Susan Kennedy Art

Doodles in Crayon and Marker

2012-02-06T09:51:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd have fun finishing and posting some of my doodles, they are near and dear to my heart! I feel young and happy when I draw in crayon! Can't help it!! These little drawings on card stock actually start as scribbles, and the marker sometimes follows the lines of the scribbles. I like it when they end up looking like illustrations of a mythical story, or landscapes from another planet. This one ended up that way, and the scene seemed like thunderclouds and vistas in some extraterrestrial place. So much fun, and so expressive an exercise; you should try it!

I'm still teaching at Parks and Rec (but not drawing). However, there will be an experimental art class for teens coming up this spring, and more watercolor and oil classes. Go to www.susankennedy.etsy.com and convo me if you have any questions about classes or other things! Have a loopy day and pick up a crayon!!

First Day of Oil Class coming Up!

2012-01-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is the tree we will be working on in class on Wednesday January 18 from 10:00 AM to Noon, the first day of the January oil session! It's a beautiful Tamarack tree, someone inquiring about a commission inspired me and it looks like the perfect simple study for class.

We'll spend the first half hour talking about painting in oils and sharing supplies (feel free to borrow my materials for the first class, just bring an 11 x 14 or 16 x 20 canvas or canvas panel!)

The second painting is a simple and colorful still life you can do if you wish to branch out and depart from the landscape theme of the session. I'll be bringing a floral or still life idea to copy every week for those of my students who want to come to landscape class and learn from the landscape demo, but work on a different project. I'll help those of you who choose the "different" painting project as I make my rounds around the room, but the demo I'll be working on will be the landscape element.

If you want to see more about Oil Class, go to www.susankennedy.com after Jan 5, I'll have new brochures and materials lists posted. As it is, you can print out the old materials lists and syllabi, the updates and tweaks just won't be there till the 5th. Which means that the demos from last year (tree, mountain, sky, water scene, etc)won't be the slightly different scenes we'll be working on this year.

Come and join me! It'll be a blast! You can call 77- 781-2215 to inquire or sign up, or just email me at kennedyartstudio@ bellsouth.net (you'll have to take out the space!) Thanks for looking and have a wonderful arty New Year!

January Painting Classes!

2011-12-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

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 questions about the class or the materials you need. As always, you can show up with no materials and borrow some of mine for the first class so you can get a better idea what to buy for the next week.

Sunset at the Fish Cannery

2011-12-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

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!

New Painting, "Windy Day in Early Fall"

2011-11-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

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!

Imagined Roses and What we're up to in Class this Week

2011-10-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

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 shapes and give them some context and a place in a space.

Hope you like it! If you want to see this listing on etsy, click hereand do check out my art website, susankennedy.com, maybe "like" me on my facebook art page.

This week in watercolor class we're going to be taking two approaches to painting a tree, wet-into-wet and wet-on-dry, both a real blast. If you want to inquire about classes in the Forsyth County Parks and Rec Department in Cumming, Georgia, you can call 770 781-2215. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day of noticing red!

Painting Skies this Week in Class, and Miniatures on My Mind

2011-10-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

What we're Working on This Week in Watercolor Class!

2011-09-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

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 hereand 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!

New Youtube Video on Watercolor Glazing...

2011-09-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

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 channelyou'll see all of my videos organized in one place.

Have a wonderful arty day! Susan

Susan's Fall Show 2011!

2011-09-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

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 draws you in and make you feel contemplative and whole.

May God bless you, my friends, this fall and later and may your own artistic journey be one which is satisfying, uplifting and delightful.

Susan

Miniatures once Again, Why would I do this?

2011-09-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

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 "Cowboys and Aliens" last night and it gave me a disturbed night's sleep, which I hadn't thought it would do. So violent! Yow!
More later, so do check back, and if you want to see all of my etsy paintings, you can click here.And do let me know if you're interested in commissioning a landscape!

Hydrangea Abstract -ish Floral, And New Classes!

2011-08-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

This new floral is on etsyright 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!

Little Expressionist Landscape

2011-08-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

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.

Dragon Archipelago, Tiny Little Abstract on Etsy

2011-08-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

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!

Revised Painting Class Schedule for Fall and Winter 2011-2012

2011-07-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

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!

New Fall and Winter Oil and Watercolor Classes in Cumming!

2011-07-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

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!

Painting of South Carolina Beach, Edisto on my Mind!

2011-07-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

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.

Koi Original Print by SonAtelier

2011-07-21T08:22:00.001-07:00

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!!

Paintings on Sale - Summer Themes in Oil

2011-07-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

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, click here.

Email me, too (kennedyartstudio@bellsouth. net --and take out the extra space when you type it) if you're interested in my oil and watercolor classes in the North Atlanta area.

Abstract Painting - Susan's Knife Painting Tips

2011-06-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

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

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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 there are upcoming PLEIN AIR WORKSHOPS at Forsyth County Parks this coming Fall as well as new classes forming in Oil Landscape and Watercolor Landscape (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 description, see demos which will be painted, and get a supply list , pricing and signup contact information. See you there!!

Susan

www.susankennedy.com

2011-06-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

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)

Susan

www.susankennedy.com

New Abstract Workshop coming up this Summer at Sharon Springs Park!

2011-05-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

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.

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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)

Susan

www.susankennedy.com

What We're Working on in Oil and Watercolor Class

2011-05-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

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).

Susan

www.susankennedy.com

What We're Working on this Week, Oil and Watercolor Classes in Cumming GA

2011-04-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

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 PAINTING CLASS at Midway Park Community Center.

_______________________________________

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).

Susan

www.susankennedy.com

Gardner's Hole Landscape

2011-03-07T15:06:00.001-08:00

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!

What We'll Work on in Oil Painting Workshops this Spring

2011-03-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

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 together the landscape elements together like a jigsaw puzzle--works well for a class setting, because being able to layer landscape elements is a rarity in a classroom setting. Drying would be the problem!!

Anyway, if you're in the North Atlanta or Cumming area and want to paint with us, send me a note or call 770 781-2215! We'll have a super time and lots of laughs!

And a New Watercolor Class coming up this Spring in the North Atlanta area!

2011-03-04T07:51:00.001-08:00

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.

New Oil Landscape Class with Susan in North Atlanta

2011-03-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

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!!

The painting that was a study for...

2011-02-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Still Knee Deep in Landscape

2011-02-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

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.

Landscape Painting this Winter, pure Bliss!

2011-02-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

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 upcoming landscape classes or in commissions. Have a wonderful arty week of peering at landscape everywhere!

Bird in a Stained Glass Garden

2010-11-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

This one was a bit impulsive, an "end of the day" painting inspired by nothing more than the great gobs of paint that were going to get wasted. Here it is on etsy: Bird in a Stained Glass Garden It's nice when the colors themselves can carry you away and prompt the painting to go in different directions. the birds, however, usually impose themselves from my head, but that's ok: I think they usually work. It ended up reminding me of fiery colors at sunset, together with brights and mysterious deep places in a tended garden....hence the name "Bird in a Stained Glass Garden." I hope you enjoy looking! It's on etsy now and is a 16" x 20" alkyd on stretched canvas, with painted black edges. Quite a personality.

Here's hoping today brings inspiration and illuminating shafts of light. It's all beginning again, and I hope we're up to the challenge.
check out the ebook page on my website for watercolor demos and crochet patterns!

www.susankennedy.etsy.com

www.susankennedy.com

if you'd like you can see my hobby: the crochet patterns I create for etsy: www.susanlinnstudio.etsy.com

What I'm working on: this Moonrise won't get out of my Head!

2010-11-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

This one has been bothering me for weeks; we were driving down Tribble Road in North Georgia and as we rounded a curve the rising moon took our breaths away. Shannon called it a Harvest Moon, and it was gorgeously lit up by the sun setting on the opposite horizon, as were the trees. Love love love it when the sunset lights up a rising moon and its visual surrounding, it's always surreal and magical. Check that listing later to see the finished piece... hopefully will be done in a few days!

Check out my store at susankennedy.etsy.com or at susankennedy.comto see more about my work. Thanks!

Silly Birdie Cutie Pie Woooo Wooo Watercolor!

2010-09-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

This little simple wash type of painting is what I've been doing for warm-ups this week, to get inspired. They have a Chinese Watercolor kind of a feel to them, but I love watercolor for its bleedy, flowing color-into-color character, and sure enough, it made its own mark on the effort. Two simple washes, with time to dry in between, and a fanciful cutout kind of a drawing that it started with. It was an imaginary bird, which ended up being a rainbow-colored little guy. Can't say I've seen one like him, but he's good for a little watercolor reverie.

You might try a simple wash of a simple line drawing to get inspired just by transparent color and crisp paper. Invigorating!

Best wishes for an arty day,

Susan

susankennedy.com

More Ramblings about Artisan Issues and Why I Love Dahlonega

2010-09-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

I feel passionately about fair trade and artisan issues, I suppose, because I’m an artist.

We have a very cool business here in town called Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee. Their vision is to create a market for their gourmet coffee because it is paving the way for a community in Rwanda to have coffee washing facilities which promote tribal reconciliation and give the village a way to participate in a larger economy; hopefully this will be a way out of poverty and strife. I think that, in a way, we Americans have to not only support these types of goods, but recognize that they way that they have to compete is the way that we artists, musicians, craftsmen, even manufacturers have to compete.

The efficiency of our market has made huge cargo containers of cheap, anonymous, inefficiently transported goods the norm. We have to fight that shopping ethic, as it were, and show our customers that it feels good to buy directly from the producer, the craftsman, the artist. It’s greener, it’s more human, it recognizes the value of art, chairs, music, beer, and purses which are made on a small scale. The idea parallels the local food movement.Furthermore, we are fighting an economic battle for market share that we cannot win against other countries, if we vie for a spot selling the cheapest and quickest. Why not drop out and change the paradigm?

It makes me so happy to go to college towns and see the more vibrant art communities and restaurants. The college kids know how to do it! Dahlonega, Georgia is like that. North Georgia College is there, and so is The Crimson Moon Cafe, which has the best sandwiches in North Georgia and often has live music. Best of all, Dahlonega has a tiny shop run by a single potter, Brad Walker. Scott and I love going into his place and seeing him work. We always get a bowl or a mug, and I walk away so happy to know that craftsmen like Brad can actually make their way in this world.

I hope there are others out there who feel as I do, and I hope that continuing to be involved in arts and crafts is something that will always be a part of my own life. Send me your thoughts on the artisan movement.

Susan

I'd like to invite you to look at my portfolio and works for sale at susankennedy.com and, if you wish, my current fine art items on ebay. Have a wonderful artsy day!

working on Commish!

2010-09-11T06:33:00.001-07:00

Wow, these commissions feel like children by the time it's all done...this is the biggest one I've done in a while, at least in watercolor; it's a full sheet, 22 x 30. Here it is partway done, I'm about to finish and wrap it up!

Show me your work and have a super artsy day!

If you want to see lots of the things I've been working on you can check out

this ebay spot,or see my instructional art ebooks and a painting demonstration video at this page.Thanks for visiting!

Painting Demonstration Video, Watch me Paint!

2010-09-10T12:47:00.001-07:00

I've put a watercolor demo on my site, and am sticking my toe in the water of painting demonstrations. This is a 29-minute video of me painting this floral still life, and it's only in 640-pixel format, which is why it's so nice and cheap! But you can get it and download it (just please don't share it!), it's great for viewing on your computer to get a view of how another watercolor artist works. You can see a preview of it on youtube but to get the actual download you'll need to see my instructional videos and ebooklets at my website.... getting inspired, baby!! Go you crazy artists!!!! Woooo hooooooooo

Abstract Religious Art, a Visual Poem

2010-09-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is an abstract I don't think I've mentioned before in my blog, it was, for me, a prototype, a way to get a bunch of ideas in my head onto canvas, coming together into a coherent whole. It sort of evolved into a question about heaven, more a question than a statement, anyway. I'm not even sure what the question is, either! I called it "Elijah's Door" because I think it was Elijah in the Old Testament who was taken up to heaven without passing through death. Anyway, I hope you enjoy looking, this sort of art is new to me and dear to me.

My site, susankennedy.com has evolved into a blend of portfolio of original paintings (both oil paintings on canvas and watercolor originals) as well as a way for me to offer fine art instruction (oil painting lessons on youtube, watercolor painting instrucion and watercolor demonstration) as well as crochet patterns which reflect my hobby. I hope you'll visit and trade links with me, all of it is fun and a source of continual delight.

Thanks for looking, and you can see my items at my website!

Looking for Inspiration

2010-09-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

I've been working like crazy on my website. I'd love to have it all cool and inspirational, and there are lots of my goofy but dear-to-my-heart youtube videos on that left bar... but it's still in need of a lot of work. I hope to put together lots of video on painting, both mine and the work of others. I've found it to be such a source of personal fulfillment and have seen what it can do for others.

The next book I'm working on is a short ebook on how to get inspired from your lackluster reference photos (NOT from photos on the internet!), and each of the sections is preceded by thoughts and stories from my own day-to-day life and how it intersects with art.

Share your thoughts with me!

Blessings, Susan
you can see my items at my website!

Bear Encounter

2010-08-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

My husband of twenty-five years and I were off for the weekend celebrating our anniversary and decided to hike the trails of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We were headed back down from the top of Clingman's Dome when we saw this black bear twenty or thirty feet away from us and another couple, off the trail. He was browsing in the blackberries and stopped to stare at us. When he started coming toward the trail I dropped the camera and started backing away and noticing that I was the only one in flip flops... fortunately he was pretty young and didn't want to get in to a thing with a bunch of tender pink people. Yaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Crisp Clear Washes in Florals

2010-08-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's always a delight and a shock, somehow, to get back to watercolor and remember its power. The paper is such an element in this medium, almost a character in the plot of the painting. Layer too much, fiddle just once, use the wrong colors, scrub too much, and you can watch your beloved floral breathe its last right under your very eyes. That's why one gets so crazy about the medium: it's a cruel master, but a very beautiful, challenging, demanding and fascinating one. I love love love it!

You can see my items at my website!

Jessica's Lesson in Positive Thinking

2010-08-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

This is awesome!

Yay Soup all Day! No marshmallows for you!

2010-08-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

My new diet! Make a pot of soup and eat it all day instead of marshmallows!!Gonna lose those ugly 15 pounds.

My version of making soup is putting a can of this and a can of that in a pot with dried onion and leftovers. How good the soup is depends on the leftovers.

Now off to paint... you can see my items at my website!

Can't get to sleep

2010-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

What a strange day. Everything's changing and the kids are getting old. I am too.

: ) Susan
you can see my items at my website!

Scary Tree in the Okefenokee

2010-08-10T06:35:00.001-07:00

Another treasured family photo: we were in a rowboat in the Okefenokee a few years ago, and as we rounded a bend, this amazing hollow tree greeted us... it looked like a monster face to us. Made me feel for Snow White, who thought trees were scary too.

susankennedy.com

Bigfoot Photo

2010-08-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this photo.

I never even noticed it at the time, I was just happily snapping photos at Yellowstone National Park many years ago, and LO AND BEHOLD, when flipping through boxes of photos from that trip -- decades later -- what should appear before my shocked eyes but this snapshot of BIGFOOT crossing the road. Way too late to launch a search party, research team, or anything else.

I laughed my head off. Can you tell what the subject of the photo really is? Its feet are really too small to actually be Bigfoot. But it is indeed a living creature.

susankennedy.com

About Artisan Things

2010-08-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

I love this friend's ideas. Not only is she building a business which promotes the integration of gratitude and appreciation into corporate culture, the items she uses in her baskets and gifts are always hand-made artisan items. It makes me so happy!

I feel like sounding bells of alarm that American culture has got to not only embrace core values which will build up and not tear down BUT ALSO that we have got to support businesses and arts which have some intrinsic craftsmanship and value. If we keep buying the cheapest goods made at the cheapest factories, we will not only do ourselves out of jobs and markets, we will be supporting huge corporations which use their power in the market to pay the smallest wages and destroy local small businesses.

If I sound like I'm preaching, I guess I am. I have the point of view of an artist who is competing with mass produced art.

It's why I'm so excited about Fair Trade businesses, The Arts and Crafts Movement, Art, and businesses like Gratitude Goodies. Check it out and think about what you buy!

As my very green daughter says, "You can just buy fewer things and buy hand-made!" That's right Erin baby woo hoooooooooooooooo!

Don't forget to look at Diane's super website with gift ideas for companies: gratitudegoodies.com

Beautiful Foggy Shot

2010-08-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

You don't see something like this every day... I actually snapped this shot as we were barrelling down the interstate in West Virginia. That tree on the left looks so solitary, the fog so mysterious and somber. Makes me want to paint a painting, or make a jigsaw puzzle out of it, I'm not sure which! By which I mean, it's so dramatic, it almost crosses over into the category of trite. Can't put my finger on why.

Very Cool Friend's Website

2010-08-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd put a link to this extremely cool online gallery. Lori is very inspiring, and her watercolors and drawings bridge the gaps between fantasy art, illustration, and realism. Her sense of color is surprising and invigorating, and I hope you enjoy checking it all out. Incidentally, you click on the title of this post to get to her site. Sorry to have grabbed your image, Lori, but I do love it so much....

click here, too

Hot Summer and Cicadas

2010-08-04T06:29:00.001-07:00

Wow, they never stop...maybe in the morning it's some other gargantuan bug besides a cicada. I should know this.

The grass is dead, the kids are leaving. I truly hate August.
Check out my art which is usually much more uplifting that this post: susankennedy.com

Apocalypse Sow

2010-08-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

This little photo never fails to make me laugh. When I was a teenager and was waiting on tables, some regular customer who used to pay me to do his mending (I'm too busy to mend these days : ) proudly brought me this masterpiece. I don't remember his name, wish I did...if you're out there, you with the holey shirts, send me a note, I'd like to give credit for one of the more bizarre landscape shot I've ever run across. I'll let you guys supply the imaginary events leading up to this remarkable scene. And yes, that is a pig charging the viewer with a pile of burning tires in the background. He escaped just in time, according to him (the photographer, not the pig). My brother-in-law Steve, also a photographer, titled this image "Apocalypse Sow."

Heaven and Earth

2010-07-31T04:41:00.000-07:00

This little doodle is the sort of thing which has been on my mind lately...more fanciful things which speak of heaven and show the bits of heaven in earth and (I hope) earth in heaven. My littlest and I have been collaborating on some multiple part linocut prints, hopefully will put something on about our process. Who would have thought Middle School style printing projects would be so compelling? The second picture shows some of our tools.

This particular print is up for auction now on my ebay store, and I hope to finish up lots more pieces which take it in a different direction.

Artist's Bio, the Snapshot

2010-07-30T05:02:00.001-07:00

And here is a sort of an artist's bio, if a fridge reflects a bit of who you are. I'm particularly happy when I look at the handmade pinwheel that sits in a vase on the top.

My Artist

2010-07-30T04:57:00.000-07:00

Hilarious Shot

2010-07-30T04:51:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite photos of all time; maybe you've gotten it in your inbox, but it makes me laugh every time. Best wishes to all and send me your photos about art!

Getting back to blabbing

2010-07-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Been a long time since I updated this, obviously. A lot of things going on, a lot of turmoil as well as creative growth...don't they usually go hand in hand? My latest thoughts are of God and heaven, fear and courage, and I'm often taking a break from my beloved realism to follow those themes in abstraction. I hope you'll indulge me and enjoy my more recent work, which is dear to my heart.

These pieces tend to be ethereal abstracts. They often end up reminding one of earth from space, or of geological strata, or of distant mountains and the passes through them. They often remind me of places from books, like Rivendell or The Woods Between the Worlds, and the image I attached grew to be my idea of what Lewis' Land of Bism might seem like.

Check back for more, I hope to continue! Yours artfully, Susan