A Thing of Beauty

Okay ..... before I sign off one more time .... I was cleaning up my studio this afternoon and stepped outside and saw this fabulous Red-Tailed Hawk perched on my lilac tree. What a thing of beauty.

And since my studio was straightened up, I'd show you all where I work and paint all day. The bed in the far right is for my dog, of course.

Happy Holidays to All

"Kate & Allie"

8 x 8"
oil on masonite

The way to achieve great joy in life is to paint dogs. You can quote me on that.

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

It's time to sign off for a few days. Happy Festivus, Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. Make it a happy one. ~ Karin

"Pugsly"

8 x 8"
oil on masonite
sold

Thought I'd spread some red & green cheer on this busy week before Christmas, with a happy Boston terrier I spotted sniffing in the grass. (And thank you to those who corrected me on the breed.)

Please click here for a larger view.

"Max"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
nfs

A gift for my friend and his buddy Max.

My Landscapes

Before Thanksgiving, I took a break from, what I call, painting for a purpose - enjoying the freedom on playing with my paints. Landscapes are a subject matter that I can experiment with color, work out my low confidence with greens and even play with different tools - all reasons why I love it.

Turns out these little paintings made for a good purpose - you see, every holiday season in the past umpteen years, I've dressed up my front window at my frame shop with extravagant displays filled with framed prints and posters, lots of twinkling lights and lots of props. But being on a budget this year, a great solution was to frame my own work and create a more calm and cozy display - a reminder of the simple things in life that surround us.

The six paintings are all for sale, framed in a variety of styles chosen to enhance each piece. For a larger view of this collection, click here - and you'll be able to get an even larger view of each individual painting. Below, there are two more you haven't seen.

Treeline
4 x 4"
sold

Intercourse
4 x 4"

About the framing..... with most of my paintings, I don't want to cover the edges with the inner lip of the moulding. I mount my panels on a black linen mat, with a 1/4" intended as an exposed border around the painting. I think it looks sharp. A few of these pieces were mounted on other than black- I chose what looked best.

"Palm Sunday"

7 x 14"
oil on masonite
sold

This you've seen earlier - a bit different for me in that it involves just a few colors - white, black, red and payne's grey. It's thick with texture, using both a palette knife and a brush. I love this painting.

"Divine"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

A man of the cloth viewing Healy's portrait of President James Buchanan, in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

"Where Max & Will Walk"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

A good friend of mine walks his dog Max on this beautiful path every day - one of the pleasures of living in North Georgia.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, my friends.

"Terminal Pace"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

This painting will be back on auction this evening - for those who would like another crack at the bidding. This past Saturday, eBay had a major outage for almost 18 hours, affecting every single item and all categories and also happened on the final hours of my painting's auction. The winner bidder was kind enough to agree to allowing me to relist it for another 10 days.

"Palm Sunday"

7 x 14"
oil on masonite
sold

And now for something completely different. I essentially 'spackled' on a thick, toned-down white and worked within that, with a combination of scraping, painting with a brush and adding more texture. It was totally gratifying to maintain some control over the paint - often times I feel the paint has more control over me.

This painting will be auctioned, probably starting next week sometime - just want to let that thick paint dry a bit longer than usual. I'll be sure to post it again when the auction kicks in.

A note about the landscapes you've seen in the past week..... they will all be framed and arranged in a holiday window display at my frame shop. A very understated version of what I normally have done in the past years - something mellow and a bit more down to earth.

"Lancaster County"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

One of my favorite paintings of the week - done fast and with a flat, honker brush and a wide range of color - letting the orange ground peek through a bit more. When I need some inspiration, I look at other painters' works - with landscapes, I pour over Doug Braithwaite's to remind myself that you don't have to nitpick to get the point across.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Chadds Ford Homestead"

16 x 4"
oil on masonite

I'm guessing that chefs enjoy the after-hours, when they can play with food, not worrying if someone will hate the dish. And for artists, I strongly recommend, not only painting almost every day - but add to it the dismissal of what will sell. That can cause you to freeze up - lose your rhythm. It happens.

With repetition, you don't necessarily create a masterpiece, but you do adopt a sense of using the chosen medium, to know when to quit, to know when not to quit. This week I've worked with different tools, big, fat brushes on little panels, painted on different grounds, painted fast and painted slow. I've enjoyed it. Then again, I always do.

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

"Picnic"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

The one yesterday was an accidental result by the way - I was pleased with the top portion, the sky and treeline, and had done something totally different below that and hated it. I wiped that off and just wanted more simplicity - picked up the palette knife that I usually ignore and played.

Same with this painting - feeling out how to balance some tighter brushwork with some loose texture. Just exercising the brain - working through a block - enjoying the freedom.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Low Country"

4 x 14"
oil on masonite
sold

I'm in the mood to experiment with palette knives, color and subjects. I'll show more as I go.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Belle"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

You would know I don't normally paint figures like this young woman - frankly, it isn't something you would usually see while walking through a city. I happened to be in Washington Park, in Charleston, watching some plein-air painters - and a local artist, Rhett Thurman, had arranged for a model to pose for her. Wishing I had my paints with me, I could only wonder how I would approach this. As goofy as it sounds, with a photo as my guide, I pretended I was in the park and just went for it - staying as loose as possible.

"The Hunt for Red October"

8 x 8"

oil on masonite

I've been getting used to painting on this orange-red ground. Just like with the black ground, I play with the edges showing slivers of what's beneath, and the red is powerful in that respect. Especially with skin. At the same time, I'm working on a spring show - most of the prep requires thinking too hard and not enought painting. But..... I did my first piece which is a bit larger than my usual - quite frankly, just to see if I could - and I love it. Can't wait for you to see it.

This new piece The Hunt for Red October is a scene from the beaches of Hilton Head Island - a man with a good book and his best friend patiently waiting for some playtime.

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

a note ........ Howard/Mandville Gallery's Small Works Show opens tonight in Kirkland, Washington - please give them a call if you're interested in either of the two new pieces I painted for the occasion. I would greatly appreciate your consideration.

"Terminal Pace"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I really love this painting. For starters, I painted on a burnt-orange, just for something different, and small glimpses of that show through. Much like you see in Carol Marine's paintings. I love that. Also the current challenge on my Different Strokes blog - take a look at many interpretations.

Travelers and their shadows in the Reagan National Airport in Washington DC.

The Auction

Back from Charleston, trying to catch up....

It felt like the best time of the year to be in that city. It's a place you should walk about and it's simply easier when it's cooler. You spot little gems like this along the way.



Saturday morning, I headed to Washington Park where I met up with a Charleston artist, Tate Nation - a delightful person to know. He introduced me to lots of his friends and fellow painters who were participating in 'Painting In The Park', doing Plein Air demonstrations and open to the public to enjoy. Those paintings were also part of the Charleston Art Auction that evening - with proceeds going to local high school art programs.



The auction was so cool - frantic pace once the man with the microphone gets started. Happy to report both of my paintings sold. It is a trip when I see my pieces up there - it's a very exciting event for me.




Just wanted to check in - I'll be back to the paints tomorrow.

"Left Wingers & Right Winger"

16 x 8"
2 - 8 x 8" framed together
oil on masonite

From the lobby bench in the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

also...... I'm headed out of town, to sit nervously in my seat at the Charleston Art Auction this Saturday night. Here are the two paintings I've done for the event - I'm crossing my fingers.

'Lost At Sea'
sold

'Out Matching'
sold

A larger view of each can be found here.

Thanks to all for the great feedback - they both sold at the auction. I'm so very happy.

"Coffee Grounds"

8 x 8"
oil on masonite

A reminder of warm sunshine and the simple pleasures in life. From the beaches of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

"A Dose of Zen"

5 x 5"

oil on masonite
sold

Owning a business can be gratifying at times. And sometimes the weight of responsibility can suck the life out of you. A hefty repair bill was my dose of reality today, wondering how, in this age of operating at a bare-bones capacity, I'm going to pay for it. I've had better days. So I came straight home, made a pot of strong coffee and got lost in my paints. A dose of Zen.

"Thursday Nighthawks"

12 x 11"
oil on masonite
sold

Probably the most-beloved painting in the Art Institute of Chicago - Edward Hopper's 'Nighthawks' - being viewed closely by a patron on the museum's Free-Thursday night event held every week.

This painting will be included in the 19th Annual Invitational Small Works Show at the Howard/Mandville Gallery, opening November 14th. Please click here for a larger view.

"Forwarding"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I'm back home and back at it - warming up with this new painting of some fast-paced walkers on the corner of North Michigan and East Chicago Avenue, part of the city's Magnificent Mile.

Chicago is my favorite city, hands down - always filled with energy and always friendly. I must mention, if you haven't been to the Art Institute to experience the new Modern Wing, it is a must-see. You'll notice works of art that have been in storage for too long and a well thought out rearrangement of the collection, proven to be a great way to spend a day or two. Make the trip - you'll absolutely love it.

"Romanticizing"

12 x 9"

oil on masonite

For the Annual Invitational Small Works Show at the Howard/Mandville Gallery, I chose to paint my favorite subject including two of my favorite paintings in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. To the left is 'Arab Chief' painted by Mariano Fortuny y Carbo - a striking portrait that just floors me and in front of the young couple is the very romantic 'In the Luxembourg Gardens' by John Singer Sargent. The show opens on November 14th.

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

"Botanical Study"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

You probably know by now, I can't walk by a person on a bench without thinking of painting them. When I was a teenager, I spent hours sketching people on the train, the Amtrak lounge in Union Station - pretty much everywhere I'd go. I couldn't get enough. Good practice, I just didn't know it at the time.

From the National Botanical Gardens in Washington DC.