Hello Good Night

I need to go to bed. I should really be in bed. But I just came across an old friend, this here, a blog I used to enjoy writing on. But somehow, life, children, sleep, and forgetting who I am got in the way. It's far too easy to forget ones self these days. So I needed, insisted on saying hello for a fleeting moment before letting the night whisk me away to slumber. Hello and good night. I'm back. It is once again time to lust, create and find random somethings to cluck over. It is once again time to embrace that part of me, that makes me ME. It's time to create.

Palette Knife Play Date

I bought a set of palette knives over a year ago. I keep promising them a play date and yet I've been less then punctual with my promise. So finally the other night I decided to sit down and get dirty with globs of colourful acrylic and 5 knives. Needless to say it isn't as easy to do as I had originally thought. It is WAY to easy to get carried aways and create a giant muddy mess. At one point my canvas resembled an evening I had once when I had the flue and my toilette and I had become better acquainted with each other while my stomach revolted against me. I think however I managed to recapture some beauty.

The Sun is Shining

It's way past my bed time but I just had to show you my latest accomplishment. Being in the Wedding Bash competition quite literally sucked every ounce of creative energy from my very core, which is difficult to accomplish seeing as 89% of me is pure creative fiber. Normally when I've left a painting unfinished for more then a period of 2 days, it becomes that painting's fate to remain incomplete, however this particular painting was lucky enough to have a buyer. A very patient buyer might I add. So I force fed my brain with acrylic tubes of paint and somehow, somewhere this occurred. I am pleased.

Nighty night.

Where DId You Come From?

Currently, I am in the middle of a painting that is truly testing my creative eye as well as my patients. I don't know what it is about this painting but despite how I try it just will not cooperate with me! I had a perfect image in my head as to how it was to be created and completed, only this specific painting had other plans for itself. Every time I have placed my brush on the canvas with one thing in mind, it goes and performs and entirely different task. Despite my efforts to paint the image in my head I can not for the life of me bring it to fruition. It is almost as though my hand has a mind of it's own. I have NEVER painted anything like this. Not these colours, not this style, and not this complex. Where this painting has come from is remaining to be a mystery for me. And the more I fight it the worse it gets so I'm just going to have to go with it and see how it ends up. However I must be honest with you, I do not like it. I'm hoping now that I am not fighting it that I will wined up loving the end result. I'm yet to be convinced. In the mean time if anyone else sees something I do not and would like to tell me what I need to do to better it feel free to leave a comment.

xo

K

Butchart Gardens

Can't talk. Too tired. Must sleep. But looky! I finished a painting. It took a whole week but I did it. Babies take up so much painting time! Sweet dreams to ya'll.

xo

Dust off The Bunnies

I'm not all together sure how typical of an artist this is but I like to think that all artists work this way... If I start a painting, I can't stop it until I'm done. No, it's not what you think. It's not because I'm SO in the zone that I just can't tear myself away, but rather, if I don't finish it on the first run... well, I never will. I will always have intentions on getting back to it. I'll even talk to it from time to time. I'll reassure the painting that I have not forgotten it and that no, I don't prefer my new paining over it. It's just that I have an image in my head that is screaming at me to put it paint and I can't very tell it "no". So my unfortunate little painting will sit there sadly, and patiently for me to return but I never do. I know what you are thinking; how cruel. Take heart in the fact that it is not alone though. There are plenty of unfinished paintings for it to play with. Except today! Today there is one last painting to play count the dust bunnies with. Her name is Autumn Wind. Please welcome her to the world of the artisticly complete. Where paintings hang on walls, tucked in under a sheet of glass, surrounded by a bed of wood to hold it comfortably in place. Or, at least that is, if someone buys it and frames it.

Time To Push Back

A Childhood dream can only come true when you decide it is no longer a dream but a goal. I have been discouraged from pursuing a career in art since childhood. It is just too difficult to find success in such a profession. "Artists only make money when they are dead" I've been told.

Sadly I bought into this negative notion, creating paintings only for my enjoyment until now. Recently I became the mother of a brilliant little boy. And now, more then ever, I have a burning urge to prove everyone who doubts in my abilities wrong. How can I nurture his dreams if I allowed others to crush my own?

My childhood dream to be a successful artist is tangible. I will succeed. And my son will grow up knowing that if he has a dream he also has the ability to make it a reality.

Thank you for stopping by and being a part of my dream turned goal. The success of this endeavour depends greatly on word of mouth and dedicated fans. Without doubt your support is priceless.

XO

Kim

MIA

I realize that I have been very neglectful of this blog and thus have lost the interest of many visitors. In my defence I have a small bundle of joy, poop, and spit who has very large blue eyes that demands my constant attention and detracts from my computer usage. However I have recently introduced the Jolly Jumper to my beloved bundle thus allowing me to attempt to regain you affections. I'll do my best to stop in and play on a regular basis. Of course I'm also trying to juggle creating paintings in order to satisfy my creative juices so time is in extreme shortage. Until next time my dearlings, I bid thee adiue.

xox

K

It Finally Rained

It's been a rather dry couple of months for me and my paint brush. We haven't bonded much her and I. Ever since I became pregnant we just haven't seen eye to eye on things. However after a 28 week dry spell last night I finally finished a painting! Well finished is a loosely knit term. I'm never truly finished. Even as I write this I'm thinking of adding some purple tones to the sky. I like it today... I'll hate it tomorrow, and love it in a year. That's just the natural flow my art takes. Constant turmoil. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Fungus Among Us

I don't know what it is but this dude rocks. I love his paintings! They not only appeal to my childish nature but they excite the inner painter dwelling beneath my flesh and bone. Plus it kinda cracks me up. I have no idea who these noble gentlemen are but I'd let them grace my walls, even invite them for tea. Check out more of Justin Richel's work here.

Flowers of Darfur

I love to paint. I can't paint for any old reason though. I wish I could but my mind doesn't seem to work that way. I need to Chanel creative energy in order create anything that I can stand to look at for any period of time. So you can imagine that I don't get a whole lot of painting done. There are ways to stimulate my painting bone though. There are the definite things that create a spark, all I need do is harness those things, compile them in front of me and breath deeply. This time I gathered colour, pattern, women, and fabric and the spark ignited into a flame. The flame fueled into a fire and the fire rushed into an explosion. Looky what exploded all over my paper. These are the women of Darfur. Beautiful aren't they?

Creative Rut

What is wrong with me? I am supposed to be painting an Asian inspired abstract for a client and I can not for the life of me bear to look at it. Two weeks ago I was all over it, excited and eager to bury my head into it, fill every crevice with acrylic and only occasionally come up to breath when my coffee supply ran low. And then one dreary, drab and oddly gray morning I woke up hating my creation. Hating it with an unusual amount of certainty. So much certainty in fact that I covered it with a fresh coat of deep gray paint and never looked back.

Back to the drawing board. Out came the sketch book and instantly without any thought came a roughed out sketch that spoke volumes to me. The next day a few coats of background paint got slapped on my freshly grey canvas and I was eager to begin... only something happened somewhere between the background paint and now. Fore now, I don't even want to be with in a foot of it! I don't hate it. I look at it and think... A solid foundation for my painting indeed. And then I try to talk myself into grabbing a brush and blobbing some paint onto my over sized pallet that my father so graciously made for me, and every fiber of my being yells.... NO! What's on TV?

And so my painting sits. It sits, sadly looking over at me wondering what went wrong. And from time to time I give it a guilty side wards glance hoping that maybe it's powers of seduction will draw me near, and yet, still I sit.

What is wrong with me?

Polka Dots and Goofy Giraffes

The other day I posted a spot on a children's book illustrator that I thought was worth clocking out of work early, running to the nearest book store, buying one of his books, run home to jump into bed and read myself a bed time story. I speak of the one and only Mike Wohnoutka. Well the other night I needed a cutesy character to paint for a set of sweet little twins I know will be arriving into this world shortly. Mike had this goofy sweet giraffe painting that just completely won me over and the twins bedroom is going to be all polka dots and Madagascar characters. So I took inspiration from... ah, why lie, I copied the goofy giraffe and created Davis and Cali. What do you think?!