decided to do wine glasses, since I LOVE a glass of wine with supper each evening. It's been recommended by my doctor, after my yearly physical that I drink only 3 - 5 glasses per week. (He didn't mention how BIG that glass was supposed to be, though.....) So, the daily routine will have to be moderated. This sketch took about 45 minutes to do, but I was loving the illusionary effect so much that I just allowed myself to take longer than my usual 30 minutes. I'm feeling very inspired today, after spending the day yesterday with my good friend, Suz, going to 3 gallery shows.

Don't feel like painting? Here are some suggestions.

2011-11-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Some days you just don't feel like painting- whether you have the moody blues, or you're scared of that white paper, or you're just procrastinating. I have many cures for this. Sometimes I make cards, like this one, "Red Vibrations". I use "old dog" paintings and cut them up, add acrylic paint to brighten up the muddy colors, add embellishments, and before I know it, many hours have passed. The best thing is that my imagination gets sparked, and suddenly, I feel like painting again. This card has brads, price labels, grommets, and ultra thick embossing powder on it to really spice up the composition.

Exciting workshop in August, 2012

2011-11-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about my workshop that you may want to put on your Christmas list:

This is mainly a watercolor class, but additional media will be offered to expand the imagination of the student. The objective of this class is to expand the imagination, simplify shapes, and create clean, glowing colors! We’ll learn how to do 30 minute studies that will help students think in simple terms and create great designs. Many special effects that will be offered: working with graphite and pouring water over the paper to create great textures to begin the paintings. Also, collage will be added to create texture. A patchwork effect will add to the fun! This workshop will definitely get you out of your box! (Karlyn Holman will be teaching at Madeline Island on the same weekend, a separate class, but lunches and evening meals, etc. are all together!) To view details of my class, click here .

"Longing", a study for future painting

2011-10-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

I did this 30 minute sketch, using markers, while up at a friend's cabin. Kim Grant had invited 3 artists to join her for 3 days of painting. Check out Kim's website to see how great her art is! http://www.kimgrantdesigns.com/ She is the most imaginative artist that I know! We had a fabulous time, sharing ideas, laughing lots, and painting late into the evenings! We made every minute count. This study is already being transformed into a 15" x 15" painting. It's my goal to stay with pure watercolor, but it's been a struggle for me not to add collage to this one!

Patterns, 30 minute study

2011-10-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

I'm still doing my 30 minute studies, using Tombow markers. This time, I decided to use patterns as my main objective. I had seen a portrait that was only in black and white, and it inspired me to try to keep mine in the neutral colors too. Can't wait to do a watercolor and collage painting of this one. I'll change the background, but stay with the black and white color pallette.

Adding metallic to paintings

2011-10-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, I'm teaching a workshop in Bethel, just north of Minneapolis. The subject is metallics. I've been preparing for this workshop all week, and am excited to share everything that I know. This is a painting that I did several years ago, when I taught in Oregon. It's got 3 different metallic effects on it. I actually teach 12 different techniques!

Sisters

2011-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Today, I did another 30 minute sketch, using markers. I used a photo of my sister and me. Although this doesn't look like either one of us, it was so fun to do, and I think the love between sisters really came through. I look forward to turning this into a larger painting, and having more background, so that I can have fun with abstract design.

Sketching faces, 30 minute studies

2011-10-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 more of my 30 minute studies. I had the goal last year-to paint more people. These are a type of fun carricature sketches. Really fun to do. I challenge all of you to do a 30 minute study every day. The one below is done totally with a sharpie marker. The girl above was done with Tombow markers. They make great cards!

2011-10-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

These are 2 of my 30 minute studies, where I didn't like the colors in the first one, and did the same design, but with different colors. I like the simple design, and that's really why I keep the time to only 30 minutes. You can't get too detailed when there's a limited time. This design will be the start of many paintings to come. By the way, these are done, using Tombo markers. I found that watecolors were too slow for my 30 minute time frame, so I work with the markers, very much like I paint with watercolors, still building up to the darks, and glazing to get new colors.

30 Minute Studies- ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

2011-10-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today, October 2nd, marks exactly one year since I gave myself a challenge- to do a 30 minute study every single day. Actually, I started out with only a 90 day challenge, but upon completing that, I decided to keep it up and today marks one year!!!! I can't begin to tell you how this has improved my artwork. And I also can tell you from my experience, that this has made my whole life better in every way! This is the first time that I've ever really completed a promise to myself. That's really BIG in my book. I think we're all like that, putting ourselves last. So, I'm very proud that for once, I really fulfilled my promise to myself. (I have to confess that I did miss 4 days within this year. But that was because I totally forgot! Otherwise, I accepted NO EXCUSES, no matter how tired I was, or whatever else was going on.)
We went on trip to Fargo, ND this weekend, and saw lots of cornfields and barns on the way. So, I thought that this scene would be best to post as my first study. I actually did this on January 9, 2011. I try to write a little paragraph by each study, so that I can look back and see what influenced my choice of subject, and also to see how life really does influence your artwork.