Fall squash

Happy fall.
Oil on canvas 8x10" still life
Contact me at ksstitt@aol.com for purchase info
cheers all,
Karen

A little bit of Halloween fun

I used to decorate the house up when the kids were little. It was fun. But so far this year this is the extent of my "Halloween decorating." Hm. I need to go pull out "Witchy Poo." The season just isn't complete without her.
Still life 12x9"Oil painting on canvas NFS
From a pic on deviantart http://fav.me/d5rix9a

Pumpkin and Glass

Hi,
Perhaps you've read the same thing I recently read in one of the art magazines. Some artists don't paint "orange" pumpkins for the sheer reason it is considered "seasonal" art. Makes sense. But I love orange. Give me a yellowy-red orange and it makes me feels all warm and cozy. My husband carried home this little gem and presented it to me like it was a diamond ring. I gushed all over it. See! Warm and cozy.
Oil on canvas 8x10" still life (painted from life - yeah!)
cheers all,
Karen
Contact me at ksstitt@aol.com for purchase info
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/pumpkin-and-glass/175180

Life Model 1

Hellooo,
This is my result of the first day at a new class over at Calartinst with Mark Schwartz. Life painting with a nice length of four hours and, of course, I loved every minute of it.  Omg holding the same pose that long with just a few stretches. Oooph! I would never want to do that! I never did catch her name, although the others in the class called out hello to her. I do wish I had begun with a few colors rather than (ivory) black and (titanium) white as she had beautiful long, red hair and was wearing some bright turquoise earrings.
Titanium dioxide is used in paints, of course, and paper, plastics and..... wait for it..... toothpaste. Makes me want to run out and buy the natural stuff.
Here's a link to Mark's blog http://markschwartzart.blogspot.com/ Check out his drawings. wow

Oil on canvas 8x10"
Cheers all and God's peace.
Karen

Calm and Rough

Why is it waves are so calming even when they surge?
You know what I mean? I find it so.
Anywhoo, thanks for letting me....um, expound on my last post. I guess I just needed to vent. (I did have a few nice conversations as a result of it :) I promise not to be a snivel-bunny any time soon.
In any case, I really enjoyed painting this. From a stock photo by shutterbugmom on deviantarts http://fav.me/d1yy090

Oil on canvas panel board, 14x11" wave landscape (that's funny! wave landscape? lol)
SOLD * Auction bid on dailypaintworks.com (and I didn't realize they took the first most recent post! Whoo boy! People must thinks I rant allll the time!)
Cheers all!
Karen
*Please contact me if you would like to commission a similar painting.

Pottery

I couldn't come up with a more exciting title for this? Pottery .... hm. Oh well. I certainly didn't take a stellar pic of it either.
So, Friday the thirteenth.
I admit I've been a tad blue.
 I have to say Robert Genn's clickback article "Happy times here again?" started me off. http://clicks.robertgenn.com/happy-times.php There was that darn last paragraph:
Selling of "Painting a Day" and such for $200 is okay but it's not a career. EBay and Etsy are still garage sales. Amazon, to its credit, is pioneering the sale of paintings online with the apparent endorsement of what appear to be galleries. 
I really like Robert's Twice-Weekly letters. He just happened to rain on my parade that day. Garage sales?
Then my issue of American Art Review came. Their Fortieth Anniversary Issue. Now, I have a very soft spot in my heart for this magazine. Their associate editor Jill Redmond and I had a random and lovely conversation back in February (she used to live nearby where I live and we shared a few memories of the area.) We talked for about 40 minutes and part of the conversation was about how magazines, especially art magazines, are a not a draw for the younger audience, especially a magazine like American Art Review which is really more has more of a historical slant. I love art history.
So the other thing that sunk my boat? The editor, Thomas Kellaway, summed up the fortieth anniversary issue with a few thoughts and here are two of his:
#1 Most people can, unbelievably, live without art. 
#3 Art is desirable to a significant but small group of people. 

This, in itself, certainly isn't a surprise. Is it? I mean, I wouldn't subscribe to the latest issue of Bus World. I don't care for buses so I would say they are desirable to a significant but small group of people. But ART! Not Art!
But both of these articles ended with upbeat thoughts. Robert's final sentence was: In art galleries and out, my prognosis is that more original art is going to be sold over the next two decades than in the entire history of art. Stick around; there's going to be some grazing. 
And Thomas Kellaway's was "Collectors do buy art that is advertised in magazines." 
So... encouraging.
I know... no, I KNOW I paint for myself. (and I take terrible pics of my work and that certainly doesn't  make them shine.)  But I'll keep plugging along, learning and polishing my rough edges. In fact, I've actually completed three paintings during this time. Now if I could just take some decent photos...
Cheers all. I apologize if you've found my ranting a downer. 
Oil on board 6x6"  Yes, available for sale $25 at.... sigh, .... Etsy. (Snapdragon wanted it but I said no. She steals too much of my work)

God's peace.
Karen

Just Listed

Even though the temperature is soaring, it kinda feels like the edge of autumn to me. 

Anywhoo, I had "girls night" over here the other day and got some very positive remarks from my friends when they spied this on the easel. One of them said when she retired she wanted to take up painting. That felt "too late" to me. I'm scrambling to learn as much as I can now. For example: Manufacturers of pigments use the word hue e.g. 'Cadmium Yellow (hue)' to indicate that the original pigmentation ingredient, often toxic, has been replaced by safer (or cheaper) alternatives whilst retaining the hue of the original. Replacements are often used for chromium, cadmium and alizarin.

 I was unhappy with a tube of cadmium yellow paint that (sure enough) read (hue) on its label.

Hm. Buyer beware (or at least be knowledgeable.) Again with the yellow!

Oil painting on board 8x8" Available for sale at my Etsy shop. 

Cheers all!

Karen

Who doesn't love Robby?

And now for something completely different....

How could Robby the Robot not make anyone smile? I had to snatch him back from the jaws of... I mean, from my daughter who oohed and awed over him and threatened to run off with him when he wasn't even finished.

(I have to say my classwork has helped me tremendously with form detail.)

This a scan which is closer to his colors, but it cut off his toes. (Not that Robby has toes....) Eventually I'm going to paint something on his sign. No, it's not a purse! Why would Robby carry a purse? He has a wallet. And a fanny pack. 

And here I am holding him close. He's not too big... about 8x12". Oil on board. 

All-righty then. To Infinity and Beyond!

Cheers all! Karen

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/karen-stitt/robby/179191

AVAILABLE ON DAILYPAINTWORKS.COM

Portrait of a Georgian Princess Study

 So this is my attempt at Portrait of a Georgian Princess by 

ALEXEJ ALEXEJEWITSCH HARLAMOFF (RUSSIAN, 1840-1925)

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/alexej-alexejewitsch-harlamoff-portrait-of-a-georgian-5673159-details.aspx

Drawn straight onto my gessoed board surface. I read an article by master-artist Daniel Greene from a few years back where he suggested making your own MDF panels. I bought some MDF at the hardware store, had my husband cut it up in smaller random pieces, wiped it down with mineral spirits, sanded it, coated it with gesso and sanded it down smooth again. Piece of cake! (Need to recheck about treating both sides. I'll get back to you on that. Though I suppose gesso the other side, then sealed with varnish would probably suffice.)

She looks like I beat her up here, poor thing. My goal is the one behind. 

This was actually shot upside down and I flipped it to post it. I really agree that painting upside down is a good way to trick the eye and brain. And Oh boy, the things that jump out at you when you really study something up close: SHE HAS ZOMBIE HANDS!  Well, they look like zombie hands. Take a closer look at her lower hand and the multi colored mottling. If I had hands like that, they'd say I needed to go to the doctor to have my circulatory system checked out. 

Now, I know I certainly wouldn't fool any museum conservators, but I am quite happy with how she turned out. And it was a better attempt and finish than the last one. Much closer to the mark, although mine looks not as young or as innocent. She was TOUGH!  I am reassured in that I recently read most painters would have a difficult time recreating their own masterpieces. And I had to scan this as I couldn't get a decent photo (see that oil glare in the photo above!) so unfortunately it appears , um, grainy.  

C&Cs welcome. (In true fashion, I think I dropped the nose down a tad too long.)

Oil on panel 8x10

Well, that's all I have to share. We went up to the Sierras for our Fourth of July. (So beautiful!) Hope you all had a good holiday, or a wonderful weekend, whichever applies. 

Cheers all and God's peace to you.
Karen

Veracruz

Hi and Hello,

I mentioned earlier my art classes had gone onto perspective and I absolutely needed to be dragged about by the ear to learn it...correctly. I have to say Chris (Armstrong) does a calm and relaxed job of teaching it. One of the first nights of class I threw my hands in the air and went home quite frustrated with myself, but from that point on it all made sense. I quite enjoyed drawing this, from a photo my husband took in Veracruz, Mexico.

Pencil, Prismacolor markers in cool and warms (those are fun!), touch of colored pencil and white charcoal on Canson paper, about 12x9

Revisiting the music of Queen. Freddie Mercury really did have a wonderful, wonderful singing range

Cheers all!

God's peace!

Karen

Postnote: I got a second place ribbon at CalArtisnt! Yeah! :)