Runs silent and deep

Oil on canvas

18x24"

available 

Reverie

Oil on canvas

18x20"

available 

Green Sweater

Green Sweater

Oil on canvas

12x16"

Cheers

available 

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/green-sweater/693611

El Paso

Phew. What a long hot summer.
We worked so hard cleaning out my mother in laws house, getting it ready to sell. We really busted our chops. And then we finished up a front yard improvement. I'm glad to be done with both of those things.
So in order to reinvigorate myself back to painting, I took out something I had signed as completed back in 2007 and touched up some things that had long bothered me. I do remember I was inspired by the painter Andy Thomas who does really fun western scenes in his paintings. Bucking broncos, saloon fights, dangerous card games, that sort of thing. And when I revisited this, I thought of the Marty Robbins song, El Paso, thus the title.
Also I signed up for a class with Lynn Gertenbach over at LAAFA. She is very sweet and loves her grays. I always have to remind myself to mix up purplish grays, so it will be good for me.
Looking forward to catching up with this end of the world.
Cheers all.
Karen
16x20", oil on canvas, figurative  Available

Bits and Pieces and Peanut Butter

So here are a few of my recent attempts at painting from life in class. These first two are eight hours each sessions at four hours in a stretch except for the last one. I did not capture the first model's face that well but I am happy with how I used color as a whole.
This second painting has a previous weeks work under it that I sanded down and reused the canvas, hence the blue. Blue is not a great choice for an underpainting of flesh, but oh well.

Last session's worth which was just a four hour (and a frustrating and unsatisfying event as a whole from a class standpoint.) Overall eight hours to paint the same pose is not enough! 

All oil on canvas, 14x18 and slightly smaller.

Anywhoo, we had a lovely BBQ yesterday for my father's birthday and my husband requested Tri-Tip roast and what with everything I was trying to juggle in the kitchen I inadvertently overcooked the corners of the roast. Darn! So I cut those ends off and intended to feed those to the dogs, but today I decided to make a mostly vegetable soup with it. So of course the soup had a slightly burned taste. Ick. What to do? Go on the internet! The answer to help get rid of the burned taste in soups and stews and the like? Peanut butter. Yup. Peanut butter. I was skeptical (probably like you are now) but I added just a smidge to a bowl and sure enough....pretty much took that slight burned taste away without adding any real peanut butter taste to the veggie soup. Who knew? (Margie probably knew, huh Margie?) I found the answer on the GardenWeb in their kitchen forum. AND obviously DO NOT feed a peanut butter laden soup to anyone with peanut allergies. Just sayin'.
Cheers all and God's peace. Hope you are all well and to those of you up to your eyeballs in snow I wish you a bright sunny day and the gentle warmth of spring.
Karen

Bits and Pieces 6

Well, I have to say I am a little starstruck at the moment. I went to the Autry Museum today to trip around by myself for the Masters of the American West 2014 show. It just opened yesterday and I thought with the Stupor Bowl on it would be pretty quiet. Wrong. Anywhoo, I went around most of it and turned a corner and Z.S. Liang is standing in front of his section of art and then just after that Jeremy Lipking came in with his wife and newest baby. You can really tell the people who know these artists by the way they stare at them with that deer in the headlights looks - not me! I acted all casual. Besides, I live near both of these guys and I was pretty sure one day I'd be standing in back of one of them at the super market. Would I talk to them? Er, probably not, other than to ask Mr. Liang if he ever opens his house/studio for a visiting day.

And the show was super! Way more Super than that Bowl thingy.

And so here is Model 6. This may be one of my favs. She came together real well. 

Available

Oil on canvas, 12x12", figurative 

Cheers all. Karen

Here's a link to the show

http://theautry.org/masters-of-the-american-west/masters-of-the-american-west

Bits and Pieces 5

So I may be getting my models out of order, but I believe this girl was week five. She was a pro! George Paliotto, who formerly taught at school and now is an adjunct professor at CLU, tried unsuccessfully to make this model laugh. It was quite funny as she would scrunch up her face for just a moment and then resume her pose with fluidity. And, yes, her hair was several shades of red not found in nature.

Oil on canvas, 12x12", figurative
Available and, yes, I used the side of my canvas as a test block for colors. It was useful and I think it looks rather mosaic like.
Cheers all and God's peace.
Karen
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/bits-and-pieces-5/196123

Bits & Pieces 3

Life model week 5
I had started this one in landscape and Mark strongly suggested portrait so I changed it and then didn't have as much time as a result. I do like her blue bra.
Oil on canvas board, 12x16", figurative Available
Cheers all,
Karen

Bits and Pieces 2

Week 4 Life model
Oil painting, 12x16", woman nude, Figurative
Available

Karen

Bits and Pieces

So I've decided to post my previous classes worth of work over the course of a few days because the new semester is going to start. Some are better than others and I feel these two fall in the not so great category. I had sketched the blond previously and while very sweet, she twitched a lot. (I hope she never reads this, but facially she moved quite a bit.) She was week #3 and I have her facial features down so much better than week #2. (I've already posted week #1 in black and white)

This brunette was week #2 and Mark was rushing me to put color down. I really am a person who wants to get my drawing element correct first beforehand and he did finally understand that quality in me. I really, really did enjoy his class but I'm torn as I want to experience some of the other teachers they have there (before they lose them to their own studios.)
Oil on canvas board, 12x16", figurative
If anybody wants to buy these, give me a shout. They won't be expensive.
Cheers,
Karen

Listen

If only they would

Oil on panel 8x12"

Available http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/listen/185135