Moody Variations. Some November Challenge Paintings

I have 12 new challenge paintings to share. Here they are in collage format. Some of them have been featured on my blogs but I think it's fun to see them all together. These are some of my moody variations!

100 Variation Challenge #65

'Variation #65' 5x7 pastel

I finally had some time last night to get back to my 100 variation challenge paintings. I am over the hump so I don't want to stop now! I managed to paint five of them last night and I will be posting them over on my challenge blog Miles of Canvas. Take a look if you want to learn more about my challenge.

This weekend will be a busy one. I am giving two workshops and both are full. On Saturday, it will be my third workshop in my Pastel Exploration series and we will be exploring underpaintings. Sunday is a play day when we will experiment with gold leaf and pastel and learn about getting texture in our pastel paintings. This is the last of my workshops for 2009 but I have posted the winter/spring 2010 on my workshop blog.

Another Plein Air Marsh Painting

'Saturday's Marsh' 8x10 pastel

Out of all of the plein air paintings I did last week on my trip to the South Carolina coast I would have to pick this one as my personal favorite. I have a few reasons for this. I painted this from the deck of the house overlooking the marsh on Saturday afternoon. It was the 3rd day of the workshop and we had the afternoon for freetime. Jayne and Holly went to take photos, Susan and Lisa had errands and Betsy and I set up on the deck to paint. It was a beautiful warm afternoon after a dreary week weather-wise. I painted 6 paintings that afternoon but I feel this one captured my impression of the marsh the best without me getting too fussy with the details. It also sums up the fun I was having being a part of a great group of artists at a beautiful spot!

3rd Annual Open Studio Sale

Collage of some of the artist's work

If you are in the Atlanta area we'd love for you to visit our Open Studio sale on December 5th from 10-6. The sale will be held at my studio. This year we will have the art of 10 local artists for sale. We will have something for every budget from greeting cards to framed original paintings. We'd love to see you there! For more information or directions, please send me an email at kemstudios@yahoo.com

Low Country Palm Trees Plein Air

'Lowcountry Memory' 8x10 pastel

I painted these palm trees while at the Stan Sperlak workshop. It was a gray drizzly day and we weren't sure if the weather would hold out long enough to set up our easels. So Stan had us bring our sketchbooks on location and just sketch a scene and take notes. As I was sketching the sun came out breifly and the sky started to clear. I was about to set up when the clouds moved back in. I decided to take the sketch back to the house and work on this painting from my sketch and memory of the scene. It was a great exercise as I really had this scene imprinted in my head. I want to do this exercise more often. It really helps develop our powers of observation!

For more information or to purchase this painting email me at kemstudios@yahoo.com

Plein Air Marsh Painting South Carolina Lowcountry

'Quiet Marsh' 8x10 pastel

It's good to be back home after a fantastic adventure to the South Carolina Coast. My friends Jayne and Holly and I went to a mentoring workshop with Stan Sperlak. We had all studied with Stan before at his farm in NJ but this time we met on Kiawah Island on the South Carolina coast. There were only six students including us and we had been in a workshop last year with Susan, Lisa and Betsy. We were a very comfortable and compatible group which added to the experience. We stayed at Susan's beautiful home (thank you Susan for everything!) It had the most amazing view of the marsh. I could paint that scene everyday and never tire of it! Look below at the slideshow for a peek at the marsh) We did have our share of cold and wet weather but we all managed to get outside and paint despite the conditions. I finished about 15 paintings and will be sharing them over the rest of the week. This one was painted out on Susan's deck in the misty rain. It actually added some texture!

Painting Trip to the Lowcountry... a few photos

Home from the Workshop!

I am back home after a wonderful week on the South Carolina coast. Despite the interruptions of Tropical storm Ida, we managed to explore and paint and have a fantastic time. I will write up a full report with more photos tomorrow. It was strange not posting for a week but I had no internet access at either of our locations. I can't wait to share more about the trip! This is a 5x7 plein air study I did yesterday at the beach on Kiawah Island. We finally saw the sun after a dreary week and it was so nice!

Moody Skies Variation Painting #61

'Variation #61' 5x7 pastel

This may be the last post for a week. I am headed to the South Carolina coast for a workshop with one of my favorite pastel artists, Stan Sperlak. I am bringing my laptop but I am not sure about internet access at our lodging. If I can get online I will post! I hope to come back refreshed and inspired and filled with ideas to share. I leave you with variation #61 of my painting challenge. To read more about how this one was done visit my project blog http://www.milesofcanvas.blogspot.com/

Bird Nest Paintings SOLD

'Bird Nest #1 & 2' 5x7 pastel

sold to a collector in the UK

It is the week for bird nests! I sold an 8x10 robin's nest earlier this week so I decided to paint a couple of new nests. They were purchased today! The bottom nest was actually painted from life. I found the hatched eggs on the ground and then a few months later the abandoned nest fell to the ground. I have been keeping them on a shelf in my studio. I will definitely be exploring this nest further!

New Siamese Cat Painting

'Toblerone' 5x7 pastel

I took a break from painting landscapes to paint my cat Tobi. It has been months since I have painted a cat and I need to do it more often. Hmmmm maybe a thought for my next challenge!

Latest Queen Anne's Lace Painting

'Field of Lace'       8x10           pastel

I was interesting in trying to paint my usual subject of wildflowers on the new textured surfaces I made. This was painted on watercolor paper that I covered with a pumice/gesso mix. It gave a very rough texture that made painting the flowers interesting. After I put down my first layer, I spread acrylic matte medium with a palette knife which acted like a fixative. I think I could have sprayed it and gotten even more layers of pastel down. Click on the painting if you'd like to get a better look at the texture.

If you haven't visited my new painting project blog, I invite you to go check it out. I am up to variation #60!

http://www.milesofcanvas.blogspot.com/

140 Hours of Fame on Twitter

'A Winter Walk'     8x10           pastel on board

I'm excited to announce that this painting will be available for auction on the world's first online auction using Twitter through 140 hours of fame.com.  The auction begins on November 5th and is live for 140 hours until November 11th. To bid all you have to do is follow @140 hours on Twitter. See all the great art at http://www.140hours.com/  See the listing for my painting here.

To see the latest of my 100 variation painitngs visit my new blog at www.milesofcanvas.blogspot.com

Beach Dune at Sunset 4x6 Pastel Painting

Today was spent cleaning and organizing the studio so I am sharing a painting I did a few weeks ago. This was a 4x6 study for a commission.  I did manage to paint two variations today in between cleaning. I will be posting them later on my project blog  http://www.milesofcanvas.blogspot.com/  If you haven't had a chance to see the new blog, take a look and sign up for updates. I will be sharing more details of my techniques for each painting there.

Variation #40 Winter Sunset

'Variation #40'               5x7         pastel

I have been busy this weekend but I've accomplished a lot!  I finished my acrylic marsh commission and my colloector is pleased with it.  Yeah!  I have also started a new blog devoted to my variation challenge. I wanted a place to have them all together so I could better document the techniques I used for each one. The new blog is called 'Miles of Canvas' in reference to the saying that artists need to accumulate miles of canvas if they want to improve as painters. Doing challenges like this one helps me put in my miles. I hope you will visit my new blog and sign up for updates. I welcome your comments too! you can find the blog at:

www.milesofcanvas.blogspot.com