Pastel Society of North Carolina Show

"Bear", pastel, 14"x 18", $575

I belong to the Pastel Society of North Carolina and am chairing their next exhibition at the Campbell House Galleries, 482 East Connecticut Avenue in Southern Pines, NC  28388. (for those that want to mapquest this)

The show's opening reception is on Friday, Oct. 7th, from 6-8 pm.  It should be a good one as I've purchased three cases of wine for the event, plus there'll be cookies, cheese, nuts...all the stuff you usually avoid! Yum.  Not to mention some outstanding examples of what can be done with the pastel medium by our talented artists.

Check out our Facebook page to see a sneak preview of some of the artwork. 

If you can't make the reception, it's worth a trip to see the sixty pieces that will be there through October 28th....including my portrait of "Bear" (above) a lovely and beautiful black cat, and "Waiting for Mom" my recent portrait of a fawn from the Spring.

Please pass on this news....Thanks!

TAURUS

"Taurus", 15"x18", original pastel

Found time to work on my pastels today and finished "Taurus", a portrait of one of the many beautiful Galloway Cows here where I live in Fearrington Village. 

The cows are a sacred animal in India, and are a symbol of generosity, nurturing power, fertility and patience among other virtues.  Watching them instantly makes me feel grounded and calm, they take their time, not rushing madly about like us humans.  They take very good care of their young as well.  I'm fortunate to be able to see them every day and get my "earth mother" fix.  We have a lot to learn from the simple sweetness of cows.

Art Show at the New Horizons Trading Post in Pittsboro

"Heading for Safety", 12x16, original pastel, custom wood frame with museum glass, $425.

Have you ever been to the New Horizons Trading Post in downtown Pittsboro?  I love that store...it has amazing shoes, first of all....then some great finds in women's clothing, fun jewelry, greeting cards....well, you get the idea.  I don't need much of an excuse to go.

Chatham Artists are having an art show there...I've submitted the piece above, made from a quick photo from my window of "my" deer friends.  I also submitted "Newborn Charolais Calf", a pastel made from a visit to the Farm Tour.

"Newborn Charolais Calf", 19"x23, custom triple mat & frame, original pastel, $425.

This piece would be wonderful in a child's room.  Just makes me smile.

The show will be up next week with the Reception on Saturday, September 24th from 4-6pm.  It will run through November 7th.

So why not come out and have lunch at the General Store Cafe and browse downtown, making sure to see the show and shop at New Horizons.  Makes for a great day out in this beautiful Autumn weather! 

Hope to see you at the Reception! :) Kim



Art in the Village

Me in my booth at Cary's Spring Daze Show

I've joined a new group of artists called "Artist Studios at Fearrington Village", in the neighborhood where I live in Pittsboro, NC.  We're having an Outdoor Art Exhibit and Sale on Sunday, October 9th 2011 from 10-4:30 pm (rain date Sunday October 16th).

This will be our group's first show and we're pretty excited about it.  I thought I'd

show you a picture from my last outdoor show....I won't have a tent this time, but

will bring my pastels and will be demonstrating...so c'mon down and pose for me!

There's two good places to eat in the village (Belted Goat and the Granary) and we'll have live music too.  For a list of our artists check out http://fearringtonartists.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there!

Jesse - The Finale!

Jesse - Finished Portrait

After much tweaking Jesse's done.  I think it was good to let him sit a day and come back with fresh eyes.  I took this last one with my better camera, outdoors and I realize how much better the colors are!

I played with the subtle value and temperature shifts in his ears to make them more 3/dimensional, tweaked area around his eyes and made subtle adjustments throughout.

Holes are drilled in the back to hold the metal loops.  The metal loops and plastic-coated wire are from United Manufacturers Supplies in Syosset, NY.  You can get good deals from buying a whole spool of wire, and a larger order of metal loops and screws.

The painting has the image on the sides....some artists just paint the sides black, but I think it looks cool to see more of the painting continued on the wraparound sides.

I'll let him sit a couple of days before I varnish him with Golden glossy acrylic varnish...it brings out the colors big-time and protects the painting.

Thank you for following my work.  Feel free to forward and share with your friends ! :)

Contact me if you're interested in a pet portrait of your own.  I also paint children and, of course, in pastels too.

Kim

Jesse - Step 4

Jesse - Step 4

Well now I've been busy laying in the colors and values for the ears, nose, mouth and beginning his fur coat.  Following his regular photo and the gray scale photo, I make sure the values are correct first, then have some fun putting dark purple, blue, maroon and black on his ears, some lavender, light blue and peach in the light mid-values and keeping the shapes right, especially the contour of his head.  Bloodhounds have all these folds that give him character, but are tricky to get exactly right.

I turn the painting and references upside-down to "see" the shapes and values better...tricking my eye to not look for bloodhound, but for shapes and values...and the open acrylics and gel help blend edges.  Having some fun now!

Bloodhound Jesse's Portrait - Step 3

Jesse - step 3

Needing to relate him to the background, I painted in some cool grass with a mix of Golden and Matisse full body acrylics and my new golden open acrylics that leave the paint wet enough to blend like oils, but dry much quicker than oils.  I love them!  If they dry out I just give it a touch of satin acrylic glazing liquid.  This prevents glare when I photograph it. 

Greens are many mixes of mostly ultramarine and cad yellow, but mixes of cobalt and cerulean blues with yellow and white.  Love mixing greens! I wanted a cool soft background to contrast his warmer coat to come.

Brushes are synthetic flats of many brands....mostly size 8's and 10's.  A friend told me to try Royal Safe-Grips...loves them, so I may try them out.  The canvas is 1 1/2" deep Windsor & Newton wraparound canvas 14x18".

Jesse grayscale cutout

Another helpful tip is to put the photo through photoshop elements, make it grayscale mode, go to artistic filter, and cutout the levels of values.  A bit tricky at first, but it can help simplify complex value changes and allows you to play with color temperatures and intensities.  It's a suggested guide that you can bend to create depth and draw the eye where you want.