"Tell It Like it is" 5" x 7" image Day 30 of 30 Day Challenge! Here we are at the end of another year's challenge. I did it!! I love how much these goals make me grow as an artist. This sketch was all I had time for today. Although I was hoping to have time to add color to this, it is what it is. This does have my design lesson in it though, so that’s good. This one will become a Little Fabbey also, just like the other one I showed you a couple of days ago. I named it, "Tell it like it is" because it looks like this person has said something they shouldn't have. :) Tip #30: I may have said this before, but it bares repeating. My most important words in design are: Repetition, variation, and dominance. Every time I do a painting, I check these 3 words off the list. When I’m stumped as to what is wrong with a painting, one of these 3 words usually solves the problem. When I have a vertical line, I repeat that either as a shorter line or varying it by making the next one horizontal. Circles are repeated in different sizes. When I have a diagonal line leaning toward the right, I make a diagonal line leaning toward the left. That creates balance. When all is said and done, one value should dominate. either texture or calmness should dominate. Cool or warm... one value should dominate. You get the idea... In this sketch I have a light pathway that leads the viewer through the painting.
"Tell It Like it is" 5" x 7" image Day 30 of 30 Day Challenge! Here we are at the end of another year's challenge. I did it!! I love how much these goals make me grow as an artist. This sketch was all I had time for today. Although I was hoping to have time to add color to this, it is what it is. This does have my design lesson in it though, so that’s good. This one will become a Little Fabbey also, just like the other one I showed you a couple of days ago. I named it, "Tell it like it is" because it looks like this person has said something they shouldn't have. :) Tip #30: I may have said this before, but it bares repeating. My most important words in design are: Repetition, variation, and dominance. Every time I do a painting, I check these 3 words off the list. When I’m stumped as to what is wrong with a painting, one of these 3 words usually solves the problem. When I have a vertical line, I repeat that either as a shorter line or varying it by making the next one horizontal. Circles are repeated in different sizes. When I have a diagonal line leaning toward the right, I make a diagonal line leaning toward the left. That creates balance. When all is said and done, one value should dominate. either texture or calmness should dominate. Cool or warm... one value should dominate. You get the idea... In this sketch I have a light pathway that leads the viewer through the painting.
The first 2 days of The Villages, Florida workshop, we worked on white flowers with an abstract background. We made our own papers, using...
Karen Knutson paints in mixed media, trying to make her paintings fun and easy. A wide range of subjects, including landscapes, figures, collage, abstracts, florals, and birds. Many lessons are included on this blog to encourage her art students. Teaching across the country makes her life a great journey.
Karen Knutson paints in mixed media, trying to make her paintings fun and easy. A wide range of subjects, including landscapes, figures, collage, abstracts, florals, and birds. Many lessons are included on this blog to encourage her art students. Teaching across the country makes her life a great journey.
"Tell It Like it is" 5" x 7" image Day 30 of 30 Day Challenge! Here we are at the end of another year's challenge. I did it!! I love how much these goals make me grow as an artist. This sketch was all I had time for today. Although I was hoping to have time to add color to this, it is what it is. This does have my design lesson in it though, so that’s good. This one will become a Little Fabbey also, just like the other one I showed you a couple of days ago. I named it, "Tell it like it is" because it looks like this person has said something they shouldn't have. :) Tip #30: I may have said this before, but it bares repeating. My most important words in design are: Repetition, variation, and dominance. Every time I do a painting, I check these 3 words off the list. When I’m stumped as to what is wrong with a painting, one of these 3 words usually solves the problem. When I have a vertical line, I repeat that either as a shorter line or varying it by making the next one horizontal. Circles are repeated in different sizes. When I have a diagonal line leaning toward the right, I make a diagonal line leaning toward the left. That creates balance. When all is said and done, one value should dominate. either texture or calmness should dominate. Cool or warm... one value should dominate. You get the idea... In this sketch I have a light pathway that leads the viewer through the painting.
"Friends Forever" 11" x 11" image (mixed media) $125 Yesterday, I hit a wall. And I really had many life lessons in the process. A good friend called after reading yesterday's post, and encouraged me to do what I love! Make it fun again! And I thought all day about deadlines, and changes. I went to get a new cell phone and told the manager that I was really phobic about losing data from my old phone. She told me that she used to be that way too, but now, is all about minimizing "stuff" in her life. When it really comes down to it, what's most important? Our family and our friends! So, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted, and I painted a simple painting and I really enjoyed doing it!!! Yay!! I used many deli papers that I had collaged earlier for the background. I learned this from the Anne Bagby DVD, which is one of my favorite DVD's! What a blast it is to make all of these papers! I used the design from one of my 30 minute sketches that I had done many years ago. Anyway, the moral of this story is to "do what you LOVE", and life will be good! :)
I'm excited to announce that I will be teaching in Cape Coral, FL on January 12- 14th, 2017. This is the second time that I've taught in this location. I love escaping the MN winters, so timing is everything! Charcoal pour birds is one of the subjects. This procedure is so fun. We actually pour a big bucket of water on a watercolor surface that is sprinkled with charcoal powder. The effect is so fun! Also, I will be teaching how to paint like Gustav Klimt. That technique involves scraping dots of acrylic, using a credit card. The colors are so beautiful! These two techniques are my most popular workshops. Both paintings below started using the acrylic scraping technique! Students send me paintings for months after each workshop. Pretty fun! For information on the workshop, please contact Marjorie Ewell Phone: 239-945-3158 Email: [email protected]
"Helga, the Housekeeper" Sometimes, you just need to fly by the seat of your pants! Upon arriving at my Buffalo destination last night, I discovered that there was no mirror for the audience to see my demo. So, I held the painting up with my left hand, while painting vertically with my right hand. Then the audience could see what I was painting. It actually went pretty well. I finished the details on the hair this morning, using Tombow markers and permanent black markers. But otherwise, this was my demo for the Buffalo group. I was asked when I started painting funky ladies. I think it was after watching a video by Anne Bagby, one of my favorite artists. She has been a great influence on my work. And I finally discovered what my imaginary housekeeper looks like. "Helga, the Housekeeper" has been my nickname for myself whenever I do my monthly deep cleaning. I just know that this is her! Got her hair all tied up in rags, but she's a bit of a diva, having to wear jewelry while she cleans. And let me tell you, she is a minimum cleaner! I have no idea why I keep her around. :) When I arrived in Buffalo at the airport building, there was a blackboard, so I again flew by the seat of my pants and did the drawing on the blackboard so that all could see, as we did a funky lady drawing together. They all loved learning the tricks! It was a fun evening. Below is my blackboard drawing.
I'm excited to announce that I will be teaching in Cape Coral, FL on January 12- 14th, 2017. This is the second time that I've taught in this location. I love escaping the MN winters, so timing is everything! Charcoal pour birds is one of the subjects. This procedure is so fun. We actually pour a big bucket of water on a watercolor surface that is sprinkled with charcoal powder. The effect is so fun! Also, I will be teaching how to paint like Gustav Klimt. That technique involves scraping dots of acrylic, using a credit card. The colors are so beautiful! These two techniques are my most popular workshops. Both paintings below started using the acrylic scraping technique! Students send me paintings for months after each workshop. Pretty fun! For information on the workshop, please contact Marjorie Ewell Phone: 239-945-3158 Email: [email protected]
"Golden Sunset" 5" x 7" image. Matted: 8" x 10" $45 Every now and then, it's just fun to do really quick paintings. These little gems will test your skills at timing in watercolor. I start with a 5" x 7" watercolor paper. Then I wet both sides of the paper several times, so it is very wet. Then lightly sponge off the right side and begin. Using a bright color (red/orange), I paint the sky and the water, leaving a big white shape. Then I pick it's complementary color and smear that into the first color to create a grey color and then have the complementary color (green) on the upper left and lower left corners. Switching to a 1/2 " flat brush, I double load the two complementary colors in a dry brush mixture to make the tree masses. I do NOT mix the color on the palette or it would be too wet. Pull down the colors to create the reflections. Use a thirsty brush to wipe out the water line. Then wipe out a ripple in the water. You can put more detail on the trees, using a small round brush that is double loaded with the 2 colors. That's how I was able to get the points on the top of the trees. You do all this is only 5 minutes! It's fun to do color studies using this process. Odd colors are usually my favorites.
"Golden Sunset" 5" x 7" image. Matted: 8" x 10" $45 Every now and then, it's just fun to do really quick paintings. These little gems will test your skills at timing in watercolor. I start with a 5" x 7" watercolor paper. Then I wet both sides of the paper several times, so it is very wet. Then lightly sponge off the right side and begin. Using a bright color (red/orange), I paint the sky and the water, leaving a big white shape. Then I pick it's complementary color and smear that into the first color to create a grey color and then have the complementary color (green) on the upper left and lower left corners. Switching to a 1/2 " flat brush, I double load the two complementary colors in a dry brush mixture to make the tree masses. I do NOT mix the color on the palette or it would be too wet. Pull down the colors to create the reflections. Use a thirsty brush to wipe out the water line. Then wipe out a ripple in the water. You can put more detail on the trees, using a small round brush that is double loaded with the 2 colors. That's how I was able to get the points on the top of the trees. You do all this is only 5 minutes! It's fun to do color studies using this process. Odd colors are usually my favorites.
Karen Knutson paints in mixed media, trying to make her paintings fun and easy. A wide range of subjects, including landscapes, figures, collage, abstracts, florals, and birds. Many lessons are included on this blog to encourage her art students. Teaching across the country makes her life a great journey.
"30 Paintings in 30 Days" January 2017 Challenge Here is the collection of all 30 Paintings from the January, 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I used the website, www.picmonkey.com to make the collage of them. I love that website. It is very easy to use and I use it often after teaching, to make a collection of my student's paintings. It used to be free, but now there is a small fee. Totally worth it. The site works best with square paintings, so you will notice that many of these only have partial images of my paintings, but enough for you to get the idea. I knew that would be a problem when I decided to paint all quarter sheets, but decided to go ahead with that plan anyway. Again, I want to thank all of you for being my cheerleaders during this challenge. It really means a lot to hear your comments or to count up the "likes". Thanks to Leslie Saeta, who thought up this great challenge for all of us! Thank you to those who purchased many of my paintings too. If any of you are interested, just go back to past blogs to see if your favorite is still available. Great prices! Today, I totally relaxed! Had a pedicure and a manicure. Not sure that was real wise, since I will be painting in acrylics in only 5 days when I go to a Paint-in! But it felt good to relax and have a little reward for my hard work. Stay tuned to my blog. My goal for 2017 is to post at least every 2 weeks. I try to share my knowledge as an instructor with my students who stay tuned to my blog. I made many discoveries this month and can't wait to pursue those discoveries and fine tune them. Check my website for details about future workshops. www.karenknutson.com I'm teaching all across the USA this year, both the East and the West coast. (Below are available paintings) 2017 Schedule: January- Cape Coral, FL February- The Villages, FL March- Green Valley, AZ April- Kanuga Conference Center (near Henderson, NC) May- Louisville, KY June- San Diego, CA July- Alexandria, MN August- Dickinson, ND White Bear Lake, MN Watertown, SD September- Traverse City, MI October- Miles City, MT November- Home studio possible workshop Available paintings from the 30 in 30 Challenge $99 Each Here are all 30 Paintings that I did in January. There is a website, www.picmonkey.com that is a great way to make a poster of your paintings. It used to be free, but now, there is a small fee. It's easy to use and I use it often, as an instructor to make a collection of my student's paintings. On this, I had to crop several of the paintings, due to them being rectangular in shape. The site is meant for square paintings. But you get the idea anyway. Many of these paintings are still for sale. Go back to earlier blogs if interested.
"Wheels of Imagination, #2" 6" x 6" image 11" x 11" framed, $145 framed Sorry it's been so long since I have blogged. It's been a busy teaching schedule and it's hard to keep up with everything! Check out my website for future workshops! Squint and you will see my simple light pathway in the little abstract painting above. I am preparing for a solo exhibition at the WaterWorks Art Museum in Miles City, MT, and my plan is to have several groupings of paintings, both abstract and traditional that have the same original design and the same color scheme. My show runs from October 15 - November 10th. I will also be teaching a workshop in Miles City from October 16 - 18, 2017. Contact DeNice Curry at (406) 234-0635 or email: [email protected] if interested. You can check out my website, www.karenknutson.com for the details of the workshop. My students all know how passionate I am about creating a light pathway for every painting. Below is a floral that I used the same light value pattern. Can you see it? I can't recommend this strongly enough for creating a good design in your paintings. "Never too Late for Lilies" 11" x 14" image, 16" x 20" framed, $345 framed
"The Flirt" As I write this, it is 9:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Yes, I'm at home and glad I am. This has never been one of my favorite holidays. We usually go to a movie, eat out, and come home by 9:00 p.m. Then, it's a roll of the dice whether we make it till midnight to welcome the New Year in. :) Anyway, I thought I would tell you my New Year's resolution. I have only One, but it's a big one! They say that if you write out your plan, that it's more likely to happen. I want more BALANCE in my life. I tend to go full throttle on any one thing and then everything else falls by the way side. So, in 2018, I pledge to try to have more balance. That will mean that I have to think ahead and plan! We'll see if this resolution lasts more than a month, like other years. I wish all of you the Best New Year ahead! By the way, this picture, "The Flirt" is an example of the subject for a 2 Day workshop in Sedona, AZ. This Funky Lady workshop will be on January 17 and 18th of 2018. I'm also teaching "Wire Drawing", one of my favorite things EVER during this workshop. To sign up, contact Nancy Boulais at [email protected]
"Opening Act" 11" x 11" image, mixed media, available for $125. Some paintings just go smoothly. Today was one of those days. Hey, I deserve it, after yesterday's trials! I knew that I wanted to collage the feathers again, and decided to have the crow sticking his head into a busy section, that would repeat the patterns on his wings. After collaging on the right, I negative painted, using acrylic so that I could make up my own pattern. This was fun to paint from start to finish! I named it "Opening Act" because it looks like the crow is getting ready to go on stage.
"30 Paintings in 30 Days" January 2017 Challenge Here is the collection of all 30 Paintings from the January, 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I used the website, www.picmonkey.com to make the collage of them. I love that website. It is very easy to use and I use it often after teaching, to make a collection of my student's paintings. It used to be free, but now there is a small fee. Totally worth it. The site works best with square paintings, so you will notice that many of these only have partial images of my paintings, but enough for you to get the idea. I knew that would be a problem when I decided to paint all quarter sheets, but decided to go ahead with that plan anyway. Again, I want to thank all of you for being my cheerleaders during this challenge. It really means a lot to hear your comments or to count up the "likes". Thanks to Leslie Saeta, who thought up this great challenge for all of us! Thank you to those who purchased many of my paintings too. If any of you are interested, just go back to past blogs to see if your favorite is still available. Great prices! Today, I totally relaxed! Had a pedicure and a manicure. Not sure that was real wise, since I will be painting in acrylics in only 5 days when I go to a Paint-in! But it felt good to relax and have a little reward for my hard work. Stay tuned to my blog. My goal for 2017 is to post at least every 2 weeks. I try to share my knowledge as an instructor with my students who stay tuned to my blog. I made many discoveries this month and can't wait to pursue those discoveries and fine tune them. Check my website for details about future workshops. www.karenknutson.com I'm teaching all across the USA this year, both the East and the West coast. (Below are available paintings) 2017 Schedule: January- Cape Coral, FL February- The Villages, FL March- Green Valley, AZ April- Kanuga Conference Center (near Henderson, NC) May- Louisville, KY June- San Diego, CA July- Alexandria, MN August- Dickinson, ND White Bear Lake, MN Watertown, SD September- Traverse City, MI October- Miles City, MT November- Home studio possible workshop Available paintings from the 30 in 30 Challenge $99 Each Here are all 30 Paintings that I did in January. There is a website, www.picmonkey.com that is a great way to make a poster of your paintings. It used to be free, but now, there is a small fee. It's easy to use and I use it often, as an instructor to make a collection of my student's paintings. On this, I had to crop several of the paintings, due to them being rectangular in shape. The site is meant for square paintings. But you get the idea anyway. Many of these paintings are still for sale. Go back to earlier blogs if interested.
Karen Knutson paints in mixed media, trying to make her paintings fun and easy. A wide range of subjects, including landscapes, figures, collage, abstracts, florals, and birds. Many lessons are included on this blog to encourage her art students. Teaching across the country makes her life a great journey.
"Ask for the Moon" This painting is size 11" x 11" image and sells for $195. I'm trying to get ahead so that on busy days, I'll have an already completed painting. This painting was supposed to be a quickie, but it ended up taking 6 hours to complete. I started by randomly placing collage papers on Arches Cold Press paper. Then I drew the birds and negative painted around them, using acrylics. This type of painting is much more comfortable for me than yesterday's painting. I don't like doing detail on the subject matter, as a rule.
Little Abbeys, 5" x 7" each, $45 each 2 versions of little abbeys, using the same colors After getting very sick with pneumonia, being hospitalized for 4 days during Thanksgiving time.... I am SO READY to paint again!!!!! All of December, I have been just trying to regain my strength. So I started out easy, doing a little abbey (small abstract), size 5" x 7". My goal was to stay with soft edges, and use only 3 colors. I used cadmium yellow, opera pink, and French ultramarine blue. Why I picked these colors, I'll never know. I hardly ever use these colors! But, I knew from experience, that if I stayed with only those 3 colors, I would have pretty colors. I love the red color that comes from mixing cadmium yellow with opera pink! Who knew? My friend, Ressie Burrows predicted that I would be painting with vibrant colors since I had it all bottled up for 2 months. She was so right! The second day, I used the same colors, but instead of soft edges, I went with some hard and some soft. I also added wire drawing to complete the painting. To see more wire drawings, go back to some of my past blogs. Sadly, I've made the decision to NOT do the 30 paintings in 30 Day Challenge, like I usually do in January. I'm still rebuilding my strength, so it's not a wise idea to put that kind of pressure on myself. I will, however, be posting wire drawings many of the days in January, and they will be for sale at a low price, so if you're interested, stay tuned! Happy New Year, everyone! I wish you all a healthy new year!
"Party Girl" 11" x 11" $145 Acrylic on paper Today, I used one of my past abstract paintings as my inspiration for the design. (See below) I knew that I wanted to have earth tones plus zebra print and the Jazz color of aqua. So, I would think that the painting would have gone smoothly! Not true. I tried another way of starting my painting, and it caused me lots of problems. I'm going back to the middle value wild beginnings that I did before. I am posting the painting when I thought it was complete (see photo 3 below), so that you can see why I changed it. When I analyzed it, I realized that I needed to make her hair a darker color so that it would show up against the circle background. I also glazed the gold area with nickel azo to brighten the yellow area. And I glazed the dark center area with pyrolle red light, and it really made that area richer. It really made the painting better. These last minute changes can really improve a painting. I like to turn my paintings upside down, so I can really see the values, instead of the subject.
Like many artists, Karen Knutson, "Fun with Mixed Media" and "Fun With Acrylics," started painting representational watercolor before realizing she needed a change. She made the jump to abstraction and never looked back. Today her focus is less about reality and more about strong design and color. Knutson is a signatur
Like many artists, Karen Knutson, "Fun with Mixed Media" and "Fun With Acrylics," started painting representational watercolor before realizing she needed a change. She made the jump to abstraction and never looked back. Today her focus is less about reality and more about strong design and color. Knutson is a signatur
Like many artists, Karen Knutson, "Fun with Mixed Media" and "Fun With Acrylics," started painting representational watercolor before realizing she needed a change. She made the jump to abstraction and never looked back. Today her focus is less about reality and more about strong design and color. Knutson is a signatur
Like many artists, Karen Knutson, "Fun with Mixed Media" and "Fun With Acrylics," started painting representational watercolor before realizing she needed a change. She made the jump to abstraction and never looked back. Today her focus is less about reality and more about strong design and color. Knutson is a signatur
"30 Paintings in 30 Days" January 2017 Challenge Here is the collection of all 30 Paintings from the January, 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I used the website, www.picmonkey.com to make the collage of them. I love that website. It is very easy to use and I use it often after teaching, to make a collection of my student's paintings. It used to be free, but now there is a small fee. Totally worth it. The site works best with square paintings, so you will notice that many of these only have partial images of my paintings, but enough for you to get the idea. I knew that would be a problem when I decided to paint all quarter sheets, but decided to go ahead with that plan anyway. Again, I want to thank all of you for being my cheerleaders during this challenge. It really means a lot to hear your comments or to count up the "likes". Thanks to Leslie Saeta, who thought up this great challenge for all of us! Thank you to those who purchased many of my paintings too. If any of you are interested, just go back to past blogs to see if your favorite is still available. Great prices! Today, I totally relaxed! Had a pedicure and a manicure. Not sure that was real wise, since I will be painting in acrylics in only 5 days when I go to a Paint-in! But it felt good to relax and have a little reward for my hard work. Stay tuned to my blog. My goal for 2017 is to post at least every 2 weeks. I try to share my knowledge as an instructor with my students who stay tuned to my blog. I made many discoveries this month and can't wait to pursue those discoveries and fine tune them. Check my website for details about future workshops. www.karenknutson.com I'm teaching all across the USA this year, both the East and the West coast. (Below are available paintings) 2017 Schedule: January- Cape Coral, FL February- The Villages, FL March- Green Valley, AZ April- Kanuga Conference Center (near Henderson, NC) May- Louisville, KY June- San Diego, CA July- Alexandria, MN August- Dickinson, ND White Bear Lake, MN Watertown, SD September- Traverse City, MI October- Miles City, MT November- Home studio possible workshop Available paintings from the 30 in 30 Challenge $99 Each Here are all 30 Paintings that I did in January. There is a website, www.picmonkey.com that is a great way to make a poster of your paintings. It used to be free, but now, there is a small fee. It's easy to use and I use it often, as an instructor to make a collection of my student's paintings. On this, I had to crop several of the paintings, due to them being rectangular in shape. The site is meant for square paintings. But you get the idea anyway. Many of these paintings are still for sale. Go back to earlier blogs if interested.
I'm excited to announce that I will be teaching in Cape Coral, FL on January 12- 14th, 2017. This is the second time that I've taught in this location. I love escaping the MN winters, so timing is everything! Charcoal pour birds is one of the subjects. This procedure is so fun. We actually pour a big bucket of water on a watercolor surface that is sprinkled with charcoal powder. The effect is so fun! Also, I will be teaching how to paint like Gustav Klimt. That technique involves scraping dots of acrylic, using a credit card. The colors are so beautiful! These two techniques are my most popular workshops. Both paintings below started using the acrylic scraping technique! Students send me paintings for months after each workshop. Pretty fun! For information on the workshop, please contact Marjorie Ewell Phone: 239-945-3158 Email: [email protected]
Karen Knutson paints in mixed media, trying to make her paintings fun and easy. A wide range of subjects, including landscapes, figures, collage, abstracts, florals, and birds. Many lessons are included on this blog to encourage her art students. Teaching across the country makes her life a great journey.
Wire drawing (7" x 10"). "The Hikers" This is the sketch that I used for a reference for a pure watercolor painting. I hadn't done a pure watercolor for a year, so it didn't surprise me when I failed at the first attempt. I'm starting to really love acrylics, but the deadline for the Transparent Watercolor Society show is coming up, and since I'm a lifetime member, it doesn't cost me anything to try to be juried in each year. I do have my signature membership, but it's still such a great challenge to try to get in! So, here I am, trying to remember how I used to get such glowing colors. Here's what I did to get out of my slump. Go back to what you know. Do whatever you used to do that was so easy and foolproof. For me, it is little abbeys. You can look back at earlier blogs to see them. Just put a search in for Little Abbeys. I love them because they remind me of the way that I should be painting all of my paintings. Starting at your center of interest with bright colors, working towards the edges. Saving your whites for sparkle. Weaving a unifying color from the center of interest towards the edges. Lastly, staging your center of interest with a darkest dark and then changing to a less dark color as you approach the edges. Keep the edges simple and keep the whitest white near the center of interest. Those are my rules for Little Abbeys (small abstract collages). (Look back to June 13, 2015 for directions for little abbeys.) Use limited colors Use limited shapes Think cool or warm as the dominant washes and then add pops of the opposite color later within the light pathway. Trust your value sketch and keep the light pathway connected. I'm not going to post my failure, but below are my 2 small paintings that I did AFTER I went through the above rules. Now, I think I'm ready to do the big quarter sheet painting next. These 2 paintings are 7" x 10". Too many small shapes, but interesting colors Good design but I miss the bright colors.
