Thursday, October 25, 2012

Man, the days are just SCREAMING past me here!
'Nother dog fer ya~

I think I may lighten up the sidewalk/background....   whadaya think?

Monday, October 22, 2012

SO, the big Art Emporium this weekend at the convention center was a bit of a wash... I imagine part of it was because of the beautiful weather, and part was because people were out of town for MEA.  Mom and I got to know a lot of other artists much better!  It was a tough one, because there were people there, but they did seem to be there more for info about gutters and siding than to buy some lovely art.  Not many artists did well.  I hope to get a few commissions from the event, so we'll see about that.  The nice thing about getting commissions is that I don't have to freak about selling art right at the event-  I can relax a little and talk to people about their dogs and cats (and goats and donkeys...) and not push selling right there...
Oh and I also end up with time to paint!  So here is a dog from last August's LOLA-  if he is yours or you know whose he is, let them know!

I was really happy with his smile!

Sunday October 14th, 2012

So I lucked out and was commissioned to paint two extremely happy rescued dogs...
Kirby is the Golden Lab and Gracie is the Huskie mix~  and what incredible SMILES!!!!!!

This is what Libby, their owner, says of Gracie~
Gracie came to me 6 years ago. She had been given up by her family and had bounced around to a few places, but no one wanted to keep her. My ex-husband just loved her and knew the original owner.  She was about to be brought to the pound, when he asked me to take her for just a week to see how she did with Kirby. She came in the house, jumped up on my bed and never left. She is sweet as can be, and I love her to pieces!

And I need to mention that my Painting Lessons are FULL~  sorry! There'll be more in the new year~  and if you are free this weekend, come see me and mum at the Convention Center (Mpls) for the Art Emporium part of the Home Life Expo!  I have plenty of free passes, or you can print your own too!  Or actually this link says you can get in free with something for the food shelf, so COME ON DOWN!!!
Oh and DO come to Barebones Halloween Show as well!  We're taking Max next Sunday night~  7pm Hidden Falls Park!  Duane's been working his BUTT off on this, making a gigantic Alligator skeleton (longer than our mini-van) and two huge skeletons....
E-mail me if you have questions about it!  It's GREAT!!!

Wednesday October 11- Trees....

It's just that time of year when I really notice trees- well, really I notice trees all year round because I'm weird that way.  There are times in the summer when I am pleasantly thinking of how delicious their shade can be, and I think of places where there aren't trees, or there used to be but they were cut down for firewood or cows, and how that changes the atmosphere and simple FEEL of a place.  Trees are pretty darn amazing...
I am having my Creative Design kids work on negative space trees, where they have drawn their trees out on black paper with pencil (shows up silver- I LOVE it!) and they are painting in the negative space of the sky.  It always gets confusing at first, and they struggle with the concept and want to just paint the tree in too, but when they are finished they really get it!
So here is one of mine, but I did put some purple-grey into the trunk for the bark.

And this Fall/Winter's Painting Lessons is full!  Sorry, it does fill up quickly!   There will be another in the early spring~

Sunday October 7th~

Wahoo!
Mom and Dad are doing the Great Circle Tour (which is a drive all around the Great Lakes of the midwest and Canada) and she sent us (my siblings and me) these great shots of the leaves up there.  My family is big into art, and we discovered the Group of Seven some years ago, probably through Grand Marais exposure...  here's the Wikipedia link too~ and I've always been fascinated by Tom Thompson's paintings where he leaves a little bit of the ground showing through the paint... 
SO I painted this tonight, from one of mom's photos, 

 And here is Tom Thomson's paintings...
This one is Lake in Autumn, 1916

 And this is Evening, Canoe Lake, 1915.

Can you see what I mean about the edges showing the background color?  They are so poetic and dreamy and quiet...  and painted plein air on untreated 8x10 pallet wood....
I want to do this!  Aren't they GREAT?

MOnday, OCTOBER 1!

Dang!  A whole new month already!  Wow~  well, here's Ollie so far, and I got a couple more houses to tackle.

Duane thinks his right eye needs to be darker- and maybe the left side of his nose-  anything else?  I'll ask his owner too...
I also will be teaching another painting class this November into December at the Shasta Building in a new studio space Duane and I will be sharing!  I'm really excited about the chance to have a REAL studio space and to be able to argue and bicker with Duane about who left what where and who gets to clean it up!  I'm kidding-  he usually cleans everything up and organizes it beautifully-  I am a very lucky person!
SO if you are interested in Painting Lessons, send me an e-mail right away to hold your place.  It will be Wednesday evenings, 6:30 to 9pm from November 14 to December 12, with December 19th as an alternate date for missed classes, for $150.
http://katcorrigan.com/katcorrigan.com/Welcome_files/Painting%20Lessons%20November%202012.pdf
This is the link to the PDF with more info!  Let me know if it isn't working....
Whew!
More houses tomorrow night~