Calendar Sale!

So, I don't often offer print products of my work because the numbers just don't add up, and I don't usually, really ever, get into the whole black Friday hype, but my favorite photo printing website offered me a deal so I wanted to extend it to the folks that have expressed interest in a calendar this year.  From now till Friday, I'm able to offer this calendar featuring my encaustic painted flowers for $22.00 (plus shipping if you live outside of MT). If you would like one, contact me via email karen@karenminton.com and I will send you a paypal invoice and put in your order!

 Here is the cover   

and here are a few snapshots of the interior of  the calendar.

star stickers not included ;)

Finished Projects

Well it looks like winter is catching up with me finally :)

In the studio long awaited projects are being finished up and prepped for delivery. I'm choosing pieces to be taken down to Bigfork for the Persimmon Gallery's next artwalk, and looking ahead towards Christmas Stroll. Kage and I are going to be offering some very nice prices and special treats for those intrepid enough to stroll to our gallery.  :)

So let me show you what I've been up to...

I started this piece last spring, the first ideas forming as we moved back to our town just as the Big Mountain started melting into it's summer clothes. I saw the beauty of this mountain with fresh eyes after having been away for a year and a half and I wanted to capture that bluebird-on-my-shoulder feeling.

"Spring Melt" 16 x 20  acrylic on canvas.  Available at the Rare Bird Gallery for $2500.00

These next two were created for a client who wanted an encaustic painting of Mt. Kintla, a place dear to her family.  One shows a cloudy, wind rippled lake and the other, a calm, big sky day. I usually do several support pieces when doing an encaustic commission this specific, and narrow them down as I go along, and end up focusing on the best piece. But this time two pieces were developed to the end. I used the same scribe to keep the proportions and skyline as correct as possible during all the fusing and painting. The main technical difference was lowering the skyline in the cloudy piece. Isn't it amazing how different they turned out to be?

top "Windswept Mt Kintla" 16 x 20 encaustic on cradled wood panels

bottom  "Still waters at Kintla Lake" 16 x 20 encaustic on cradled wood panels

(one of these may be available at the gallery soon)

This next project is a watercolor illustration I did for a cute save the date magnet

and last but not least,  is a watercolor logo and stamp design for a new

company here in Whitefish, which is being started up by two

wonderful, hardworking and stylish gals. Click on the logo to see the detail in the watercolor, so pretty.

Next up, I'm working on posters and we are getting the gallery all gussied up for an exciting art show with fiber artist Kerry Nagel Nov 22nd  titled "Long Forms".  You might remember my studio visit from this post.  Kerry's fiber pieces are incredible.


Let me see what else is new...

I'm taking this class with Jessica Hische, awesome hand lettering wizardess. I love Skillshare.
Daniel made me this painting mix on soundcloud. He is getting his vinyl collection out there, dig it. 
I made this recipe with the winter squash from the garden and it was crazy delicious. Try it, add as many mushrooms as possible if you do, and top with extra parm.

until next time,

Karen

A Beautiful Summer

While this blog has been quiet for the last few months, my life certainly hasn't! Summer in Montana is a rare time. Each day is a unique sparkling thing, not to be wasted.  We've been fitting it all in, river trips, hiking, camping, berry picking, family reunion and wedding attending, gardening, yard sale having, BBQing, playing music to our hearts content (my mando callouses are getting quite respectable, now if I could just remember all the chords), in short, my life feels full on these long sunny days and I am grateful for it.

 In the studio I am working on some fun projects, a wedding invitation (breaking out the watercolors and my favorite dip pens for this one I heart Gillots 303), a 16 x 20 encaustic landscape commission of a special place, Mt. Kintla, and a few acrylic on canvas projects of local mountains. You can keep an eye out for updates on these projects on my facebook page.

In the Gallery I have some news! Artist Kerry Kage Harp is going to be moving into the gallery in September and together we are going to offer workshops, shows and a lot of other fun ideas for the winter. Kerry is known for her detailed assemblages and is going to be teaching some of her tricks!  I first met Kerry in 98 when I moved to Whitefish, we were some of the only non-western artists around so naturally we found each other right away and have always had a supportive artsy connection.  I am so excited for this new partnership.

Oh yes and more Gallery News, I have filled my featured artist calendar up! I'm looking forward to bringing the following artists into the gallery and I am working hard to advertise and get folks to come see their beautiful works.

August 1st. Jess Iams Opening First Thursday Artwalk 6-9 and hanging until the end of the month. Here is her artist's statement: "Inspired by surrounding natural beauty, street art, vintage, pets and friends, expressionism, natural patterns and the intricate color combinations of all living things I create my paintings. Taking the function out of an image and turning it into just something to look at and ponder is a very interesting endeavor and I seek the balance and control gained by creating imagery that evokes something out of the viewer. Be it pain, passion, calm, fear, excitement, bliss, memory. Through grids and intricate color combinations, the paint lives to please, to teach, to cover white walls, to evoke!" Jess's work will be up until the end of the month. If you didn't make the opening stop by the gallery.

September 5th. Katia Von Kral  Opening First Thursday Artwalk 6-9. Katia is an Arizona artist who works in large format mixed media. Katia's work will be up for just this night only.

September 22nd. Mandy Mohler and Betty and The Boy.  The title of this show is Artist Wilderness Connection : The Logan Dirtyface Sessions.   In the summer of 2012, local artists Mandy Mohler, Bettreena Jaeger, and Josh Harvey participated in the Artist Wilderness Connection, an art program coordinated through the Hockaday Museum of Art and the United States Forest Service. The three artists hiked seven miles into the forest and camped at Spruce Park for a little over a week. This show is a presentation of their artistic collaborations. The work on display will consist of fine art photography, photographic encaustics, paintings, a short film and live music. Bettreena Jaeger and Josh Harvey will perform with special guests Kati O'Toole and Alex Hogle.

November 22  Beloved local artist Kerry Nagel will be showing her recent works. More info to be announced.


Now, a little bit more about the workshops...  if you have been feeling the need for creative outlet and are interested in signing up for an acrylic painting mini workshop (space is limited to between 4 and six people),  let me know if you want an email reminder for signup dates. I'm going to be putting together the details in September and will be offering a handful of workshops for October and November and maybe early December. I'm also going to be offering private encaustic mono-printing workshops this fall (get creative and fill your Christmas gift list in one session!).

Happy summer,
Karen

May was a month of decisions... Mainly, I had to decide this, 

am I crazy enough to attempt to open a gallery?

in 2013?

in Montana?

by myself?

...

An opportunity presented itself and it just seemed like this was the right thing to do...

Unfortunately it took me several cookie making sessions to make up my mind (during which I discovered the most delectable almond butter cookies, nom nomm.. and after which I needed to cleanse my poor sugar loaded system with several green juices and salads...)

but in the end I decided that, well yes of course, I'm an artist! I'm totally crazy enough to start a gallery. Resort tax? Signage permits, what?

The space is a beautiful loft above Lakestream Fly Fishing Shop, at the south end of Central Ave in Whitefish. At first I thought it was very small, but then I hung my entire blooms series and realized there is actually a lot of wall space. And there's this great huge deck, which is so nice to have, especially on these balmy summer evenings...

So here it is,  the Minton Gallery :) 

 

Just need a little signage.

And here is my latest creation, and first work to be finished here, a Montana inspired landscape.

Backroads  9 x 12  Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas 

$250 

Now available at the Minton Gallery :)

Back in Montana

The Artwalk in San Diego went beautifully; great weather, well run event, huge crowd, a few very appreciated serious art buyers... I want to say a big thank you to the new and established collectors who snapped up the pieces that spoke to them! I am also grateful to my husband Daniel's family, what a great support crew, I am so lucky!

Made it back to Montana just in time to see the wild strawberries, arnica, and lilacs begin to bloom. Jolie got sick in the middle of our California trip so plane tickets were cancelled and road trip plans were made. We needed to get our Subaru back into the fold anyway :)


So now it's time to get settled, weed the garden, find the trails and the good books, get inspiration from the beautiful light and landscape here.... and just enjoy the precious Montana summer.

There is a small selection of works now available for sale on the website...
Aaaaaand... I'm 99% sure I'll have an interesting little surprise artsy announcement to go on my next post. Oh I do love a cliffhanger don't you?

Getting ready for the Mission Federal ARTwalk!

The last month has been a blur. We moved back in to our house in MT, and settled in. I set up my studio first thing, and went right to work. In order to save money and spare Jolie a bumpy transition, we opted not to put her into day care, and instead Daniel stepped up to fulfill the parent duties while I worked nights to finish as much work as possible to showcase at the Mission Federal Artwalk in San Diego this month.  It's not a schedule we want to keep up, but I must say I do love working under a deadline like this. It was so satisfying to be able to really focus and get so much done.  Here are a few sneek peeks.

Rusted Sky  8 x 8 Encaustic on wood

Windswept  8 x 10  Encaustic on wood

I needed to keep the work small since I'm shipping these...

 Across the Valley 4 x 6 encaustic on wood

 Orchid  5x5 Encaustic on wood

 Mountain Flowers  5x5  Encaustic on wood

Bouquet  5x5  Encaustic on wood

Mounted Prints.

 This is kindof a new thing that I experimented with and the results

are beautiful, though hard to get good photos of because there are a few layers

of translucent wax over the top of these.

Big Sky I  5 x 7 Encaustic Mono-print, mounted on wood panel

 

Big Sky II  5 x 7 Encaustic Mono-print on wood panel 

 Big Sky III  5 x 7 Encaustic Mono-print on wood panel

 Loosened Ties  5 x 7 Encaustics (pair) on panel

Festival Girls 8 x 10 Encaustic on panel

Blooms 8 x 10 Encaustic on panel

The next post will likely be a report of the show and photos of my booth. Until then visualize me selling tons of paintings under sunny skies! 

~ Karen

New Encaustics, amidst the packing

I just returned from my Cabo girl's trip and I have to tell you, if you are stressing out, now is definitely the time for a vacation.  I'm feeling refreshed and ready to move... next Friday... Holy Crap now I'm stressed again. No really, it's all better.

I finally got a good photo shoot in this week. Here are some of the pieces I am boxing because I'll leave them down here in S.D. for the Artwalk show.  I'm working on a few more large pieces that will round out this body of work and then do smaller pieces once I'm up in the beautiful north.  I'm pushing myself to get them done before the packing gets into full swing.

  "This Crazy Beautiful Life"  24 x 24  Encaustic on wood

 "Sweet and Fleeting"  11 x 14  Encaustic on wood

 "Moment in the Sun"  8 x 10  Encaustic on wood

"Listen"  8 x 10  Encaustic on wood

"Secret Garden" 11 x 14 Encaustic on wood

"One Summer Day"  8 x 10 Encaustic on wood

Recent work, and Moving News

It's been a little while since my last post so here's an update for ya, Montana we're coming back! Yep, Daniel's company needs him up there more frequently than the monthly trips so we are moving... again. This doesn't stress me out or anything... especially since the Artwalk show is fast approaching! So, my to do list grows long while I am waiting for the temperature to creep up in the studio this morning...

So many things to do!
Pack
Clean
Pack for my girls trip to Cabo (YES, so needed right now but I don't have time to relax do I? yes always make time says Daniel, my relaxing guru)
Figure out the logistics of moving cars and stuff
Figure out the logistics of getting myself in the studio as much as possible so I can be ready for my ARTwalk show in Little Italy April 28th
Paint
Paint
Paint!
Find daycare for my kiddo in MT (so far this is the hardest thing)


and in the meantime, doing all the little mama, hairbrained odd jobs that seem to never end ;)
but I finally finished this piece which ended up taking a few more months than expected, phew!
Love it though.

 Sometimes its so hard to sell these more intricate works, you want to look at them for a year first.

 These three little paintings are so juicy. Loving the orangey red tones.

I've done about 50 monoprints in the last month and this one is my current fav.

Mountains baby!

 I did a few like this, I suppose it's time for a large format photo shoot because this photo is terrible

 This one might get put into my Studio Sale area on the website, I'll see if any more

come out like it first though. Classic Minton right? ;)

 This is the big mama I'm workin' on right now. Just stuffing it with blooms.

Many more in the works, but they aren't ready for their close up yet.

Let's see, what else is new.... Jolie is turning 5 soon, which blows my mind, she is such a fun kid, she falls asleep with every last children's book we own. I think she's trying to teach herself how to read by osmosis. Sometimes she wakes us up in the middle of the night shouting "MORE BOOKS!" 

 Which reminds me I need to write that on the to do list :-)

Speaking of Children's Books,  check out my friend Amelie's children's book site, Amelie's Bookshelf  I love reading her book reviews for suggestions on what to get for Jolie

Until next time... Thanks for reading folks!