Artist Spotlite – Kathy Karas

Artist: Kathy Karas

Location: Australia

Title: “BREAKFAST AT THE BEACH”

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: 30″x 60″

Website: http://www.artwhatson.com/kathykaras/ and http://www.kathy-karas-artist.com/

Comments From The Artist: Here is a painting that I completed in June this year. It is an oil painting of our local beach and a place that I visit often . I had just finished breakfast one morning and was walking back to my car when I happened to look back and was captured by the sight of the kiosk with the umbrella’s and people enjoying a lazy saturday morning by the beach. I am an Australian artist and live on the beautiful south coast of NSW just south of Sydney.

Artist Spotlite – Mary

Artist: Mary

Title: “Silent Beauty”

Medium: Watercolor

Comments From The Artist: I am familiar with oils and I would say I am accomplished in Oils.  However, I  have not touched a brush of any kind since 1986 when I lost my son in an accident.  I failed to see beauty for many years.  This time has passed and at the persuasion of my husband and a friend who gave me some watercolors and paper, I tried to do watercolor.  I am teaching myself and observing many different techniques.

The fist one was done and 3 years passed, I have now resummed full speed ahead to get my feet WET.  “SILENT BEAUTY” is my second finished project.  Finding and allowing myself time seems to be the biggest problem.  I am enjoying.

Artist Spotlite – Shirley Flinn

Artist: Shirley Flinn

Location: Lacombe, Alberta.

Dimensions: 16×20

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Website: www.shirleyflinn.com

Comments By The Artist: I was really drawn to this image, I saw it on a horse rescue calendar. I contacted the publisher of the calendar and got the name of the owner of the image, and received permission to paint it.  I changed the background, and added color to the horses coat and repositioned the horse on the canvas.

“Vineyard Patterns” – An Oil Painting Demonstration by Jennifer Young

Step One: Choose a Scene

I often head out to the Virginia mountains to do some plein air painting, and on a morning last week I visited Veritas Vineyards in Afton Virginia. This is a beautiful winery and there are many possibilities for painting subject matter. However, my umbrella broke and I haven’t yet purchased a new one, which can make painting on location in an open field a bit difficult. If the sun is shining directly on your canvas, all you see is a bunch of glare and your paintings end up turning out way to dark and muddy as a result.Having said that, I can’t stress enough how important it is to take the time to choose a scene that excites and interests you. You have a better chance of producing a much better painting as a result. Luckily I came upon a nice shady spot in a private area off of the main road past the winery’s tasting room and became excited about this scene:

Okay, so it loses something in my photograph, perhaps! But what I liked about this scene was the abstract shapes and patterns formed by the sweeping lines of the vines and ground. The light was constantly going back and forth behind cloud masses, making painting with consistent lighting very difficult. But that is the fun challenge of painting on location!

Step 2 – Lay out the Design

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Oil Painting Lessons – Tips on Color Mixing and Theory

When I first began painting some 10 years ago, I recall how intimidating it all seemed. With all of the various colors, mediums, brushes and other tools available, it was enough to make my head spin.

While learning about the various brushes and mediums was a bit confusing, the biggest challenge for me was how to accurately depict nature and other real life objects on canvas using color.

How do I make a color lighter or darker? What about making realistic shadows or highlights? This article will shed some colorful light on the situation, and with practice, working with color in your oil paintings will become easier and more enjoyable.

Thank God for the beautiful Sun, for without it, we would not see color. Everything would appear dark and colorless.

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