Workshop: Making it Fine Art Workshop Kansas City, Missouri Feb. 7-8, 2015

View through the Orange and Red Woods
oil on canvas 40 X 40

Making it Fine Art Workshop
Kansas City, Missouri
info flyer newsletter info version
Sat and Sun, Feb. 7-8, 2015
Location:
Studio of Kirsten McGannon
Hobbs Building|
1427 W. 9th Street
Suite 402
Kansas City, Missouri, 64101
map

After the Sunday class, there will be a free lecture / book signing of Ken's new book, Manifesting 123 and you don't need #3. The lecture is open to the public.

This workshop will focus on strategies for making better paintings, going to new places in your work and making fine art.

$290. per person
Open to artists at all skill levels and limited to 15 participants

To register:
Contact:
Kirsten McGannon atkkmcgannon@gmail.com 816-213-1075
or pay by secure pay pal

Workshop: Making it Fine Art Workshop, Massachusetts Oct 24-26 2014

Gold Progression, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches

Making it Fine Art Workshop
Marshfield, Massachusetts info flyer
Only 2 spots left

Friday, Oct 24, Painting demo open to the public, 7pm

Saturday and Sunday October 25-26

After the Sunday class, there will be a free lecture / book signing of Ken's new book, Manifesting 123 and you don't need #3. The lecture is open to the public.

Sponsored by the North River Arts Society. This 'workshop will focus on strategies for making better paintings, going to new places in your work and making fine art.

$250 for NRAS members. Non–members, $290.
Limited to 15 participants

To register: Contact: Laura Harvey northriverarts@gmail.com or
781-837-8091 (email preferred)

Workshop: Making it Fine Art Workshop Beatrice, Nebraska Oct 18-19

Field with the Red Tree
oil on canvas, 36 x 60 inches

Making it Fine Art Workshop
Beatrice, Nebraska info / flyer
Only one spot left
Lincoln, NE Metro
Saturday-Sunday, October 18-19 9-4pm
Price $150

Sponsored by the Beatrice Art Guild. This is a grant funded workshop to provide art instruction to rural Nebraska. The class is limited to 15 participants.

Places can be reserved by contacting Deb Monfelt dmonfelt@yahoo.com 412-239-6768 415 N. 6th WYMORE NE 68466

After the Sunday class, there will be a free lecture / book signing of Ken's new book, Manifesting 123 and you don't need #3.
The lecture is open to the public

Three Short Films about Peace by Errol Morris

Three Short Films about Peace by Errol Morris
Three parts, 49:34 minutes

"They deposed a dictator, helped defeat Communism and started a movement to end famine. In this NY Times Op-Docs series, the Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee, the former Polish president Lech Walesa and the rocker Bob Geldof talk about their campaigns for peace. Read the Director’s Statement on the page for more information.


It is very difficult to be a successful artist when there is no peace. Being an artist and purchasing artworks is a luxury and a side-effect of living in a peaceful environment. Yes, artists work in war zones, but survival is the priority, not acquisitions. We are dependent on so many for peace and we stand on the shoulders of millions that came before us.

This is a straight-forward and thoughtful film. It's like talking to a neighbor who has the most amazing story to tell.

It's good to see Lech Walesa again. I had been wondering about him. I wasn't aware of Ms. Gbowee but the two of them received the Nobel Prize for Peace. They were both at the center of impossible change in their countries, ordinary people with simple wisdom that moved mountains. Geldof had a singular idea that touched millions of lives.

As artists, we make moves on our canvases, paper, clay, etc and trick the eye. We get a lot of credit for it and I've learned to just say thank you and make more.

Sometimes we can move mountains. It takes thought and a lot of moves as well. I think the artist and citizen of the world in you will appreciate this.

Peace,
Ken

Grateful Notices: Barn at the Edge of the Woods

BARN AT THE EDGE OF THE WOODS
pastel 15 1/4 x 19 1/8

It just occurred to me that I was traveling in Vermont with friends on my 60th birthday when I took this photo. Almost four years later to the day, it has sold and here it is on the blog.

I kept this pastel in the studio because it was still informing my other artworks. It is something I have been doing for years - hanging onto my better works until I can do art at that level with ease.

When I was an art dealer years ago, an artist would occasionally bring a work into the gallery that was far better than they usually do. I would make the suggestion that they take it back to the studio and use it as the high bar, the standard for the next works to come. Many of us find it very helpful.

Also, I have kept a number of works that represented artistic breakthroughs at the time. These works remind me to keep pushing forward and take more risks. There are a number of them in my home on the walls and some in storage. Good thing I did, because they will all be put to use.

I have just been invited to present a retrospective of my works at the Parker Arts Culture and Events Center: PACE, from January through March of 2015. It is a real honor to be featured in this amazing building dedicated to the arts. More information on that will follow soon.

Enjoy the glorious fall,

Ken

The Influence of the Arts: Serenading the Cows with a Trombone

This is an unforgettable video. The arts make a difference in the most unexpected way!

Kind of a sing-a-long at times.

Sculpture Made from Paper Video

Remarkable. Not at all what it seems....

Li Hongbo's mesmerizing sculptures are currently on view at Klein Sun Gallery in New York. After years of trial and error, he's perfected his method of layering thousands of sheets of paper and carving them into busts, replicas of nature and human forms.