Student Show and Tell

Here are some finished paintings from my students last weekend. Aren't they just amazing?
I love that Andrew painted his dog Oliver, and Andrea sculpted a wolf out of my kneaded eraser. Classic!
They will all be here tomorrow morning, so I better start brainstorming for new ideas.

Have a great weekend. I'm about to head over to a good friend's house for some sunset margaritas. I just love this time of year.

Submarine

Carol, Francesca and I are almost done with the "Yellow Submarine" install that will be featured next month at the Pannikin. We decided it would be kind of funny to paint a cartoon submarine silhouette and hang our port holes on it. We have 8 feet to work with and somehow it doesn't seem like enough.
It still needs another coat of yellow, and then we'll add some high and low lights to the beast next week. Oh yeah, it needs a background color too.

I spent most of the day in my studio finishing some custom orders, painting some of my own stuff and drinking coffee with the neighbors.
Yes, I call that a perfect day.

Oh......my big boy Max

There's just nothing better than a basket full of cat.

I have so much to share this week, but I need to organize my photos and take a little break. I've been going, going, going all day and I just don't have the energy.
So instead....I thought I'd leave you with a shot of my big chunky "cheeeezeburger". He looks annoyed, doesn't he?
Hope you all had a great weekend. Karin

New fabric, a funky egg and a little confusion

These are totally unrelated, but this has been my day today.

I just got a sample of my new fabric design in and I'm loving the apple green color. I may bump up the color a bit to a more limey green but I'm not sure. What do you think?

Now, on to the chickens.
Somebody laid a water balloon today. It's the weirdest thing. An egg without a shell......that's a first. Looks like a silicone implant with dirt on it.
I immediately went to my computer and googled it cause I thought I might have a sick hen or something. Turns out it's not that uncommon. It can happen if the weather changes drastically, if they're under stress, or they don't get enough shell or grit in their diet. The only thing it could be then is the weather shifting this week.

Then there's Miss Lemon Drop. She somehow got the idea that this big rock in the yard is her egg. Doesn't she look so proud of herself? Should I break the news to her or let her go on living in her fantasy world?

Confusion I tell you....it's everywhere.

Student Spotlight

Here's Davey working on a graphite and charcoal sketch of my old Nikon camera. He's really getting the shading down don't you think? Look out world, this kid is going places!

corners of my house

I've been playing musical furniture again. My front room (aka- the genie bottle) seems to be the room that gets made over the most. I took out a rug and moved the tables and trunks around. I know....I need to hide that light cord in the corner. If I can just find the blue paint to cover it up.

Can you see it?

Let me start by explaining this painting. This is just the background.......I repeat...I'm NOT done.

Normally, when I have an idea for a painting, I can picture the whole piece in my mind before I even start. With this one, I only knew that I wanted the background to be green with floating flowers. I figured that I'd try something different and let it evolve on its own. After the background was done, I stared at it for days trying to figure out what else to add. I found myself searching the Internet for images of Kwan Yin. I love that she exudes such a peacefulness in her expression and wanted my painting to have a similar feel.

This is where it gets kind of weird.

So I kept my thoughts and ideas to myself, because honestly, I wasn't ready to commit to it. Then, in walks Francesca and Carol for art class. They both stood in front of my easel critiquing my work like they usually do.

Francesca said something like: "Hey, there's a face in the background"
Carol: "Yeah, I see it too. It's Kwan Yin!

Now come on! Of all the female images in the universe, she picks Kwan Yin. What were the chances?
I guess I'll be adding her to my painting then. Maybe a transparent image in blue. Then I was thinking about adding a third layer. Hmmm, I'm leaning towards a floral line drawing in pink or orange?
What do you think? I'd love to hear your ideas.

***So if you look really close and stare at it for a while, maybe you can see her too.

Yellow Submarine- progress report

We are so close to being finished with these. Francesca and I have a little shadowing left to do while Carol is a day behind and has more highlights and shadows to add to hers. I think I changed the color of my jellyfish like five times.

Color Inspiration

I can't help but love these colors together. There's just something about cherry red and turquoise that make me happy. Miss Betty thinks she also looks dazzling enough to be included.

The last couple of days have been consumed with MAJOR spring cleaning. Am I the only one who can't start anything creative unless the house is clean?
I'm happy to report that I have finally.......that's right.....I finally started painting something new. It seems like forever since I've been able to paint just for me.

Happy Garden

Do you ever notice how healthy the plants look when they're not suffocating amongst the weeds?
I still have so much more territory to cover, but I'm getting there. One weed at a time.

Art Class Show and Tell

Thought you might like to see what my students are working on.
Isn't Brooke's version of the goldfish adorable? The other jellies and fish should be completed by next weekend. Until then, have a great rest of the week. Karin

Lemon and Honey

I tried to snap a picture before it completely disappeared. My friend made the most delicious lemon tart for our Easter festivities. A fresh batch of honey harvested from our beehive was given as party favors.

It was a relaxing afternoon with good friends and family.......that is until the earthquake hit. Haven't felt one like that in so long. It seemed to last forever. Luckily, it looks like no one was injured in our area.

Happy Eeeeester!

Here's a funny video for all my chicken loving friends.
....and yes, this is a picture from last year. Haven't decided whether or not to put up my decorations this year. I'm on an every other year kind of schedule.
Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend. Karin