Susan Kennedy Art

Tuesday is Watercolor Class and Wednesday is Oil Landscape! The New Year is bringing new art possibilities, and I'm revamping my lesson plans to offer more project ideas for students. You can see the photo of some of the paintings we'll be doing together in Oil class (the still life with the wine bottle is only partially done); if you don't care for the Landscape element of the day (Trees, skies, mountains, water scenes), I'll have another option for you to try, normally a simple still life. You can see the soft focus red flower still life in the center of the photo which is an example of what you can do in class! I'll post more about the January Watercolor class also, the focus will be landscape and still life elements too! If you're interested in these six week sessions in Fowler Park and Sharon Springs Park in Forsyth County, Georgia, you can call to reserve your spot at 770 781-2215 . Feel free to email me at kennedyartstudio @bellsouth.net if you have any q

This abstract is one I did a couple of months ago...I called it "Sunset at the Fish Cannery" because as I painted, it began to look like a city or a factory, and some of the glowing colors looked like sunset. It's always poignant how a beautiful sky can redeem even the most mundane and polluted landscape. You can see it in the work of some of the impressionists and their city scenes. Interesting to me, and a hopeful commentary on life and beauty. I hope God can pour his beautiful light on the dirtiness of my life! The painting also became a bit of a cartoon, I enjoyed it as it looked more and more urban, and I imagined fish workers walking out of the factory in the evening. The workers being fish, that is, not humans, with lunch pails in their hands, I mean fins. Goofy. I hope you enjoy!

This is one I just finished up; I had been sitting outside on our property here in North Georgia, getting used to painting outdoors again in preparation for an upcoming Plein Air class I'm teaching. I actually avoided falling over in my wobbly camp stool, and thoroughly loved the sights, smells and sounds of painting outdoors this fall. What a delight for the senses. I hope the painting captured just some of the air, the light, the leaves rustling in the breeze. You can see the painting on my etsy store, if you're interested! Just click the title of the post above. Making time for painting is like centering a pot on a wheel: even though the annoyance of getting out your things is there, the payoff is so wonderful: a new look at life, a new song in your head, new colors swirling around you. Art becomes more important to me as I get older, you might know what I mean. May you have a wonderful day, and have time to smell the fall!

The other night I was cleaning off my palette and trying to use up great gobs of red paint. I started painting red flowers and went nuts...this little imaginary still life ended up being the most realistic. Red's my favorite color, if an artist can have a favorite. It always pulls one in and says "you're alive!" Sometimes landscapes are what I do for months on end, and the subtle colors and greens can seduce me, making me interested in the tiniest shifts of color and light. I forget about the slap in the face that large blocks of red can give a person. So happy to get a slap again! This still life is something that just came out of my head, the floppy roses were what I wanted to get right, not in detail, but in gesture. The black wasn't really intended, I think I was trying to make the mug (or whatever it was) dark blue, but the black insisted on staying. It actually started to look like a mug, and I put a reflective surface underneath to stabilize all of the shap

Another Miniature, very similar to the one I posted about recently...also mostly from my imagination. So therapeutic to get sucked into detail, almost like meditation 1970's style. Not that I did that, nor all the other things that went along with it, ha!! Or if I did, I'd probably not blog about it! There's something so attractive about water, I suppose I'm a typical artist to paint such a scene; but then again, a snapshot in time of a beautiful place is a true pointer to those things which make us human and creaturely. All of these things are truly passing away, but as a wise friend pointed out to me once: if there were no possibility of loss, there would be no possibility of love. That truth holds a lot of comfort for me. So enjoying the beauty of nature, even if it is passing; enjoying the roses, even though they are cut and will wilt...is the ultimate act of worship to me. Apologies for the mutterings, and hope you enjoy looking at these little pictures. SK

This week is Water! We'll be working on three simple treatments of water, and focusing on how to use wet-into-wet, wet-into-damp, and wet-on-dry for best effect. You can see the lesson notes with all of the illustrations if you click here and I hope to have a video from this lesson posted on youtube later this week. Watercolor landscape is a delightful exercise in letting go and accepting a project which will get away from you and take its own delightful direction. It's funny, after working in watercolor for years, you seem to be more objective and bemused about unexpected things that happen on your paper than you might have been earlier in the process. If you're in the North Atlanta area and are interested in my classes with the Parks and Rec Department of Forsyth County, give them a call at 770 781-2215 or visit my website at www.susankennedy.com . There will be two new Watercolor Sessions starting in late September and October!

I'm doing a few little paintings today, finishing up a few...thought I'd make a little video while I worked on the second layer of watercolor in this little oleander painting. I love love love the way that watercolor can be crystal clear, transparently glazed one color on top of another; it almost looks like stained glass. If you're nuts about watercolor like me, you might enjoy my youtube videos, here's the link to this oleander painting and if you go to this youtube channel you'll see all of my videos organized in one place. Have a wonderful arty day! Susan

You guys, this is my first online show in a while! Whew, it's a mess, too, I just kind of splashed the things up on my website, haven't even really described them a lot. But, if you click on the small photos, I tried to make their listings have a lot of photos and a little description of what's behind the paintings. Lots of fall themes, that's why I named the collection "Sweet Autumn." And...I named it so because fall is my favorite season of all. I hope you enjoy looking at my latest! They are truly works of love and freedom, more so than in the past. I hope the past few years of thinking and stewing, yelling and crying have been for a reason; I know that God's love has been what has kept my head from flying apart, and you can see some of the frustration and anger of the last few years in some of the works. Not many, but some. Mostly the paintings are a reach back to what I love about landscape: beautiful light, softness and depth, a sense of mystery that

Click here to see this little miniature of mine on etsy! Sometimes I can't help painting miniatures! Why in the heck would I feel guilty about it? I don't get that. I feel that it's not respectable, or it's nit picky, which is not the kind of artist I want to be. I want to paint large, brash, luscious paintings, which are expressive and colorful! But sometimes it's really therapeutic to get back to my roots and pick up a watercolor brush that has, oh, three hairs, put on my reading glasses (cheater, I know!) and paint tiny. It seems to enhance the sense of a different time, a memory, because it's able to be held in your hand and looked at closely. And this painting is a memory, it's a rough approximation of the banks of the Amicalola River here in North Georgia, with a trout fisherman/fisherwoman that I imagined and put in there. Heck, don't even know if there are trout in the Amicalola. But I liked the figure, it looks shadowy and evocative. Saw "C

This new floral is on etsy right now, I veered closer to realism when we were working on some floral-inspired abstracts in class. My hydrangea bush is finally blooming a little more each year, and I do feel that I should be graced with lots and lots of the intoxicating blooms, because I LOVE TO PAINT THEM!!! By the way, my next class in abstract oil starts this Saturday at Sharon Springs Park (you can see the details at the bottom of this class list document )or you can just call Forsyth County Parks and Rec at 770-781-2215 to sign up! We'll be having sessions on composition, technique, working with a painting knife, all kinds of interesting and inspiring work with oils or alkyds. Come join us!

This one is so bleak and poignant to me, it's delicious! Delightful to paint quickly and expressively, I hope you feel the way I do about sortof allegorical paintings like this little one. Allegorical only in the sense that it seems so much a description of our clambering, sometimes difficult journey over peaks, valleys, rocks and water...and that moody sky which needs to be more encouraging in the next painting. Whew! Get out your paints and show me your doodles! This one's on etsy at this listing, in case you want to see more of it.

I had been teaching watercolor class and got talking with my students about monotypes. When I noticed that my palette of paints looked prettier than my painting, they challenged me to make a print of it and turn it into something. So after having lifted it off the palette and found that the colors had lost a lot of punch, I started adding a few layers. It begged for a bit of metallic paint, too, and ended up looking both like a dragon and like a chain of islands...so I named it "Dragon Archipelago and thought I'd show it to everyone. Thanks for looking! If you want to see it in my etsy store, you can click here. Have a wonderful arty weekend and thanks for looking!

Check out my new Classes coming up this fall and winter! I'll be working with all new demos we'll work on together, it will be great! You can see all the details at my page , and you can email me at kennedyartstudio@bellsouth. net (take out the space) or just call the Parks and Rec department to register at 770 781-2215. Plein Air! Oil Abstract! Watercolor Landscape! Woooooooo!

Check out my new art classes for Adults! I'm so honored and happy to be offering lots and lots of classes at the Parks and Rec Department (Cumming, Georgia) this fall and winter. I've had an absolute blast painting with my fellow Forsyth County residents this past spring and summer. We generally finish most of a painting in a two hour class (in watercolor we finish 3 or 4 smaller demos). MOST of all, we enjoy exploring the media of Oils and Watercolor. You can email me at (take out the extra space) kennedyartstudio@ bellsouth.net or call Forsyth Parks and Rec at 770 781-2215 to get on my waiting list or to sign up. See you there!

Oh, Edisto! Love it. This is the final painting for which last month's study was a warm-up. It makes me so want to be back there! Hope you can hear the gentle waves like I can when you look at this one. It's an auction on ebay right now, you can click on the title to see the item if you wish, or click here.

I love this bright and beautiful print by my much adored Erin! Expressive. Her new shop on etsy is a delight, you can see it at www.sonatelier.etsy.com. Keep them coming, baby!!

You can see some of the demos I've done in class here in the next couple of days. I'm trying to dig through the piles of paintings, I'm going to have to use them to prop open doors or something. I had been working on this in class, it was more of an "alla prima" type seascape, quickly done, with more loose and impulsive brushwork. You might think it's not, but when you see the more detailed and layered Edisto scene which is basically the same (just a different treatment), you'll notice the difference. I'm experimenting more and more with alla prima, it's where I want to be, and it certainly is more satisfying for students. You can get the beautiful blending of colors, and avoid the problem of picking up the colors of wet under layers by NOT HAVING THEM, ha! It feels strange and wrong to start with a white canvas and paint each section jigsaw-puzzle style, but the payoff is worth it. Thanks for looking, and if you want to see this painting on ebay,

Another painting, they're falling over and tripping me! This one (far left) is titled "Running and Not Stopping"; it looks breathless and hopeful to me. I hope it pricks your imagination, that's the idea! You can see it on my etsy store and if you'd like to get a pdf of my knife painting tips just click on the link (the one you just passed). You can see a thumbnail of the notes above. It's a real blast of fun and inspiration to pick up a painting knife, try it! I've got to stop. I crochet at night and paint by day, truly a tormented, obsessed but happy person who always has paint on her nose. I do teach oil and watercolor....so contact me if you'd like to know more. And I also design and sell crochet patterns, it's my hobby, while painting is my obsession. You can see more about my art at susankennedy.com _________________________________________________________________ If you're interested in my beginner-to-intermediate level classes you can

This is one I'm pretty happy with....we've been working on knife painting in my abstract class and it's stretched me to use up TONS and tons of paint in the quest to master the knife! I hope to post a little bit of my curriculum here; if you're interested, let me know. This painting seemed like a humble view of a lofty scene, it looks different every time I look at it; which I suppose is a part of viewing abstracts. It's listed on etsy, you can see it here. __________________________________________________________________ If you're interested in my beginner-to-intermediate level classes you can contact me to find out details. OIL AND ACRYLIC ABSTRACT is at Sharon Springs Park this summer, Monday evenings from 6-8 PM) and upcoming PLEIN AIR WORKSHOPS at Forsyth County Parks this coming Fall (email me at kennedyartstudio@ bellsouth.net to inquire or get on a waiting list) Call 770 781-2215 to inquire or sign up , and click on the links above to get a course des

Check out my latest new class: painting Abstracts in Oil (with some acrylic underpainting) two-hour weekly workshops which will be held Monday evenings from 6-8 PM at Sharon Springs Park in Forsyth County starting June 13, 2011. There are two skip dates for this six-week session, so inquire if you want to get the exact days for this exciting workshop. _______________________________ If you're interested in these beginner-to-intermediate level classes you can find the class brochures at these links: OIL LANDSCAPE at Midway Park in Forsyth County (Wenesdays 10 AM to noon beginning April 13) and WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPE at Sharon Springs Park (Tuesdays 1-3 PM beginning April 12). also OIL AND ACRYLIC ABSTRACT at Sharon Springs Park this summer, Monday evenings from 6-8 PM) and upcoming PLEIN AIR WORKSHOPS at Forsyth County Parks this coming Fall (email me at kennedyartstudio@ bellsouth.net to inquire or get on a waiting list) Call 770 781-2215 to inquire or sign up , and click on t

Here's what we worked on last week in class...both watercolor and oil. Class is winding down, but I'm looking forward to an upcoming class in Abstract Oil at Midway Park in Cumming. 6-8 PM, which means all you working people can make it, right? So satisfying to teach, and we try to cover very simple landscape elements, focusing on brushwork, color, and compositional elements. If you're interested in these beginner-to-intermediate level classes you can find the class brochures at these links: OIL LANDSCAPE at Midway Park in Forsyth County (Wenesdays 10 AM to noon beginning April 13) and WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPE at Sharon Springs Park (Tuesdays 1-3 PM beginning April 12). Call 770 781-2215 to inquire or sign up , and click on the links above to get a course description, see demos which will be painted, and get a supply list , pricing and signup contact information. See you there!! Susan www.susankennedy.com

Come Paint at my Classes! I'm so excited about these classes: you don't have to be an accomplished artist, and you don't even have to work on the demo of the day. All you have to do is show up with paints and brushes (and a few other items, click on the links to see), and have a blast exploring the medium of Watercolor and Oil. You can call the Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department 770-781-2215 to inquire about my next session (it may have to be the September session, with signups in a month or so-- email me at kennedyartstudio@bellsouth . net if you want me to put you on my waiting list). But the facilities are nice and artist-friendly, and we'll even be adding a Plein Air Workshop at some of these beautiful North Georgia parks in Forsyth County. This week we'll be working on doing color mixing and tree foliage techniques in our WATERCOLOR CLASS at Sharon Springs Park Community Center...AND we'll be doing a study of sky, clouds and grasses in Oil PAI

Almost done with this one, a fairly large landscape which has been a delight to paint. I've been trying to come up with simple landscapes to use as demos in my upcoming class in oil landscape (check out www.susankennedy.com/Instruction.html to see about this); this is not one of them, hah! It got a bit more detailed, and thanks Mom, for the photos from which this was taken. I've been getting more and more fascinated with alla prima painting, and even though this one has a bit more layering, it has been done largely wet-into-wet in a direct painting style. It's not quite done, and it's 22" by 28". Send me a note at kennedyartstudio@bellsouth.net if you're interested in this painting OR in landscape classes in the North Atlanta area!

I thought this week I'd show you what we'll be working on in my Oil Landscape Class this spring at Midway Park in Cumming, Georgia. Those of you living in North Atlanta can come and sign up for six weeks of workshops in Oil technique: we'll spend a little time at the beginning of class working on a color mixing exercise, and then we will work together on the same simple landscape to get our LANDSCAPE CHOPS, yeah!!! All of the demos we'll be doing together are my own paintings, all done from photos I (or my mom!!) have taken. If you don't like copying another artists' work to learn in class, feel free to work on your own oil painting project, and I will tutor you in any way I can. Anyway, one of the first classes will be focusing on this "alla prima" style painting (Alla prima being a direct painting method which will be my usual process). I find that alla prima-- working on one area wet-into-wet, then the next area (blending the edges together)fitting

Not to neglect this new class, too... Painting Landscape in Watercolor with me, Susan Kennedy. Another park in Forsyth County which has a wonderful community classroom. Come paint with me! We'll explore the fascinating medium of watercolor, do mini exercises on color mixing and technique, and will tackle a larger but simple watercolor landscape in each two hour class. Call 770 781-2215 to inquire or sign up, and click here to see a course outline, illustrations, a supply list, and other details.

Come paint with me! I'm so thrilled to be offering an all-new Oil Landscape class in Cumming Georgia, this time with the Parks and Recreation Department. We'll work on 6 simple landscapes and practice color mixing and technique. Feel free to come and work on your own projects...but if you click here you'll see the demos I'll be doing in class with you, summaries of some of the things we'll learn, and a supply list. Call (770) 781-2215 to inquire or sign up, and come paint and have a blast, these classes are very relaxed and SO MUCH FUN!!

Still a breath of fresh air to me....thanks, Mom for wonderful photos to sift through and create from. I'm trying to come up with lots of demos for my upcoming Oil Landscape classes in the Cumming, Georgia area. So far I have six or seven ideas, and these little studies on ebay are like thumbnails to work out the compositions. I've finished most of the full-size paintings and am really enjoying landscape in this alla prima style! I don't think I'll ever paint in a layered manner again! So addictive, and such tremendous immediate gratification! More coming up soon, and click on this link if you'd like to see this little study up for auction.

Wow, does it feel good to get back to landscape and water....sometimes I get buried in abstracts and this time I'm ready to shift again. I'm grateful for the commission which inspired this study from my hike around the banks of the Amicalola with the fam a couple of years ago....although the commissioned piece ended up a bit different. Have I mentioned the alkyd oil paints I've been using in these landscapes? I'm starting up some Plein Air classes and hope to keep using this brand (Winsor and Newton "Griffin" alkyd Oil Colour). Don't even think I'll try to get a better setup than a nice portable and collapsible easel and a bag of supplies. The alkyds are perfect for any oil landscape. They dry to the touch within half a day or a day, and are beautifully blendable just like traditional oils. Love them! No, this is not a paid ad, hah! Check out my auction for this little study on my ebay store , and let me know if you're interested either in my upcom