An Itty Bitty Painting

This is my effort today....it's just 3 x 5. It's hard to tell from this picture but it's a painting of the Watch Tower at the Grand Canyon's South Rim. It was late afternoon with a dark cold stormy sky. We got out for our first glimpse of the canyon after a long drive from Monumnet Valley. It was so cold but we had to get out and look anyway.It's a good thing we did because suddenly the sun broke through and lit up the dark clouds. It was the Grand Canyon in all it's mysterious, beautiful glory.

The Sketch Hunter

What is a Sketch Hunter you ask? I came across this passage in Robert Henri's book 'The Art Spirit'......

"The sketch hunter has delightful days of drifting about among people, in and out of the city, going anywhere, everywhere, stopping as long as he likes - no need to reach any point, moving in any directionfollowingthe call of interests. He moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to note them down in the shorthand of his sketchbook. Like any hunter he hits or misses. He is looking for what he loves, he tries to capture it. It's found anywhere, everywhere. those who are not hunters do not see these things. The hunter is learning to see and to understand - to enjoy."

I'd like to be a sketch hunter. For my September Goal I plan to carry my new moleskine pocket notebook so I can be on the hunt for things to sketch.

#30 The Grand Canyon

'Winter Sunrise at Lookout Studio'

Here is today's effort. I wanted to do another Southwest painting for my living room so I decided to do this one of the Grand Canyon. We stayed in a rim cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge last January. We woke up early to catch the sunrise and it was one of those subtle sunrises. The clouds were moving in and building for what would be an all day snowstorm. This building is Lookout Studio...a historic building designed by architect Mary Coulter. It is perched on the very edge of the canyon. As you can imagine, the views from this perch are amazing!

In the Shade of a Palm Tree

I'm in a tropical mood today so the painting of the day is a palm tree. I came across this lone palm on a boat tour To Seahorse Key on Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge consists of 12 islands within five miles of Cedar Key, Florida. They range from one to 165 acres in size.The refuge was set aside by executive order of President Hoover in 1929, with the addition of Seahorse Key in 1936 by President Roosevelt. The government declared the islands wilderness areas in 1972.Incredible shell mounds remain from Native American inhabitants, who lived on Seahorse Key for over 1,000 years. Seahorse Key is the highest point of land on the Gulf Coast, rising 52 feet above sea level.The islands are abundant in bird life, with white ibis, egret, osprey, cormorant and brown pelican the most prominent. Find out more about Cedar Key via the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service by clicking here

This little 8 x 10 painting is for sale in my ebay store or you can email me at kemstudios@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Today's Painting...A Butterfly

An Indian Butterfly Legend

If anyone desires a wish to come true
they must capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it.
Since they make no sound, they can't tell the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit.
So by making the wish and releasing the butterfly
it will be taken to the heavens and be granted.
Author Unknown

Today I painted again online with the group VPON...that stands for Virtual Paint-Out Network. It's a group of artists from wet canvas who get together with web cams and instant messenger and paint together. Today we had up to 6 people from all over chatting and painting together. We had to paint something from the wet canvas weekly drawing event....that is when a wet canvas member posts photos of their home town and you can interpret a photo in any medium. I chose this Fritillary Butterfly. It is 5 x 7, soft pastel. This painting is currently available in my ebay store for $22 or if interested drop me an email at kemstudios@yahoo.com.

Finished! My Version of an Abstract Landscape

Here is the finished painting. I really liked how the alcohol underpainting made the process so much quicker...especially for a bigger painting. 16 x 20 is HUGE for me! Boy that eats up the pastels! I think I'll stick to 8 x 10! I am anxious to try an underpainting on a beach scene....so stay tuned!

First step..Abstracting the Landscape

The first thing I did was lightly sketch in the main elements with a rust color nupastel. Then using the nupastels which are hard...I blocked in the main areas of color. I started with the darkest areas.

Abstracting the Landscape

Today I got the pastel DVD by Ann Templeton called 'Abstracting the Landscape' which is perfect timing for my attempts at simplifying my paintings. So I watched the first half of it and then followed her steps with my own photo. The photo I am using of Moab is similar to hers but that is purely coincidence as I had chosen to paint that scene before my dvd arrived! So.......I am documenting my attempt at abstracting the landscape and here is my first installment. Above it my reference photo. It was taken on a very overcast winter day. In the next step I will sketch the main feautures on a piece of white Wallis paper. I am working large for me...16 x 20!

Painting #26 Cape May Dunes

This is painting # 26. I am on a roll this month! These are the dunes and wildflowers at the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge 2 mile Unit. This quiet windswept beach is just down the street from the action of the Wildwood New Jersey Boardwalk yet you would never know it! It is a beautiful place and I love to paint these dunes. This painting is currently available for sale in my ebay store.

The Friendship Trees

'Friendship is a sheltering tree' Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I wanted to share the beautiful painting that Jayne gave me last night. I just love it and it will be hung in a special place in my living room...next to my tree painting (I'll post that as it also has a special meaning) Jayne did this painting at the workshop in Cashiers. It was the day that rained and we painted with Virginia under the deck. It was such a great time...we all were inspired by one another and painted all day! This painting symbolizes the 3 of us and I have loved it from the moment she painted it! Thank you Jayne! Even though we have really only known each other for a short time...it seems much longer and you have become a special friend to me!

Beach Night

'A Blue Sky Day'

Jayne and I had another painting session last night at her house. The theme was 'Beach Night' to get us ready for our upcoming trip to St. George Island. I chose to paint another Sanibel scene. We tried to work on keeping it simple which can get tricky when faced with all that beach grass! We are doing good on our commitment to painting 100 paintings! This painting is available at my ebay store (see link on the right).

The Art Spirit

I have a book by my bedside called The Art Spirit by Robert Henri. It is a compilation of the beliefs and theories of the American artist and teacher, Robert Henri. It's the kind of book that you can just pick up and read a few lines. I'd like to share some of his words of wisdom every once and awhile. Today, I painted 3 little paintings and in the last two I tried to take to heart these words of Robert Henri.....

"Keep up the work. Try to reduce everything you see to the utmost simplicity. That is, let nothing but the things which are of utmost importance to you to have any place."

Collector's Corner

Sunset Lake Wildwood Crest, NJ

" To Love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." David Viscott

I have started a series of small 5 x 7 pastel paintings at a small price of $22 each. The paintings are studies from the many photographs I took on my travels around the United States and the Caribbean. I will post them every once in awhile on my blog in the 'Collector's Corner'. They are also listed in my ebay store. Email me at kemstudios@yahoo.com if you are interested in starting or adding to your art collection with this painting.

Work in Progress is finished

Early Morning at the Beach

Well here is the finished painting...finished last night and emailed the buyer and she is thrilled with it! Which makes it all very nice. This is my second 'children on the beach' commission and I really enjoy doing them. It seems as though I go into this zone where I am actually at the beach watching the children have fun. It makes it fun to paint! For this one, she wanted me to capture the feeling of the kids having fun on their special beach. They wanted the railroad bridge and the palm trees but I took out a concrete pavillion and went light on the seaweed. Now I am inspired to do one of my own kids..I think I have a good photo of them at Arches Natl Park which they both feel was one of their best vacations ever!

Bahia Honda State Park WIP

Here's my latest work in progress. It's a commission of two children at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys. This is the first layer of nupastels. I first lightly sketched with a spruce blue nupastel. Then with the same color used on it's side, I blocked in the darkest areas. Then using a pale peach, I blocked in the lightest areas. I then tried to cover the entire paper with colors that would relate to the next layers. Sometimes I try to add some brighter or unusual colors in this first layer such as the purple in the seaweed.
For this painting I used a combination of 3 photos. We liked this view of the beach and the old railroad bridge but the children were bent over a rock and I wasn't sure how that would read in a painting. So I took this pose of the children from another photo...made them a bit bigger and moved them closer to the viewer. This is all I will do tonight. Tomorrow I will evaluate the composition and make any needed corrections before I start with my softer pastels.

Qoute of the Day

"ORIGINALITY: Don't worry about your originality. You could not get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick to you and show up for better or worse in spite of all you or anyone else can do"
Robert Henri, The Art Spirit


I have no new paintings to post this morning. Caitlin and I spent the day yesterday cleaning and shopping for a new area rug and pillows for the living room. We decided that each room of the house will be devoted to one of our favorite travels spots. We already have a 'Wildwood' Room. My studio is a mix. The family room will be the 'Tropical' room...devoted to the caribbean and Florida beaches. So we found a great red shag rug...yes shag is in!!!! We added some southwest style pillows and some touches of purples and earthy reds. Now I just need to do a few more Southwest paintings for the walls. I also would love to get a navajo rug for the wall...watching some now on ebay!

Moody Southwest

"Storms over Monument Valley'

Here's Today's Painting....I'm calling it my Moody Southwest series. I did a Southwest trip last January and had the moodiest weather! We had clouds, rain, snow...you name it...we experienced it all in a week. I took over 500 photos so I have a lot of reference material to paint! When we got to Monument Valley I was so disappointed that it was cloudy and raining. I was hoping for a Blue-sky day with white puffy clouds...the kind you see in pictures. But I had to make the best of it so I stopped and took some photos. Just then....the clouds started to break up, illuminating the rock formation in the distance. Now that's dramatic light!

Today's Work...Another Houseboat

Today I decided to do another houseboat painting....look in July archives if you'd like to see my first one. This is the Brownlee Boat up on Lake Hiawassee in Murphy, North Carolina. The first picture shows my first layer of hard pastels...the second picture is the finished painting. The other boat I painted had a farmhouse theme. The theme of this houseboat is the New England/ Maine Coast. There is a mini lighthouse on the roof and real lobster buoys hanging on the corners. Kim was afraid that her housboat wouldn't make a very pretty painting like her sister's red boat....but I think it looks very serene and inviting. I hope they like it!

Stone Harbor Beach Days

I couldn't help myself. I just had to paint a Jersey Shore beach scene today. This one is based loosely on some photos of the beach at Stone Harbor, New Jersey but it is mostly from my imagination. As I painted I imagined a hot hazy lazy summer day at the beach. I could smell the fresh sea air and hear the muffled sounds of people talking, children playing and music from some radios. I could feel the warmth of the sun as I relaxed in my beach chair and savored a piece of my favorite salt water taffy. This painting is sure to bring back those summer memories on even the coldest winter day!

Southwest Night

'Book Cliffs in January'

Last night Jayne came by the studio and we had a Southwest painting night. We looked through my photos of my January Southwest trip and painted away! I chose to do the Book Cliffs which are outside of Moab, Utah (one of my favorite places) When we were there, I took a tour with JC Borders of Canyonlight Tours. He is a wonderful pastel artist and photographer and took us to some out of the way and very beautiful places. It was a gray day...terrible for landscape photography...but JC was wonderful in pointing out the colors of the desert landscape in the winter. I hope I was able to capture those colors in my painting. Jayne painted a scene from Monument Valley..wish I had a photo to post! It was wonderful. She captured the intense colors and the lighting perfectly. I hope she frames it! We talked about style and I have more to say later on that subject.....

Painting #16 More Shells!

'Shelling at Daybreak'

I had a request for a painting of shellers on Sanibel Island. This painting is from a photograph I took during my recent Sanibel trip. When I stay at the beach I love to slip outside with my camera before the sun rises. On Sanibel this was easy to do since we stayed right on the beach. I was able to take long walks looking for shells and taking photos. This trip I was lucky enough to stay near the resting spot for island ospreys. They would sit in the big Australian Pines and eat their catch of the day or just rest. I spent many hours observing these magnificent birds. In this painting I have started something new which will now be a part of all my work. There is treasure hidden somewhere in this painting. It is a spanish reale...a shipwreck coin. Soon I will post more about this but for now , try to find my treasure!

Painting #15

'Piles of Shells'

Here is painting # 15 out od 100. Another Sanibel painting. Can you tell I love Sanibel? We stayed at the Waterside Inn on the Beach...a wonderful place! Along the path to the beach was this pile of discarded shells. Some were broken, some were faded...but they were just as unique and beautiful as the most perfect shell. I thought they deserved to be in my painting! This one is currently listed on ebay.

What a Treat! New Pastels!

Like I needed any more pastels! But really...I didn't have all these colors! Jayne called today to say that Binders was having their open stock pastels 50% off and did I want to go look! Who me? Pass up a sale??? So off we went and we both had fun and did our share of damage! Just look at all those colors! I went for the bright colors this time...feeling quite colorful today! Painting with pastels is fun but buying them is even more fun...dare I say a bit addicting!

Painting of the Day ....Paynes Prairie

This is a painting of Paynes Prairie just outside of Gainesville, Florida. I stopped here on my recent trip to Florida. I really wanted to see some alligators...there is a really kool photo in the visitor center of a pond at night with all theses beady alligator eyes staring out at the photographer. I painted a couple more from this trip and will be listing them all soon in my new EBAY store......kemstudios Fine Art. Check out the link to your right.

Sunset Surprise...Cedar Key SOLD

'Sunset Surprise' Cedar Key, Florida

This is my painting of the sunset we saw on our recent trip to Cedar Key. Scroll down to see the photo I took. It truly was one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. I'm happy to say that this painting has been sold already but I have more Cedar Key and Florida paintings which will be in my ebay store soon.

In the Mood for Flowers

Helen's Flowers

Here is today's painting. I did this one at the plein air workshop last month. I am about to frame it and hang it in the family room. I feel like adding some color! This was painted in the North Carolina mountains at a local woman's home. Her name is Helen and she has fields of amazing flowers. She cuts them and makes wonderful arrangements...in fact scroll down to see the still life with the flowers...that was one of Helen's arrangements. I took many photos of her flowers so there will be more flower paintings coming!

Where flowers bloom so does hope.- Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom

A Stormy Florida Landscape

Stormy Sky

Here is today's painting. It's another one of my Central Florida paintings. These huge afternoon thunderstorms are a part of summer in Florida. I remember during college at the University of Florida, the thunderstorms were particularly fierce. I took a picture of this stormy sky as we were driving on I-75. I just loves how the light was breaking through the dark clouds illuminating the grass below.

Today's Painting

Early Morning on the Boardwalk

Cedar Key Twilight

I've been productive today! This morning I did the Cedar Key Twilight painting. It is part of my Central Florida series I am doing for a commission. I have 6 more to go! This afternoon I painted the Wildwood Boardwalk painting. This is the view from the motel we stayed at when we visited the New Jersey shore. It's at the quiet end of the Wildwood Boardwalk. This is the quiet early morning when the rising sun casts long shadows and all you can hear are the seagulls.

Cedar Key Florida ...Trip Report

Cedar Key Sunset

I am back from a quick weekend trip to Cedar Key Florida. It was a very productive trip. I painted two plein air paintings and took 500 photos for future paintings! That should keep me busy. Cedar Key is a very kool little town. They say it's like Key West was like in Hemingway's time and I believe it. Everywhere I went was another scene to paint or photograph. We stayed at a nice place called Park Place right across from the city beach. We took a boat ride with Captain Dennis of Island Hopper tours and saw some dolphin, lots of birds including baby pelicans! I was lucky enough to hear and see an osprey as we stopped at one of the outer keys. I love to hear the call of the osprey...it just touches my soul.

The photo above is the sunset on Saturday night. We were eating dinner and it was quite cloudy. Michael say "look like sunset's a bust tonight" After we eat we walk back leisurely to our room and I decide that we should go to the sunset spot anyway just to see....it was raining at this point. Well we get in the car and as we rounded the bend before us was the most amazing sunset I have ever seen (and I chase sunsets!!) The sun had broken through the bottom of the clouds and the sky and water were just on fire with color. And best of all...opposite the sun was a huge complete rainbow! Just awesome!

On the Road Again

'I realized that many of the most important changes in my life had come about because of my travel experiences.'Michael Crichton

I am on the road again....this time these pt's will be on the Florida Gulf Coast. I'm going to Cedar Key to do some plein air painting. Jayne recommended Cedar Key. I can't believe I lived in Gainesville just 50 miles away and never visited Cedar Key. I will be taking notes to see if it is a place worthy of the list. I'll let you know.jte

Painting of the Day

'Sanibel Storm'

Here is the painting of the day. We are on day number four of our 100 painting project. I am planning to post my daily painting here on by blog. This painting is done from a photo I took on a recent trip to Sanibel Island. It was a stormy day as Tropical Storm Arlene came through. It was very windy and the Gulf was churning. All I could think of were the beautiful shells that would be washed ashore after the storm!

Avalon Lifeboat Commission

Avalon, New Jersey

I have been busy this week! Today I worked on this commissioned painting of children in a lifeboat at the Jersey Shore. It was a challenge for me since I had never painted figures before. I managed to paint it in my style and I hope that they like it! I didn't put much detail in the faces...I had read about a style called 'mudheads' where the features are just hinted at. This painting is only 11 x 14 so it was hard to get much detail.

Back from the Workshop

'Still Life on a Rainy Day'

I am back from a wonderful Plein Air painting workshop in the mountains of North Carolina. To sum it up it was a great experience. I learned so much from our intructor Marsha Savage as well as the other artists. We painted, ate good food, talked art, drank some wine, saw some beautiful sites, painted some more. ...I think my arm is sore from so much painting! Thanks goes to our hostess Lynda and her family for sharing her wonderful lakefront cabin. Thanks also to Jayne for the ride and the wonderful company. We have both decided to do as one of the other artists, Carly Clements suggested....and that is to do a painting a day for the next 100 days. We will keep them in a notebook so we can see our progress. I plan to share my efforts on this blog so stay tuned!

The painting I have posted today is a still like we set up one afternoon. It was one of those days that rained steadily ALL day! Jayne, Ginny and I decided to set up under the porch and we had an all day painting marathon. We painted from 8 in the morning until 6. At one point the rain was washing onto the floor and we were painting in standing water...we put on life vests for a photo op...I need to get a copy of that one! It actually was a lot of fun since we tried to do things we normally don't paint...including Flowers in a still life. I had a lot of fun with this one. We did an alcohol wash underpainting and we were tempted to leave them alone as they looked like watercolors. I will post more pictures as soon as I get caught up!