Learn how to rely less on your reference photos and how to use them to jump start and inspire your work. Photos are the cause of may of our challenges with our paintings so learning ways to avoid the pitfalls of photos will help us improve our work.
Category Archives: Workshops
Hooray! New Website!
This is my new website! It’s still under construction but everything should be up and running soon.
New Blog, but not yet…
I am very excited about my new website, but it’s not quite ready yet. In the meantime, please visit my current blog at www.kemstudios.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Posted in Daily paintings
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Piedmont Park Pond Painting
I had a mini painting marathon yesterday. I did 3 small paintings for myself and then had a private student who wanted me to demo some subjects he want to paint. He is moving soon and wants to document several demos that he can study on his own. He is taking lots of photos and I will be able to use them to share with others as well. Last evening he chose this pond and geese with the reflections. He also chose a winter scene and an aspen tree scene. This has been so much fun to do! For this painting I did an underpainting with Createx Pure Pigments. The colors are so vibrant that I felt it would work well as an underpainting.
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Daisies… Pastel 5×7 SOLD
- Karen’s Daisies 5×7 pastel
These are my daisies because they are from my imagination. I just had fun playing with color and painting one of my favorite flowers. I plan on doing more imagination paintings. This one was too much fun. I am gearing up to a total redo of my pastel box. I have so many little pieces and everything is a dusty mess. I will go ‘shopping’ in my own studio and replace the bits and pieces with new pastels. I dread it but it will be wonderful when I am finished!
Posted in Daily paintings, Wildflowers
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Monotype with Pastel Mini Workshop
Are you looking to energize your art? Would you like to experiment with new ways to use pastel? Try Monotypes…the liberating medium that combines painting with printmaking. In this four hour workshop I will introduce you to a variety of techniques for creating monotypes. We will learn how to combine our prints with pastels as Degas did for many of his works. No experience needed… just bring your sense of adventure for a fun afternoon of creating. You should bring your pastels but all printmaking supplies will be provided.
When: Saturday February 26 1:00-5:00 OR
Sunday, February 27 1:00-5:00
Where: My home studio in Marietta, Georgia
Cost: $45 plus $10 materials fee
Please email me at kemstudios@yahoo.com for more information or to register for the workshop
Posted in Workshops
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‘Summer Sky’ Pastel Cloudscape
- ‘Summer Sky’ 11×14 pastel
I love wide open spaces. So driving from Georgia to Wyoming was such a treat for me. I couldn’t get enough photos of the ever changing landscape. I especially enjoyed the wonderful skies. Being able to actually see the clouds was wonderful. This scene is somewhere over Kansas. If I remember correctly it was late afternoon after a storm so it was a beautiful combination of bright clouds and dark sky and distant twinkling lights. I have pulled a few more interesting sky photos that I will be trying next. This one is on Wallis Belgian Mist with no underpainting.
Posted in Daily paintings, Landscapes
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St. George Island Florida Painting
St. George Island Spring’ 8×10 pastel
Last Spring I spent a week with friends on St. George Island. We explored and walked the beach and painted for 5 glorious days! I love this part of Florida. It is unspoiled and simply beautiful.
Posted in Daily paintings, Seascapes
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Chocolate Candy Painting
‘Chocolate Delight’ 4×4 pastel
I have a sweet tooth which I can’t deny so the week before Valentine’s Day I am always so tempted by all of the sweets. This year I decided to paint the sweets….well maybe I will end up eating some. I will be sharing some candy paintings this week just for fun. This little painting is on LaCarte paper and they are chocolates my son brought me from a high end candy shop in Chicago. They were delicious!
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Summer Field in Maine pastel painting
‘Summer Field in Maine’ 7×5 pastel
If you are trying to rely less on your reference photos here is a fun exercise to try. Take your photo and allow yourself to study it for 20 seconds. Now put the photo away and paint your painting. You will be painting from your impression rather than trying to copy all of the details. You would be surprised at how much information you get in 20 seconds. Here is my painting from the 20 second photo study. I am definitely going to try to do this more often.
Posted in Daily paintings, Landscapes, Wildflowers
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