The Paint On Tabletop Easel Got an Award!

I always look forward to Katherine Tyrrell's 'Making a Mark' Awards at the end of the year - art bloggers, world-wide, voted on their favorites for Best Picture of the Year on an Art Blog 2011, including Best Portraits/Figures, Best Landscape/Place, Best Still Life, Best Nature and more. Bravo to all who participated and congratulations to the artists.

This year Katherine's new award, the Art Innovation of the Year, highlights those artist bloggers who experiment and/or create and/or share innovations which help the practice of other artists. This year's award was shared between Ester Roi's Icarus Art Drawing Board and Brett's Paint On Tabletop Easel!! How cool is that? Nice way to end the year - thanks to the voters and Katherine, Brett and I appreciate the recognition.

Speaking of the Tabletop Easel, I currently have 1 that is brand-new and ready to ship in the New Year - please click here to purchase yours.

An added note..... we've really enjoyed our holiday time including a road trip to have Christmas with the family, something we couldn't do for years, being in retail. Zac and Joey had their first long drive, their first hotel stay and new experiences all around. It was great fun - we hope you had a wonderful time as well.

The painting starts again tomorrow, I've got a lot of catching up to do. I want to thank all of you who take the time to visit my blog and website and leave your encouraging comments and emails throughout the year. It really, really does mean a lot to me.

~ Happy New Year
and Paint On!

Have a Happy Holiday

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

~ Roger Caras

Wishing you and yours a beautiful holiday time.
~Karin, Brett, Zac & Joey

"Front Office"

16 x 16"
oil on masonite
sold

I had mentioned a few weeks ago I was painting a larger piece - most wouldn't consider 16" large, but in my world, it's double the width of my usual. A little daunting for me, as silly as that sounds. Add to that, the painting is a commissioned piece of sorts, for the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama - for an upcoming event in February. Another painting of mine had caught the eye of the organizers of the event - it featured one of the museum's prized possessions, Edward Hopper's 'New York Office' - one of my personal favorites in their collection. What an honor for me. When I know more about the dates of the museum's event, I'll be sure to fill you in.

What I learned about painting larger....

It took a lot of time to be happy with the composition, in fact, I changed it six times. The fifth time, I sketched it out on the panel and immediately hated it. The larger it is, the more it matters. It seems to come easier for me on a smaller format or maybe I was stuck over-thinking the whole thing.

When I started putting the paint down, I found myself working slow and tight. Then Brett came into the room and took the small brush out of my hand and replaced it with a big one and told me to loosen up. After that subtle reminder, it flowed. Took me four days, but there was no wiping areas off, no corrections to the composition, and I really enjoyed those four days of work.

Painting smaller pieces is my thing - no doubt. The main reason, I don't have that kind of time. I want to wake up in the morning, figure out what I want to paint that day and get it done before I go to bed. I don't like thinking about what I should do or should change the next morning - I like the feeling of accomplishment at the end of a day. Makes for a good night's sleep.

Please click here for a larger view.

As for now - this is the first Christmas & New Year's Holiday, in 32 years, that I am no longer in retail. It is w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. I loved my job as a picture framer, but holidays really were tough. Be nice to those folks behind the counter, a kind word or two goes a long way.

Cheers and Wishes for a Happy Holiday time ~

Brand New Easels Available

If you paint smaller works, treat yourself to a brand-new, custom-built Paint On Easel. My guy, Brett, has 1 Tabletop Easel ready - if you like to sit and paint like I do. Read about it, you'll love it, I promise. He also has 2 AlterEasels ready - if you prefer to use your stand-up easel, this fits comfortably onto the shelf. Read about it, lots of artists love it too.

The artist Pattie Wall just emailed me about how much she is pleased with her Tabletop Easel - here's a photo she sent of her paintings in the easel....

Read more about what she said here.

To purchase your Tabletop Easel now, please click here.

To purchase your AlterEasel now, please click here.

Thank you ~

"Walking the Walk"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

Part of my ongoing series ATL to NYC & Back - a morning walk to Central Park on the Upper East Side of the city.

100% of the sale of this painting was donated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home - a cancer hospice, here in Atlanta. The hospice depends of private donations to care for terminally ill patients - the Sisters cared for my dad 21 years ago. Thanks to all who participated in the auction, I am grateful.

More of the Hilton Head Gang

4 x 4"
oil on masonite

And a happy December to you. I've been working on a larger painting, I can't say much about it yet, when it's official I surely will. I put it away for the day, thought I'd warm up with another mugshot of our infamous Hilton Head Gang.

Our third gang member is Linda 'the Joker' Popple - Linda disarms her victims with humor and then shoots with reckless abandon. Yes, Linda thinks she is funny, but her crimes are very serious. Please approach her with with caution. Linda was last seen driving off Hilton Head Island wearing a teal sweatshirt and a blue baseball cap driving a red convertible sports car as she was laughing and shaking her camera at the wind. Authorities followed her until she left them in the dust....

For more information or clues to her whereabouts, check out her blog.