Portrait Society of Atlanta - Spring 2014 Juried Exhibition of Members

I am very honored and excited that two of my portrait painting were juried by Rose Frantzen into the Spring 2014 Portrait Society of Atlanta Juried Exhibition of Members.   The exhibition opens Friday, August 22nd at Roswell Visual Arts Center.

I'm going to need more paint.

When we last saw each other, my newest tree painting looked like this...

The plan was to turn it into one of the very pretty light pink flowering trees that are all over my neighborhood (I can't remember their name!)

First I started covering the gold foil...

Then I covered over the dark blue line of foliage in the background...

Then I changes the sky color...

And finally I was ready to turn my tree pink.

Ok.  Half a tube of white paint to make...pink frosting. Not good.

Scrape scrape scrape...

Hmmm...now what do I do with all of the fresh paint I just scraped off?

At least I could use the paint to cover over some old paintings :)

Well, even though I wasted a bunch of time and paint on the actual tree, I do think I'm heading in the right direction with the color relationships, and the layers are looking really good in person.  And, when I was looking at the painting from across the room, I could see that the light was catching the gold foil just right.

So, I've got THAT going for me.  Which is nice

Change is good, layers build character.

BIG changes happening with the tall figure painting I started a few weeks ago.  While I loved the pose and really thought it worked well for the panel size, it just didn't capture the qualities I was looking for to emulate the inspiration phrase provided by my client... "Amazing Grace".  The pose seemed a little too dance-like, and I was searching for something more elegant and introspective.

So I sketched out some new pose ideas asked our lovely model if she would allow me to photograph a few of them, and I have painted over the previous painting.

The lighting is beautiful, and the colors on the drapery are fantastic.  These are photos from my phone...better ones will follow.

Change can be good, and it can be hard to fathom changing a six foot tall painting with 8 hours of time already invested in it, but I think this will all be worth it.  There are beautiful layers of color peeking thru in lots of places, and  I am hoping the surface will be filled with beautiful moments.

Figure Sculptures and Paintings

This may be one of the most exciting projects I've gotten to work on in my studio so far...working on a tall oil painting of the figure while watching a very talented sculptor build a piece at the same time.  As Matt (the sculptor) explores different angles and searches for the perfect s-curve on the figure, spontaneous outbursts of "YES!" resonate from his corner as he realize he has gotten it Just Right.

Watching Matt build from the inside out, consistently measure, build, re-check, shout "Yeah!", build some more, measure again...the search for information, the translation of figure to clay, makes me stop and think about how I translate the figure to paint.  Comparing landmarks, thinking about the lines, searching for form, checking proportion.  It's really a treat to watch two interpretations of the figure come to fruition side by side.

Matt's stand, covered with notes and measurements for reference.

Matt measuring the model with calipers. 

I'll be adding drapery to the painting, pushing the beautiful flow around the figure.

Portrait Information and A Painting Update

This has been a very exciting couple of days.  I was truly humbled and honored to be featured on Heather Armstong's Blog last Thursday.  Her kind words about my work meant so much to me.  (To be honest, my goal is to make every client go "Holy Crap!" ...much better than "Eh, it's OK")

Within minutes of her post going live I had thousands of visitors to my blog and my Etsy Shop.  The response has been overwhelming, and in such a great way.  The positive words, the genuine kindness about my work, and enthusiasm for my style has been amazing.

Heather took a big chance on me, and I am only now beginning to comprehend what that means.  By sharing that painting, she basically has said "I believe in Kristina's work".  Believes in my work.  It is hard to put into words how that makes me feel.

I am not taking this opportunity lightly!  I hope that I treat every new visitor and client with respect and fairness.  I look forward to creating many more beautiful pieces, and I am so excited that so many clients are drawn to my colorful and eclectic style.  I have several portrait commissions lined up, and if I can take on yours, I will do so, depending on the schedule.

Here is a little more information on my Custom Portrait Process.

In the meantime...as I order new supplies and get ready to start on new orders...I really want to finish up the model in the red skirt and striped vest!

This media is awesome to work with.   A primed panel, I spread a thin layer of a modeling paste/gesso/paint mix that gave it a textured layer similar to venetian plaster.  Glazing and painting several layers on top of that, I am building up a lot of color and interest on the surface.

So I better finish this one VERY SOON!

Thank you so much for checking out my blog and my work. Cheers!

Kind words about my work

I can't help but share...this note from a collector just made day :)

"Your beautiful pastel drawing has arrived safely. It is more than I could have hoped and imagine for. I absolutely admire and cannot stop looking at this delicate drawing. Through the use of your energetic marks on the page and the use of your layers of beautiful colors, you are telling a wonderful story of the lovely lady  sitting in the garden. ( I can only image what the model was feeling as she was posing for this drawing. I feel that you have captured her beautiful spirit.) Every mark and color in this drawing has meaning and importance and creates an emotional response that is very personal to me. I feel as if you created this drawing just for me. The moment I saw this drawing it whispered to me and I knew I must have it. And now I have seen it with my own eyes."

Figure Now 2011 - Two Works Accepted!

I was thrilled to find out that two of my original charcoal figure drawings, Immersed and Absorbed have been accepted into Figure Now 2011.  Pieces were selected by juror Michael Grimaldi.  The show will take place at Fontbonne University Fine Arts Gallery in Saint Louis, MO. February 4th thru March 5th 2011.

New Pastel Drawings, Portraits and Commission work from the studio!

Has this been the busiest December...ever?!?!  I can't believe 2011 is only a few days away!

I've been trying to finish up a few projects the last couple of days, in between playing with my daughter's new Barbies from Santa and the new Crayola Crayon Making machine - which is like the coolest toy ever!

First of all I was thrilled to hear from one of my clients on Christmas day, after she and her family opened up a painting she commissioned of her son.  It's been 13 years in the making (although only 2 months on my end!) - ever since she had her other son's portrait painted by another artist.   It was a challenging and rewarding experience because I was emulating the style of the other portrait, while still keeping my own personality in the custom portrait.

I'm also trying to finish up a few pastels that I started from the live model in the last couple of months.  I just worked on this pastel figure drawing, which has that gorgeous lime drapery that compliments her black hair so perfectly.

And I am also putting the final touches on this custom pastel of a lounging figure with a white robe.  It should be ready to go to it's new home in the next few days.

I finished this drawing of the ballet dancer with striped socks last week, and have been tweaking and perfecting large and small prints, which are now available in my Etsy shop!

Believe it or not...this is just the very top of a long list of drawings and paintings and ideas that I have yet to develop.  Like many artists/moms, there's never enough un-interrupted hours in the studio!    I look forward to sharing new pieces with you in the near future.

Charcoal Drawing of Couple accepted into NUDE 2011

Very excited...just received an e-mail that my charcoal drawing on textured modeling paste, "Moment of Surrender", has been accepted into Lexington Art League's Nude 2011 exhibition, which will take place January 15th to March 13th in Lexington, KY!

Pastel Portrait of a Little Girl in the Garden - a WIP

I'm really excited about the progress I am making on my daughter's portrait in Nupastel.  I'm getting into the details, such as the flowers on her dress and the wisps of hair that frame her face.  One thing I do have to resolve is what she's holding in her had - in the photo she was holding a barbie, but all you could see was a bit of dress and one arm sticking out - kind of awkward looking, so I need to insert a new toy!

(I found a GORGEOUS custom frame at Hobby Lobby that is the exact size of the paper - 19" x 27" - marked down 75% off.  I took that as a sign that I needed to finish this portrait!)

Figure with Drapery Painting Update

Today, I painted.  Tomorrow, I will be making lots of dessert :) 

I still have more work to do on her skin tones, details in the hand and feat as well.

Female Figure Seated in a Chair with Orange Drapery. New Acrylic Painting from the Live Model

I've been working with acrylics the last few weeks while completing a portrait painting commission, so last night I grabbed the paints that were handy my brushes and a 9" x 12" panel to take to our weekly figure drawing group.

For our long pose, the model perched on a chair and footrest that were draped with black fabric.  This was a great contrast for her pale skin tone.

I blocked in the large shapes first, trying to cover the white surface before establishing her skin tones.  I could already tell that there was going to be too much black in the piece, dominating the figure.  So when we took a break, I added in a piece of patterned orange drapery.

I continued to block in color, and also changed the position of her leg on our left.  It was actually stretched out, with the foot coming right at me, which seemed really awkward.  I haven't resolved it completely yet.  There may be some added drapery down by her foot.

This is as far as I got last night, a total of about 90 minutes of painting from the model.  I think proportions are good, and there is a good feeling of her weight leaning on her elbow.  I'd like to work more on her profile, add the rest of the pattern in the orange drapery, and finalize her right foot.

Working quickly with acrylics can have it's plusses - the layers dry quickly during breaks, easy to clean up.  But last night they were drying very quickly, and I was mixing more than painting.  I recommend small surfaces if you are painting with Acrylic from the Live model.

New Drawings of Two Models, Male and Female. Watercolor Pencil

Great night of figure drawing...where I took a lot of great photos of the models, yet only produced one decent drawing!  Oh well.  I actually did start a couple that have potential - if I ever finish them I promise to share!

But here is a watercolor pencil drawing from the long pose.

I started out with a light graphite drawing to get the scale and shapes correct, then erased about 75% of the line so it was "ghost-like" and I could draw over with watercolor.  I used a light periwinkle blue first, then layered some orange, olive green, fuscia, and dark purple.  In a few dark areas I added a little prussian blue.

I'm not sure about what's actually happening between the two of them.  If it's anything like my relationship with my husband, she's just gotten over-emotional about losing something somewhere in the house and he's exasperated because all he really wants to do is go to bed.  But I digress...

The pose was beautiful from all angles.  It's interesting because when I looked at one artist's drawing before he finished - the woman's hand was not yet included (on the far left) and it made her appear to be clutching the male model's hand behind her shoulder (cover the hand with your thumb to see what I mean)  By eliminating that hand you totally change the relationship.  It's amazing how a turn of the head, a placement of the hand, the angle of an arm can change the dynamic between two models in a pose.

Custom Portrait - at the beginning...

Just a quick peek at my latest custom portrait.  The client wants a very painterly approach, large, loose brushstrokes and bright colors.   She has a portrait of her older son by a very talented artist who has passed away, and our goal is to make both portraits, while completed by two different artists, work together when finished.

I'll post more photos, including the inspiration, soon!

2010 SAAG National Juried Show - Merit Award

I was delighted to find out this afternoon that my pastel portrait, "Reflections of Zen", won a Merit Award at this year's Southern Appalachian Artist Guild National Juried Show.

There were 120 artists represented at the Blue Ridge Mountains Artist Association in Blue Ridge, GA.

Congratulations to all of the winners and selected artists.

A glorious day of painting with two models

A few weeks ago our Wednesday evening figure drawing group had the privilege of working with two wonderful figure models together.  Truly professional and incredibly talented - they both have incredible "stage presence" and transform poses into mini-stories, in  a way. 

A small group of us to wanted some extra time to work on one long pose booked the same models today and had almost 4 hours to paint one fabulous pose.

I started on a primed and tinted canvas, 24" x 30", blocking in both figures.  I wanted to be sure that I was leaving enough room at both ends of the pose, so that her elbow was going to be in the frame and his foot would not be cut off on the other end.

 Working with a 1" brush I blocked in some of the larger shadow shapes.

As I started to work into the smaller areas of detail, I had to move a few elements - the length of his leg was too long, and his head was too high, so I had to re-draw both areas.

I continued to add local color, trying not to get too bright too fast.  I still feel that his leg may be in the wrong spot, or that his torso is just too long.  But I like the composition, and the space between the male and female figure.  There is an important element, his hand caressing his thigh, that I really need to paint in - it shows more of a connection between the two figures.

It was so nice to work for such a long time from one pose, to really have a chance to look, and re-look, and think about where elements need to be.  Now, when I finish this in the studio from reference photos, I'll be able to draw from both the photograph and the actual experience.

Custom Portraits for Christmas! Now is the time to order the Perfect Gift for Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Spouses, etc!

Christmas is only....73 days away!  Now is the time to order Custom Portraits for Holiday Gift Giving.

A perfect, unique gift for Mom...how about turning one of your cherished family photos into a beautiful painting?

Your Grandparents would love a classic, beautiful portrait of a precious moment between them and their grandchildren.  Capture the moment of a summer vacation or a Holiday gathering in a gorgeous pastel drawing.

Is there a pet lover on your gift list?  A drawing or painting of a cherished pet is an incredible gift idea! 

These are just a few examples of the hundreds of Custom Portraits that I have created in Oils, Acrylic, Watercolor, Pastel, and Charcoal over the last decade.  You can view more custom portrait samples in my Fine Art on Etsy shop.

Most portraits take 4 weeks to create, so start planning now!  I can accommodate a limited number of orders between now and Christmas.

Questions? Contact me at 1-773-236-7278 (773-2-FOR ART)

Don't forget - follow me on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date on Promotions and Sales during the Holiday Season.

New Paintings Started. The Lounging Figure, the Copper Tree

A couple new paintings started this week.  Wednesday evening during figure drawing group I began a 9" x 12" panel of the female nude, perched upon black and teal drapery.  I started by under painting in shades of blue and a little brown, manipulating the limbs and fabric until I was happy with the placement.

Working on a small scale, it's important to get everything blocked in proportion before thinking about detail.

For the next hour I worked on getting the local color and minor adjustments to the figure.

Since our session came to an end, the kind model permitted me to take a reference photo so that I can finish.  I am especially interested in painting the pattern in the drapery.

Much like this painting from a couple weeks ago, I think the pattern will really add interest to the piece.

Also started this week...I am working on a painting for a client's dining/living area.  The walls are copper colored, and they are especially drawn to trees.  I found a really small (1" x 2") snapshot of a cherry tree branch in bloom in a magazine, so I am basing this painting off of that tiny picture.  I'm glad it's tiny, though...I want to look at the general shape, not minute details.

I started with a wash of cadmium orange, then glazed over that with a mix of turquoise and white.  Then I added about a hundred little squares of copper foil (THAT was fun!) and glazed again with a mixture of red and sap green.  (two panels, 30" x 30" each)

I'm just starting to add some lines with conte' crayon.

I have worked in this style before, and it creates a surface with a lot of depth and texture.  The birds in this painting were created the same way. 

And I love using copper leaf, you can control it to some extent, but sometimes it will tear and rip, creating accidental shapes as it did in this painting of the figure.

I will still add several more layers, and maybe even use a little modeling paste in a few areas.  I also like to sand away spots that become over-developed, revealing some buried moments.

I'm excited about finishing both of these paintings...soon I hope!

Original Art SALE in my Etsy Shop! Save 30% on All Original Watercolors, Pastels, Paintings and Drawings.

Thanks to a great new application, I am finally able to have a STORE-WIDE Original Art Sale in my Etsy Shop! 

All Original Watercolors

All Figure Drawings

All Modern Art

All Drawings of the Male Nude

Are 30% Off!  No need to wait for a refund or enter a special code...just shop and buy!

It's not that I don't love each and every piece...but it's time to clean out the studio!

And...I broke my glasses.  So I need new ones :)...or my new work could look REALLY blurry...