Hello 2019!

I have to admit that I sat down to write out a post several times over the past months, and I just couldn't do it. I think part of the reason behind that was that every time I posted, something else would go wildly wrong, and it all just became too overwhelming.

I think a lot of people had a rough, or even awful 2018. I didn't see any posts on social media expressing how much they didn't want to see 2018 go, and rather it was a lot more "don't let the door hit you on the way out, 2018!"

As always, I use the end of the year to review. Some years, I feel pretty good about my year even with the knocks. This year, like so many other people, I was just over it.

At the tail end of the year, I tried to knock out some challenge paintings... that I then went and got too complicated with and only managed two of the 12 I should have done. One is a raccoon, and even though the prompt was "cookie", I'm pretty sure I channeled my own issues which led to me gaining 15 lbs since I moved back to Vermont...

"MY Cookie" 6x8 inches, acrylic on canvas panel (available)

Do you see it? I totally see it.

Man, I wish my pants fit right now. I'm trying to tell myself that making my jeans tight just made them into compression stockings... right? *sigh* I need a button that let's me zip my mouth shut. I still haven't hopped back onto the healthy eating train either. I was going to, I totally was going to! And then I tried to give up coffee, my son blew out his knee trying yoga with me, and... cookie.

The other painting prompt was "Ribbon":

Red Ribbon, 5x7 inches, acrylic on canvas panel, Available

Earlier, I got this one done for a deadline that I actually missed... but I liked him so much I had to finish him anyway. He's my "Twitterphant"!

"Twitterphant" 5x7 inches, acrylic on canvas panel, Available

And then lastly, working with Thrice Fiction, I was given a story by someone I think Christmas doesn't bring good feelings for (that's putting it mildly.) I'm a holiday freak, as I'm sure you all know, so this was actually a challenge. I read the story to my kids and we came up with a zombie hand, but festive-style!

Zombie Christmas Tree, 5x7, Acrylic... my son is thinking of keeping it

I have to say I LOVE painting twinkle lights. There's something about being able to use paint to make you think something is glowing in real life. It's funny, because it's just paint... but your brain says "those are lights, and they are on" - I've never been able to paint a candle with the same effect, but I have seen it in some paintings and always marveled over it. I CAN pull it off with twinkle lights, though! HA! (Mental note: practice painting more candles this year.)

I'm kicking myself for missing the holiday season and having a reason to paint twinkle lights. Maybe Christmas 2019 will let me go wild with the lights in all the paintings! Here's hoping I get a chance to actually get a shot at that!

As always, I put together my painting quilt. This is EVERY single painting of 2019. I wish I had done more, but the ones I did, not so bad! My color choices continued to shift to more earthy (natural) tones, and I'm really enjoying that.

I have goals for 2019... not the least of which is to fit into my clothing again. I know, I know... no cookie. Sigh. 

I plan on painting. As always, that is my goal. My hope is to rebuild and bulk up my portfolio and start laying down artistic roots once again now that I am back in Vermont and it really feels like home. This year has the potential to yield big and wonderful things, and I truly hope that is what is actually in store for me.

I really hope you all had a decent 2018, but if not, at least it's over. I hope 2019 is a great year for everyone!

Stasis

You'll be happy to know that the only person who got a stomach ache from my husband deciding to eat three-week-old-leftovers was me. I don't understand why men could eat the bark off a tree, lick a poison frog, and then roll in a barn without even causing the slightest quiver in their stomachs while the mere suggestion of any of those things turns me a quite unbecoming shade of green. While we're on the topic of men, I also don't understand why men can just consider losing weight and drop five pounds instantly while the same result requires a month of serious effort on my part. Just makes me want to slap the lot of you men. Love you, and all, but slap you just the same. *wink*

My ankle is still sprained, and my doctor floated the possibility that I actually fractured it, but since I was doing better I got to put off x-rays unless I fail to make reasonable progress. It's almost been a month (well, maybe just over three weeks, but it feels like a month) and I'm fair to going stir crazy not being able to go running as I normally do (and eating far too much, hence the five pounds commentary earlier.) I have been working, however.

I finished up a couple more pieces for the very shortly upcoming issue of Thrice Fiction Magazine (it's a free read digitally.) I wasn't able to participate in the last issue because I was overbooked with work, but I'm glad they gave me another shout this issue. As it involved snow, and we got a surprise four inches of the stuff after a lovely 80 degree day before that, it all sort of fit. I had a lot of fun changing how I do falling snow as well. I have done dots with the brush and a few other methods, but I think my favored one now is loading the brush with slightly watered down white, holding it about 6 inches from the surface, and then finger-flicking the brush with my other hand.

The first painting with the window is all flicked snow/stars, the cup is masking and flicking when I was undecided. Flicking it is, from here on out!

"The Window" 9x9 inches, watercolor and acrylic on 140lbs hot-pressed professional watercolor paper. Iridescent paint on moon and mirror/window frame. Available for purchase

"Fill It Up" 5x6 watercolor & acrylic on 140lbs hot-pressed professional watercolor paper.  Available for purchase.

Once I got those pieces done for the magazine, I needed to transition back over to my Alice painting (which is taking forever, and is entirely my own fault.) So, I did a quick (mostly quick) girl, another one for the "emotions" online open auction on facebook.

"Blue" 5x7 inches, watercolor & acrylic.Will be up for auction on Monday on Facebook at The Rabbit Hole Artist Collective

I was going with just black hair, but then it simply wasn't enough. So, I amped it up with blue and aqua highlights in iridescent paint, and it still wasn't enough. Finally I added the tattoos, and I liked it much better. One thing I really don't like about watercolors is that the skin features really wash out in a photograph. In person, it's a lot smoother and more even. The camera often picks up areas the eye simply doesn't see in reality and misses others. It's been very frustrating. At least it doesn't do that with acrylics and oils!

I haven't made much progress on my restructuring because we're still flailing about in the wind over whether we're moving or not. We've said yes to the offer, and yet it's been six weeks without any solid movement. I'm completely paralyzed personally and professionally, and that's been very difficult to work with. There has been some hope that we'll hear something on Monday, so I'm crossing my fingers. I can't exist in this stasis any longer.

I'm going to be focusing on my Queen, and trying to think about what my options are if I continue to be stuck. Making my current painting my priority will help, I hope!

Weekender

I'm really tired this weekend, although I'm not sure why. My plans were to sleep in today, because it's Saturday! If ever there was a day to sleep in, Saturday is it! Unfortunately, my husband has not mastered the task of muting his cellphone on the weekends. Worse, whenever he receives an email it "beams in" with the sound from Star Trek. So, something beamed in around 6 AM. I seriously considered tossing his phone out the window, but I didn't. Aren't I nice? *wink*

I finished my last piece for Thrice Magazine:

"Rachis" 9x12 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

I really like this one, and how it turned out. Again, it's my take (and twist) for a story (by someone else) in the upcoming issue. However, I like this as a standalone piece as well. I don't want to illustrate a story, I like to express a feeling - so I like this painting without any background included as well, which is good!

Now, I'm staring at the calendar and worried about my deadlines. I can't believe we're this far into March already! I have a lot of goals this month, but I missed two deadlines this week - entirely my own fault and glitches in personality (I procrastinated.)

So, I'm hoping for a rush of productivity that puts me back on course! I wish there were a magical spell for that or something...

Friday

I used to just love Fridays! Working hard all week, Friday was the signal that the party (and sleeping in) was about to start! Now it's a signal that my workspace will be invaded and focus will be impossible until Monday.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think Mondays are becoming my new Friday? They still have that "Monday Stigma" that lurks around the edges, though. So, maybe not. Perhaps having a career doing what you love means defining a new way of looking at the week altogether. I'll have to think on that a bit more.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had much chocolate cake. Much. As in, I'll be running marathons for the rest of my life to work off what I ate, and I already needed to lose 50lbs so I didn't do myself any favors, much. But it was really good.

Well, it's March. And it's muddy. Muddy March. Blecht. It's bad enough, that I'm starting to contemplate mud as a possible medium to work in. I mean, if it's going to be everywhere, there's got to be something I can do with it! I have a potter's wheel somewhere...

I finished my latest fairy painting:

"Alina" 9x12" watercolor on hotpressed paper.

I really love how she came out. Her wings went a little wrong at first because the blue didn't seem right, but then I layered in the shadows and the blue has this deep undertone in it that I just love, and it suddenly worked!

And now I'm working hard on some pieces for Thrice Magazine, (which they may or may not use, and are not illustrative, but inspired by the stories I am given for the upcoming issue) and are in the abstract or surreal realm of my art. It's a jarring switch from fairies to fractured, and because of that I'm trying to get them all done at once... I don't have much time anyway, so that's probably a good thing.

I finished the first little one yesterday:

"Feather" 4x6" acrylic on canvas panel

I have three more (two small, one larger) to go.

I'm struggling a little bit though, because I really want to continue on with my fairies (and have deadlines involving them as well.) I have a fairy and dragon all planned out that I'm going to switch to either oils or acrylics on a 16x20" stretched canvas for, and I really want to get going on it. But while I work in different styles, I can't switch back and forth between the two at the same time. It's too hard, for some reason.

Well, anyway. I'm down to my last "to-do" for today because it's the start of March. I need to get my calendar all laid out with my map for the month structured in it, so I know what the heck I am working on! You wouldn't believe it, but it really helped push me last month to stay on target with my goals for my work. So, here's hoping March doesn't look insane once I plug it all in! *crossing fingers*

Closing the Year

2012 is fast headed out the door, and 2013 looms before us!

This has been a large year for me on the art front because, while I've been selling professionally since 2001, I shut down every other business and idea outside of art this year and committed to it 100% by June. I shut the doors on my photography business in May when it became clear that both businesses were heating up and requiring too much to allow both to survive, and that's when I made the final decision to finally say yes to the paint.  (Want to know more about my art-business path? I was invited to talk about it in a guest post here.)

I even figured out how to make a time-lapse video of my paintings (I made three, actually!)

I also learned that I can make a video blog (vlog?) from my phone, and tried it out:

I plan on actually doing more of those vlogs (and decorating my studio a bit more, because it looks depressingly stark on the video! I should add that my house is vibrant everywhere else, and I think I removed the color from everything in there so mine would be the focus when I added it to the canvases!) And I hear tell that some artists are trying art-meet-ups via Skype or other video chatting, and I'm interested in giving that a go... if I can get over my shyness, and find others who want to chat while we work!

I have a lot of goals for 2013, and I'm looking forward to a year filled with paint and opportunities! I'm going to make it a goal to finish a painting a week. Sure, my larger paintings take more time (months and months in some cases) but I promise to take the time to work on some smaller, faster ones as well. Allowing for some sick and vacation time, that means about 48-50 new paintings next year!

I'm going to tighten back up my sketching skills so I jump forward in other ways. I used to work solely in pencil, not even color. I remember working so hard in high school on detail that I made a picture of my hand that looked like a black and white photograph when I was finished (boring, but all about the detail - composition didn't matter then.) Once I achieved that, I wanted a new challenge, and that was color. I slid first to acrylics and I didn't like the results, so I backtracked and went heavy with chalk pastels. For some reason, color meant more about expression than detail, and I loosened up in order to allow for that.

Eventually I conquered the paint, and my tight detail rendering slid into the shadows as I learned I just needed the basic outlines for painting, and the detail came from the paint instead. It's time to revisit the detail and work on crossing it with the color - in particular with watercolors, where the details count in the pencil rendering. This will make my "painting a week" more achievable, because watercolor just works a bit faster than acrylic or oils for me.

Speaking of oils, they're coming out this year. I miss the depth! I plan on using them for any people I paint, because it just looks better to me. It's going to be tough waiting for the oils to try as the trade-off, but it'll be worth it. I'll still work in acrylics as well, though.

Lastly, I'm going to continue working on my fairytale series, but I'm also resurrecting my abstracts and surreal body of work (I had pulled them from my site when I did a major revamp almost two years ago, I think.) I'm going to be offering some prints of the older ones, and new ones are already lining up for the easel! Also, this work dovetails nicely with THRICE Fiction Magazine, where I have been lucky enough to be asked contribute artistically, along with other talented artists and writers.

I'm thankful to all who have supported my art, as well as those who have found a piece they like and took it into their homes! It's been a huge 2012 for me, and I'm looking forward to 2013! I hope you had a wonderful year, and have a fabulous 2013!

Let It Snow!

I finished my first snow queen!

"Crystal" 8x12" acrylic watercolor (sold)
Prints
Merchandise

I like how she turned out. Watercolor is so much less forgiving than oils or acrylics, that there is a sort of low level of anxiety riding along on any piece you are working on. A couple times there, I thought I had gone right off the cliff and ruined it. I think I got it in the end though! I'm still relearning old techniques and working on sussing out new ones and adding them to my arsenal.

I had some issues with the masking fluid, which I knew I would when I realized it got gone a little wonky on me as it had been years since I had even cracked the bottle. So why did I use it? I'm a little stuck between the traditional "Never add white! White is a violation of the rules of watercolors!" and the realization that I'm not competing with anyone, so I can add any darn color I want. I can enhance with whatever suits me. I could use my earlobes to make prints if I really wanted to, and who's going to care? So, with that in mind (well, maybe not the earlobes, that would be awkward, and then I would have paint in my hair...) I did enhance with white. The masking created a bulky result. That may very well be due to the age, but perhaps the application too. I'd like to find a way to add it to my work in tiny lines (and also to remember where the heck those are when it's time to take the masking off. I keep going back and spotting another snowflake or something that I forgot to pull the masking off of.) I think I wish it came in a pen form. I don't suppose it does? I found this, so maybe that's what I'm thinking of, and I'll order it on my next round and give it a try.

I enjoyed this one so much though that when I put my order into my supplier recently, I made sure to order new watercolors and several smaller hot pressed blocks (maybe one day I'll find a way to fall in love with the texture of cold pressed, but as it stands now I want things smoooooooth!) I forgot to add the masking. Sigh.

It's nice to return to my figures too. I started out with women in my work, whether abstract or not, and it's been a while since I've seen them. I've been on a fairytale kick, and while I love it, I've been yearning to put my figures into process once again. Watercolor, being so quick, is a great way to do this while I'm still carrying out my Alice series in acrylics. It's also giving me something fun to learn. I was an oil painter, and I couldn't make anything come out right in acrylics. It took time, but I finally learned how to do that, and so this year seems to have been all about acrylic painting. I think it's possible that 2013 will be about watercolors, because I love the luminous quality using watercolor and paper can bring to skin tone. I'm still figuring it out, but I'm on to something, and I plan on chasing it!

In other news, THRICE Fiction Magazine is out with their new (free to download) issue, and two of my works are in it. If you like short fiction and fun art, give it a shot!

The forecast says snow this weekend... I'm hoping! I'll be working on my snowflake spider (as well as something involving hot chocolate - on a painting, not drinking it... well, ok maybe drinking it too) in between baking sessions and wrapping up holiday shopping! I need some positive, because this week has been hard on me. I found out one of my dogs most likely has bone cancer (we're waiting on the radiologist, but it's not really in doubt) and I'm worried he'll even make it to January, and we already lost one dog this year (Max, although he was an old fellow. Cosmo is only 7 years old!) My kids possibly have whooping cough, and my son has been told to not go to any public place until Wednesday. The rest of us are allowed to, but he isn't (he doesn't see a problem with this, as it means no school!)

I'm just in sore need of some holiday cheer!

Playing Catch-up

I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted! I've had a lot of projects against a deadline hounding me, I've had a nasty cold, and my daughter is also in a school play (which means all our schedules have been completely dumped on their heads! Just last night I was sitting in my freezing car at 11:45PM waiting for rehearsal to get out so I could take her home. The poor girl was so tired, she was almost tearful this morning!)  Fortunately, it's show-weekend, so by Monday that part of the stress will be over!

I did get my finished Halloween Kittens up for sale...

on my main website: here, and prints starting at $17: here.

I also just finished another piece for the upcoming issue of THRICE Fiction Magazine. I can't just post a picture of it, because it is NOT work-safe. However, you can view it at the following link: here.

I'm working on a cute little commission right now of two owls in a tree:

And I realized that I'm simply dying to start painting snow, holiday type paintings. I was grumpy, working along, until I started painting that snow. Once I started, I felt my mood physically lift. I want to paint snow-stuff!

Queued up I have paintings of holiday ornaments, a snow queen, a Santa Claus, a snowman, and more! It's time! I've even started one that's similar to the owls, but in the branches I'm going to paint three ornaments. I haven't figured out which ones yet, but there will be three, and if I can make them shiny with iridescent paint - I will!

I've also started trying to learn how to sketch Celtic Knots. They're so linear that you can get a bit lost at times. I'm waiting on some graph paper and pencils, but I'm going to spend my doodling time on this right now so I can work some knot-work into some of my paintings (as well as possibly on another commission I'm still fleshing out a bit right now.)

Oh, and lastly, I've decided that if I can get my facebook page up to 300 likes, I'm going to give away a free 5x7 (acrylic, canvas panel) original in a drawing. Once I hit 300, anyone is eligible - I'll put the call out, and then have a random drawing to see who wins (they don't have to be new to the page.)

And that is where things are at! I'm in a Christmas mood, and just trying to keep up with my schedule! I hope everyone else is doing well!

Dark.

And now for something from the other half of my art-world!

"Turning a Blind Eye"Prints, Only

I started off as a surreal painter, but I don't visit it as often as I likely should. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that the world has changed from when I first started offering my paintings for sale. Being in rural Vermont meant that my surreal style was... an acquired taste. I loved it, but the truth was that most people here just wanted a picture with a cow in it. That's perfectly fine, but it isn't great for my surreal artworks.

Now that the world has grown smaller, and we can reach so many others outside of our little literal physical circle, there is more breathing room in the art world. Sure, there are a lot more voices too, but at least there is a place for you to be heard!

One of the thrilling things I have been asked to participate in is a publication called THRICE Fiction. It's a short-fiction magazine that offers free digital copies (you only have to pay for a physical one, if that is your preference.)

I was contacted, and told "dark". Oh, have I got dark in spades right now! "I got'cha daaahk right here, baby!" I have "dark" leaking out my freaking fingernails. But I haven't been painting it. I'm not sure why I need the nudge to set aside my usual offerings, but I did. Again. I started and finished the piece "Turning a Blind Eye" yesterday, and I have another work on my easel now.

What is interesting is that up until this point, this week has been a total failure. Everything I tried to paint or sketch out was total junk. Nothing was working. But I've been pretty frustrated too. My mother had a stroke last week and another attack this week, my children in the middle of all that got something resembling Chicken Pox (foot and mouth, perhaps?) I just couldn't seem to do anything right. I realized I was just extremely angry, about everything, anything, and nothing was working to alleviate it.

This did. Having a painting temper tantrum helped. I've tried painting other things, but it's not the same. Getting angry, or sad, or whatever and painting something to reflect that? It helps.

I have a major backlog of paintings that are half finished. I need to finish them. And I will. But for now? I'm all about the dark.

Media Time!

Things have been cooking along this summer, right along with the temperatures! I've got interesting stuff to share with all of you!

I was again asked to contribute to THRICE Fiction Magazine for their latest issue, and it lead to some interesting developments. Those of you who have followed my art over the past 12 years know that it all came from an abstract and surreal base. I can create down to the tiniest realistic detail, or flow in a completely abstract river. Really, it's all about where the feeling takes me. As time has passed, my art and business have flowed through several different directions. Abstracts, to florals, to fantasy and more! However, somewhere along the way the surreal and abstract paintings took a back seat or simply faded away. For the most part, when I did create a piece that fit those labels, I kept it to myself.

Then the magazine came knocking, and I pulled out many of my older works and started to remember what I liked about that flavor of painting. The current issue, No. 5 (of which my art is also on the cover and back cover as well as here and there throughout, keeping company with other artists' pieces all with the intent to help frame the creative writing the magazine is for - it's free to download!), has some of my art in it as well, but it also has a new piece! I created this piece specifically to illustrate one of the stories in the issue:

"Whim" 9x12, Acrylic on Artist Board

After I posted the painting publicly, it generated interest. It generated enough interest that I actually had to reevaluate my current painting-business structure and make some changes. I decided that leaving behind my abstract and surreal works was a mistake. While they're not the main thread of my work, they are most definitely a part of it, and a part of me. So, I'm bringing them back.

I've restructured my main art website www.KWilsonStudio.com to include these paintings, as well as broken out my current collections into gallery sets. You will find the Enchanted Forest series has its own gallery, as does the popular and currently in progress Alice series. My abstracts and surreals will be showcased and available for purchase in the main gallery itself (as well as in the prints boutique of course) as they're less a series and more stand alone pieces.

I've already created a new surreal piece, but even better? I did a full time-lapse photo session of the whole painting, and I've created my first time-lapse painting movie!

"Entangled"9x12x0.75 stretched canvas, sides painted, acrylic

Here's the video of the painting from white canvas to finished piece, and if you are interested I am going to be doing many more of these (although mostly on the smaller pieces. The White Rabbit painting, "I'm Late", is coming too, but it's a very long one due to the size and detail.) You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to get updates, and I'll also be posting them on my Kyra Wilson Studio page on Facebook.

I hope those of you experiencing the hot weather are able to keep cool!