Women in Art
Greetings to all of my readers! I just wanted to catch you up on some things happening right now. First, we are trying to survive the Texas heat! Wow, it has been intense for the last several weeks. A great time to just stay in, stay cool, and create art!
I had a Christmas in July sale with some of my Christmas products. Thanks to all of you who supported me in that by making purchases of my prints offered. You are so appreciated!
I also want to make all of my readers aware of an art exhibit in Winnsboro, Texas called Women in Art. I was thrilled to find I had two pieces accepted into this exhibit. I had never been to Winnsboro, Texas before, but my husband and I made a visit there a few weeks ago to deliver my pieces of art and found quite an art scene in this little town. The downtown scene is quite lovely and has several art galleries, boutiques, and restaurants. We are looking forward to taking a day soon to go over and enjoy taking all of this in. The Women in Art exhibit is in the Winnsboro Center for the Arts. They are open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday. For more info go to https://winnsborocenterforthearts.com/art_exhibition_sched/. I hope you will get an opportunity to go and see this exhibit before it ends on September 23rd.
We recently returned from a vacation to Disneyland in California with our oldest son, his wife and our grandchildren. We had so much fun exploring the two parks for three days. Since this is the park that Walt Disney was on site for and oversaw the building process, it made this so nostalgic for me. So much creativity is displayed everywhere! It was fun to see rides original to the park and to see new ones as well. The imagination is not spared in these parks, even to the smallest details. As an artist, I left with great inspiration to keep creating. One of my favorite things was the opportunity to go to the Animation Studio with my grandson and be led by a Disney artist in a drawing class! We drew Lightning McQueen from the Cars movies. What a great memory for us together! We walked a lot of steps each of those three days, but it was worth it. I would love to return some day and cover more of the history of the park.
This was just a quick update and I hope you get the chance to go and see the art exhibit in Winnsboro.
Here’s a quick reminder for my art classes. I am teaching in my home studio on Wednesdays from 1-4 p.m. There are three weeks left in the ongoing session and will end September 13th, and then my next five-week session will begin October 4th and go through November 1st. We would love for you to join us! For more info go to https://www.kimkeysart.com.
Christmas in July
Christmas in July, if you know me personally you are probably laughing. I just finished the artwork above a few days ago after beginning it in November of 2021. Life just kept happening and I would set it aside to work on something else. I made up my mind at the beginning of June this project was about to get finished! So, in order for that to happen, with temps hanging in the 90’s and lots of sunshine, it called for measures to get me in the Christmas spirit in order to put my heart and soul into this piece. So, the Christmas music was turned on, the a/c was turned down a bit, and it’s time to paint with colored pencils! My husband just laughed, but he knows me so well. It’s really not unusual for me to play Christmas music in the summertime. If I’m in the mood to hear it, I play it.
First, let me tell you a little about this project. I took the photos for this still life in 2018 in our home. I wanted a setting of warm and cozy and a sense of wonder in the anticipation of Christmas. So, I light a fire in the fireplace, light up the Christmas tree, and turn out the other lights. All ambiance was coming from the fire and the Christmas tree lights. I took several different arrangements with the teddy bear in the rocking chair. This teddy bear is a treasured possession of mine. He was an after Christmas sale find. I just loved his sweater! So, he became my focal point for this still life. I actually worked from three different photos of this photo shoot, pulling different things I loved from each to include in this painting.
This painting was also done on a surface I had never worked on with colored pencil, canvas. I was familiar with working on canvas in oil paints and acrylics, but I never had thought about trying colored pencils on canvas, until one day while scrolling through Facebook, I found videos of another artist showing how she created art on canvas with colored pencil. I was completely intrigued as I watched her techniques. (The artist was Giddy Richt. Look her up! She’s done some beautiful portraits.) I decided I needed to try this, so I ordered the canvas she had used and then began this project. Normally when I try a new surface for the first time, I choose something smaller to work on in order to see if I like it and give me a chance to learn how to work on the new surface. Well, not this time, instead my canvas working area was to be 12” x 16”, which is large for a colored pencil piece for me. There was quite a learning curve working on canvas, but once I got into the real groove of it during June as I worked many hours on it, I found I really liked working on this surface with colored pencils. I would put several layers on and then blend it in using odorless mineral spirits. I was able to get a very painterly look, which was my goal. I really was pleased with how this piece turned out! As I had been working on it, I kept trying to think of a good name for this painting. I was very close to being finished, and the name “Anticipation” came to mind. I loved the name, because that is the feeling I wanted to give when I took the photos. So, the name stuck! My hope is the painting will help others feel the anticipation of Christmas! The celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth, being with family and friends, watching children and grandchildren open packages, great food and fellowship, so much to anticipate! I am already anticipating all of this goodness!
I am also anticipating something I’ve never done before! I will be offering a Christmas in July sale for prints of this painting, as well as prints from my Santa of Paris painting, which I completed in 2019, in honor of my dear friend, Tony Clark. Tony isn’t with us in body anymore, but he’s forever in our hearts and minds.
Be watching your email, if you’re on my email list, for this offer. These prints will be available for a special price only during this Christmas in July sale. What a great time to buy something for yourself for the holidays or as a gift for someone else! If you’re not on my email list, go to my website www.kimkeysart.com. There will be a pop-up message when you go to my website, just put your name and email address in there and you won’t miss the email when the sale begins. If the pop-up doesn’t come up for any reason, there are several options on my website to sign up. Do it now!
I hope you have enjoyed my story behind my new painting, Anticipation. I’m so excited to be able to offer this one in prints as well. Be watching in the coming days for this sale! Thanks for reading and be blessed!
Featured in Color Magazine Again & Next Teaching Session
I’m happy to announce my article, “Overcoming Artist’s Block”, has been published in the June 2023 issue of Ann Kullberg’s Color Magazine. This is my fifth time to have an article published in this beautiful magazine full of colored pencil art, tips and tutorials, and other artful information. I look forward to mine arriving each month! I am so delighted they chose to include this article and I so hope it helps other artists overcome artist’s block as I was experiencing several months ago.
Writing is something I have discovered I really enjoy doing. About two years ago, I wrote an article about using a new surface with colored pencils. I submitted it to Color Magazine and they accepted and published it, thus began my journey as an author. Since then, I’ve submitted more articles with techniques as well as inspirational articles for artists. I am so honored each time they have been published. The first time I submitted I was terrified with thoughts of fear of rejection. I did it anyway, and I’m so glad I did. It helped me to overcome that fear and the only way to find out if it was good enough was to step out. I am a teacher by nature and the very idea of my articles inspiring or helping someone to create art makes me smile.
Speaking of being a teacher, let me tell you about my upcoming teaching session to be held at my home studio in Paris, Texas. Creating art together with other artists is so much fun! I love teaching in person. So much teaching is offered now via Zoom and online courses, and they are valuable and I have taken part in several in the last few years. However, there is nothing like being in the same room with an instructor who can see your work and give tips along the way as you are working through a project. One of the greatest advantages of teaching in person is the opportunity to build relationships while creating art. My teaching is more of a coaching approach. I find out what you would like to create, and help you achieve it using colored pencils as well as other mediums you can incorporate with colored pencils. I teach on Wednesdays for three hours from 1-4 p.m. for a five-week period. I then give two weeks off to allow for flexibility in my students’ schedules as well as mine. My next session will begin July 5th and go through July 26th, which is actually a four-week session this time due to my schedule. I would love for you to join us in our next session! Please email me @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com to register or to get more information. Space is limited due to the size of my studio.
I’ve been playing in the studio with learning how to make monoprints! This has been just fun to keep the creative juices flowing. At the same time, it’s inspiring me with new ideas of how to incorporate this into my art business as well. We shall see! I’m also working on a Christmas-themed colored pencil piece on canvas, a surface I’ve never tried before with colored pencil. It’s proving to be fun and something I will try again. Using this medium just doesn’t get old because there are so many ways to use them! For this reason alone, you need to join the fun in my teaching sessions! To find out more info, please go to: https://www.kimkeysart.com/classes.
If you would like to purchase a digital copy of Color Magazine which includes my new article, please go to: https://annkullberg.com/collections/color-magazine-all-issues. .,
If you prefer a printed copy you can purchase at: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Magazine-June-2023-issue/dp/B0C6BQHSM4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17Y7ABMTJ9G1T&keywords=ann+kullberg+color+magazine+june+2023&qid=1685636942&sprefix=%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
Until next time! Be blessed and thanks for reading!
Artist’s Block and How I Overcame It
Hello to all my readers! I’ve been absent for a while on my blog, my social media and my website. I took some time off during the holidays to enjoy some creating for fun and spend time with family and friends. I had a great time spending time with loved ones during the holidays, and enjoying time with our grandchildren, children, and with my husband. I didn’t succeed in getting much creative time in though. I do need to figure out a better way to carry on in my creativity during the holidays.
So, the holidays ended and we put away the décor, and then life threw some curves. A very dear family member lost her dad very suddenly, and then a loss of a very dear aunt to me. We were with my aunt’s family for a week during her hospital stay, which was a blessing for us to be able to be there for support during a very hard time. We came home for a few days, then my aunt passed away, so then we returned to be with family for her memorial service. This aunt will be greatly missed by our whole family, but to me she played a very important role in my life. We both are artistic, and we shared lots of fun times about our creativity and had many great conversations about creative adventures. She was an encourager for me and always cheered me on in my endeavors. She will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Life does throw us curves at times. It’s wonderful to have fun, celebrations, and joyous occasions, but in reality, there are sad and grievous times as well. We grow in those times in different ways, and learn how to be there for other people in their grief. Times like these can be hard to navigate in our normal lives, and find us struggling with how to get back to a “normal life”. That is where I found myself a few weeks ago. Usually, being creative helps me pull out of these hard times, but this time it wasn’t. I had no inspiration to create anything, and I found myself in a major “artist’s block”. I would look through books, pictures, etc. just hoping to find something to inspire me and get me going again. It just wasn’t happening. I really had to lean on the Lord through all of this, allow myself to grieve, even though it hurt, and trust that my passion for creativity would return.
Finally, I decided to just make myself create, no matter how I felt. I pulled out a fun tutorial by a fellow artist of a mouse in a coffee mug filled with colored pencils. It just looked fun and colorful, and I needed some fun. I completed the piece and then decided to gift it to my grandson, who has a great love for art. We love to draw together and he has become quite a good artist! I thought he would like this piece to put in his own art space at home. I framed it and wrapped it up to give as his Valentine’s gift from his KiKi and Pops. When he opened this up, the look on his face stirred something within me. He was so joyful to have something I had created. It reminded me of why the gift of creativity is in us all, the gift is for others. We are made in the image of our Creator God, and we create things every day, whether we believe it or not. The meals we make for our families; the atmosphere we bring into our homes or workplaces; the art we may create; the books, poems, or songs we write; the business we build, all of these are creative things we make for others. Others are blessed by our giftings, also known as our creations.
Seeing my grandson’s smile, sparked something within me for why God gave me the passion to create art, to write, and to inspire others to move forward in their creative giftings so others in their circle of life will be blessed and encouraged. Such a simple thing to reignite me! I’m still trying to work through some things, but that’s okay. I started another tutorial this week, by a very favorite artist of mine. This project was something an art student of mine was going to begin this week as well. I decided to work on this while she was, and take a different spin on it, using a different surface and some different techniques. It has been a very fun and inspiring piece for me, and she and I had fun while working together this week. Sharing art time with others is always fun and inspiring. I will get back to creating original art, but having these tutorials helped me get beyond this block.
In the midst of going through what I’ve mentioned, I also endured some problems with my vision for a couple of months. I am glad to report the vision problem has been resolved and I’m so thankful being able to fully see all of the beauty around me. The procedure to correct my vision took place just a few days before leaving on a cruise with my husband and great friends. This vacation was a breath of fresh air for me after the last several months, and I’ve returned with inspiration to create and carry on in my artist’s journey. I look forward to sharing my journey with you.
I know this has been a little long, but I hope it may have helped someone who has felt paralyzed and doesn’t know how to go on. Find something you can create, and bless someone else.
If you are needing a creative outlet, I offer art lessons in a five-week session (each weekly session is three hours long). One session is ongoing right now, and the next one will begin May 10th. The medium is colored pencil, but I have lots of creative ways to use them, even with other mediums. For more information, please email me @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com.
Create something beautiful today!
Fall Update
Snow Fun at the Farm
This blog is supposed to be my “fall” inspired update. Well, it’s close to 100 degrees this week where I live in Texas, so I’m not feeling the crisp, cool air at the moment. Oh well, we have to move on. I’m hearing a cool front will be here early next week, so I will be eagerly anticipating its arrival while I write this newsletter.
Life has been busy for me, but in a good way. My husband and I have had a great time over the summer spending time with our kids and grandkids, as well as going to spend time with friends and family. I’ve also been helping my husband to launch a new business for himself after his retirement. He launched last week, so now I plan to be back in the art studio on a regular basis.
I’m currently working on a new painting inspired by a photo I took on vacation a couple of years ago while visiting Breckinridge, Colorado. Breckinridge was breathtakingly beautiful in September with all of the aspen trees aglow. Words nor photos could fully capture the beauty we experienced. A charming little town it was and even had so much art to be enjoyed in so many galleries. I would highly recommend a visit to this charming town, especially in the fall. I will share my finished piece from Breckinridge inspiration in an upcoming newsletter.
The art piece I’m sharing in this newsletter, Snow Fun at the Farm, was started months ago and I stopped working on it because spring was arriving and I was eager to start on some floral ideas during the spring. I pulled this piece back out last week and put the finishing touches on it. I love the way it turned out! I started this piece to actually work on snow, something I hadn’t tackled much since using colored pencils. I used a surface called Colourfix Smooth and it worked really well. The barn and the truck were added after I began the painting. I had taken a photo of the truck and the barn from a place locally, and just decided to add them to this snow scene. Makes me ready for the holidays! I may make this into a Christmas card to sell this holiday season. Let me know if you would be interested in purchasing some @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com.
I took an online workshop last Friday with the Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA). We learned how to use markers with colored pencil. It was a great learning experience for me, and started my wheels turning on different ways to incorporate this method into my art work. I love to keep learning about this medium I love so much.
I’m also continuing to write articles for magazines. I found out this week my latest one I submitted will be published in the November issue of Ann Kullberg’s Color magazine! Life just keeps being exciting! I will update you with information to get your copy when it’s published.
Remember I have art on display and for sell at Trevors de Paris, 125 Lamar Ave., Paris, Texas. I have several originals there as well as prints. Go visit them and see the art on display by local artists, as well as check out their inventory of wine and craft beers.
Enjoy the upcoming fall season, take some photos of the beauty you see, and get inspired to create some art!
Be blessed,
Kim Keys
Summer Update and New Class Schedule
“Just Peachy Rose”-Colored Pencil Artwork by Kim Keys
I hope your summer is going great! The heat is really on now and it just makes me want to stay inside in the air conditioning or be in the pool. I’m not a fan of heat, to say the least. When the heat gets on it’s also a good time to get in the studio and create some art. I hope you have been creating as well. I haven’t created many pieces in the last few months. I’ve been enjoying spending time with my husband, Stuart, in his recent retirement. We enjoyed a cruise in May celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and his retirement. We visited St. Thomas, St. Kitts and the Bahamas while enjoying a wonderful time on the Harmony of the Seas. Everything was fabulous and it was great to be cruising again! We have also been enjoying time with our grandkids this summer. That is always fun! This explains why you haven’t heard much from me in the last few months. I’m trying to get back into the swing of things with my art business.
I have continued to teach on Wednesdays in my home studio and have absolutely loved doing so! It is so inspiring for me to be with other artists, have conversations, and share my knowledge of my favorite medium, colored pencils, as well as other art related knowledge. I have also continued to write articles and will have one featured in the upcoming August issue of Ann Kullberg’s Color Magazine. I will send out an email when it’s released so you can get a copy if you would like. I’m really excited about this article and I hope it will be encouraging to other artists in their journey with art and colored pencils.
I am so excited to tell you about some changes in my teaching schedule beginning in August! In order to give some breaks for my students and myself, I am offering classes in 5-week sessions and then giving a couple of weeks off. The classes will still be held on Wednesday but will be for 3 hours instead of 2 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at my home studio in Paris, TX. This first 5-week session will begin August 10th and end September 7th. The following 2 weeks will be scheduled off and then begin again for 5 weeks on September 28th for those who would like to continue. I will continue to teach in the same way in giving the student freedom to choose from 2 or 3 reference photos I will have available for you and then I teach/coach you along in your project during class. Since I’m going to three-hour sessions, I will be teaching on art related topics or demonstrating products or techniques for 30-45 minutes each week. The rest of the session will be for students to work on their project and me assisting as needed. It’s so fun to create art together and I hope you will join me. Space is limited due to the size of my studio, so reserve your spot by signing up here.
The teaching sessions for this first 5-week session will include:
· How to Choose a Good Reference Photo
· Ways to Enhance Your Reference Photos
· Techniques to Get Your Line Drawing on Your Surface
· How to Choose Your Colors when Beginning a Project
· Demonstration for Ways to Blend Colored Pencils
The fee for the 5-week session will be $175. This is a great value for the teaching instruction you will receive and the bonus is getting to be with other artists to do what we love! Beginners are welcome! I have a beginning tutorial that will get you started and then you can move on to what you desire to create. All levels of experience will work in this environment. I’m so excited to begin this new schedule and I hope you will join me. Feel free to pass this information on to others you know who might be interested. If you have additional questions, please feel free to email me @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com. Remember though, space is limited, so sign up now to reserve your spot!
The photo at the top is my latest painting called “Just Peachy Rose”. The original is framed and now available to purchase for $210 and prints will be available soon as well. Let me know if you are interested! You can check out my other available paintings for sell at www.kimkeysart.com and/or go by to see some of them for purchase in beautiful downtown Paris at Tresors de Paris.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer. Stay cool and create some art!
Blessings,
Kim Keys
Hello Spring!
Spring Tulip Video Course-Click Image to find out more.
I’m so excited for spring this year! We’ve been teased in the last month or so with hints of spring, and then another cold snap comes. I’m ready for green grass, leaves on the trees, and flowers!! I love taking walks and capturing photos along the way that can become paintings! It’s coming soon, and I just keep telling that to myself.
I’ve been easing myself back into my studio, trying out some new products, watching videos on new techniques to try, reading creative books, and basically just filling up my creative tank. That’s a necessary part to keep creativity flowing. The stress of life is so relieved when I paint, words can’t describe how it really makes me feel.
Last month I opened up my home studio again to offer a class on Wednesday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. It is a very relaxed setting. I offered to just allow students to create the subject matter they desired, and I’m there to coach/teach them how to create that subject. The one thing I loved about oil painting classes I took several years ago was the freedom to choose my subject matter. My teacher then helped me along in the project and kindly critiqued my work to help me know how to make it better. I loved that setting and I now am offering the same for my students. I love tutorials and workshops where everyone paints the same thing, and have offered those, but for this one, I wanted to extend the offer for some freedom to choosing your subject matter, surfaces to use, etc. Being in my home studio, all of my supplies and materials are at hand and easy for me to demo how to use. Students can also purchase different kinds of surfaces from me to try and find out if you like before spending a lot of money on them. There are lots of supplies in my studio to try with colored pencils! I can demonstrate how to use colored pencils in many ways with the techniques I have learned over the years. We have lots of fun together, and the best part is building relationships with other creative people! It’s a great experience, and if you would like to join us or want more information, please email me @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com.
If you can’t make my Wednesday class, but want to create a spring project, which is the beautiful, pink tulip pictured above, then check this video course out on my website. This is a 3-hour video course and includes an ebook to use along with the videos, and is normally available for $47. I’m offering YOU a special discount for the next 5 days to get the course for only $35! This video course covers how to use colored pencils on Lux Archival paper with Brush and Pencil Powdered blender. It’s a lot of fun! Check it out here: https://www.kimkeysart.com/courses-classes. The $35 offer expires next Tuesday, March 22nd. The website says it’s $47, but if you respond by next Tuesday, you will only pay $35. Get it while you can at the discounted price!
In other news, I found out my painting, New Wine, was selected to be in Ann Kullberg’s Colored Pencil Hidden Treasures, Volume 7. This publication only happens every 18 months, and New Wine was selected to be one of the pieces included out of over 800 entries. I’m so honored! I can hardly wait to see the book when published with so much beautiful colored pencil art! I will let you know when it’s published!
I hope this blog has helped you to get inspired to create! Please let me know if you would like to join my class on Wednesday or get the video course I offered above. Enjoy spring and blessings to you!
Kim Keys
Taking Care of Ourselves
I’ve been quiet for a while, but I’m back! I’m entering into a new season of life with my husband as he is about to retire from a company he has been with for 32 years. It’s an exciting time for both of us and I have just taken some extra time off to enjoy being with him. Family is first! We both are looking forward to more time together and with our family in this new season.
I’ve also been looking at goals for this year and where I’m headed. I’m a little behind in doing this, but that’s okay. It’s made me reflect on what’s important and how to keep my priorities straight as I move forward. It’s always interesting how we make New Year’s Resolutions at the beginning of the year and then find we have already “fallen off the wagon” by the end of January or so with some or all of our goals. That’s why it so important for us to set realistic and achievable goals. One of those goals should be to take better care of ourselves, whether it’s our physical, mental, emotional or spiritual health.
Creating art with colored pencils is my profession, but it shouldn’t all be about “work”. Creating art is very therapeutic for me. It really helps with several of those areas I just listed above. So, it’s important for me to be sure it’s given a priority in my life. Even if I just have 15-30 minutes a day to sit down and create something, even if I don’t finish it, it just helps me to be a better wife, mother, grandmother, business owner, teacher and whatever other roles I’m serving in at that time. At times when I haven’t given it a priority, I start realizing how edgy I become. I’m not my best self for sure, and I know it’s time to revamp and get it back on the priorities.
What activities bring life to you? Is it creating art, gardening, writing, playing an instrument, taking a walk in nature, or something else? Whatever it is, I hope this encourages you to keep it a priority in your life and carve out time in each day for it. I probably know the thought that just went through your mind, “I don’t have time.” I have found I have time for whatever is important to me. What if we watched TV a little less, or didn’t spend so much time on our phones? Just carving out 15-30 minutes a day to do something therapeutic for you can make so much difference in your quality of life.
As a colored pencil artist who loves this medium, sometimes it’s fun and therapeutic to try other mediums with colored pencils and see how it comes out. Some are successes, and others, not so much, but it’s not about that, it’s just simply about choosing to be creative. It’s about having fun! Remember, when we were children, what it was like to just have fun? Somehow, we lose that wonder along our way in life with all of our busyness. Become childlike and give yourself permission to have fun!
Even though we are about 6 weeks into the new year, I encourage you to begin a new habit. Choose something that really feeds your soul, and carve out time each day for it. In 30 days, I would expect you to find how much richer your life is, as I have.
So, that brings me to the end of this blog. As far as updates for Kim Keys Fine Art, I plan to write a new blog about once a month now and I will continue to create new colored pencil art to sell as originals, as well as prints and cards. My work is still displayed and for sale at Tresors de Paris, 125 Lamar Ave., in Paris, Texas. If you haven’t been able to visit this store in downtown Paris, I encourage you to go see the beautiful art displayed there by local artists! They also sell many varieties of wine and craft beer. You will love it! You can also see and purchase my art on my website, www.kimkeysart.com.
I also have a class on Wednesday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. I still have room for 2-3 more students. If you would like more info, please email me at kjkeys@kimkeysart.com. I would love for you to join me! That about covers it for this month. I hope you have a blessed month and a Happy Valentine’s Day.
Be blessed,
Kim
Are You Ready to Create with Other Artists?
Are you ready to create with other artists? I am for sure! For that reason, I’m offering a class in my studio for those who would love to join me and other artists!
This class will be on Wednesdays from 2-4 p.m. in my home studio in Paris, TX. Class space is very limited, so it’s first come, first serve. Class begins on February 2, 2022.
What will we be doing? I’m glad you asked. This class will be with colored pencil as the medium. You may choose your own photo reference or drawing you would like to create in colored pencil. I will be “coaching” you in how to achieve your subject matter in colored pencil. There are many techniques and surfaces you can use to create the piece you desire. I am willing to teach you all that I have learned about this medium! I will show you the options available and you may choose which option you would like to try. Colored pencil is so much fun and you can add other mediums with it to make it even more fun, such as PanPastels, Neocolors II, Inktense Pencils and Paint Pans, and more. The other good thing is I continue to learn and grow my skills in colored pencil and try new things myself. As I learn, I’m more than happy to share that information with you during our class sessions.
If you’ve never learned how to use colored pencils, no worries, because I have a Beginner’s Tutorial you can go through to learn the basics and you can continue to grow from there.
The thing I’m most excited about is being with other artists, creating again! The last two years have been so hard for all of us, but it’s time to create again together!
Each session will be two hours long, and the cost is $25 per session. This price does not include supplies. You will have a supply list to purchase on your own, depending on the technique you choose. I may have some supplies available for an additional supply fee.
Again, I’ve scheduled this on Wednesdays from 2-4 p.m. I’m only taking clients who desire to commit to this on a weekly basis. If you desire to see some of my work I’ve created in colored pencil, please click here. There are a variety of works on different surfaces rendered with a variety of techniques. Please email me @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com to reserve your spot or if you have questions.
I’m looking forward to being with those of you who join the fun!
Kim Keys
Great Books to Help Colored Pencil Artists
I consider myself as a “self-taught” colored pencil artist; however, that doesn’t mean I didn’t get help along the way. When I first discovered colored pencils, and saw art other artists had created with them, I was thoroughly intrigued with how they had created their art. When I pulled out my colored pencils I had stored for years and tried to use them, I soon discovered I needed some help because I didn’t fully understand how this medium really worked. I found quickly they didn’t work like oil paints, the medium I was then working in. So, I started looking for some resources to help me learn how to use colored pencils in my artwork.
I have quite a collection of books revolving around colored pencils. Some I have used more than others, but found I could glean some nuggets from each one. Over the last few years these resources have helped me tremendously, as well as going to workshops in person and online with other colored pencil artists.
In today’s blog I wanted to share about some of these books, how they helped me grow, and my hope is they will help you along in your journey.
These are not listed in any certain order, but these are the ones I tend to refer to the most often:
Colored Pencil Painting Bible by Alyona Nickelson-This book was one of my first purchases and helped me so much in learning the basics of using colored pencils. There are many projects included in the book featuring different textures with step-by-step instructions. Very helpful as a beginner!
Masterful Color by Arlene Steinberg-Arlene Steinberg is truly a master of colored pencil! Her still life paintings are spectacular and it’s hard to believe they were created with colored pencils. They look like oil paintings, and since that’s what I was desiring for my art to look like, I purchased this book. I love still life paintings and this book was and is so helpful with creating them. I refer to this one often!
101 Textures in Colored Pencil by Denise J. Howard-This book is quite a jewel! It is full of one-page tutorials to teach how to render different textures. It covers so many textures from trees, rocks, people, food, fabrics, animal fur and eyes, glass, wood, and on and on it goes. Really well done and I refer to it a lot when I’m trying to find how to render a certain texture.
Colored Pencil Portraits Step by Step by Ann Kullberg-Portraits are not my favorite subjects to create in art, but I still wanted to know how to do them in colored pencil. I have only created a couple of portraits, and this book helped me tremendously with each one. Ann Kullberg simplified things so much in this book. It is a great one to have to refer to in creating skin tones, hair, etc. If you are a fan of creating portraits in colored pencil, this one is a must have!
Painting Light with Colored Pencil by Cecile Baird-This author renders light in her colored pencil paintings like no one else! As I’m glancing through it now, I see I need to explore this book even more! I’ve referred to it many times, and it’s so inspiring! It has some beautiful projects included with easy-to-follow steps.
I hope these will be a help to you in your artful journey. Just a tip, don’t get overwhelmed thinking you have to do all of the tutorials in them. Read all of the helps and tips each author gives and you will be surprised how much your knowledge base and skills can grow! Do the projects or tutorials you really are interested in learning for now. You can always come back and do more as you progress in your journey with colored pencils. I have found so much inspiration by just pulling them off the shelf and thumbing through them time and time again. These books are great assets to have, but you will only grow by putting them into practice and using the things you have learned.
I am so grateful for those artists who took the time and effort to write these books to help us all learn more about this medium we love, colored pencils. I, as a colored pencil instructor, desire to help others learn new techniques and fun ways of rendering with colored pencils.
For the latest news, I’m excited to announce I have a new video course becoming available in a few days showing how to draw a pumpkin with colored pencils and Neocolor II, which is a wax pastel (think like a buttery crayon). I blended these with heat and found I loved this technique and these products together. Stay tuned to my website in the coming days to find out more: www.kimkeysart.com
Subscribe to my blog to get all of the latest updates!
Stay creative,
Kim
An Exciting Announcement!!
This has been an exciting week for me with a new opportunity! My work is now displayed and available for purchase at Tresors de Paris at 125 Lamar Avenue in beautiful, downtown Paris, Texas. Tresors de Paris is a delightful place to visit in our local downtown. They have art of various mediums from many local artists available to purchase, as well as a variety of wines and over 200 craft beers available.
I have several original pieces of colored pencil art available, including my latest two, New Wine and Harvest Time. They are framed and ready to find their forever homes. I also have a gallery wrapped giclee canvas of New Wine available in a 18” x24” size. I ordered one of these canvases to see if I would be pleased with these to sell. I wasn’t disappointed! It is so well done, is archival and is coated with a UV protectant spray. I also can order one to be drop shipped directly to your home, if interested.
I received a new order of my “Santa of Paris” giclee prints to sell for the holiday season. There is a limited supply, so don’t delay if you want one to gift or display this year in your home. These went really fast the last two years! Christmas cards with “Santa of Paris” are available as well.
There are a variety of other giclee prints of my other works available as well. Giclee prints are high quality, archival prints printed on archival paper. If treated right, they will last a lifetime! My prints are also available to be drop shipped directly to your home if you are from out of town or if that is easier for you.
I hope you will go by Tresors de Paris and check out all of the local artists’ work they have on display. We have some very talented artists in our local area.
The holiday season is gearing up and buying art from local artists for your home or as gifts is a great way to support local artists and small businesses. Tresors de Paris would love for you to come visit, check out the art and their selections of wines and craft beers. As a colored pencil artist, I’m honored to have my work available there.
Please visit my website at www.kimkeysart.com to see more of my work. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at kjkeys@kimkeysart.com.
Thanks for reading and thanks for the support you have given me as a local artist in our town!
Kim Keys
Taking Your Own Reference Photos
Do you go searching the internet or social media sites to find photos to use for references to paint? Do you ever forget where you found your reference photo or the photographer who took the photo so you can credit them? I certainly have and that’s why, as a colored pencil artist, I wanted to be free of those limitations and expectations, so I started taking my own reference photos. This made creating art much more liberating for me. When I finish a piece, it’s original from start to finish because I took the photo of the subject matter. I don’t have to be concerned someone on social media might be offended (rightly) because I didn’t credit them for the photo or have to worry about copyright infringement.
I would like to encourage you to step out and take your own photos. In today’s world you can have a great phone right in your hand with your cellphone. The images the cameras in these phones take greatly rival any DSLR camera. I have a DSLR and the photos it takes are really good, but so are the ones my iPhone XR take. Actually, I have some shots of the same subject taken with the DSLR and the iPhone, and the iPhone photo was superior! I still take my DSLR camera out for photo opportunities as well, but I’m not limited to it. I just want to help you think beyond having to have a DSLR to get good photos. Even a lot of the point and shoot cameras take really great photos now as well. So, I’ve learned to use whatever camera is accessible when I see something I might like to paint someday.
I walk almost every day and it’s amazing how many sunrises/sunsets, beautiful flowers, interesting trees with the lighting at the time, cats/dogs, and more I’ve captured. I upload them to my computer, so I can reference them later when I need access. I use Adobe Lightroom to organize my photos. I made folders for Landscapes, Flowers, Trees, etc. and then create keyword tags in Lightroom to give me an easy way to find those photos later. For example, in my flowers folder are all kinds of flowers, but if I use the keyword tags on each photo, I can narrow the search for “roses” or “tulips”, etc. in a timely manner. It just makes it very simple to find things when I’m in the mood to paint a subject matter.
I also gather things in my house and take still life shots. I’m starting to collect things I think would work in the kinds of shots I like to take. You can do the same! This is so fun to do as I rearrange items, change lighting, etc. and take a lot of different shots of those items. Some of those shots don’t turn out as well as I had hoped, but some turn out beautifully. I catalog those in my collection for future inspiration to paint. Photography has turned out to be a fun part of my being an artist. It’s also made me more comfortable in sharing my work by not having to remember who took the photo or what place it came from. I don’t have to be concerned about copyright infringement in case the photo I used had been placed wrongly on a website (yes, it does happen). It’s a good feeling when I share my art work to be able to say “photo reference my own”.
So, get a camera and take some shots! You will be amazed at the collection you will have in a short time.
Please subscribe to my blog at www.kimkeysart.com if you haven’t done so. I blog weekly with tips and inspiration for colored pencil artists, information about courses and classes, as well as sharing any new art work or products.
Refreshed with Inspiration
My husband and I just returned from a ten-day vacation! We had so much fun and enjoyed so much beauty in God’s creation. We traveled 2900 miles in that ten-day period, so it was quite a road trip.
I just am amazed at the inspiring beauty in our nation we have the privilege to enjoy. I just wanted to share a few highlights from our trip in this blog.
We started by going to Sedona in Arizona to see the gorgeous red rocks being highlighted by the sun. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the town itself because it was quite crowded. We did visit an outstanding art gallery in Sedona. I, as an artist, was greatly inspired by some amazing art work of all kinds. We ended our evening in a quiet area with a stream running through it and a beautiful sunset with Cathedral Rock in the forefront.
The next day we headed for the Grand Canyon. This was something my husband and I had always wanted to do, but we had no idea how majestic it would really be. There are not words to describe it, or a camera with the ability to capture its beauty. I tried with my camera, but those photos just can’t show what your eyes are beholding. I had no idea how big this canyon really is! This was truly a major highlight of our vacation.
We then headed to southern Colorado. Colorado is just a breathtaking state as a whole. We visited Rocky Mountain National Park and the Breckinridge area during the fall last year and were amazed at the beauty. The aspens were just showing out with their display of yellows and oranges! They didn’t disappoint this year either around the Durango and Silverton areas. We rode the famous steam engine train from Durango to Silverton and the scenery was breathtaking in places. Hearing the water run over the rocks in the river, I just love it! We then headed to Canon City to visit the Royal Gorge and walked across the suspension bridge. Kind of scary because I don’t care for heights! So glad we did this though. On the way to our hotel, my husband spotted a sign for a drive to take he had found on the internet. It was called Skyline Drive, and let me just say I was praying we lived to see the end of the drive. You literally are driving on a ridge, and you can see straight down on both sides. Yikes!
To finish our trip, we spent a couple of days in the Colorado Springs area. Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs both have so much charm (and crowds, lol). There were many art galleries, unique shops, and lots of great restaurants. I had a great time being inspired by other artists’ work. We ended our trip there by riding the cog train up Pikes Peak. What a way to end our visit to Colorado. You can see for miles!
I came back home refreshed with some new inspiring ideas to try in my colored pencil art work. I can’t say I’m rested because we did so much, but it’s great to come back with some fresh vision and inspiration. I have about 800 photos on my DSLR camera to upload and many from our phones as well. I just chose a few from my phone to share in this blog post. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our vacation and I hope it inspires you to maybe check out some new places you haven’t visited before.
Now it’s back to the studio to create some art from my inspiration I received.
If you haven’t subscribed to my blog yet, please do so at www.kimkeysart.com. You will be informed of my latest art works, classes, courses available as well as tips in working with colored pencils.
Harvest Time-It’s Fall!
Happy Fall to all of you! I’m so looking forward to cooler temps, leaves turning on the trees, pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin desserts, hot apple cider, and on and on it could go.
The fall season is such a favorite season of mine. In this season I find much inspiration to paint from. My latest piece in the photo above is called Harvest Time. I took this photo in my front yard with all of the props seen last fall. I went back to this photo reference and decided to paint it when it was still quite hot, no chill in the air yet, but I was ready to have a fall experience, so I created one.
You probably know my favorite art medium is colored pencils, but I decided to add another medium into the mix with my colored pencils on this one. I chose wax pastels called Neocolor II. They look like crayons, but they are way better than any crayon could ever be! The Neocolor II are made by Caran D’Ache and is a very highly pigmented wax pastel. They are water-soluble, but I didn’t use water with them in this painting. Instead, I used them dry and then used heat to melt them and my colored pencils into my surface. My heat source was a reptile terrarium heat pad, doesn’t that sound artistic? LOL. It was a very fun and enlightening experience. I didn’t know what to expect, but that’s the fun of the journey. Sometimes it doesn’t turn out so well, and sometimes it does. This time I was very pleased with the result, even though I had to figure some things out along the way.
While working on this, the colored pencil instructor in me thought other artists might like to see how this technique is done, so I decided to create a video course showing this technique. I made it simple for those just desiring to see the technique by just choosing a pumpkin in some grass. Beginners could even do this one! It’s fun and it’s fall themed! You can learn the technique and then apply it to something you would desire to create! Be watching for this to be available on my website in the next couple of weeks.
If you want to be sure you get notified when the video course is available, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at www.kimkeysart.com.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the fall season! I hope you create something with colored pencils while you are enjoying the season!
Kim Keys
May We Never Lose Our Wonder
Have you ever watched the face of a small child to see the wonder on his/her face as they experience something new? There is nothing like that wonderment! I can remember going to Disney World with our grandson when he was five years old and watching that look on his face as we went through the parks. A couple of those times I managed to capture photos that showed the wonder on his face. One of them was while riding the teacup ride in Magic Kingdom and the other was while watching the fireworks in the arms of his grandfather (Pops). I still look at these photos often and they truly move me each time.
Those photos often make me think about how as we grow up, we lose our sense of wonder. I have found in order to stay inspired and motivated to do the daily things in my everyday life and to live a creative life, I have to choose to have a sense of wonder. I have become mindful to observe our beautiful world through the eyes of a child. By this I mean I choose to pay attention to sunrises and sunsets, and behold the beauty displayed every day in them. I enjoy my walks and looking at the different kinds of trees and the seasons they go through. It is just amazing! In the dead of winter, when the branches are empty, and then watch to see in the spring as new leaves come forth and cover the canopy in green again. Now, with fall approaching, I look forward to seeing the leaves change color. As a colored pencil artist, I tend to look at things in creation as being my next painting subject. I have more subjects to paint than I do time, for a fact!
We seem to take so much for granted and not look at this creation all around us with wonder. Remember as a child laying in the grass with a sibling/friend and looking at the clouds and pointing out different shapes you saw? I still do that with my husband when we are driving around. I will suddenly shout out to look at a certain cloud and what it looks like! He laughs with me in those moments.
Sight is not the only thing that brings wonderment. Our other senses do as well. I will just name a few here:
Hearing the birds sing
Listening as the wind blows through the trees
Smelling a rose
Smelling honeysuckle
Smelling a new box of crayons (colored pencils for me, LOL)
Feeling a hug from a loved one/friend
Hearing the ocean waves
These are just a few things that awaken my wonder in this beautiful world. I know we have all been through a lot in the last 18 months, but we can choose to have a sense of wonder even in the midst of the trials we’ve been through.
I hope this will inspire you to find your sense of wonder again if you have lost it. Choose today to be amazed by something you see, hear, feel, tase, or smell. May you never lose your wonder again!
Are you looking for ways to be inspired to help your creativity? Then subscribe to my email list and you will receive my free download called “5 Amazing Ways for You to be Inspired”.
Thanks for reading!
When Do I Stop Doing Tutorials?
Whenever any of us begin learning something new, we eventually find ourselves wondering if we are “good” enough to start doing things on our own. Remember learning to ride a bike without the training wheels? It was scary, wasn’t it? When whoever was helping you let go of the bike, and you were on your own, it was terrifying! I remember this when I was learning to ride my bike. I kept asking my brother to not let go and then he did let go, and guess what, I rode the bike by myself! I didn’t think I could, but I did! I was wobbly at first, but, with practice, I rode it better and better. Before long, it was just natural.
That’s how it is for us in any art medium while learning. Tutorials are awesome and I’m thankful I found them when I began using colored pencils. I learned so much from different artists on their techniques and a lot about colored pencils and how they worked on different surfaces. As a colored pencil instructor, I want you to learn from the tutorials I make available because I believe they bring value and instruction to help you in learning about the medium of colored pencil. However, I don’t want my students to become handicapped to just my tutorials. In my journey I found I kept looking for the next tutorial to work on instead of branching out on my own and trying something from one of my own reference photos. I did this also when I was an oil painter for 9 years. I would always talk myself out of painting at home because I thought I would fail and wouldn’t have my teacher here to help me. So, I never became greatly skilled at oil painting. I realized after doing many tutorials in colored pencil, I would find myself in the same boat if I didn’t just step out and try some things on my own.
Making that decision has been one of the greatest I’ve ever made! I’ve grown so much since then. Have I made some ugly art? Yes! Have I had to start a project over? Yes! Have I been disappointed in a finished piece? Yes! And yet, that is part of the process. We all become better skilled at anything by being willing to put in the time knowing every piece will not be a masterpiece. We learn from those pieces, and little by little, we find our skill level going up. We also keep learning more and more by trial and error. It’s endless with what you can learn, if you are willing to step out. To balance this, there are times when I want to learn a new technique or how to use a new product, and I will purchase a tutorial to help me learn that new thing. That’s part of growing in our skills and we have to be willing to invest in ourselves to grow, just don’t let them become a crutch.
I hope this will challenge you, in whatever you are learning that’s new in life, to be willing to spread your wings and fly! You can do it!
If you are interested in learning how to use colored pencils on Lux Archival paper with Brush and Pencil products check out my latest tutorial at https://www.kimkeysart.com/classes.
Subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the latest tips and updates about what is going on at Kim Keys Fine Art. You can subscribe here: https://kimkeysart.ck.page/2f4a28652e.
Thanks for reading!
Kim Keys
Is it Okay to Use my Good Pencils?
I see this question asked quite a bit on several colored pencil pages I follow. So many artists struggle with using their higher quality, colored pencils. My answer to this question is USE YOUR GOOD PENCILS! Yes, artist grade pencils cost more money than Crayola brand or other student grade pencils, but after all, you are an artist and you should be using artist grade materials. It’s okay to give yourself permission to use them!
Why, you might ask?
For one reason, how else will you become familiar with your tools if you aren’t using them? As an artist and a colored pencil instructor, I’ve become familiar with the names, the colors I use most often and what I like about each brand of colored pencil by using them. Because of that I’m more prepared when I’m choosing my pencils for a new project. I know which ones work well together and which do not. If you only use student grade pencils to practice, how will you know what to use when you are ready to begin a new project you are really excited about?
Think of it like this…
When a woodworker is creating a piece of furniture do you think he uses his best tools? What about a quilter making a quilt? A potter making a new pot? They grow in their skills by using the tools created to help them accomplish their task at hand. That’s how we, as colored pencil artists, need to see our colored pencils, as tools of our trade.
What is the difference?
You might wonder if there is any difference in student grade and artist grade, colored pencils? Undoubtedly, there is much difference. Just one of them being the amount of pigment in artist grade pencils is so much more than in student grade pencils. You can become frustrated because you can’t attain the saturation you need to cover your surface when you use lower grade, colored pencils. I found this true as an oil painter. For many years I used student grade oil paints, and faced frustration over and over when the paints didn’t perform as I needed. I finally decided to save up my money and buy a set of artist grade paints, and I never regretted it! They worked so much better in my paintings. I found that much of my frustration was from not using quality materials. That lesson stuck with me, so when I switched my medium to colored pencils, I knew not to be thrifty in choosing my colored pencils. I have quite a collection of different brands five years later, and I have no regrets. Some I like better than others, but the only way I know that is by using them.
I hope this encourages you to give yourself permission to use your good pencils. Have fun creating your artworks with high quality materials!
Other News:
Prints are ordered!
I’ve had several requests for giclee prints of some of my latest art pieces. I ordered them last week and should have them within the next couple of weeks. I’ve also ordered more Santa of Paris prints for the upcoming holiday season. Watch my website (www.kimkeysart.com) and my Facebook and Instagram pages for updates.
Subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the latest tips and updates of what is going on at Kim Keys Fine Art. Subscribe here: https://kimkeysart.ck.page/2f4a28652e.
Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
Kim Keys
OVERCOMING MY FEAR
New Wine was such a special piece for me to create. I chose some cherished pieces for the still life photo shoot. The carnival glass pedestal bowl belonged to my grandmother and the crystal glass belonged to my mother-in-law. I set up this still life about three years ago and made many photos at different angles with different lighting. I then took it into my photo editing program and came up with some photos I thought would make a great painting reference. I stopped there because I was afraid I might not possess the skills needed to create this piece with colored pencils. The reflections in the vase and the crystal glass really intrigued me, but I was just not confident I could pull it off, and so the photos went into my files for future inspiration.
I purchased some dark UART paper several months ago and decided to give it a try. I love the sanded surfaces to work on, but the dark paper was something new for me. So, I started going through my photos looking for a subject that would be great on this dark surface. I came across the photo I had taken of what is now New Wine. I was inspired instantly, but also very fearful of taking on this challenge, but I decided to go for it. What did I have to lose? So, I worked through the composition for the piece and got my line drawing on the dark UART. And then the fear hit again! Some of the thoughts going through my head were “you’ve never done reflections before”, “this is too hard for you”, “this could be a complete flop”, “you’ve never worked on dark paper before”, “are you crazy”, and on and on it went. I decided to face my fears and go with this project and do it afraid! A famous quote by Vincent Van Gogh is: “If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” This quote has proven to be true in my art life!
I really wanted a luminescent look in this painting. I had read several articles and blogs by Julie Podolski of how she achieved a “glow” in several of her colored pencil art works. After looking at several of her pieces I knew that I needed to incorporate some of her techniques into this piece I was creating. So, I applied a white Luminance pencil first to the dark paper in areas where I wanted it to appear luminous. I also used a white Neocolor 2, which is a watersoluble wax pastel. I used the white NeoColor 2 on top of the white Luminance in areas I really wanted the luminance to be striking. I used it dry and did not wet at any point. I then applied my colors on top of the white and it really worked. The other parts of the painting I just applied the Luminance pencils on top of the dark UART and I was quite surprised at how vibrant the colors were without putting any white underneath them. Most research I had done recommended using the white pencil on all of the dark surface where color would be applied. I experimented on a small piece of the dark and found, with the Luminance pencils, this wasn’t necessary. I believe this is because the Luminance pencils are so rich with pigment. They truly are some of my most favorite colored pencils.
The first subject I finished in the painting was the crystal glass. On this dark paper, this was not as hard or complicated as I had perceived it to be! I kept telling myself, “paint what you see”. instead of dwelling on the thought that I had never done this before. It worked out beautifully! I stepped back from the painting after completing the crystal glass and was amazed. It really looked like a crystal glass! I gained a lot of confidence from that point on. The rose was next, and having done several flowers before, it was just fun for me. I was pleased with how vibrant the reds were on this dark paper! Now, I’m to the carnival glass bowl. I love this bowl for many reasons. One, my grandmother gave it to me, and two, the colors in this bowl are just beautiful. The challenge is all of the reflected colors in this glass as well as the patterns of the grapes on the bowl. I focused again to just paint the shapes in the colors I see. I decided to relax and enjoy the process. Fear fell away more and more with each stroke of my pencils. The grapes in the bowl were really fun to create as well. Several of them had caught the light and had a very luminous look and I thought they were portrayed that way very well. I was so pleased with how the bowl and the grapes had turned out! Those inner voices were not shouting as loudly now. The two things I had feared the most in this painting were now complete!
But now, I look at this wine bottle, and see all of the reflections in it as well and the fear is back, but not as strongly as when I began. The fear now was not as much due to the reflections, but because I had done a tutorial in my early days of working in colored pencils which had a wine bottle in it. Let’s just say it didn’t turn out so well. I lost the correct shape of the bottle in that piece and could not correct the errors I had made. This piece is filed away where no one else sees it, but I remembered. So, I had to face the fear and go with this challenge in spite of that memory. To be sure I stayed in check with the symmetry of the bottle, I kept putting my line drawing over my painting to be sure it was correct. My line drawing was on Duralar film so this made it easy to do. It was a matter of finding a way to keep myself in check, so the same thing didn’t happen again. When the wine bottle was finished, I felt like I had climbed Mt. Everest! The painting still wasn’t complete, but the parts that had made me so fearful were done and I was pleased! Now, I just had to finish the piece of black velvet that was underneath this still life. The light had reflected on the black velvet and I had been pondering while working on the other areas how I would portray those reflections on the velvet. I completed where the cloth was with black, and some areas had indigo blue and dark greens added to the black where reflections from the other pieces were on the velvet. I then experimented again on another small piece of the dark UART and found if I just lightly glazed with the side of a light blue pencil, it brought to life the light hitting the fabric as well as the folds in the velvet. I was ecstatic now! I desired for my background to be darker and so I went over it with a black Stabilo All pencil, and then again with the black Luminance pencil. I called it done!
This piece is probably my most favorite piece I have completed yet. Part of that is because I faced some major fears and didn’t let the fear win. I learned so much along the way. I’m more prepared for the next time I face these subjects. I hope this may challenge you to face your fears when you face your next difficult subject matter. My advice, do it afraid! Silence that voice within saying you can’t, because YOU CAN!!!!
Summer News!
Well, summer time is alive and well in Texas, as many of you know. I’m hoping you are finding ways to stay cool while it’s so hot. For me, it’s been stay inside and work in my studio! It’s been a very busy last few weeks for me, and lots of good things are going on and I want to share some of those things with you today.
I have three pieces of my work in a show for the Dallas/Ft.Worth Chapter of CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America) displaying in The Martin Place in McKinney, Texas August 2-27th. A great opportunity to see a display of what’s possible with colored pencil! Our Open House is on Saturday, August 7th, from 6-9 p.m. I personally wanted to invite you to attend, and I would love to see you in person to see the artwork. Original works and prints will be for sale.
I have an article printed in the August issue of Ann Kullberg’s Color magazine. If you are interested in reading this you can get a copy @https://annkullberg.com/collections/color-magazine-all-issues. You can buy a digital or print copy! If you are a colored pencil artist, you need to subscribe to this magazine. Lots of great art as well as tips on techniques and new products are always included in each issue. I look forward to receiving it each month!
I have a new video course available about working on sanded surfaces with the Brush and Pencil Products. This digital video course is a little over 3 hours and will guide you from beginning to end in my process of using these materials with colored pencils. The course is only $47 and also includes a free bonus eBook For more information go here. Getting this new video course would be a great way to spend some time inside staying cool while learning something new!
Enjoy these last days of summer as best you can, hopefully creating something new!
Thanks for reading!
5 Tips to Get Unstuck
Have you ever wanted to start a new painting or drawing and you don’t know what to paint? Well, today I’m going to give you five tips I’ve used to get unstuck. Hopefully they will help you to get going on that next masterpiece!
Choose a subject you love to paint or draw. When we are in those times of not knowing what to paint, your motivation will be much greater if you choose a subject matter you love.
If you like more than one subject matter,(florals, still life, landscapes, etc.) write those subjects on slips of paper, fold them up, put them in a container, and draw one out for this time. (Save these for the next time you are stuck.)
Find a reference photo for your subject. Look in your own photo references for your subject. My collection is on my computer and my phone has a lot of references I’ve taken while out walking. If you don’t have any then look on websites with copyright free photos such as pixabay, unsplash, or shutterstock. Search now for your subject and narrow that subject matter by being specific. (e.g. snow covered mountains, red rose, bouquet of flowers, still life with fruit, autumn trees)
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes. Narrow down quickly to 2-3 photos.
When the timer goes off, you have to choose one and get started!
Now, get those colored pencils out, or whatever medium you use, and start on this new subject matter and enjoy the process!
I would love to hear if this helped you get going on your next project!
This month has been busy for me. I’ve been in the studio working on a new tutorial for working on Lux Archival sanded paper. Stay tuned to my website for more information about this fun course to learn how to work on this wonderful surface (https://www.kimkeysart.com). I’ve also updated my website a little, so go check it out. My latest piece, New Wine, is also featured on my home page and listed in my store. Prints will be coming soon for this piece as well.
That’s a wrap for this month! Be blessed and have fun creating!