Karen Minton Artist Blog

How about a Christmas Sale?

2011-11-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Thursday, get online and check out my Facebook page around 1:00 Rocky Mountain Time. You'll see I am doing a little bit of house cleaning. Actually it's house emptying, as Daniel and I have decided to make the big move from glorious Montana to sun-warmed California this January. There are fifty very practical reasons why this is a good move, but I don't think my heart will ever leave Montana, or even the Northwest really... this is a special place, filled to the brim with special people. It's scary and sad and exciting all at once.

So it's time to let go of some things... and paintings that I've had around, that don't quite fit into the larger bodies of work, but that I still love... well, let's just say the prices are going to come down, wayyyy down. Hopefully they'll never be this low ever again! But I wanted to give folks an opportunity to own a piece if they've never quite been able to before. So it's first come first serve. First person to message or state in the comments that they want to buy it gets dibs! So tomorrow, hop over to my facebook page look for the album titled Christmas Sale, it should come up around 1:00 but then again my connection is finicky at times so we'll see ;) Anyway, take a look, you might see something you like :)

and here's a super stealthy sneak peek at 5 of the 17 or so pieces that will be posted

Studio Visit, Kerry Nagel

2011-11-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

Some people just get art on an entirely different level. My friend Kerry Nagel is one of those. Whenever we visit I always come away feeling inspired and determined to delve deeper into my own creative outlets. Delightfully new thoughts crop up, artistic possibilities seem endless. She is a person who has her finger on the pulse, specifically, at the moment, in the three dimensional, sculptural world of fiber arts. It's fascinating to hear her describe the processes she has developed and discuss the history and evolution of her pieces and the ideas that brought them into being. Observing how she surrounds herself and lives with art as a collector has inspired me as well. Her choices are fearless, eclectic, whimsical and serene. When one enters her home, one needs to just sit and absorb for a moment, look around and let the beauty permeate.

Last month my friend Kim Lindstrom and I drove down to visit Kerry at her beautiful home in Lake Mary Ronan. Here are just a few pictures from the day. Kerry's home itself is a work of art (designed by Kerry and her equally talented ex-husband Scott in collaboration with Malmquist construction) you can see it in detail here as it is for sale. It is laid out in three pods; a garage and woodworking shop, a living pod that also has a cleverly situated guest room, and a curving gallery hallway which leads to the sleeping pod, which includes two bedrooms, a master bath and Kerry's art studio. It's so thoughtfully and originally designed that one simply must visit. If only I were a professional photographer... but here you are, a little peek.

One of the beautiful little farms alongside the road to Lake Mary Ronan.
Flathead Lake in the distance.

In the living pod, Modigliani over the fireplace

Close up of the pod shown in the first picture, titled Chinese Lantern

Kerry and Kim discussing the construction of one of her pod pieces

Kerry's beautifully designed, curving hallway gallery includes artists, Susie Brown, Scott Nagel, Donna Gans, Kathy Bonema Leslie, Burt Brent, myself and Olivia Stark (with whom Kerry collaborated on a large body of figurative sculptural work, one of which is positioned in the hallway under the middle window).

Golden Anniversary

A ceramic column by Margret Gregg (my favorite!),

an early, colorful vessel For Pablo, and a bodaciously bosomed

painting of my own which Kerry bought when I first met her in 1999

One of Kerry's first paper sculptures, Emergence

The sculpture in the middle is titled Whalebone

Peeking into the art studio

Homage to Ace

Moroccan Pod

Close up of Scroll

The artist in her studio with Wishbone and Why I Don't Eat Oranges

Thank you Kerry! We had a wonderful time :)

Persimmon Pics

2011-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

"In Livingston" getting framed up the day of the opening, there is always one last thing to do!

Jeweler Callie Cooper working at the Persimmon Gallery. My "Cut Flowers" series on the wall.

Green Framed Landscapes and the Anthropologieland series

Kim and Corrie viewing the landscapes

Wayne taking it in

Four super talented artists; Persimmon members Jill Gotschalk, Callie Cooper Deliah Albee and Louise Lamontagne one of my favorite oil painters! It was such a treat to be in their company!

Also, the Persimmon Gallery Co-op members have asked me to stay on as a represented artist! So you can count on being able to see my work in person the next time you stop in. Thank you Persimmon artists!

Friday Opening, New Work at the Persimmon Gallery

2011-10-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

I will be showing an entire body of new work, featuring mostly landscapes and a few still life, all done in the encaustic medium. If you are in the area please pop in! The pieces will be up for two weeks after the opening. I would love for people to see these encaustic works in person, as the depth and richness of the medium is difficult to observe with a computer screen. Also, because of issues I am having with my studio space, I may have to stop working in the encaustic medium for a while and focus on either oils or acrylics for the immediate future. So this is it folks! It's gonna be a good one.

Flathead Valley

2011-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Flathead Valley 8 x 10 Encaustic on wood

Now this one is definitely the Flathead Valley. I worked from a photo I took on a recent drive down to visit my friend, artist Kerry Nagel (of which a post is in the works). It's somewhere between Somers and south Kalispell area. I love the fields down there at the north end of Flathead Lake. It's gorgeous country.

Autumn

2011-10-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Autumn 8 x 10 Encaustic

Fall in the Flathead Valley is a beautiful time. The fields are dotted with huge round haybales. The aspen and then the larch trees turn blazing yellows and oranges... and everywhere you go the crisp breeze seems to be whispering in your ear, "get ready, work work work, get'r done!" because winter is coming.

This particular painting isn't really of the Flathead Valley. It's more of a memory of Pullman and the Palouse hills, mixed with the tree-lined, hay fields right down the road from my home.

Heliopsis

2011-10-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Heliopsis 8 x 8 Encaustic on Wood

Entrance

2011-10-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Entrance 8 x 10 Encaustic on Wood

I am deliberating whether to include the Anthropologieland series in my upcoming show at the Persimmon gallery... they are landscapes, but quite different from the other vein I am working in because they are more about the act of mark making and layering. They do look quite lovely all polished and framed up now... so if there is a place for them they might appear in the show.

Visiting Anthropologieland Again

2011-10-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Window Shopping 8 x 10 Encaustic on Panel

Inspiration

2011-10-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Evening on Whitefish Lake

Throwing rocks into Lake Macdonald

Storm coming through the neighborhood

Near Schnauss cabin

Looking into Glacier Park

Dusk, North Fork Flathead River

Morning mists south of Polebridge

Sneak Peek

2011-09-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Battleground 8 x 8 Encaustic on wood

Broken Tracks 8x8 Encaustic on wood (close up)

Follow Me 8 x 8 Encaustic on wood

These pictures are a little sneak peek into my preparation

for a show at the beautiful Persimmon Gallery

in Bigfork, MT. The show will be opening during

Last Friday Artwalk on October 28th

Foxy Commission

2011-08-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

"The San Juan Foxes went to Sea" Acrylic on wood panel 11 x 14 in.

I just finished this little commission for a baby that is due this October. This baby is very lucky because his daddy is a wonderful banjo player and his mamma is sweet and creative and makes beautiful jewelry and his grandparents have a most wondrous boat named Hanna.

The moon and stars are painted over with glow in the dark paint. I love using the glow in the dark paint for nursery art because it comes in handy for the parents when a little distraction is needed to forget some tears, and for the little one it can be something fun to look forward to seeing when it's nighty night time.

I want to go to...

2011-08-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

Desire, Anthropologieland Series

Encaustic layers with embedded Anthropologie tissue

8 x 10

Confession: I probably browse the Anthropologie website three or four times a week.. ok maybe like, eight times... I've got it under control, I rarely buy anything, but I'd probably get into deep trouble if I lived near an actual store. Of course I love the expensive stuff the most! This couch figures prominently in my "if I won the lotto and bought a modest apartment in Paris" day dreams...

Head in the Clouds

2011-08-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Cloud

8 x 8

Encaustic

OK I've been really geeking out on clouds lately, did you know there is a Cloud Appreciation Society? How awesome is the internet!

Scraping back to the good stuff

2011-08-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Lets Go Fly a Kite

8 x 8

Encaustic and Mixed Media
Sold

This was a particularly dreadful piece I had hanging around. I've been laying the paint on thick, a bit too thick in some cases, but this is a constant learning process, so that's alright. I was thinking how I wanted to rewind, you know, go back to where my vision went off course, so I went back, you can do that with encaustics! Pull off layer after layer. First I let Jolie have her way with it, gouging out deep gaps, which were then filled back in. Then we scraped and scraped and scraped, almost all the way back to the beginning. Then a few lustrous coats of translucence and an ochre wash to bring pieces of lost ideas back into being. Now I love it.

White Roses

2011-07-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

White Roses 10 x 22 Encaustic on wood panel

The Chaos of Summer. Part III

2011-07-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Chaos of Summer III

Encaustic

12 x 16

I don't really know where I'm going with this little series... I think it's just pure creative outlet at this point. Plus I might be starting in on a pretty hefty cloud obsession, amongst other things...

Yesterday...

2011-07-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

The Whitefish Garden Tour and Open Studio day went really well. There was a good turnout, paintings sold, children discovered the delights of rhubarb, sorrel and steppable mosses, and anyone that was interested got to learn about what encaustics are and how they are made. I will definitely be doing this again! Here are a few photos from the day.

The working side of the studio (actually shot these the night before)

The "gallery" side.

My office

It was fun transforming this area of my studio into a little gallery. I took this shot before I fixed the

track lighting I see.

My book nook

My main work table, I'm currently on the hunt for one more large, sturdy table

so I can start making bigger pieces. Mostly works in progress on that wall.

There's the easel that Daniel made for me 10 years ago, Jolie's heart painting, and my beautiful utility sink.

This is why the paintings are hung just a little higher than normal ;)

After the tour, the gardeners met up and relaxed in Bonnie's garden, which really deserves a post all it's own... I love her little greenhouse

My favorite thing about Bonnie's outdoor decor

Topped off the day with a refreshing Wheatfish at Great Northern Brewery.

The Chaos of Summer. Part II

2011-07-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Chaos of Summer II

9 x 12

Encaustic

Lily

2011-07-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Lily

8 x 8

Encaustic

The Chaos of Summer...

2011-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Chaos of Summer I

11 x 14

Encaustic

Listening to The Swell Season

Grateful for a cool day in the studio

Mixing paint

What else?

Getting ready to record at Renegade Ridge...

Need to clean my messy studio...

and weed the garden in preparation for....

the Whitefish Garden Tour

need to go out and trim back the damaged things as well,

what a crazy hail storm we had yesterday! this is one of the few

beautiful nasturtium leaves that didn't get ripped to shreds

getting some panels prepared for the inspiration they'll give me when they bloom :)

also,
Can't wait to tour Bonnie's Garden. She's the brains behind this whole lovely idea.

Landscape

2011-07-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Blue Mountains

8 x 10

Encaustic

Searching for the Sea

2011-07-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

The Sea 8 x 8 encaustic

In the spring of 98 I was at a crossroads, not knowing where I'd be going next. I wrote this hokey little song called the Trask River Blues. One of the verses goes kinda like this;

I grew up along the banks of the Trask River

I always thought I'd follow her to the sea....

The mountains they beckon

The ocean she reckons

If I didn't say I loved her I'd have lied

I'm going to have to climb that ridge

Or set my sail to sea

Lord which one will it be?

Recently, I was reading somewhere about how many people find themselves in adulthood unconsciously trying to re-create situations and memories from their childhood. I realized how often I think about those endless summer days my family spent on the Oregon coast. I wish I could give those days to my own daughter. What a luxury of space there was to be found. What riches we naively possessed; Long horseback rides, abandoned hobo shacks, smooth black rocks, pure, ever-shifting estuaries... We built crumbly sand castles with cold, salty fingers, played in the freezing surf, and ate gritty picnic lunches nestled in wind protected hollows. These memories are like little gold nuggets, that I mine for over and over.

Jailbird Belles

2011-07-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Jailbird Belles 8 x 8 Encaustic

I went to the Whitefish Art Walk last night. Man, there are some talented artists here. It was inspiring

to see such gifted sculptors, potters and painters. I'm going to try to be better about getting out and seeing shows, it's completely enriching and it's a great way to get involved and support the arts. There were some gorgeous wax resist ceramics at the Stillwater Gallery that are dancing in my head still. I might have to go back and break my budget rules a little.

Summer is Blooming

2011-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Summer Bloom 10 x 10 Encaustic

I'm working in my studio this morning and it's so hard not to put the brush down and follow the smell of sun warmed strawberries out into the garden. I know if I do I'll lose myself for hours weeding, poking seeds into the ground, watering, trimming, transplanting and munching rhubarb... It's very distracting

The flowers are going off now too, I mean really, it's ridiculous, just look at this peony!

Somewhere, Nowhere

2011-06-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Somewhere, Nowhere

8 x 10

Encaustic on wood

A way of life that is sadly, slowly fading away here in our beautiful valley.

Little Landscape

2011-06-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Purple Mountains

8 x 10

Encaustic on Wood Panel

Storm Coming In

2011-06-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

"Storm Coming In"

8 x 10

Encaustic on panel

Sold

We've had a few little spring rainstorms lately... I love this time of year, the thunder shaking the house puts nervous grins on our faces and the garden gets a good soaking regularly.

Speaking of the garden... I decided to enter my humble veggie jungle in the Whitefish Garden Tour this year and will have my art studio open for the tour as well. I've never really hosted a studio tour, or garden tour for that matter so it should be fun. I bet it will be just the motivation needed for me to get my place ship shape and not get too lazy with the weeding. So buy a map (proceeds go to charity) and come on by July 23 11:00 - 3:00.

Seven Sisters (reworked to be stripey and turquoisey)

2011-05-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

Seven Sisters

8 x 10 Encaustic

There are getting to be so many White Flowers in this Cut Flowers Series. It's either title them all White Flowers I, II, III... or get creative. I could use a little stretching in the naming department so I think tonight I'm going to do some thinking, some sketching, draw up some lists... some pondering might happen... maybe some musing... we'll see

Two Nudes

2011-05-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Sitting Nude

8 x 8

Encaustic

I've been doing a few nude studies this week... and yes, a rather big fusing error happened in the poor woman's thigh area. I'm working up the gumption to attempt a fix when I have the time... later... this blue background one I like though, framed her up in a lovely black and gold.

Sitting Nude II

8 x 10

Encaustic

In The Deep

2011-05-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

In the Deep

8 x 8 encaustic

Sold (somebody DID like it!)

I don't know that anyone will really like this piece so I might keep it for myself... In fact it was a different piece, a vineyard that I had tried to get to march over a hill but the vines just would not behave. I was letting Jolie scrape the wax back for me when I saw another possibility, a memory of waiting for the ferry in Anacortes and an even more distant memory of April Point and a time spent listening to an old Uncle's sad stories, and observing the water life there.

6/14/11 Update, Just for you Diane and Sara :) Here is a photo of the original piece I decided to scrap, you can still see certain elements that didn't get all the way scraped out in the finished piece.

Sunny Day

2011-05-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Proud Sunflower

12 x 16

Encaustic on Panel

Finally this weekend we had a lovely bit of sun and warm temps around here. The volunteer sunflowers started popping up everywhere, thick as thieves. My favorite thing about the garden is watching those teensy little sprouts grow into proud and graceful giants.

This piece took me a few weeks to work out. There are no oil washes in this one, just layer after layer of fused encaustic paint, which gives it a cool, rustic look I think. I'm debating as to whether I want to give it a final oil stain to deepen it up even more, but I haven't decided if it needs it yet... Some paintings are just done when they're done. Others require lots of sitting in my favorite chair with a steaming mug of peppermint tea (to get the little grey cells going) and staring staring staring... it can go on for days...

Feeling Circus like

2011-05-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

White Flowers in a Spotted Vase

8 x 10 Encaustic on wood panel

Hmm... I had a hard time capturing the real colors in this one. I reeeely need to build that lightbox that has been on my big long studio to do list forever. The reds are slightly orangey-er in real life and it's quickly become one of my favorites to sit and stare at because it has this great big-top vibe.

Moo

2011-05-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

Dutch Belt

8x8 Encaustic on wood panel

Sold

New Life

2011-04-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

White Blossoms 8 x 8 Encaustic

This painting used to be this painting.

Ocean Life

2011-04-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Red Coral 16 x 20 Acrylic on Canvas

Sold

My little one has been into watching dolphin documentaries lately so... an ocean muse caught me.

Ladybug

2011-04-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

10x 10 Encaustic

The Ladybug painting in progress

The Napa Valley

2011-04-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

Just back from a refreshing, sun-warmed trip to see my family in the beautiful Napa Valley. These are a few of my favorite pictures.

"faster" she cried

Honeycomb

A Queen's perch

Quality Sister time

Refreshment

Paradigm, the original Red Mare

A first ride

Looking Back

2011-03-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Looking back

8 x 8 inches

So the last month or so I've been working on portraiture. An encaustic face is no easy endeavor I'm finding. There is so much movement during fusing that the features change considerably during the painting process. I'm looking at different fusing methods to see about getting more control, but I don't really want to get too crazy. I'm in love with the journey, and the imperfections that happen, so I'm going to keep on playing.

In other news I had a piece accepted to the Whitefish Literary Review which comes out this summer. I'm pretty excited about it because I've heard it will include a short story by one of my favorite authors. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say who so I'll keep you guessing about it for a while, but I'll most likely put up a post about it in June. Happy Spring everyone!

New R & F encaustic paints

2011-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

Warm colors came in the mail today :)

Blue Fan Flower

2011-03-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

Blue Fan Flowers

8 x 8 Encaustic

I've been enjoying this sunny little painting so much I just had to re-post it now that I've fixed the blog to allow for bigger pictures. It's been a rough week for working in the studio. My little one has had a horrid flu and needed constant care and lots of mama comfort. I'm itching to get back into it... right now my head is full of ideas for paintings I want to submit to the next Whitefish Review, a very cool local literary journal.

Work in Progress

2011-02-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

Work in Progress 10 x 10 Encaustic

Blue Flowered Bud Vase

2011-02-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

Blue Flowered Bud Vase
8 x 10
Encaustic

I'm going to be making some layout changes to this blog this weekend.
So if you stop in and it looks a little strange that's what's up :)

Orchid

2011-02-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

Orchid
8 x 10
Encaustic

8 x 8 encaustic happiness

2011-02-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

Sway

Sold

Blue Fan Flower

Going through a bit of a "White Flowers" phase

2011-02-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

Red Vase 8 x 10 Encaustic

Blue Vase with Blossoms 8 x 10 Encaustic

Bouquet with White Roses 8 x 10 Encaustic

3 New Encaustics

2011-02-08T08:20:00.001-08:00

White Roses with Baby's breath
8 x 10
encaustic

Little white roses
8 x 10
Encaustic

White orchids
8 x 10
Encaustic

New Painting, "Three Friends"

2011-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Three Friends
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 24

New Painting, "Hot Springs"

2011-01-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hot Springs 16 x 20 Acrylic on Canvas

I'm still working on the foreground I think, but this is what I've been up to lately. It's based loosely on a photo I snapped while on a road trip through Montana. I can't remember where it is exactly, but it reminds me of the hills along Highway 28 that hold so many beautiful memories for me. Over the past decade or so, I have spent many a lovely weekend with girlfriends escaping to the tiny town of Hot Springs to soak my cares/sore muscles/motherhood worries away. The water there is sulfery and soul cleansing.

an old flooded soak house Hot Springs, MT

Update: here is the finished painting

sold

A few new little things...

2010-12-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

Well Merry Christmas!
Whew, I've really neglected this blog.

Here are a few pictures of paintings I've been doing.
It's a bit random. OK very random. I've been forcing myself
to go through my big stack of half-finished canvases.
I'm hoping to have these up for your viewing pleasure
(if you live in Whitefish that is) at the Wrap and Roll Cafe
very soon. So maybe it's time to try their new breakfast burritos eh?

the difficult to photograph (because the background is metallic)
Vase of flowers on a red checked tablecloth
11x 14

Flowers in a green vase
10 x 10
(sold)

Snowghost
Sold
(can you see the sleepy face?)

Mountain study, encaustic
10 x 10
(sold)

Night Voyage
11 x 14
(sold)
the moon and stars glow in the dark
kids dig it

Sitting Nude 8 x 10 Encaustic
(sold)

Garden Photos and Fair Memories

2010-08-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much in the studio today except press a page of dill flowers. But I did take a few photos...

I'm lovin' the new camera... it's not one of these credit card sized point and shoots, it's got some heft. I pick it up and I feel like I really could get that National Geographic job. Best thing about it though, it makes me feel like I'm 11 years old again, snapping black and whites around the farm with my Gradfather's old Minolta. My mom would help me, even drive me around early in the morning, looking for the perfect dawn landscape. I would enter my carefully chosen photos in the Tillamook County Fair. Man I lived for that Fair.

Oh to be young again just for a little while... to feel the elation of the elusive blue ribbon, to be set free (after double checking my Holstein) with my rag tag band of 4H friends in an exciting world of carnies and townies! Set free to be hurled around in those questionable rides, marvel at the race horses, eat sticky caramel apples and be out after dark... Ahhh those were the days.

Of course now I have to go searching for one of my old fair photos but all I can find is this... I think I was a little peeved about that red ribbon ;)

New Encaustics

2010-08-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

... and here are a few photos of the encaustics
I just put up at Crush Wine Bar

Vineyard
10 x 10
Encaustic on panel

Dance of the Twinflowers
8 x 10
Encaustic on panel

Columbine in the Garden
10 x 10
Encaustic on panel

Tree Line
8 x 10
Encaustic and pressed Aspen leaves on panel

Aspen Rise
8 x 10
Encaustic and pressed leaves on panel

As you can see I've been really into working with pressed flowers lately. Especially
the columbines and Aspen. These are just small concept pieces so hopefully I will have some
awesome, perhaps more detailed larger pieces done in this style soon

New Decoupaged Pressed Flower Miniatures

2010-08-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the new decoupaged pressed
flower pieces I have up at Crush Wine Bar in Whitefish
for the month of August. I didn't have ideal conditions to photograph
these little lovelies, so I will probably re-shoot and re-post sometime after
the show comes down.

Sway
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x6 inches

Columbine Grace
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x6 inches
Sold

Columbine Bliss
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x4 inches

July Bloom
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x4 inches

Columbine Star
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
5x7 inches

Seasons. Four 20 x 20 in paintings

2010-07-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

I was visiting my husband at his new office recently and snapped this pic of the 4 abstracts I let him whisk away straight off the easel last month. They are meant to convey only a passing thought or memory of the seasons, like a ghost image on the back of your eyelid view of.. (from left to right) Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter...

A Birthday Banner

2010-07-20T20:26:00.001-07:00

Just finished another birthday banner. This one had lots of beautiful vintage buttons on it. I currently have a mini one in my shop if anyone's interested. They are up-cycled from my canvas stretching and painting extras.

Click on the images to see this banner more closely, and to bask in its adorable, yet also rusticly-artsy glory.

Encaustic Hood is in, things are cookin'

2010-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

A sneak peak at the new encaustic side of the studio. The hood is up and performing its duties admirably, if not a bit frankensteinishly. My fingers are relieved to be done working with sheet metal for a while. The temperatures have all been figured out, the mediums have been mixed, the paint pots are simmering and things, (landscapes dontcha know!) are in the works. Joy!

Red Mare Wines

2010-06-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! The wine label project I have been working on with my talented winemaking sister Anne Vawter is about to be printed and bottle-affixed (for my lack of a better term) very soon!

Here are a few images of the front and back label I created for the delicious 2007 cabernet sauvignon.

Check out her newly finished website redmarewines.com

and here are some shots of the embossing die and printing process...

Change is Scary. But Fun

2010-06-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

We had such lovely weather this last weekend, and wouldn't you know it we all came down with sore throats, which is disconcerting for many reasons, the worst being that our first downtown gig is tomorrow night. I hope I don't literally croak... ahh but that is a story for another day. Maybe Friday... (It's Thursday night at the Crag if you want to come see us, look for the Cannonball posters)

It was a stressful week yes, but today my dear readers, something wonderful happened! I finally laid brush to wax! That's right, the encaustic side of the studio is now in use... well sort of. You see my ventilation system is not installed yet, so I cheated a little, and froze a little with all the doors and windows open, but it wasn't too bad. I will post sneak peeks soon I promise.

My but it is exhilarating doing something new in one's own studio! I learned many things;

1. I probably should have changed out of my good sweater (will I ever learn?)
2. The Opal Aqumarine hotcake by Enkaustikos is AWESOME
3. Making your own medium is really not as intimidating as it looks
4. Burning your fingertips is part of learning how to work around hot plates
5. I must remember to inspect and pick out on average 5 dog hairs between each layer of wax
6. I need a bigger studio. Just kidding... but not really
7. I almost got scared and started painting on an unfinished acrylic painting I have on the other side of the room right before I fired up the hot plates, I had to give myself a pep talk. Change is scary. But fun.

Working on the Studio

2010-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Jolie and I in the studio, working on a birthday banner

I always love to see other artist's working spaces. So here are a few pictures of my little art studio, which is undergoing some changes right now. Besides a much needed spring cleaning, I am re-defining the space to include an encaustic painting area (photos of that still to come).

There are some challenges with this space. It has to be many things; a laundry room, a potting shed of sorts, guest room (sorry Mom), and horror of horrors... a dog kennel for two big hairy and farty dogs. A situation I am living with but plotting to remedy.

Painting area before picture, cluttered and in need of some furniture editing

After (with the lawn chairs inside because it's been raining so much)

Thinking about encaustics

2010-05-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

This is an encaustic painting I did in Shawna's workshop. It was a shower gift for the beautiful Lindsey Jane of Lindsey Jane Photography. I like how you can sketch into wax, that might be my most favorite thing about it.

Speaking of encaustics... more are soon to come! I'm pretty dang excited about my decision to move into this medium. For me it is a big commitment in a lot of ways so... it's kindof, well, it's just BIG!

Decoupaged pressed flowers

2010-05-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

arica 4 x 4 pressed flower over acrylic painting

aspen leaves 4 x 6 pressed leaves over acrylic painting

Aspen Leaf 4 x 4 pressed leaf over acrylic painting

The Blues 4 x 4 pressed flowers over acrylic painting

Columbines 6 x 6 inch pressed flowers over acrylic painting

It knew when I pressed these flowers last year that I would wish I had done more.

I'm ready for summer now :)

You can find most of these for sale at my Etsy store.

Love This Day

2010-04-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

So this is a piece Jolie helped me with. She also helped me with the title. As I mentioned in my last post she has become impossible to keep out of the studio, but as luck would have it, turns out she's the most wonderful little studio assistant. I hope this phase lasts for a while because it's pretty fun. I set her up and let her go to town at the easle while I surreptitiously get a little work done at the table behind her. Periodically she shouts for a new color. "Red, need red mom!" I procure an acceptable red and she shouts with glee, holding the tube of paint up like it's some kind of lost family heirloom found again. "Yes, Yes, Love Red MOM, LOVE THIS RED!" She then proceeds to get some of that paint on the canvas amidst jumps and whoops and then, following a period of blending, and exploration, it's on to the next exciting color. Kids are pretty cool.

Two new paintings

2010-04-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

Summertime 11 x 14 acrylic

I love you 11 x 14 acrylic

I have so much new found respect for abstract painters these days. Also Jolie is now very interested in painting, and I think having her in the studio now is helping me to loosen up and allow unexpected things to happen. Stay tuned for more :)

Encaustic Workshop with Shawna Moore

2010-03-22T14:26:00.001-07:00

Vineyard II 10 x 10

Here are photos of pieces I produced this last weekend during a truly awesome two day encaustic painting workshop with Shawna Moore. Click on the images to see them in a larger size.

I've been interested in this medium for years but it would take an overhaul of my studio to commit to it so I've just been learning little bits about it here and there to see if I'm really into it. I am so grateful Shawna gave a 2 day workshop. It was such a luxury to have all that time to play and experiment with the medium in her comfortable, well-stocked studio. I got to meet and hang out with some great gals, and had full access to Shawna's tools, supplies and extensive knowledge.

The pieces I came out with are a bit childish and seem very unfinished now that I look at them here, but I'm still ridiculously happy with them. Maybe someday I'll add some more layers.

In the meantime I'm right where I want to be with rejuvenated creativity and inspiration. So it's back to spring cleaning and project finishing and after that... a new direction? :)

Dearest Child 10x10
(my first piece using cursive, always wanted to do that)

Faraway 10 x 10

Hazy Mountain 10 x 10

Vineyard I 10 x 10

Earth and Sky 11 x 14

Flowers in a Vase 8 x 10

Astrology

Jayme McGowan, Awesome Paper Artist

2010-03-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

I had really only about 3 thoughts when I walked through my door last weekend after being gone for nearly 4 months.

1. I'm finally home!
2. Wow it's clean!
3. Umm, I really need to do some painting.

Before I left I hung a bunch of half finished pieces on my walls to keep them safe and sound... I neglected to think about how my poor housesitter would have to look at them all winter though, it really could be considered a special form of torture, half finished art.... Mental note to drop a bottle of wine by his house this weekend...

Anyhoo, all I want to do is finish those suckers and start in on my next project. So in the next few weeks I'm hoping to do some major spring cleaning in my dusty little studio, finish a bunch of those long neglected pieces and put them up for sale on Etsy!

In the meantime. I want to introduce you to another awesome artist. Her name is Jayme McGowan and she does the most beautiful paper art I've ever seen. I subscribe to her blog and I must say that every time she posts something I click over and check it out. I absolutely love how she posts photos of the art as it is in progression, her materials and process. It's fascinating to get a sneak peak into another artist's studio. It's best I think, to check out her website first www.roadsideprojects.com drool over her portfolio, and then follow the link to her blog to check out her postings. The cool thing about her art is that she offers it in print form at her etsy shop. Check it out.

"The Knife Juggler," wall art illustration, Fawn & Forest, 2009

"Secret Concert," wallet illustration, Poketo, 2009

Painted Frames

2010-02-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

I picked up some raw wood frames at Michael's while here in San Diego and did a few painted frames as gifts for my family in Hawaii.

Mandy Mohler's Photography and Art

2010-01-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

Astral Projection. Oil on Canvas & Photograph on Board

Today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite photographers, Mandy Mohler. To my delight, I recently discovered that she is also a talented artist. What I love about her art pieces is that to me they have a life-loving, time-traveling, beautifully blooming, gracefully dying, chic, blue-green-tinted-like-a-childhood-memory..... oh how I could go on, but I think the final descriptive word is.... elegance. Cool, hard working, rusty chandelier type elegance. Elegance with a swirling, inky calligraphic E.

You can recognize Mandy's superb eye for color and texture in every piece. In one it might be the peeling paint on a found piece of wood, its happy history of colors peeping through, in another it's the blood red, almost lava-like beads encrusting an eroded, umber metal disc, the original use of which is long forgotten.

Mandy is currently studying for a Masters Degree in Fine Art at the Cyprus College of Art in Lemba, Paphos, Cyprus. She recently posted a show of her work on her blog. The one piece I imagine hanging in my dream bathroom (where it could be properly viewed from a huge clawfooted bubble bath) is entitled "I Love You, Goodbye". It infuses me with feelings of wistful nostalgia. I love pieces like this because for just a moment, I get to take a little daydream vacation. I imagine walking on that faraway beach, at the same time indulging myself in a bit of sadness for sweet days gone by. Ahh me, life is good.

Mandy does amazing professional photography, I could go on and on about it, in fact I just had to erase a bunch of text because I was getting ridiculously wordy and my usual sort of not very shortish run on sentences were becoming alarmingly long, so you'll have to see it for yourself, and if it moves you, get it! Mandy is adding more to her etsy shop, and you can follow her on her travels via her blog, and if you're getting married or engaged or just plain need a good photo of your gorgeous self, you should check out her portfolio

I love you, Goodbye. Photograph

Sea study

all images on this post copyright Mandy Mohler

New Commission

2010-01-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

I love how this painting progressed, in fact if it wasn't a commission I might have been tempted to stop several times along the way, mainly because I loved the chalky black background layer. But when I did my final red layers I was happy with the richness of the black coming through the red.

Daily Drop Cap

2010-01-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

crapity scrap. I decided to start over on the Old Vine painting. It just wasn't flowing. I'm chalking it up to too many distractions and hasty preparation! Also being away from my studio was not helping things :) Anyhoo, since I am not going to be doing much in the painting creation area for the next month or so, I've decided while I'm traveling to take advantage of this time to do a few posts on other artists, creative folks, and sites etc. that I admire. My artist today is illustrator Jessica Hische. I've been researching creative font making lately and came across her site Daily Drop Cap. which is a creative commons site, meaning anyone can grab her insanely beautiful illustrated caps and add them to their blog or website. That's pretty cool.

2009-12-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

So I've been taking a little haitus from the studio, and the frozen north :) But I brought along a few projects including Old Vine to work on. These are the latest photos. It's amazing how a photo taken on a cloudy day can differ from a photo taken on a sunny day. The top one is most recent (sunny day photo), I decided to kill the moss on the big dead vine. Now I am contemplating whether or not to put leaves etc on it. Also I'm debating the color of the hills, and I think I still need to make the trees to the right bigger. Hmmmm

New Commission, Chair lift to Heaven

2009-11-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

Chair Lift to Heaven. 18 x 20(click on the photo for a close up). Using the photo below as a reference, my client wanted this painting to convey the treasured feelings she had when riding the chair lift up to ski on Big Mountain.

I tried to think of my own thoughts and emotions when riding up the chair and infuse them into the layers. This is what came to mind: anticipation, peace, joy, the historical greatness of this thing you get to partake of, the mysterious nature of snow, the respect for and closeness to nature that skiing gives you... the thrill of speed, and excitement of finding untracked powder, feeling both cozy and tingly cold at the same time... there is a lot to capture there, hopefully I got a little bit of it for my client, but as usual I seem to have very little control over the actual outcome of a painting commission and am crossing my fingers in hope that she likes it!

What I think really came through is the mountain itself, or rather the ski run... When I look at this I get a sense of quite waiting, a glimpse of Tony Matt early in the morning, blanketed in a few inches of un-tracked snow. An intimate look at the run itself before the crowd transforms it with bustling energy and whoops of glee.

Snowstorm

2009-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

Just finished this Snowy commission. It harkens back to some of my older swirly landscapes. I took a little bit of artistic license here... well... more than a little bit obviously, but hopefully it doesn't disturb any viewers that a winter storm doesn't usually come rushing over into a valley that's socked in with an inversion cloud layer... I don't even really know if that is scientifically possible... but this is 2009, anything is possible right?

Also posted updated images on my Old Vine commission and Sunflowers on Red commission

Land

2009-11-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Every so often I try to do an abstract. It never really works out like I imagine it will, but it's fun.

Lucky 13 Red Horse

2009-10-29T13:00:00.001-07:00

The theme for this month's Lucky 13 artist card is "Animals". This of course made me want to embark on an epic work of arc-like proportions. I think maybe reading all those barnyard bedtime books to Jolie may have been an influence. But before I could begin to figure out how I was going to do that on a 3 by 4 inch card, I had a conversation with my sister where we talked a good deal about horses. Right after that phone call I popped into the studio and made this little painting. Click on the image to see it in a larger size.

New Commission, Sunflowers on Red 24 x24 in.

2009-10-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos showing progress on my Sunflowers on Red Commission

Giveaway, we have a winner!

2009-10-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Using a toddler, a name was randomly drawn out of a hat and

the lucky winner of the original watercolor "Night Snowfall" is

Rebecca Anderson!

Thanks for playing everyone :)

a Little bit of Press

2009-10-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey my painted bra piece for the Save a Sister show was featured in the Flathead Beacon, cool! It is a piece honoring my late aunt Laurie Shonerd, a wonderful person and an incredible artist. I own a giclee of her gorgeous piece Calla Lily Splash which was my inspiration for the lilies on the bra. Read the article and find out how you can be a part of Save a Sister.

The show is at the Hockaday Museum of Art and is opening Saturday Oct 3rd, then it will travel around the country and come back to the Flathead Valley and be auctioned off next August.

Lucky 13 "Innocence" and Re-dos

2009-10-01T14:42:00.001-07:00

Innocence is the theme for this month's Lucky 13 card. It's a sketch of Jolie from a photo taken when she was a week old. Funny little thing :) This one was a bit of a hurry up job because I also needed to finish these...

Apparently there are small time art thieves working within the Mexican postal system so "Water" and "Birds" had to be re-done. I like the Chick one, though the idea is a bit rough and the lettering isn't where I want it. I might use it as a starting point for something else... someday

GIVEAWAY! "Night Snowfall" watercolor

2009-09-24T07:19:00.001-07:00

This little 4 by 6 inch watercolor piece is called "Night Snowfall" and is one of my many recent watercolor projects. Sign up to my email mailing list and get a chance to win it! Email me at benskigurl@hotmail.com with "mailing list" in the subject line. Don't worry, I won't pepper your inbox with endless arty sillyness. I will occasionally send a "new work up in the gallery" notice, or show opening invitation. You can opt out of my mailing list at any time by simply emailing me with "remove" in the subject line.

After you've signed up for the mailing list
Increase your chances to win! Get more entries in the drawing by doing one or more of the following, then tell me what you did in the comment area below and make sure you leave me your contact info.

1. Become a follower of my blog (scroll down and click the follow button on the left side column)
2. Become a fan of my facebook page
3. Blog about my art on your blog
4. Check out karenminton.com and tell me where you find a link that doesn't work (hint, the deeper you go, the more there are! I've got some work to do...)
5. Tell me in the comment section what your favorite painting in the gallery is

I will draw for a winner at noon on Monday October 5th!

Winner will be notified of win via email. Winner needs to email me back with shipping info before October 19th in order to receive the giveaway or another winner will be drawn. Winner will be shipped "Night Snowfall" unframed and wrapped in a protective cardboard square. Contest is open to everyone, however free shipping is for US participants only.

the tough part is over...

2009-09-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Progress as of 11/5/09 Roughed in the shadows for the vines and middle foreground. Tinkered with trees and foliage... Added lots of heavy tones to the old vine itself... Now I think it's time to break out the wine country books and study vine structures. Definitely needing to work on the right hand trees still, they look like one big dark blob... yikes

New progress as of 10/16 (just added it to the post below) The foreground is coming along...

I had a great painting day last saturday! Four hours of painting and I arrived at the fun part, at least for a little bit I won't have to make any tough decisions. I can just happily paint leaves and grasses and mustard flowers and trees for a bit. I'm leaving the forefront and vine until last. The only problem still bugging me is the scale of the trees. My next move will be to do some subtle corrections there...

Old Vine Painting

2009-09-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Little by little....

Little Red Pig with Wings

2009-08-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

I collaged and painted this little red pig straight onto a cool little frame I found at a garage sale. It's a bit rough around the edges but I like it.

Happy White Flowers

2009-08-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

I had this painting hanging around in shades of blue and black for a long time... It was sad, and it was starting to get at me to see it hanging so drab and forgotten in the back corner of my studio. So yesterday, during a particularly gloomy rain, I dragged it out, scrubbed a few happy glazes over it and now here it is, with it's lovely new clothes.

Sunnies on Blue

2009-08-14T10:13:00.001-07:00

This is Sunflowers on Blue . It's 24 x 24 inches and was painted on a really thick, heavily woven cotton which was stretched on a thick wooden frame, so it's hefty.

If you're feeling a little deja vu ish about this painting it's probably because I've done it thrice before with a red background. I like the composition of my original sketch so I keep going back to it. On a side note, I was recently commissioned to do another sunflowers with a red background soon to stay tuned for that one :)

Old vine

2009-08-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Since it's been a while I thought I'd put up a pic of the latest progress on the "Old Vine" commission. This painting has been putting me through my paces. I did several layers in the middle ground trying to get it to make sense, but it still needs something. I might have to make a major change... however, my other worry is that when I end up getting to the vine itself and putting in it's leaves etc. the painting might become too busy... sooo I may opt for simplification of the middle ground at this point. That treeline on the right is not working for me... At any rate what it amounts to is me staring at this for hours a day and getting no work done. So I'm going to tackle the middle ground today once Jo goes down for her nap and see where I end up...

Wine Lover II Completed!

2009-08-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

I finally did it! Nothing like a deadline to get those last few hours in! This commission took me two years to do, that's pretty long for me. Thank you Deja for being so patient!

Lucky 13 Corn theme

2009-08-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

This month's lucky 13 theme was Corn. I thought corn... hmmm, how many different ways can you interpret corn! That's the beauty of doing this project though, it gets you to think wayyy outside your comfort zone.

I had a flood of ideas for this one, but the image that kept revolving in my mind's eye was "imprint" which is what I titled this piece. It's basically just a straight ink imprint of a lovely piece of corn, which I rolled over a few times with different colors, glazed a sepia and then fixed with a spray poly. I like how it turned out like a pop-ish abstract, usually I have an extremely hard time getting my creative mind to loosen up enough to get a successful abstraction going, so I was pretty happy with this excersize.

Lucky 13 Icons

2009-06-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

This month's Lucky 13 theme is icons. I hemmed and I hawwed, pondered and mused and finally I realized I'd better just get something done, so I did a quick graphite sketch of Audrey Hepburn, icon of style and sophistication. To bump the arty factor up a notch I filled in her top with black acrylic paint and did a warm white acrylic wash in the background.

Glacier Lily

2009-06-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some preliminary sketches and watercolors for a glacier lily painting, this is my favorite so far...

Ready for your closeup?

2009-06-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the images to see them in more detail

Beatrice

Miss Jeanie
Ella
Clare
Olive

Elegant Annie

Here are some close up shots of the art dolls I've done so far. 3 and 4 are Gritty Jane patterns and the others are my own that I adapted. Whenever possible I recycle materials to make these little gals, but I'm still trying to find the happy medium between doing these art dolls that are sculpted and painted to something made from more natural materials that Jolie can gum to her heart's content. I was watching antique roadshow and they had an old wood carved doll head that they talked about. Some sweet old lady made them for the local kids then later turned it into a full on company, still with the heads carved by hand, she attached them to cloth bodies but very few of the bodies survived.

Dusk Inspirations

2009-06-05T14:20:00.001-07:00

These little forrest watercolors were inspired by the view out my bedroom window. I don't really get to see much of a sunset, but I do get to see the most beautiful dusk framing the trees in greens and blues, blending up into the deep night sky slowly filling with stars. I was planning on making the sky filled with glow in the dark stars, but the paint had other ideas. When I dotted them in they looked a lot more like snow, which is probably more realistic anyway ;-)

Watercolor Dolls

2009-06-05T08:34:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've done a new post because I've been busy getting a group show together featuring local artists doing art in the theme of "art for baby". We had the opening last night and a good time was had by all. My mom has been visiting and her help with the show made it so easy.

Unfortunately my camera died a dented death so I'm going to have to wait and see if I can get the pictures off of it. Above are a few scans of some doll designs I did as an addition to some acrylic nursery sets and cloth dolls (again, pictures pending). I've been having loads of fun getting back into Aquarelle watercolor sticks, watercolors and pencil, and oil pastels. It's a lot easier to do work on the kitchen table when you've got a toddler needing something every ten minutes! So the easle painting will have to wait till I can get some help.

Lucky 13 Words

2009-05-12T07:46:00.001-07:00

The theme for this month is words, but I could only think of one word. :)

Olive

2009-05-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest art doll. Her name is Olive. She enjoys smiling, plaid, and hanging around...

Lucky 13 Envelope

2009-04-07T09:01:00.001-07:00

OK here it is as promised. An example of a lucky 13 envelope and it's contents. The first is "Water Saint" by Kage Harp (who is also the owner of the beautifully decorated envelope). The second is the Birds themed card by Abigail Garner, and the third is "Dreams Give me a Chance to be my Real Self" by Wendy Anderson, the fourth is "Leaders of the Saints and Sinners" by L.K. Christensen and the 5th is "Embrace Chaos" by Stephanie Pointer.

Lucky 13 Botanical

2009-04-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

The theme for this month's Luck 13 card the theme is "Botanicals". For this one I pulled out my trusty Montana Wildflowers guide and chose to depict one of my favorite little flowers, the Twinflower. I decided to put my new pastel pencils to the test. To get a flow going with the medium, I also did a funky little version of White flowers, which was useful as a test piece for the fixative spray and certain color blends such as the cream background.

A few hours work

2009-04-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

Progress! I finally got a few hours in the studio today and did some satisfying work on the Wine Lover and Old Vine painting.

The Wine lover got a background layer, some darkening and defining in the shawl and dress, an antique wash on the skin and some definition around the eyes and eyebrows. I am wasn't quite ready to tackle the mouth yet, which has been looking a little vampirish...

The Old Vine painting got several layers in all the treed areas, shadowing in the central yellow hills, a green wash to determine where the middle ground vine rows will be, a layout of new vine rows in the far hills, a brown color base for the main vine in the foreground, some sketching in of the trunks that will be just beyond it, and a little bit of color on the distant hills.

I have so many ideas and so little time these days, but in the works are another Big Mountain painting, some children's nursery sets and a few random floral pieces.

Old Vine painting, more progress

2009-03-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

These just show more progress on the Old Vine painting. My sweet friend Kim dropped by this morning, (needing to kill an hour in town) and shooed me off to my studio while she played with Jolie, so I've had a very productive morning! Can't beat friends like that :)

Old Vine painting, a work in progress

2009-03-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

These are the beginning photos of a commission piece I've been working on. I did several sketches before I started this because I am not working directly from a photo or actual location. It's basically just an idea born from looking at several Napa landscapes and head pruned vine illustrations. In the first photo (from the bottom up) you can see that I laid down a wash of yellow, brown and splotches of french grey and green. The reason for the splotches is because I also laid down a very heavy textured gesso first, but unfortunately it froze in my studio as it was drying so it created several deep cracks. At first I thought I would start over, but the cracks are kindof cool. So I pushed some paint into them and will seal the painting several times over when it's finished to prevent further cracking.

2009-03-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one night! Get down K-ren. So, this is just a little experimental piece. I was working on this one the same time as the white flowers I listed below, and was trying to make them companions but they went their own way.