Monday, March 18, 2024

In the Studio This Week, March 19, 2024


The studio is always and interesting place full of canvases in progress and others nearing finish. This is a portion of the dozen or so oils in play currently.

It is very important for me to have a lot of works going for a number of reasons. It allows for a variety of compositions and color to choose from and it keeps me from getting too bogged down or pressured to complete a particular work. I can stay busy and proceed at a leisurely pace, hopefully avoiding the temptation to overwork a canvas or to make shortcuts to hit a deadline.

There is another interesting side effect as well. Because there are so many options and opportunities available, each canvas is not too precious. Alterations are the norm going forward, these works require a number of changes and sometimes drastic ones for the best result.  

Monday, March 4, 2024

Quiet Evening, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches



Exhibiting: Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

2,450.00 framed

 

About this oil:

There are those moments when the color is just right, early morning or late evening, and it enhances the look of everything in the scene. That is what I set out to do here with this simple line of trees at the edge of a little creek filled to its banks. 

 

The scene contains numerous strips running across the oil, each with its own color, texture and character. Every element is very important, not just for its position but also for the density and atmosphere that is conveyed.




Saturday, February 3, 2024

3-Day Making it Fine Art Workshop: Moving to the Next Level: Fri-Sun, April 5-7, 2024


Castle Rock, Colorado (Denver metro)
April 5-7, Friday - Sunday, 9-4pm

Sat. evening after break, 4:30 -7: Photoshop Tools and discussions.

Open to artists at all skill levels and media
An indoor, 3 - day workshop
Limited to 5 artists, $590. 
Sold out / Summer Workshop 2024 TBA 

To register / more information
Workshop flyer 
Contact Ken: 303-995-1611

 Ken will discuss strategies for creating better artworks with a variety of common and creative tools. The workshop will focus on concepts for making better starts, compelling artworks, going to new places in your work, and how to make fine art. They will use informative videos and pass on strategies, some not the literature, but handed down from the very best teachers. 

Together, we will be going deeper into the how-to of making more appealing artworks with a variety of ideas and tools. ​After the day's sessions, the group is invited to further discussions and dinner. After the Sunday session, Ken will present Photoshop techniques for taking your works to the next level and creating better pathways for finishing your artworks. You will be given a simplified Photoshop guide and have access to a large photo file of over 2000 inspiring artworks.

Ken will demonstrate painting using oil and pastels, if requested. In addition to making art works, Ken will talk about business and promotion, necessary tools for success in the marketplace.

There will be serious discussions, laughs, and your questions with more continuing after class hours. We will all come away with new tools to take your art to the next level.

Ample time will be given to live problem solving, daily critiques and creative options.




Monday, January 15, 2024

New Work: Edge of the Meadow, oil on canvas, 36 x 60 inches

 



Oil on canvas, 36 x 60 inches, framed.   In the studio, $7500 framed    To purchase


About this oil

I love the way meadows look, the soft flow of the grasses with their glowing colors and that was my attraction to this scene. Compositionally, this is a clean and elegant landscape made from three horizontal bands.

Now to make it interesting, to create a work of art.

There is an abundance of complexity in each band that produces a rhythm and a flow. The colors are more than they seem - numerous variations of blues and yellows invite the eye to move across the canvas and explore the nuances.

It is my challenge to find something attractive in nature and then to attempt to better it on canvas. I am not always successful, but today a good painting was finished, signed and offered to you…a fulfilling day. 



Tuesday, January 9, 2024

New Work: Cool Moving Up, oil on canvas, 48 x 30 inches

Exhibiting: Saks Galleries, Denver, CO

$6400 framed 

To purchase 


About this oil:

The snows are just starting to appear here in Denver. They are light and about a week apart, but in the shadows the snow lasts and it gives the landscape those softly glowing blues that influenced this painting.

My urge was to create a simple stand of trees, tall and elegant, emerging out of the blue shadows and this narrow canvas exaggerated the effect.

A number of different cool colors were used in the creation of this scene and as the forest was coming off the brush, a cold stillness was coming forth. It was a great effect but going for more, I added the bit of yellow at the top. That changed everything…

The yellows brought in more light, changed the time of day and allowed a new color, the pinks at the tree tops. Veils of cool blues flow up to the sunlit tree tops and an illusion of continual motion is created because the eye has more to see and continues to scan every part.

It was a wonder to watch it come to life.




Tuesday, November 28, 2023

New Work: Bright Stand, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

In the studio, $5700 framed


About this oil:

This oil began as a demonstration in my recent art class. The idea was to create a colorful forest scene, but in an abstracted way. It began with this simple compositional idea and from there I filled the canvas with a wall of color and in the front, a cacophony of brush strokes.

There were a lot of puzzles to solve at that point, but working through the chaos, I pushed forward with color… a lot of color. By doing so, I was actually adding to the chaos but regardless, the oil was becoming much more expressive and interesting.

At the start, the background tree wall was created in blues and pale reds but it needed more, so I made all of it brighter, removed some of the foliage and then the composition began to drive the oil. The bright wall in the back encouraged brighter colors everywhere and I was happy go along.

The painting came to a nice conclusion, fulfilling what I had set out to do with an abundance of color and expressiveness.




Monday, November 13, 2023

Opening at Saks Galleries, Denver: November 17 and 18, 2023