I have never had the desire to work with oil paints, maybe because it was the drying time that turned me off. Maybe because I knew that all the Masters painted in oils and it was very intimidating. I started out with acrylics probably because that's what my mom paints with plus sometimes she gives me her extras. Most of my first brushes were from her also (she calls them her "scruffy brushes"). So I started out in acrylics. Then a few years ago I decided I wanted to teach myself watercolors so I checked out books at the library, bought books online and practiced. I loved watercolors. Just about a week ago I decided that I wanted to try oil paints.
I have always been a big fan of Georgia O'Keeffe. I have a board on Pinterest of some of her work here. Most of her paintings are extreme close ups of flowers just like a lot of my photography. So that's where I started, books from the library on oil painting and my photography pictures. My favorite flower is the black-eyed susan so I found a picture and started sketching.
Start with the lightest color first
Then the darker colors and here is the finished product
Before this one was completely finished I started sketching my second one, two little Amish children watching the horse auction in Lancaster, PA. I took this picture last year among hundreds of others so I think I may do an Amish series. Anyone that knows me knows I am slightly obsessed with the Amish (and I'll be going up there again this year, I can't wait!)
Well I've changed the name of my blog back to KIMagination (for the moment). If you check in at any point this week it may look different because I'm trying to coordinate this blog with my new website which hasn't gone live yet but hopefully the next post will be a link to my first ever website! Thanks for your patience.
but after three and a half years I have decided to change the name of my blog. I am also in the process of creating a website and I needed to find a web page name that isn't already taken and there are a few KIMagination's out there. It's still an ongoing process though.
When I was a little girl my family and I went to the Appalachian Mountains. The trail we hiked was called The Riprap Trail. I remember saying "That is a cute name for a cat... when I get older I'm going to get an all black cat and name him Riprap". I have always loved solid black cats. In August of 1992 I got Rippy, as he was affectionately called, and his sister was Eureka. A few years later I got a third cat named Lefty. They all lived a very long and happy life. So this blog has been renamed in honor of my Rippy, the black cat.
I have taken my fabric bowls to a whole new level, embellishments!!
The first bowl was a Halloween bowl with hand sewn beads and that crazy eyelash yarn (I finally found a use for it!)
The second bowl isn't finished yet but it's a pumpkin bowl with a lid. I created the stem out of creative paper clay but haven't painted it yet. The white piece of paper is the template for the leaves that I drew. It will be cut out of olive green velvet and this weekend I hope to embroider the veins of the leaf and add sead beads.
My "wedding basket". Again not quite finished because I think it needs more pearls and sequins but I'm thinking about customizing these for brides. If your colors are teal or burgundy I could incorporate those colors into the basket as well. It would sit on the table with the gifts to hold wedding cards.
Then I decided that it would be fun to sew beads between the fabric rings. My inspiration was these wooden painted beads I got in Cozumel, Mexico on my honeymoon. I then looked through my stash and found this butterfly fabric, perfect! Again not quite finished because I'm going to continue upwards and do a few more rings.
A new artistic form for me but the possibilities are now endless! I am using everything from Celuclay to paper mache and from Styrofoam to dowel rods. I am scouring the thrift stores for items to use and using buttons, beads, wire and anything else I can find to create these one of a kind pieces. They are fun and whimsical and I'm having a blast creating them!
I started out by making pumpkin heads from Celuclay and Creative Paper Clay.
I also make a cat head because I love cats.
At this point I had no idea what these would turn into so they sat on my work table until I went to a thrift store looking for something that I could possibly turn into a body. And this is what I ended up with. I ended up gluing candle holders upside down to bases.
The one on the left would eventually become the cat's body and the one in the center would become the body for the juggling pumpkin head man.
I created the body using wire, batting and creating my own pattern for the outfit.
I'm not completely finished with these two but I'm getting there.
And here's a sneak peek at two more I'm working on, again still works in progress:
I finished painting these two chairs in time for the silent auction at Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church last weekend. I received many compliments on them and was asked to paint something else for next years auction as well.
Image taken by me at Newport News Park in Virginia.
It is now Monday evening and I HAVE to finish "whimsical painting" two chairs for a silent auction that is in two weeks. I have given myself until Thanksgiving to finish them, that is exactly 3 days away. Pictures coming very soon!
Another thing I've been working on is transferring all of my pictures onto a new computer (also putting them on a disk because I'm old school) because my old computer is finally dying. I have also bought the latest version of Adobe Photoshop Elements and I'm having a blast altering my photos.
I think creative Kim is coming back (thanks mom for encouraging me!) so look for updates on my latest art dolls coming soon.
