Seashells in glass

Oil on canvas

8x8"

available

A taste of summer

Oil on canvas

10x10"

cheers!

available

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/a-taste-of-summer/685369

Hoof Pick

I found an old rusty hood pick in the yard and was compelled to paint its portrait. My husband said a neighbor told him they used to shoot the old TV show "Wagon train" in the neighborhood and. who knows, maybe it was dropped by a horse wrangler long ago.

Oil on board

12x8"

available
https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/hoof-pick/665653

Turquoise with Glass Insulator

cc Karen Stitt

Oil on board

12x15"

Available

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/viewart/c62c58ad-e167-4928-b6a1-7374c14b5702

Bought this delicious pineapple, painted its portrait and then ate it. Yum.

Oil on canvas board, 8x10", still life

Cheers all,

Karen

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B Bananas

I repainted this. It was originally entitled Green Shoulders. I like it much better now. Link to the first round and also Gwen Stefani's Bananas song which I sang nonstop while painting. 

Yeah, I'm that kind of gal...bananas, b a n a n a s

Thank to my friend, Linda, who helped me immensely with her excellent photographic skills. Check out her shop:

https://picture-it-anyway.myshopify.com

A snip-it of Gwen Stefani Bananas song; https://youtu.be/UqcONoahlmQ

And the original post: http://ksstitt.blogspot.com/2011/04/green-shoulders.html
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Peachy

I've been reading, well, listening, to a lot of audiobooks while painting recently and have really, really enjoyed some I want to share. So, if you like "sci-fi/fantasy" like I do put these on your list:

Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde -A good one for artists as it's all about color. There are good reviews on Goodreads. I'm going to start his Thursday Next series soon. He writes somewhat akin to Terry Pratchett if your familiar with Terry's work with that same sort of funny quirkiness.

The Scorpion Rules and its follow up The Swan Riders by Erin Bow. I enjoyed these books so much I read them twice in a row.

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith. This one blindsided me and had me laughing and crying at the same time. I also read his Grasshopper Jungle which was weirdly different but enjoyable.

White Cat by Holly Black from her Curse Workers series. I want to see this series turned into a television show! What fun that would be! I suggest listening to the audiobooks as they are read by Jesse Eisenberg and he just makes the characters come alive!
Ok. Back to painting and listening! Cheers!

Karen
5x7" Oil on canvas, still life, peach purse

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The Wedding Apple

So I went to a beautiful November wedding. They had something most weddings seem to have nowadays - a candy bar - seems that's something more suited to a child's party to me, but they did have these beautiful candy apples. I grabbed one knowing I'd paint its portrait.  (Don't feel the photo shows the subjects darker qualities. I recently upgraded to OS El Capitan on my Mac and it has made doing anything in iPhoto or even my blog soooooo difficult!!!! Not happy with that upgrade!)  

My Halloween mask

made a Halloween mask.

out of paper mache

Built a bird feeder. Painted and built a few bird houses.

Now I'm making some Christmas textile art - velvet pumpkins, a clingy mushroom and plans for a strawberry or two (look up Mister Finch on Pinterest to see some really fabulous textile art!)

And I just finished up that class I was taking with Lynn Gertenbach. She's a peach! She's a lovely, lovely person. We even went out plein air painting. Here she is on a beautiful California winter day.

 

Boy, trying to post something on this blog now is like trying to wrestle a bar of soap in the shower! It just keeps slipping out of my hands!!!! I'm stopping now while I can. Cheers to all and happy holidays. God's blessings on you and yours.

Karen 

Avocado 2

Still having fun with the same avocado. Well, not really the same avocado. Cause they turn all brown and squishy.
Cheers all!
Karen
Colored pencil and ink on illustration board, 8x10", still life, available

Avocado 1

Catchy title, huh?
Yeah....

I believe the entire month of July went by without time to create art, to the point where I was dreaming of sketching.
We had a delayed memorial for my mother in law's passing on a day in July that rained three inches, complete with lightning and thunder. Some people experience that almost everyday in summer, but in Southern California it is almost a sure bet it won't rain.....until next February.

So I just found time to sketch this avocado.
He/she/it was very patient with me - taking its time to slowly turn brown.

Cheers!
Karen

Charcoal and graphite on Strathmore paper, 8x10", still life. Available

Olive oil and a pear

I was told to take the pear and paint its portrait so thank you, Reem http://rgfelnerart.blogspot.com, for the lovely pear. It made a nice compliment to the olive oil and I enjoyed painting this.

Oil on canvas, 8x10", still life
SOLD

Also, I don't know how I missed this but watercolor artist Steve Hanks has passed away. I and so many others have admired his amazing skin tones and skill. His work was sensuous, at times I found some of his paintings a tad lascivious but always, always beautifully done. I grieve that we won't have any more of his stunning art. Pinterest is a good place to see a great deal of his work.


And perhaps some of you can help me: My blog loads so slow on the sidebar. The main page loads rather quickly, but for me at least, it just lags when loading the sidebar. I've reduced the number of posts and also the number of sidebar people I watch but I really enjoy seeing the newest that others post so I don't want to reduce it more than what it is currently. I'm wondering if there might be something I'm missing. Any clues?

Karen

Under Lock and Key

Hellooo,
Had fun painting this and submitted it to a contest. Now it's a wait and see.
Cheers all!
Karen

Oil on canvas, 8x10", Still life   May become available at some point

The weight of feathers

You know when you've done a set-up and you have it sitting on your desk in a not so good place but you think it will be safe because it's your desk and your husband gets the brainiac idea to use your computer instead of his and he jostles your still life set up as you're hustling into the room saying, "Don't touch my set-up!" but it's too late.....

Don't you just hate that?

Colored pencil, charcoal, Wolff's carbon, graphite and whatever else I could throw at it - on illustration board, 7x8", still life

This was much smaller and didn't take as long as the last.

Cheers all.

Karen

Black Grape

Hi all.
Just a bit of what is left of autumn.
Oil on canvas, still life, 8x10, available

Karen

Up for luck

Hi and Hello,
Interesting things afoot around here.  I've got my fingers crossed "for luck."
Hope all is well in your world.
Happy Autumn!
Karen

Oil on canvas paint board, 8x10, landscape  I've tinkered with it a bit.

Artichoke Flower

 Artichoke blossoms.

They are just giant thistles, right?

But they are so pretty and they taste so good!

(There is even a liqueur made from it. Weird.) 

Hope all is well in your world.

Karen

Oil on Fredrix paint board, 8x10", still life, Sold 

Friend or Foe

So this is the painting I finished at the workshop I recently attended led by Carlo Russo who is a phenomenal painter. I really cannot say enough good things about his work. And he was a very patient and helpful instructor. If you are interested in painting still life and get a chance, attend one of his workshops.
Overall, for the class I attended it was a great bunch of people. No egos, just people eager to learn. However, a student in the class rolled in with a brand new plein air paint box - truly state of the art - the whole rig was great - and completely untouched. Ok, fine. You want to have the best at your fingertips.... Then the student disregarded just about everything he had just gone over in his demo, his leanings toward how he instructed and why, and what materials he would prefer for us to use during his workshop.
Workshop etiquette is paramount.
You can fool around on your own at home.
Ok, enough of me ranting.

I just finished reading a Terry Pratchett book, I shall Wear Midnight. He has such clever quips.

"‘Actually, I quite like the guarding.’ He reached down and pulled a book out of his breastplate, which in fact could have accommodated a small library, and went on, ‘There’s plenty of time for reading if you keep out of sight, and the metaphysics is quite interesting as well.’

Tiffany blinked. ‘I think you just lost me there, Preston.’

‘Really?’ said the boy. ‘Well, for example, when I’m on night duty and somebody comes to the gate, I have to say “Who goes there, friend or foe?” To which, of course, the correct answer is “Yes”.’

Cheers all,

Karen

Oil on linen, 11x14", still life  NFS

Lilium

Hello.
Hope you're well.
Doing well here.
Just recently finished a three day workshop that was super, so, hopefully, I (and you) will see an improvement in my painting from that and my ongoing classes that I attend. I don't think I'll even be done learning. (I'll blather on about the workshop when I post my painting.)

Oil painting on wood panel, 8x8", still life - Available for sale
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/230124

Cheers all and God's easy peaceful feeling

Karen

Woodland Fungi

Found a stellar photo of a mushroom (who'd think I'd say something like that ever?) over on DevArt and I just had to draw it.
12x8" Charcoal on Canson Cagrain paper Still life   SOLD
Cheers all,
Karen

Into the Light

So we've had as much rain in the last three days that we've had in the last year and already my husband  has cabin fever. He wouldn't make it in snow country.
Oil on paper canvas, about 6x6", still life, tangerine
Cheers all,
Karen