Kiwi I

Kiwi Fruit (or Torpedo Fruit Bowl), 60 x 85 cm., mixed media on board

I have made a goal to have 16 paintings done by the end of May - 8 fruit paintings and 8 creative paintings. Despite the fact that I am not feeling incredibly artistically inspired I feel like I need to take the spare time I have and create something. Living in Korea is incredibly distracting (visually the creative juices just aren't at their usual flow) but I want to take advantage of the situation as an artist. I have had two exhibits in Italy, why not add Korea to my international list. If do well here I may be able to get some residencies in China of Japan next year which will be a great way to travel when we are done in Korea!

So, this was a fruit attempt thought I must say it was almost thrown into the "creative" category.

So, this piece went through a lot of unintended layers. I did a few quick sketches before I went to the actual surface. The sketches were done in ink on butcher paper. On the second sketch I did some work with pastels and them painted over the pastels with a mixture of water and flour (mostly to adhere the color). Once I was comfortable with the layout I took a loaded brush (ink) and quickly sketched out the painting. My plan was to use brown paper and collage the shapes of the kiwi in. Sometimes I draw much better with tearing paper than with a pencil or inked brush. Instead I just went right for the pastels. Before I knew it the "painting" was a drawing on board. The final touches were some shadows I drew in with watered down ink and a very small amount of acrylic paint that I used to paint the bottom of the bowl. At the very end I took a small brush and applied some flour/water to some spots on the kiwi. I then beat the lines out to give them a more unified feel (while still being able to see the lines). I need to find some varnish.



The bowl has a funky wood grain that is like pond ripples. I took the pattern up one notch on the exaggeration scale which I ended up really liking.

I think that this image is a nice view of the different techniques used. You can see the ink, pastel, acrylic and the effect of the flour and water.

I haven't quite finished. The bowl is almost to subtle for me. I have thought about making it red. Opinions? I also need to finish the edges, then it will be ready to sell. As soon as I have a few paintings done I'll be re-posting on etsy and I will start looking for galleries.

Happy March!

You Name It V

Before I launch into my art I would like to share that my Momma has started a blog. Katiedidstudio.blogspot.com. Go check it out! You can see what she is working on and some of things things that are artistically inspirational to Katiedid.

- - - - - - - -

You Name It V, 24x24, acrylic on board

This piece was inspired by my idea to start working big again. As you saw in the last piece, this piece borrows imagery from my other work from this year. The most obviously repeated images are from You Name It I. I like the water color look, I ended up using lost of washed on the acrylic paint.

The sign is a funny little part. I didn't intend the double meaning, it just happened because of my aesthetic choices. Actually, the sign was thrown in at the last minute. Just the figure with the background was not enough.




This picture shows the washes of paint and it also gives you a nice view of the wood. One of the biggest things I have learned from working in various media is to work with the material, don't fight it. I guess this mindset goes back to when masons were carving in the middle ages. A lesson we all have to learn for ourselves. Respond to the material, don't fight it.

- - - - - -

Point of news:

I donated Whole Earth Woman to a silent auction at LillStreet for Art Reach. It was fun to have something donated but I was a little disappointed because they misspelled my last name, did not put out my cards that I sent and called it Untitled instead of Whole Earth Woman (written on the back of the piece). Despite that, I am thrilled that I got to donate art to raise money to bring art to the community. The event was fantastic--great art, good food, wonderful people. They did a wonderful job.

One last thing, I am in the middle of another painting that I am making a process video of! Wooot, look forward to it!

Thanks.

You Name It II

You Name It II, acrylic on board, 7 1/2 x 16 in.

I had something very specific on my mind when I created this piece but the nature of this game is that you have to make it for you. I am not quite done with it, a few more light layers would be nice to push the ground part a little more. Need some depth.

In my intuitive painting class some of my classmates told me what this was to them. Totally not what it is to me. So, tell me what you think. After the pictures I will explain some of my thinking. Before you read what I wrote, write your own story about it.

Detail of Little Girl 1.

Detail of Little Girl 2.

Detail of Woman.

Detail 2 of Woman. I love when collage wraps around the edge.

Little Girl 1 is looking at Little Girl 2 seeing what will happen if the takes the only present path. The easy route. She ends up brown, on the bottom, covered in my gloppy paint. There are color references that you can't make out in the photos. This was spurred by watching my sister go through her college search. I saw Little Girl 1 and thought of her as a toddler.

Well, there is the quick version of my interpretation.

Thanks to everyone who signed up on my blog (look at the link bellow)!

3 Oranges

3 Oranges, 8 1/2 x 24 1/2 in., Acrylic on Board, 2008

This is a quick still life I did a few weeks ago. I think I had extra paint and had only been working on collages-a still life was needed. I need to keep in touch with my technical skills. A fun thing about this piece is the board it is on. Marty, Zach and I went to IKEA a few weeks ago and I found amazing board in the junk section. I bought about 20 surfaces for under $5.00.

My favorite part of this painting the inclusion of the natural wood look. Instead of gessoing right over the wood I decided to use it as my background color. An exercise in allowing the materials to guide me.

3 Oranges on my wonderful easel.