Happy Easter

detail - "American Interior"

Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter!

Getting There

wip-3

Still working on this one.  I've decided that I love painting stonewalls.  :)  Thanks for visiting!

Ahhhh . . . Progress

11.75" x 10.5"

I start getting a little anxious when I don't have a finished painting by midweek, or at the very least, a lot of good progress.  So I'm relieved that I can finally post some legitimate progress on this painting.  As you know, it's been hanging around the studio for a long time . . . but I pulled it out a week or so ago and was able to get a substantial amount of work done on it today.  It's actually even further along than when I snapped this photo.  So stay tuned!  Thank you for reading my blog.  :)

From February

I decided to put up this portrait I started in February because for the last two days I've painted with pretty much nothing but disastrous results. I never intended to post these pics before the portrait was finished because my friends whose daughter this is, (isn't she adorable?  and she's the sweetest!) have no idea I'm painting her. You see, the photo I took of her was just too precious not to try to paint, but I didn't want to show them (or any of you for that matter) in case I failed miserably. But finding myself without anything to post, I decided to just bite the bullet and share this. So this is my work in progress.  It's slow going (as you know, I jump from painting to painting A LOT.) And I definitely have to get back to this one. I think I'm getting a decent likeness, and am actually a little further along than these photos indicate, however I had stopped to ponder the "twinkle" and soul that I felt I wasn't capturing. I think I may have finally figured it out, so will start back at it shortly. I could still mess up terribly, but I know you'll all be kind if I do.  :)

With regards to my last two days:  I worked on two little daffodil paintings that I was hoping I could post as DPW auctions, but they're hideous. I may email my friend Arena (who paints amazing florals) and ask her advice as to how to proceed . . . although I fear they are too far gone for any kind of saving. In the meantime -- I'm tired and am headed to bed.  But I'll be back at it tomorrow -- hopefully with better results. I'm due, right?   -- Have a good night!

Watercolors and Wine

"Side Door Simplicity"
6" x 6"

Hi All!  I will be holding a watercolor class at the Hardwick Winery on Sunday, April 28th at 1:00 pm.  The class will run for 3 hours. There will be a free wine tasting along with a cheese and fruit platter for snacking.  We'll be painting the above painting, "Side Door Simplicity" -- a scene from the grounds. For more information go to the Hardwick Winery's "Watercolor and Wine" events page on Facebook. Registration information is there, or you can email me at kkoz517@charter.net. I hope you can join us!

Back to the Barns

I haven't painted much in the past two days as I've been working on our taxes. So here's a painting I started a while back -- you may remember it. I put away (like I often do) and then recently (about a few weeks ago) I started messing with it again. I'm hoping to finish up the big shoe, the big bowl and then these barns in the next week or so.  And looking forward to getting back to my paintings!  Have a good day and thank you for stopping by.

Side Door

"Side Door Simplicity"
6" x 6"
(watercolor on Fabriano cold-pressed)

(what this painting could look like framed)

Click here to bid

I bought a block of Fabriano cold-pressed paper and thought I'd give it a whirl and I liked it! Yay! I found the pigment very easy to lift out however the paper held the color in place for adding washes which is not so much the case with hot press. And I enjoyed working on the texture. Perhaps you'll see more little studies from me on this paper . . . or not . . . who knows? . . . I'm always all over the map! It was a nice departure though.

Thank you for dropping by and I hope everyone had a lovely weekend / St. Patrick's Day. I'm excited to start the week off with a new painting!

Shoe Progress

wip-3

I meant to post this shot yesterday but got a little distracted.  So here it is . . . off to paint some more!  Have a great day and thank you for visiting.  :)

Really Big Bowl

"Really Big Bowl" - wip1
12" x 16"

I did some more work on the big shoe yesterday, but nothing too noticeable. However, I started this one. I won't be keeping the name -- "Really Big Bowl" so if anyone has a suggestion, let me know. I just wanted to call attention to the size of this piece. If I do say so myself, it looks pretty cool in person.  I love working bigger than life with objects. Someday I'll have to try something on a full sheet. (That's if I'm feeling really wild and crazy!)  :) I'll be sure to post my shoe progress soon. Thanks for taking a look.  Have a great day.

Really Big Shoe - Take Two

"Really Big Shoe"
12" x 22"

I've got three projects going on here in the studio. Above is the progress shot on "Really Big Shoe." (I think I may have made a small mistake on its measurements in my last post. It's bigger than life -- unless you're a giant -- you get the picture.) Also I just finished and am very grateful to have sold "Winery I" shown below. Thanks for stopping by . . . stay tuned for more progress shots later this week.  :)

"Winery I"
6" x 8"
(watercolor on paper)
Sold

"Really Big Shoe"

"Really Big Shoe" - wip 1
12" x 21"
(watercolor on paper)

I bet you thought by the title, that this post was going to be about Ed Sullivan.  :)  Nope.  It's just my favorite shoe to paint, making its appearance again.  So here are the first couple of washes with some masking on the polka dots.  

In other news, I received word that both of my paintings made it into the Monson Arts Council's Spring Show.  In case you forgot which ones I entered, I've re-posted them below.  Have a great weekend and thank you for coming by.  

"A Basket Awaits"
20" x 16"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)
Sold

"In Line At The Theatre"
11" x 14"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)
Sold

Workshop Wrap-Up

Anne

Joanne

Laurie

Shelley

Aren't these fabulous!?  I'm so proud of my students!  We finished our 5-week workshop on Monday night and thought you might like to see the final paintings.  I think each student was able to capture the enamel's reflective surface and what about that steam?  I think I can actually hear Laurie's kettle whistling!  :)  I love the chips in the enamel that Annie, Laurie and Joanne included. (I don't think I even attempted to render it in my painting -- and they handled it like pros!)  Joanne's enamel looks amazing -- like it's just been polished.  And what about Shelley's wallpaper?  I think her choice of red creates such peace and harmony -- even her steam, wafting so gently from the kettle's spout makes me feel calm.  I also love Annie's beautiful wallpaper -- that blue-green is really lovely in person and the slight reflection of it in the handle is very well-done.  I'm just so pleased at how great they all did.  Three cheers for Annie, Joanne, Laurie and Shelley!!  Thanks for coming by and viewing my students' work.  :)

Winery 1

"Winery I" - wip
6" x 8"
(watercolor on Fabriano cold-pressed paper)

"Cupcake Commission"
5" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)
Sold

I just thought I'd share with you what I worked on yesterday.  I finished up the cupcake (although I may put one more wash over that background to even it out and clean up those dots a little) and started this new painting.  I wanted to fool around with some colors and textures.  I learned a lot with this painting.  The photograph of it isn't great -- I had a white light glaring on it, washing out some of the shadows - but I think I still may go for the drama and darken the shadows.  I don't really have much to lose with this one as it was intended for just practice.  Although a happy little painting may result.  :)

Thank you for coming to see what's new today.  Have a lovely day.  :)

Cupcake Commission

"Cupcake Commission"
5" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Not the most original name for a painting, eh?  Ha! After my last cupcake painting, I received a commission from a lovely woman who follows me on Facebook. This is just about done, but I'm just going to let it sit for a spell before I do the final touches. Viewing the image on the computer always helps me to see what needs fixing. Does that help you too? 

This painting was a lot of fun -- but is making me REALLY hungry -- in fact I can almost taste it! Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Painting!

All Done!

"Holy Cannoli!"
5" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Click here to bid.

I love when I can utter those two little words -- "all done!" :) I'm going to finish this piece with a UV protective gloss -- I think it will really bring out the colors. I don't know about you fellow bloggers, but I feel like I'll color correct (on my monitor) my images to a fairly accurate portrayal of the painting and then when I upload to blogger they lose all life! And if I add more contrast or saturation they end up looking garish when you click on them for a closer look. So anyway . . . know that while this is pretty accurate, there's some element that I can't quite pinpoint and the original has a little more life to it.  

Thanks for visiting today.  :)

Holy Cannoli! -- wip

"Holy Cannoli!"  -- wip
5" x 5"

I was hoping to get this work-in-progress up over the weekend but didn't.  So here it is so far.  I'm continuing with this dessert theme (for now) -- apparently my sweet tooth is hungry.  In person, the painting isn't as washed out, especially the plate.  Hopefully my final image will reflect the painting more accurately.  

In other news, I took some great photos for future paintings, at The Hardwick Winery where I will be teaching a "wine and watercolor" class in April.  The winery is BEAUTIFUL and if you are ever looking for a nice outing, please check them out -- they have lots of events scheduled, beginning with their Maple Breakfast on Saturdays in March and lots of varieties of lovely wines.  I'm looking forward to beginning some of the paintings I'm planning from that photoshoot.  So that's the scoop here in Massachusetts.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good week.  :)