Sunflowers on Gator Foam

I just finished writing a long post describing how we prepared the Gator foam surface and Blogger had a problem and my post was lost! If you are interested in the directions let me know and I will post them again. I really enjoyed working on this surface and will definitely try some more. This one is 12x16 which is a nice size to work on.

This painting is available for $145 which includes S&H. Please email me at kemstudios@yahoo.com

Color Study...Sunflowers

Tonight in Pastel class we are going to prepare our own surfaces with pumice on gatorboard. Marsha asked us to bring something simple to paint since we won't have as much painting time and it is hard to get very detailed on the rougher surface. I chose sunflowers...fitting since it is very cold here this week. I didn't like the background in my reference photo so I did my thumbnail and made sure my value pattern was pleasing then I did a little color study on a 2.5 x 3.5 piece of paper. I think I like this background better. We'll see how it turns out. I'll post the results tomorrow.

Daily Pastel Painting...Along the Toccoa River

'Along the Toccoa' 12x16

I was looking through my reference photos looking for a subject for today's painting and decided on this view of the Toccoa River. Jayne, Holly and Sherry may recognize it. it is the view of the river in front of the cabin we rented last spring for the Terry Ludwig workshop. What a great time that was! Painting all day and unwinding in the hot tub with our wine every night....we need to do that again!! I'll bring this painting to class tonight for some advice from Marsha...this is her kind of scene and I am lucky to be able to get her input. Now I feel like painting some cherries for some reason....let's see what I can find.

ACEO Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI SOLD

Here is another little 2.5 x 3.5 painting I did while on the deck of our cruise ship. The sun was just right making the water an amazing shade of blue. I did several little paintings that afternoon. I didn't paint anything new today but I did prepare a few for this week. I have a commission to work on and I feel like painting some gulls so we'll see what this week brings.

The Robin's Nest...version #2

This may look familiar to some of you. I painted another smaller version of this nest a couple of months ago. It is now in Jayne's private collection. I really liked it so I thought why not paint a larger version for myself. So that's what I did! This one is 9x12 on LaCarte paper. The larger one was actually more difficult and I see something I want to fix but it was fun to paint.

Rhymer's on Tortola

'Palm Reflections' 9x12

We spent the day at Cane Garden Bay on Tortola on our recent cruise. We rented chairs and an umbrella and spent the day relaxing and watching the activity on the beach.....pelicans diving, boaters coming in for supplies, the coconut man selling fresh coconuts filled with rum.....We didn't get one of those but I did have the most delicious banana daiquiri and conch fritters. This painting is based on a photo I took at the end of the day when the sunlit palms were reflecting in this little pond.

Daily Painting...Orchids up Close

'Orchids at Sea' 5x7

Holland America Cruise ships are known for their fresh flowers but I was delighted to see a live orchid plant on every table in the Lido dining area. Each one was more beautiful than the next. They came in all colors and shapes. One afternoon the room was fairly empty and the light was just right so I went around the room taking pictures of all the flowers. Since Jayne and Barbara were painting flowers at class this week, I was inspired to try some of my own. As Jayne would say...this is my 'Georgia O'Keefe' phase. This flower was hard to paint since it was spotted and it just looked fake! I tried though!

Daily Pastel Painting...Magens Bay, St. Thomas

'Magens Bay Morning' 9x12

I was lucky enough to have a picture perfect day for my visit to St. Thomas last week. We took a cab over to Magen's Bay and arrived before the crowds. I quickly walked up and down the beach taking pictures. My timing was perfect...the light was just right and the beach looked like a tropical paradise. It was a magical morning!

Tiki Hut in the Bahamas

'Morning Shadows' 9x12 pastel

How do you choose what to paint first from 1800 reference photos??? So many choices so I just dove in and did this one of the tiki hut on Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. I have some requests for tiki huts and palm trees so I will probably try a few more this week.

I am changing gears though for a bit while I work on the itinerary for our summer family vacation. We are headed to Colorado and New Mexico and I have one more place to find lodging. I would love to go to a dude ranch but they are very expensive. I am looking for an alternative. Planning another trip is a good way to fight post cruise withdrawal! Hopefully my art friends and I will do something in the spring to break up the time between now and the summer trip.

St. Thomas Plein Air Paintings

Here are a few small paintings I did from the ship when we were docked at Charlotte Amalie , St. Thomas. They are 2.5 x 3.5 inches. We went to Magens Bay in the morning and had a wonderful time at the beach. Then we did some shopping and came back to relax in the lounges up on deck. I had time for these three before the ship left port.

Caribbean Plein Air

'Cabana in the Sun' 5x7

It was hard to come home to a cold rainy day after a week in the hot Caribbean sun. I am anxious to go through my photos and see what I want to paint. Painting these scenes should keep me warm the rest of the winter...and already I am thinking about planning another cruise! This little painting was done on my lounge chair at the beach on Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. What a beautiful beach. The turqouise water was amazing and the tropical foliage was fantastic. I know I will do many paintings from this island!

Back from the Sunny Caribbean!

I am back from by Caribbean cruise all rested and tan. We had a fabulous time on the Zuiderdam. We ate great food, saw some beautiful islands, met wonderful new friends (Hi to Rhonda, Pete, Joyce and Angela!) I took 1800 pictures...yes you read that right! I actually took a lot of people pictures because I want to paint more people this year. Even though it wasn't a painting trip I did manage to paint everyday. I painted 18 aceo's and 3 5x7's. I kept them small so I could paint on my lounge chair. This set up worked out perfectly. I could relax on the lounger and paint at the same time. The painting in this photo is 5x7 and was done plein air at Half Moon Cay, Holland America's private island in the Bahamas. I am finishing up my unpacking then I'll post a close up.

One for the Road.....Sea Shells on Black

'Morning Glow' 9x12

"But the sweetest way to me is a ship's upon the sea..."

-Rudyard Kipling

Today's the day we leave on a long awaited vacation...a caribbean cruise! We used to go every winter but took a break. Now we are going back and trying a new cruise line as well. I am anxious to take lots of photos and paint some little tropical scenes. I also have a new agenda. I just signed up for a workshop with Margaret Dyer on painting the figure in pastel. I have never painted or even drawn the figure from life so I hope to try sketching people in their bathing suits while I lounge about the ship!

Today's painting is done on black LaCarte paper. It was interesting working on the dark surface. I'm sure I could have gotten the sand lighter, but I kind of liked the way the shells and sunlit sand seems to glow. It was interesting to do. I hope to post while I am away...It depends on the speed of the internet connection on the ship.

More ACEO Pastels...Shell, Cat & Dunes

I am all packed for the cruise and my suitcase is by the door. I have some pastels, paper and a little watercolor set to keep me busy. I am bringing two new painting books to study and my sketchbook. We'll see just how productive I will be. Here are three new installments in my miniature painting series. The bottom two are done on black LaCarte paper. I have never worked on black before and it was so funny that we talked about it in class the other night...I had just painted these that day. I did like it and I am working on another larger painting on black that I will post tomorrow. The bottom one is my cat Ceara..yes she is the Queen of my 5 cats!

Daily Painting....Evening on the Marsh

'Evening on the Marsh' 9x12

Here is the result of my experiment to painting using just my new set of Terry Ludwig pastels. I got the assorted set so I had no idea what I would get. I was happy with the colors....though is there really an ugly TL pastel??? This is from our trip to the South Carolina Low Country. It was just before sunset, though it was very cloudy so there was no spectacular sunset...just a subtle glow. Ahhhhh...we need to go back soon!

New Terry Ludwig Pastels!

As you may know Terry Ludwig pastels are at the top of my list of favorites. Whenever he has a sale I just have to indulge myself. Since I have the specialty sets he makes already I wasn't sure what to order this time. So I decided to take a chance and order a set of 60 assorted. I am thrilled with the selection Terry sent me. There are many colors in this set that *surprise* I don't have! I decided to have some fun and paint something just using this set. I will post the results later.

Another ACEO....Sunflowers SOLD

I thought I'd share another mini I painted yesterday. Sunflowers are my favorite flowers to paint and I have to paint them every once in awhile. This one is 2.5 x 3.5. I want to try to mat some of them in a 5x7 frame to see how they look. I am thinking about getting my son who is an art major a mat cutter...then he can cut my mats...I am not good with precision!

Daily Pastel Painting...Some Tiny Ones

I have been having fun doing these little paintings...or ACEOs. In case you aren't familiar with that term it stands for Art card Editions and Originals. They are miniature (2.5x3.5) collectable paintings the size of trading cards. I like doing them as a way to relax. I can sit in front of the TV with a towel on my lap and use my small box of nupastels and Giraults. I don't know how much I'll get to paint this week. I have last minute odds and ends to wrap up before the cruise. But I do plan to paint while on vaation. I am packing my small box of pastels and a tiny watercolor set I got for Christmas...and lots of tiny paper. Do you see a theme here??!!

Daily Painting....Low Country Dunes

'A Break in the Clouds' 12x16

I felt like painting sand dunes today. I am playing the soundtrack from '1492' which is very moody and perfect for painting this scene. This is from a photo I took at Harbor Island, South Carolina. It was early morning and Jayne, Holly and I had wandered down to the beach hoping to catch the sunrise. The sky was covered in dark clouds and it was even blowing a bit of rain. But within minutes the clouds started to break up and the sun came out. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. We need to plan another visit!!

Daily Pastel Painting....Path to the Pond

'Path to the Pond' 8x10

I haven't painted any Georgia scenes in awhile so I went through my photos from the Albert Handell workshop last April and found this scene. It's from one of our plein air painting locations...a wonderful farm with many out buildings, horses, tractors, and a beautiful little pond. I will try to paint that someday. This one is 8x10 on Wallis paper. Painting trees is a challenge!

Daily Painting....My Cat Jennifur

'The Look' 5x7

Yes. my cat Jennifur really does look at you this way. This was just a little practice piece for me today. I want to paint more animals and this close up of a cat's eye intrigued me. I really need to try some of my other cats....but the calico and tortoiseshell will be such a challenge! I am mulling over what my next bigger painting will be. I have a couple of ideas and hope to start something tomorrow.

Daily Pastel Painting...My version of Motif #1

'Rockport Gull' 8x10

Back in my photography days it was a dream come true to go and photograph 'Motif #1' in Rockport, Mass. Motif #1 is a wonderful red fishing shack covered with bouys that is popular with artists and photographers. Of course even back then, I would rather photograph the gulls. I came across one of these photos and decided to do a little pastel painting.

Today I decided to place an order for some Terry Ludwig pastels before the sale ended. I have all of the signature sets so I thought it might be fun to order a set of assorted pastels...Terry's choice. Well Terry thought that was fun too...he said he would give me all the flourescent colors and the ones no one wanted. he is a trip! I told him to surprise me so we'll see what I get. I'll keep you posted!

Daily Pastel Painting...A Frozen Daiquiri

'Have a Frozen Thingee for Me' 5x7

I am really in cruise mode now. It is just 10 days before our cruise on Holland America Line's Zuiderdam. I am excited about the itinerary because we go to three islands I haven't yet visited. More opportunities to paint and get island reference photos! This little painting is done from a photo I took on our last cruise. We were on Princess Cay with our friends Steph and Doug when it started to rain...and I mean it was a downpour. We all ran for cover under a tiki hut and got some 'frozen thingees' to drink. We had a great time despite the rain.

First Painting of 2007...Sanibel Island

'Exploring the Bailey Tract' 9x12 pastel

I am so glad I had a chance to paint today. Perhaps that is a good omen for 2007. I took a break from organizing my studio to go paint at Jayne's this afternoon. She is doing a wonderful portrait of her dog Annie and it was looking great when I left today. I just had time for a quick Sanibel scene before I had to leave...my son had a flat tire. This is from the Bailey Tract of the Ding Darling National Wildlife Area on Sanibel Island. There are lots of wonderful paths to discover in this section of the island.