Author: Kelly

Warmer days and the promise of Spring thaws.

March 11, 2020

This is that time of the year when we can celebrate warm and beautiful days, and small yellow flowers sneaking up through the leaf clutter in our garden beds. When we walk along great lakes shorelines here in the north we can see the ice melting, the snow banks fading, and any piled snow lurking in a shadow is dwindling to melting runoff. The Sun has a uniqueness as it comes up every morning that bespeaks a moisture laden atmosphere, and the changing trajectory of its spring solar path. Clouds create patterns of indecision revealing that they can’t decide whether to rain or snow, and but instead choose to sparkle with a glistening light. It is virtually impossible not to become enamored with these vignettes and want to paint them.

As a painter I try and confine my work to either live (plein aire) or painting from my own photographs in the studio so the work is infused with my own memories and experiences. Rarely do I stray from using my own photographs. Last summer, however, I met a photographer in Kenosha, Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Michigan who has very similar visual tastes to my own. With that shared taste, I find references to my own experiences, and I can draw from those, remembering being there from her pictures.

The piece that I finished in late December (called Christmas Morning Sunrise) was painted from a photograph that this new friend took as she walked the shore of Lake Michigan on Christmas morning. I had written her and asked her if I could have permission to paint from that photo and she agreed. Then, a few weeks ago I saw another shot that spoke to me and asked if I could paint it as well and she agreed. I appreciate so very much that she has been kind enough to let me paint from her images. The painting at the start of this post is my newest work, Early Spring Thaw.

Photo credits to Linda Plaza, photographer.

On the road to a show.

February 20, 2020

Loading the pallete and getting ready to hit the road to a working show. I love events like this. I am on my way to a historical trade fair this weekend in Oshkosh, Wisconsin where I will put my art up on display, showing friends and patrons many new works that have been done in the past year. I will have a canvas on the easel that I can be working on and talking with people about. This is business but so enjoyable that it’s a win-win for me. Perhaps I’ll see you there?

Happily Superstitious.

February 15, 2020

When I was growing up we would go on long car rides and my mom would always say, “Oh look, there’s a white horse! Quick kids, make a wish.”

I have since heard that making a wish on a white horse tends to be an Irish tradition. I don’t know how much truth there is in that but I will always believe. Now, whenever I’m going down a road and see a white horse in the field, I happily hear my mom’s voice in my mind and I think of her, smile to myself, and with a slight bit of superstition … I make a wish.

Sharing with you today, my reminiscence of that happy superstition. Make a wish.

Stretching your comfort zone.

February 13, 2020

We all have our favorite subjects to paint or favorite pallete we tend to use and drifting into those comfortable places when we sit down to paint is perfectly ok. After all, we paint because we love what we do and time is often at a premium. It is easy to just launch and not search for a subject that makes a new statement but is instead a tried and true image or formula.

That being said, sometimes we need to stretch our creative muscles.

Occasionally I will look at photographs I have taken and think of what attracted me to the view or image at that moment. Was it redeemable? Could it be a worthwhile painting? That question is what stops me today and makes me wonder, ‘what is my purpose for any particular painting session?’ And yes, the reason can vary!

If our reason to paint on any given day is purely to relax and have fun then that can be enough. If, however, we decide that we want to expand our abilities beyond the improvement that occurs with practice, we might also be heightening the risk of failure. I wonder how much pressure I place on myself for the time at the easel to be fruitful, and equating fruitful to time wasted and the potential loss of revenue.

Although I may say I am not painting to make my living, I must admit I don’t want to purely paint in my own vacuum and store work or gift it like I did early in my career. Perhaps I am not being genuine when I say it then? I do want to sell most of what I paint. I would like to share what I do with others. It’s gratifying and lucrative and therefor, helpful.

That begs the introspection of assessing why we’re painting in any given day and as a result, the potential censure of painting something that may fail because to fail means it won’t sell. That’s a self defeating loop. We need to continually challenge ourselves and gamble with potential failure. Yes, sometimes we need to paint for the pleasure, and sometimes we need to paint for revenue. Improvement is dependent on challenge so perhaps we should also include, sometimes we paint to stretch.

As for myself, I know I need to continually stretch outside my comfort zone so that I can expand the perimeters of that comfort zone, improve the quality of my work, and succeed more often than I fail by facing the challenges head on. It might actually, potentially, result in more sales.

Growth

February 5, 2020

My next step is to take my art business and grow my audience. I have decided to broaden the exposure to my work through social media. Welcome.