Day 25 of my Holiday Painting Spree "Duck, Duck Red Chucks"

Another Fowl in Footwear.  These are too fun to paint!

I love painting birds, and I love painting Chucks. It somehow didn't seem too much of a stretch to put them together.  Plus, I think we all need a laugh right about now, don't you?

Duck Duck Red Chucks, oil on panel, 6"x6"
to purchase, please click here

And... You still have time to enter for a chance to win a free pet portrait commission!  Enter at my website, www.karenweberfineart.com

Good Luck!

The Process of Art

I have the good fortune to be hanging my work in the Double Tree hotel in Reading during July and August. The body of work I created for this show is representative of everything I have been considering in my painting in recent months.  I have found that I am generally what is called a process artist, meaning simply that I appreciate and study the process of making art above all else in my artwork. To further explain, this quote from Helen Van Wyck sums it up for me right now... "It doesn't matter what you paint, it's how you paint it". I love color, the paint itself, elements and principles, brushwork, simply put, the language of art... These 5 paintings represent my latest in my endeavor to convey my own personal language in the art of oil painting.  I chose these subject matter because I am drawn to the lines, colors and form of 'things' from the 1950's and 60's.  If manufacturers started using the aesthetic of this time I would rejoice and probably... buy everything! So, I ask you to enjoy and please look closely at these paintings...  I love the abstract quality my paintings take on when viewing closely.  I revel in texture, edges, brush stroke, color and the juiciness of oil paint!  If you are interested in purchasing these paintings, please contact me at karelyn1772@gmail.com     Thank you!

Blue Chuck Taylors, 24"x36", oil, $1050

Green Metallica, 24:x36",oil, $1050

It's Not a Bug, 24:x36",oil, $1050

Rotary Dial, 24:x36",oil, $1050

Schwinn Phantom, 24:x36",oil, $1050

It's a winner!

Just wanted to share that the final painting of my 30 days of painting challenge, "Big Reds" won third place at the Berks Art Alliance annual membership show!  Very thankful to those people who voted for me!   And I am sorry I couldn't be there to thank you in person... :( Valentine's day was a busy one for me! <3
If you'd like to see this and many other wonderful works of art by other member artists, the show runs through March 12th at the institute of the Arts, 1100 Belmont Ave., Wyomissing, PA, 19610

Big Reds, acrylic and oil on panel,
Contact the Berks Art Alliance for
purchasing information.

Day 30 (The last Day!) - Big Reds

Well, I did it, I finished the 30 in 30!  Now, to be fair, I didn't finish 30 paintings, but I was in my studio everyday painting... (oh, alright, I missed one day... that day that it snowed almost 3 feet of snow and I was helping shovel out... pass...)  But, otherwise, I was there, painting my face off... :)
Thanks so much if you came to my blog to read and follow my progress.  It means a lot that you are interested and I am grateful for everyone's comments and feedback both here and on my facebook page!  According to my flag counter, I had nearly 700 visits over the course of the month... So, thanks!

This last paintings was a 3 day event and I am not sure it is actually finished. But it is mostly done.  Its one of those things... you stare at a painting too long and your eyes start to cross and you cant even see it clearly anymore.  I needed to step away tonight, before I started making bad decisions and ruined the thing.  I will go back tomorrow and see whats what.  This one is a big one, exploring further the red shoes and the striped background.  Again, thanks for following me.  I am going to really try hard to post more regularly than I usually do between challenges!  It is just so easy to slack.  But rest assured, I will be making frames for the next week or so and painting, painting, painting...!

Big Reds, acrylic and oil on panel, 18" x 24"
nfs currently

28 - Big Reds

Today's painting will be a 2 day painting.  I felt the need to go bigger again, after a series of 6x6's and a 9x12 thrown in... Today's red sneaks are on an 18"x24" panel.  After painting the 2 smaller pics of Converse all stars (or Chucks, whatever you call them) I have been wanting to go bigger than life with them.  I don't know... it's not that I worship my red Chucks or anything, but they are just fun and make me happy.  So, I wanted to share that happiness with the blog-o-sphere....
But... because of the scale of the painting, it is not finished.  I painted what we painters like to call the "under painting" in acrylic today. I will be going over it with oils tomorrow to add depth, detail and little extra magic.  Here is where I got with it as of now...

Big Reds, 18" x 24",  currently acrylic on panel... tomorrow it will be mixed media

Day 14 - My Red Chucks

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday... With family, and framing and an art opening, I just ran out of time!  But I had a great time painting this one.. As the title implies, these are my own personal pair of Chucks... I love them and want to get several more pairs in different colors.  This, I think is one of the most appealing things about them!  All of the colors!  Anyway, this probably isn't my last painting of Chucks... I think I have a problem... :)

To talk shop a little bit, I painted this one with both acrylic and oil.  I started it with acrylic, painting the striped design in the background. (did this because it dries super fast)  I opted for neutral black, gray and white with just a bit of red and yellow ochre. I love that palette and love how it allows the red shoes to pop.

My Red Chucks, oil and acrylic on panel, 9" x 12"
to purchase, please click here

Day 12 - Vintage Chucks

Today's entry is for the vintage category of my 30 in 30 challenge.... Vintage Chuck Taylor's, or Converse All Stars, technically...  I have always called them Chucks, which may not be correct, but that is what they are to me... I had a pair in High School that I wore out... and recently have gotten a red pair of low tops like these (that my daughter sometimes borrows...)  Love 'em and would love to get 5 more pairs in multiple colors!

Vintage Chucks, oil on panel, 6" x 6"
to purchase, please click here