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Keishia

"Begbie At Dusk" - Three Piece Painting

 "Begbie at Dusk"

Acrylic on Canvas

Size: 5 x 2.5, 7 x 4, 5 x 2.5 ft.

Completed: September 2009

This is one of my most favorite memories from 2009. This commission I spent probably the most time I have ever spent on a painting. I normally work quite quickly, as I get very infatuated with each painting that I am just itching to get back to it. (this also consists of me working on about 5 paintings at once, but I jump from painting to painting constantly...it's the itch, the ideas just keep flowing!)

However, this painting was so massive and quite detailed which kept me very occupied for the better part of the summer in 2009. Thank goodness I had 4 room mates at the time which just loved to see my painting supplies scattered all over the living room and a massive 7 x 8 foot canvas on the wall all summer...All in all it was a wonderful learning curve working with such a large scale and I can't wait for the next XLarge Commission!

If you like large work I completed "Enlightenment" - a 7x4 ft landscape painting in March 2010, which I now have on display at Energy Matters in Revelstoke, BC. If you'd like to preview this painting it is on page 10 of my website gallery.
Please

Click Here to my Official Website

Now, here are some progress pictures of this massive painting! (As I look back now, I really enjoy the state that the mountain is in these progress pictures, it is very bold with the right amount of layers that give the mountain depth without the finishing details. Which is difficult because I love both styles very much!)

 As you can see I could not back up far enough in my living room to get a full picture of this painting in progress.

 

Now looking back just 6 months ago I was working just fine by setting up my painting supplies in my living room. As much as I love having my own painting space where I can leave my supplies out and can work a lot faster, I really did love working in a space where anyone in the house could watch and to socialize with. I really do paint best when I am in a happy environment. I often paint while talking on the speaker phone to friends and family. :) I especially love to paint landscapes while on the phone which have so much flow and movement to them.

 

I hope this could give you an idea of the size of the painting, every picture that was taken during the hanging process was always angled up as the living room's ceiling was probably close to 25ft up from the ground. Can you imagine the impact of a bright triptych painting of Begbie would be in a clean cut modern home? It was quite the day, and quite the turn out!

Even though this picture makes the painting look small and I look large when comparing a 5'4 woman to a 7 ft painting....

Just remember...this living space is massive!

I think this commission was amazing... I just love to work this way!!

Bigger! Brighter!.. Begbie!

Click to view Available Prints of this Painting

Thanks for reading... Lets hear your comments! :)

Inspiration

 Autumn is probably my favorite time of year. A lot of people complain about how it's getting colder, how the days are getting shorter, and everything seems to be dying, but that is no way to look at this beautiful season! I live in Kamloops, BC and it is more dead and more cold here than I have ever been, and I love it! I love the weather here especially for my painting. The sunsets and sun rises are so stunning, I don't think I would have enough room on this entire blog to show you all of my photo's! So here are a few of my most favourites.

Enjoy!

 

 This image I took while driving on the highway towards Vernon, BC (the image has been played with in photoshop, and I unfortunately don't have the original anymore) However, below is my painting which I created with this photo in mind. I do a lot of traveling, and the road brings a lot of great memories to me.

 

 "On the Road Again"

Med: Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

5 x 4 ft.

SOLD

 Another great sunset in Kamloops

 These next few pictures are taken of a mountain called Mt. Begbie from my home town in Revelstoke, BC, which is luckily just a few hours from Kamloops

This image was taken at such an interesting time period as the leaves in town were all falling off and turning color and then the next day you look up at the mountain to find a first snow fall on the top of the mountain. No words nor photo can describe. Just amazing.

Below this image there is a painting I created of this particular image. It is a 4 x 4 ft painting, and belongs to my mother :) The painting is called "First Snow"

If you like this painting you can find folding cards with my signature on the back in my Etsy Shop under the section "Art Cards"

 

Just some more Autumn Colors, with some inspiration from the trees in BC.

 

 Now lets hear your thoughts, please leave a comment.

Thanks for reading!

 

"Serenade"

 

(Click to enlarge)

 "Serenade"

Acrylic on Canvas

Size: 7 x 2.5 ft

Completed: July/ 2010
SOLD

Click to view Available Prints of this Painting

 Here's the original picture the inspiration came from. The image came from one of my sister's friend, Rileigh McKay who took this photograph of her friend Tiffany. When I saw this picture I was in complete awe, and instantly thought..."I've got to paint this!" ...now here it is!

The painting in comparison to the image is a bit different as I created the painting as a commission and the client who purchased this painting is from Saskatchewan, and  fancy's brunettes :)

However the most important part of this painting is that it focuses on a wide open, very calm and collect feeling. I wanted to capture the poise the model has in this image because it is so captivating. The way Tiffany has herself with the guitar in her lap and her head turned with the sun hitting her skin is just so stunning. Also how the flowers and grasses are in focus in the front and the figure blurred in behind gives such a beautiful effect which really releases a very calm feeling when viewing it. 

This is a magnificent photo! So much emotion!

So I hope you love my painting as well! :)

Comments?

To view more of my fine art please take a look at my 

Official Website

Feature Artist: Kristina Laurendi Havens

Kristina Laurendi Havens is an artist from Woodstock, North of Atlanta, in Georgia USA which I found when searching the wonderful world of etsy! Kristina focuses on figure painting in many different mediums such as, oils, pastel, charcoal, and watercolor. I wanted to feature this artist because I am so infatuated with working with figures, especially the curves of a woman and I find myself quite drawn to Kristina's style in her creations, and feel that our styles are similar, I will comment on her photo's below regarding this.
I went through her collection and picked out a few of my favourites, which I hope you all enjoy viewing.
To view more of Kristina's work here are some links below:
Kristina's Blog
Kristina's Etsy Shop
Make sure you take a look at this amazing blog, her top 5 art accomplishments in 2009!
Top 5 art in 2009

 Notice how a lot of her figures are not gazing directly at the viewer, this is the type of figure that I focus on in my creations. It is amazing to find another artist with a similar style!

 There is nothing I love more than the calmness this painting releases. The vivid blues, and complementary reds/oranges attract me the most, then you can see that the figure has all those colors creating a warm yet stand out white! Not to mention the proportions and the drawing it's self is stunning all on it's own, but with color it now pops!

 The lines, the abstractions, and the vivid color in this painting draws me right in. The fact that the figure is somewhat abstracted is only that much more appealing to me, I then appreciate it that much more when I realize there is a figure among all the color and lines.

 So much movement in this watercolor!

 Look at how versatile this artist is!

 This painting is particularly one of my favorites, and I now know why I am so attracted to it because this is a similar style which I would use in my figure works. In my work I focus on a particular part of the figure, eliminating any kind of direct gaze from the figure and focus mainly on the curves and body language which the figure portrays, along with color to direct the intended feeling when viewing the painting. You can see how different the image is from the painting, does it give you a totally different feeling when you look at one then the other?

Beautiful wok Kristina! Absolutely Inspiring!

MY ART as A Novel's Book Cover!

I painted this book cover just over a year ago for a young 10 year old book author, Celeste Catena. Celeste has been touring around BC to host book signings at book stores such as Chapters, and even giving speeches at different elementary schools as well. Come and meet Celeste at her book signing in Kamloops at Chapters Bookstore on October 16th between 11am-1pm, and see my art on thousands of book covers!

To read more on Celeste's journey's visit her website by

Clicking Here

Thanks for reading!

Feature Artist: Nora Karen

Nora Karen is a fashion designer for wedding and signature shoes.

When I first stumbled upon her website I was amazed by her talents, and common now... what more could a woman want than art that travels with you where ever you go! I immediately listed her as a favorite shop and have been keeping up with her new styles all the time.

So I decided that I needed to show all of you her talents, so with her permission I went through her website and picked a few of my very favorites (even though it was not easy as I love them all!)

So here they are! I hope you enjoy!!

To view more of Nora's work she welcomes you to her online boutique of one of a kind paintings on shoes, clothing, accessories and art. You can view and purchase her work on her etsy site by Clicking Here.

You can also contact Nora through a Convo.

Happy Shopping! :)