November Update

It's been a busy time for me this month and last with my involvement in arts and crafts fair preparations, Etsy Store maintenance, AAWA Program Chair responsibilities, and participation in Juried and non-juried exhibits. Not to mention that I had a temporary job as a "reader" for three weeks in November!

I participated in the Brighton Art Guild's Juried Art Exhibit called "2012 Art Harvest" and as an added benefit to being accepted into the show, I was also eligible to participate in their Holiday Art Gallery Sale for items costing $100 or under. Their Holiday Gallery Sale ran concurently with the Juried Art Exhibit for two weeks. I'm happy to say I'm glad I participated, because my items did very well. I even sold a small painting! All-in-all, it was a win-win!

"Mighty Wings"

16" x 20" matted, Watercolor on Paper

2012 Kathryn Duncan

Accepted into 2012 Art Harvest Exhibit

Violet Irises II

8" x 10" matted, Watercolor on Paper

2012 Kathryn Duncan

Sold at 2012 Art Harvest Holiday Gallery Store Sale

 

 

Now, I'm getting ready for this Saturday's Ann Arbor Women Artist's Holiday Arts and Crafts sale at the Washtenaw Polo Fields in Ypsilanti, MI. This is the last art fair for this year for me. I love the venue for this art fair! Last year it was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays, and I expect it will be the same for this year. Hopefully we'll have a lot of people attending this year!  

 

My Painting "Baby Blues"

Last month I sold my painting, "Baby Blues - Eastern Bluebird Family" to a lady that bought it as a present for a family member. It's home will be in Australia! You just never know where your artwork will end up! I love that painting, and hope it's new owner will too!

This is a family portrait of five fledgling bluebirds that have "fledged" the nest, but are still being fed by their parents. The parents also teach them to hunt bugs for themselves leading them to become independent. Bluebirds are in the same bird family as robins, and they don't eat seeds because their beaks aren't strong enough to crack them.  

Dixboro Fair 2012

Spent the day yesterday at the Dixboro Fair in my booth under the big tent. It was a very hot and humid day, although there was an occasional breeze! The fair was very well attended, even with the heat. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of work, of course. My husband helped me set up and taken down my booth. I saw many familiar faces of artisans and friends, and had a lot of laughs throughout the day.

Getting set up for the fair, prior to start time. 

Art Fair Coming up - Artisans on the Green - 2012 Dixboro Fair

Hello! I hope you are enjoying your summer! Can you believe it's July already?

I've been busy getting ready for a few upcoming Arts & Craft Fairs for this year. I'm going to be at the Dixboro Fair again this summer, on the first Saturday in August. 

Come and stop by my booth to see what's new for this year! At my booth you will see original watercolor paintings, a nice assortment of prints on fine art paper, greeting and note cards, mouse pads and mini-mouse pads (coasters) featuring vivid images from my nature watercolor paintings. My printed items make lovely office and home gifts for all occasions.

Want to see an advance preview of my show items? Click on the link to my Etsy shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/KathrynMDuncan

I hope to see you there!    

Artisans on the Green - 2012 Dixboro Fair

5221 Church Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Saturday, August 4, 2012
10am - 6pm
Kathryn Duncan, Booth #13, under the big tent

Picture taken at AAWA Holiday Art Fair 2011

About my newest floral paintings

Pink Roses and Bud - 16" x 12"

Watercolor on Paper

Yellow Moonbeams - 12" x 16"

Watercolor on Paper 

Poppycock - 16" x 12"

Watercolor on Paper

Field of Dreams - 16" x 12"

Watercolor on Paper

I've been working on several floral watercolor paintings so far this year. To me, flowers are  fascinating, challenging and my inspiration for these flower paintings comes from my flower garden.

When I was working on this rose painting, "Pink Roses and Bud" I wanted to achieve beautiful pastel pink and yellow roses, attractive shadows, along with a harmonious background. I wanted the leaf edges to be jagged in some places, and the leafs to form an interesting design.

With the yellow roses painting, Yellow Moonbeams", I was trying to achieve more dramatic lights and darks, interesting negative spaces, along with color harmony in the background.

 My first poppy painting, "Poppycock"  has a very simple background. The focus is mostly on the flowers, leaves, and buds.

 In my second poppy painting, "Field of Dreams" I was experimenting with negative painting in the background. The leaves have a floating, dreamy-like design to them. The green color has a beautiful light blue-green color peeking out from leaf to leaf. It's a little bit of a fantasy.   

Art Class

A painting I worked on in my watercolor painting class of maple branches and leaves with water in background.

Artist Demo at Riverside Art Gallery - Chris Hyndman

As AAWA Program Co-Chair, I arranged for Chris Hyndman, EMU Art Professor, to conduct an an artist demonstration at Riverside Art Gallery on April 28, 2012. The demo was for AAWA members and open to the public. The event was well attended and Chris did a marvelous job demonstrating acrylic painting, masking and transfer techniques.

Quote for the day

"He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands, and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands, and his head, and his heart is an artist."
~ St. Francis of Assisi

Quote for the Day

"It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures."
~ Vincent Van Gogh

Art Exhibition at Sweetwaters Cafe

I took these photos just before I took down my paintings at Sweetwaters Cafe on Plymouth Rd. The four images above are prints in 11"x 14" frames.

These two paintings above are originals in 16" x 20" frames.

Jean Patru and I are participating in an Ann Arbor Women's Artists Non-Juried Art Exhibition at Sweetwaters Cafe on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor from April 1 through May 31. If you're in the area, stop by and have a look!

Quote for the day

"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." - Michelangelo

AAWA Spring Juried Art Exhibit

I'm very pleased to say that my watercolor painting "Bluebirds in Early Spring" was accepted into the AAWA Spring All Media Juried Art Exhibit at the Northville Art House, 215 W. Cady Street. The exhibit runs from April 6 through April 21, 2012 and includes 41 works or art. The show opens with an artist reception Friday, April 6 from 6 - 9 p.m. There will be an Award Presentation beginning at 6:30 pm. Art House Gallery hours are Wednesdays - Saturdays, from 1 - 5 pm. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and stroll through the gallery to see a wonderful variety of amazing works of art.

  

Photography

I've been working on updating images of my paintings because they needed to be brightened up and look more like the original looks. I did some researching about camera settings and experimented until I was satisfied with the quality I was getting. Very time consuming stuff, but happy with the results. Everything seems to lead to something else.

Quote for the Day

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

Artist Quotes - Michelangelo

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. ~Michelangelo

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all. ~Michelangelo

Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish. ~Michelangelo

Paintings Back Home - Ahhh! Exhibit over!

My home is now decorated with my nature watercolor paintings again. My husband and I took my exhibit down from Moonwinks's Cafe yesterday. The people there said they really enjoyed them, and were sorry to see them go. One man told my husband how much he and his wife enjoyed my paintings, an my husband said, "You know, they're for sale". The man said he couldn't afford it.

When I take my paintings to an exhibit, they usually come off of my walls around the house from various rooms. I miss seeing them at home, because they are a part of the decor. I try to fill in the gaps with other paintings, so the walls don't look so empty. I'm always glad to get them back again. My husband made me promise to not to take a particular painting down, because he enjoys seeing it so much. He also "bought" one of my first watercolor painings! I'm not kidding - he shelled out some money and said, "Now you sold a painting".  He always reminds me that it's his painting. I thought that was very sweet. He's my biggest fan!
  

Moonwinks Cafe Exhibit

Taking down my watercolor painting exhibit at Moonwinks Cafe today; it's been up during the month of January in the town of Dixboro.