Examining the extraordinary and the mundane
I have really been enjoying my figure drawing class.
Here is my first complete piece.
Today I will be hanging my first pieces to go in a gallery – Ikebana and Ikebana #2
They will be in the Petite Galleria in San Jose’s Japantown. Needless to say, I am over the moon. If you are in the area please stop by to check out their collection.
After thinking about it for a while I’ve decided to split my Instagram account. My goal with my account is to share my paintings. Not everyone wants to see pictures of me flexing or AT&T Park, but I’m sure that some people do. My Instagram @kathendrixart will now only have art. Having the two separated will give me more opportunities to post for each. Deadlifts and squats on one, paintings on the other.
I’ve amassed quite a number of paintings and it’s about time that they get a new home. I’m exploring how I can best sell them – etsy? ebay?
I’m not sure if dailypaintworks is a good place to sell. I want to know the metrics, see what sells, for how much, etc. I’m not sure how much my art is worth to others. Would others agree with what I think my art should be priced? I suppose I won’t find out until I try.
I added the switch to the previously posted blender, but that will have to be the next post. Why? Because here’s an orange blender! Complete with faux wood panel, what a cadillac. The glass was especially fun near the base. The heavenly glow around it adds to the magnificence of this machine.
I am lucky enough to work somewhere that offers a set amount each year to spend on professional development. Most people spend them on public speaking courses, computer skills, etc. I take advantage of the Continuing Education courses offered by Stanford. Last year I took an Introduction to Acrylic course. I was very naive in thinking that I was a beginner. They meant absolute beginner. I learned a lot from the course and I tried things I would not have otherwise tried. It was fantastic to paint with others and have an instructor, though.
This year they will be offering a course on Painting from Observation, taught by Katie Hawkinson, Lecturer, College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley. It is looking to be like the course I will take next.
At it again with the blenders- this is my third. I love the way the glass turned out on this, and the chrome has a vague resemblance to chrome.
Someone asked me how I would describe my art – what style. I’m not sure. I look on Instagram and I don’t see analogous painting styles. Perhaps I am embracing the messiness more than some. I’m not sure.
So it’s been a hot minute since my last update. I’ve been doing much better. Remember that post where I asked what you do when you feel blue?
Well, I felt really blue. Mostly because of lifestyle choices which I have since been able to get a grip on.
I’m back in the gym lifting and eating healthy, work is going really well and it looks like there is something on the horizon there as well.
I showed off my art at the Stanford Multicultural Festival – a festival celebrating both diversity at Stanford and those who have managed to work there 15+ years without going crazy.
I made my first two sales! A coworker of mine bought the larger seaside painting because it reminded her of her wedding, and another person bought one of my Sonoma vineyard paintings. Since then I’ve scored a commission that I am hoping to have done and posted here soon.
The Stanley Cup just came to an end. I have never been to a hockey game but I live within walking distance of the SAP Center so I was treated to the crowds for the past week or so. A great opportunity for people watching.
In between games on a Friday night I packed up my easel and used the great backpack straps to haul it over to the SAP center to paint the palm trees, which was the featured image for this post. It was nice and hot out and it brought me back to a tropical paradise state of mind. The underpainting is a golden yellow, which really brightens things up and adds a nice glow. Andrea Bocelli was playing that night at SAP so everyone was dressed up in their nice clothes and the bike taxis were playing his music. Altogether it was lovely.
I’d like to expand a little more on the still life setup box that I made.
It was inspired by Carol Marine‘s instructions for a still life shadow box. Her dimensions differed from mine a little – I had Lowes help me out and cut down the plywood to 18×18″ and based all of my other dimensions off of that.
The height does measure a few inches more than the width of 18″, which means it can accommodate for vases and larger dioramas. I was able to find a clip on lamp at a local thrift store which cut the price by $10-15. The whole project ended up costing about $110 and a day and a half of my time.
It really makes a difference to be able to look at something in front of you and really see the way light changes your subject rather than working from a photograph. Working from life will also give me a better understanding of how objects and volumes relate to each other in space.
The box is lit from a warm flood light as well as a cool CFL. Colors and shadows are so much more interesting now.
The 18″ depth/width offers an interesting flexibility in the fact that a lot of flooring options are available in 18×18 (see Home Depot’s site if you don’t know what I am talking about). I picked up two “slate” effect vinyl tiles to work as an alternate to drapery for my shadow box. Best of all it was less than $4 for the both of them.
All I have to do is put one on the bottom and lean one on the back. It’s pretty convincing, and I could pick up different tiles if I wanted. I had thought about ceramic tiles but the weight would not work at this point in time, as the box is not secured to the stand that it is on. Perhaps in the future.
On a side note, it’s important to think about process. I dove in to my first project with this box without underpainting. I was so excited to start that I completely forgot about the process. If you do not follow a process paintings can take much longer. I found myself struggling with the draping in the painting, but I think it’s turned out fine. I’ll post it tomorrow – keep an eye out for it.