A new month to create art :) (and my 28 in 28 collage)

 It is always a shock when the month has ended and you realize the challenge is over... I'm telling you, there is a little bit of sadness along with the afterglow from the experience.  Immersing yourself in your artwork for the month is like being in an incubator and to emerge the first day of the new month can be kind of hard. Making a collage of all the work I created helps put things into perspective.. It is always wonderful to see it all together.. and a bit amazing too! This collage was a challenge in itself due to there being 28 paintings and a few that are odd sizes.. Here is what I came up with.. :)

That being said, I had such a wonderful time this past month, exploring some ideas and trying out a new one with my snail series.  Some things I'll keep and explore more!  I am always so thankful for the feedback on my work every day.. it is so valuable.. My most commented on and liked painting was "Moove Over Andy" which was a huge surprise! (See below collage) I love this one too, but just didn't expect it to be such a hit!  It will continue to have a life as I plan to use the image in some marketing for an upcoming show.  Another great thing is I sold 5 of the paintings!  Doing challenges like this are beneficial in so many ways and ultimately I'm always thankful I did them!  

Moove Over Andy, oil on panel, 9"x12"

Spring Pop Up Show and Sale!

I am busily preparing for my Spring Pop Up Show that I am having with 2 of my painting buds, Russell Slocum and Keith Rentschler.  May 4th and 5th at the Warehouse Studios at 700 Lancaster Ave, Reading, PA.  Stay tuned for more details to come, but know that we will be showcasing 150+ paintings including new pieces as well as archived work, plus prints, cards and commissions specials.  Studio prices, many discounted.... Door prizes, free-with-purchase artwork and a lot more!:) 

October 1st - The aftermath...

Ha! I don't feel that negatively about it.  Just popped in my mind. :)  So, traditionally the day after the 30 in 30 ends, all the artists create a collage of their creations they made during the month.  So, here is mine.  Being that I painted on all different sizes for experimentation purposes, this collage was a challenge in and of itself.  The paintings are not necessarily in chronological order... rather, I fit them the best I could in a pleasing format.  I titled it 30 days of painting since I only painted 26 paintings this month.  But, still, I am pleased with the results.

So, I blabbed a lot about my feelings on this challenge in yesterday's post.  I wanted to say also, that I really learned a lot this month.  I often felt that I was in a 30 day intensive workshop on creating figurative work, pushing myself to create new and interesting language with my brushwork and palette knife and like I said, painting on non-traditional sized panels.  I have lots to chew on as far as the direction my work will take in the coming months.  I know that I enjoy painting figures and I am happy with some of the abstract things I was doing.  But I am wanting to expand my paintings to include more imagery, which will take longer design and planning time and definitely more than one day to create.  Thanks again for following me and thank you for all of your kind comments and cheering me on!  Happy October and have a great weekend!

30 days of painting collage

30 Days of Painting...

I have re-titled my challenge this month to 30 days of painting.... I completed 26 paintings this month, but as I said yesterday, made it to my studio to paint for all but 1 of those 30 days. The one day I didn't paint, I was thinking about painting while shoveling snow! So, as in previous challenges, those who participate create a collage of all of the work they made during the month, and it is a great thing to see!  I love looking at all of the work I made side by side to compare, contrast and see the connections.  At the outset, I decided to focus on 3 things.... exploring Stripey abstracts, Vintage things and landscapes.  Some nice things came of limiting myself to these things. About midway, I decided to try combining the stripey theme with my more traditional painting style and subjects.  I love the result and plan on further pushing this idea to see where I go with it.  I hope you enjoyed following me and thank you again for your comments and support!

Collage of the January 2016 30 Days of Painting challenge

Collage of my paintings for the 30 in 30 challenge

As the last part of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge, she asks that participating artists create a collage of all of the paintings they created.  Here is my collage!  I had a great time during this challenge and learned so much!  Plus, I am very happy that I challenged myself to paint bigger for many of the paintings. That was definitely one of my goals.  Painting 6" x 6" paintings is fun and people like them, but painting big is definitely fun and a different kind of challenge.  Seeing all of my paintings together like this is always so satisfying.... It is nice to see different themes emerge as well as the colors and palettes I used.  I hope you had fun following me!  I had one artist friend of mine tell me that she would miss seeing my work, so she challenges me to another 30 in 30!  Ha!  Well, I will be doing it again in January.  And between now and then, I know I will be painting a lot.. probably not every day though.... :) Happy October, and have a wonderful day!

Painting Collage of September's 30 in 30

Updating my Website

If you haven't been over to my website lately, go and take a look!  I have spent the last few days doing a complete overhaul.  Things aren't totally complete yet, but mostly.....  Click the link below... Thanks!

www.karenweberfineart.com