Nora

"Nora"
8" x 10"
(watercolor on aquabord)

While this little lady is no longer here on earth, I'm sure she is spending time in doggy heaven looking down upon her mom and still protecting her. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to paint Nora -- many thanks to my collector. This one was a pure joy to paint.

Have a great start to your week!

Summer Reading and Commission

A couple weeks ago my husband and I stopped into our local used bookstore and I picked up this autobiography of Norman Rockwell. What a pleasant read! Like his paintings, his anecdotes are charming and detailed illustrations about very colorful characters. Loved it!

In other news . . . I can't remember if I shared my finished commission with you. It's a painting based on a few black and white photos of a childhood home. It's a little more interpretive than what I usually paint but most important was for me to portray a sense of place and nostalgia that would conjure up happy memories for the recipient. Hopefully I was able to achieve that. 

"Ebenwood Farm"
12" x 12"
(watercolor on aquabord)

I am always grateful when approached to do a commission. This was no exception . . . and a treat to reconnect with an old classmate.  Thanks, Mitch!  :)

No Rest For The Weary

"Signs"
14" x 11"
(watercolor on aquabord)

I finished up "Signs" -- my fourth painting from my Amsterdam,  The Netherlands series.  I've also begun some new paintings.  I was inspired by my beautiful baby lilacs this season and have messed around a bit with the color.  So I have a couple paintings of this subject planned.  I'm also toying with architectural structures as a theme, so I've been playing around with some images I captured while visiting Georgetown (Virginia) over the fall.  (Don't worry, I haven't abandoned Amsterdam . . . I've got those paintings planned and ready to go.)

works in progress
left to right:  "Baby Lilacs" -- study?
Georgetown painting -- unnamed
Commission

Finally, I am working on a commission for a friend.  I will be very busy this week.  I've been painting a lot and so my house and gardens are a mess . . . ha!  Hopefully I can become a little more balanced in the upcoming weeks.  But I figure if I can paint enough, maybe I can hire a housekeeper and gardner!  Ha!  (one can always dream, eh?) 

Have a great start to your week!

An Abstract Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek - Commission
watercolor on aquabord

One of the projects I used to assign when I taught high school art was based on "abstract" design.  I think to turn out interesting and successful abstract work one must have a comprehensive understanding of the elements of art and principles of design.  Without this foundation, non-representational work can often feel empty and incomplete.  Students don't always have enough experience to really understand abstraction, so I made it as concrete as I could to lead them to successful solutions.

For all of my assignments I developed "project sheets" that included 10 objectives that my students were to follow while encouraging them to think as creatively as possible while meeting these objectives.

The criteria would center around what concepts I wanted to teach.  I may limit students to following specific "rules"  - they may have to work within a complementary color scheme or put their focal point within the rule of thirds, for example.

For creating non-representational work these objectives always worked really well -- using concrete methods to teach something that's ummm . . . way less than concrete.

And to give students a starting point rather than just assigning "an abstract painting" I'd have students magnify an object or part of a still life, or a portion of a photo, etc.  They would create small viewfinders with index cards and look at things in a different way - thinking about the design elements listed in their criteria.  I felt that this method took a very "abstract" concept and gave it some concrete "teeth" that students could really grasp.

So why this long dissertation on a project I used to teach a lifetime ago?  This little tidbit from my latest commission reminded me of that assignment.  It's just a tiny little portion of the painting that made me remember how much fun it is to magnify objects to create unexpected non-representational designs.

If you never have, try out this method -- it's a lot of fun and I'd love to see your designs.  Email them to me at kkoz517@charter.net.

Thanks for popping in and have a great weekend!

Good News on the Homefront!

work-in-progress (2)
6" x 6"
watercolor on aquabord

In personal news, my dad was released from rehab on Saturday!!  WooHoo!  So he is now staying with Dan, Teddy, Dee-Dee and me.  We're so glad to have him here.  He made wonderful progress while at HealthSouth in Ludlow, MA.  It is a tremendous facility, staffed with wonderful, caring people.  And I can't say enough good things about his team - so responsive, proactive, knowledgeable, diligent and compassionate.  A HUGE thank you to everyone who cared for my dad during his stroke recovery, from the bottom of my heart.

work-in-progress (1)
6" x 6"
watercolor on aquabord

On the artistic front: 

I've been working on some commissions as you know.  I finished one on Friday, but because it's not going to its recipient until the end of July, I can't publish it yet, but I will as soon as I can.

I've started another couple commissions over the weekend and will share some sneak peeks soon.  I also snuck in a little work on the orange wedge. 

Wishing you a delightful start to your week!