Friday, July 14, 2017

Cacti and the Caribbean Ocean

My latest painting... Cacti & Caribbean. This is one of my favorites...Designed for Aruba-Sunsets.com, it will appear on postcards, mugs and other Aruba-Sunsets brand merchandise very soon.


Monday, October 3, 2016

Fundamental Watercolor Techniques - October 12, 1-3pm or 6-8pm

Fundamental Watercolor Techniques - October 12, 1-3pm or 6-8pm

On October 12th I will be teaching Watercolor Fundamentals. There will be an afternoon class (1:00 pm - 3:00 pm) and an evening class (6:00 pm - 8:00 pm).  The evening class is no longer available.

$20 holds your seat!

AFTERNOON CLASS

Payment Options

You will follow along with your instructor, and explore, hands on, basic watercolor techniques with a local watercolor artist, whose works have been on display at several galleries in the tri-cities area.

We will also be discussing kinds of watercolor paints, different watercolor papers, and various brushes. 

On October 12th I will be holding 2 Watercolor classes. One in the afternoon and one in the evening.

You will leave with a better understanding of the medium, and your own 8x10 painting.

Space is limited for this very popular workshop. 

Young Adults Welcome.

The cost for this 2 hour workshop is $25 for instruction plus $20 materials fee. 

A deposit of $20 will secure your seat. The outstanding balance is do the day of class.

Please email me to sign up.
McCarronArtDesign@gmail.com

I accept payment via paypal
https://www.paypal.me/KMcCarron

You can also stop by ArtCurious Gallary, (2362 Boones Creek Rd., Johnson City, TN) and Aleta will be happy to assist you. Just let her know that you are interested in the watercolor workshop. Be sure to check out her other class offerings, and the beautiful artwork while you're there.



Thursday, August 25, 2016

I just have to rant a little bit to my artist friends. I am super excited about my Watercolor workshop next month. I taught art to Jr.High and HS kids back in college as an intern with a wonderful artist and mentor Jean LaChance (Her blog --> http://studiojeanne216.blogspot.com/) but, then I graduated and went on to persue other things.
I am teaching this class for a few reasons.

  1. I welcome the opportunity to overcome my glossophobia - just a big word meaning fear of speaking in public.
  2. I love watercolors. I enjoy creating with all kinds of mediums - oil, pastels, acrylics, ink, pencils, chalk, you name it, I used it! But, watercolors are my favorite and I want to spark that passion in others
  3. Watercolors are fun, easy to use, and, compared to other art forms, fairly inexpensive to get started with them.
That brings me to my RANT!
I want to keep the class affordable for everyone. But, I got a few FB messages after my event post was published, wanting to know the quality of the brushes and paint that were included in the supplies. They implied that I was ripping people off and a $20 class fee was too high for 2 hours, a pan of paints, and a few nylon brushes!!! I had replied nicely to one of the messages, that it was a BASIC class for BEGINNERS. I will be teaching some simple techniques using several styles of brushes (included in the price) and then putting those techniques to practical use by composing a painting on good watercolor paper (also included in the price of the class.) But, if he had a BETTER paint set or BETTER brushes that he would like to learn how to use properly, please bring them with him to the workshop, but he was still required to pay the $20 for the class.

For the record... After the rental cost of the space, the brushes, watercolor paper, the inexpensive paint set, paper towels, and other items no one thinks about... i.e. cups for water, plates for pallets, etc. I will be lucky to break even after this class. This is a community event that I am doing from the kindness of my heart, to encourage creativity and promote the arts in the Tri-Cities area.

I told myself not to let it get to me...BUT IT DID! I was up last night thinking about it, and getting angry, and then pissed, and worried that these haters would convince others that I was cheating them or some other such nonsense. So, now I rant, rave and vent.... and let it go!

ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Serenity now!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Self Portrait in Watercolors

After finishing the Heron, I needed some inspiration for my next painting. I started looking at my art history books, and paintings of the old masters. Specifically the artist's self portraits.

Almost every artist, from "great masters of the Renaissance" to Modern Artists, whether he/she was known for their landscapes, still lifes, people, abstracts or something else, did some sort of self portrait.

I had done a self portrait drawing years and years ago, Looking back on it, after I just recently rented the movie "Big Eyes", I my have been somehow subconsciously channeling my inner Margaret Keane, although I knew nothing about her or her work back then. Interesting!



Drawing and painting PEOPLE has never been my strong suit. But, I did just say I wanted to try something new, although, sitting in front of a mirror, painting myself definitely does not appeal to me. Then it occurred to me... these historical artists were simply taking a selfie using the tools of the time, before cameras or more accurately cell phone cameras.

So....

Using the modern tools I have available to me, I took a selfie....

Using that selfie...Placing complimentary colors next to each other makes shadows and highlights "pop".



And here is the final result...


This is my new BRAND Profile Picture. I love it!

Friday, December 11, 2015

Green Heron, Watercolor

This next project is being painted with permission from the photographer, Peggy Coleman. A good friend of mine saw this award winning photo on line and asked if I could paint it for her. It is a green heron. They are not very big, but from this photo and the way the wings are spread out, you would think they are enormous.

I have had several people mention that they liked seeing the progression of the painting like I did with my painting of Canal St. So, I have decided to keep doing it.

Here is what I have so far.



It took me a while to mask out all those feathers to keep those beautiful light highlights that they are know for. And the green water with the reflective ripple effect... not my strong suit. 

But, I think its pretty darn good so far. 

Update: 1/25/16

I finished this painting this past weekend. Here is the project in pictures...

I started by practicing painting feathers...


Here is the sketch with the liquid mask on the white part of the wings.

I started with the green "Swampy"water background.

First layer of color on the bird...

Darker layer of color...

Mask removed, details touched up, and signed.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Progress of my Canal Street Painting

Canal Street Trolley, NOLA

10" x 8" Watercolor



Above is the final painting. Below, you can see the progress as it is completed.

This is the progress of a painting I have been working on for the last few weeks. (In this busy world, I set aside Friday mornings to get together with some friends and paint. So, some paintings that could probably be finished in a day or two, take me a few weeks.)

In September, my husband and I vacationed in the city of New Orleans. What an amazing place. The history, architecture, music! My husband, a budding photographer, took his DSLR everywhere, and I have been helping him "process" the 2000 + photos using Lightroom and Photoshop. One of my favorite shots was a photo of the Canal Street Trolley in the distance. The sun was starting to set, and casting pink and gold glow on the buildings. The famous street lamps of New Orleans where just coming on, and the city was becoming more active after the daytime heat.

I decided to paint that scene.

I originally posted it on my Facebook page, here...www.facebook.com/KimMcCarronArtDesign

But to my shock, I found out that some of my friends (yes, people my age) still don't have a Facebook account! So, I was asked to post them on my blog too.

Canal St. Trolley New Orleans painting -01
Perspective Sketch of the trolley, buildings and lamps. I used masking fluid to protect the light points.


After drawing this composition out, I made the mistake of starting with the lamp posts since they were such a prominent feature in this painting, So I am forced to work the background around them. Not an easy task in watercolors. the black/indigo keeps bleeding into what ever I paint around it. However, I just learned a cool "hack" around this dilemma. Carefully coat JUST the lampposts with Modge Podge! It will repel water and watercolor once it dries completely! HOWEVER once I did this, I can not CHANGE them, i.e. fade them out, or add additional color to them. Such is the price for not planning past the initial sketch!

I added the tops of the trees, and people getting off the trolley. I also underpainted the shadows of the storefronts on the right hand side.
More details to the trees, and storefronts on the right.
Next time I hope to finish up the left hand side buildings, cars and people. Stay tuned!
.... DONE... See the finished painting at the top of the post.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

New Embossing Machine

I am so excited! Here's why...

I had been wanting an embosser for a while and had done the homework.

There are 2 big name competitors when it comes to (folder) embossing. (Not to be confused with powder/heat embossing.)
  • Sizzix - 
    • Big Shot
    • Texture Boutique
  • Cricut
    • Cuttlebug
I didn't need anything fancy. I already have a Silhouette Cameo cutter (which I absolutely LOVE, by the way), so I didn't need it to die cut...just give some texture to some of my cards.

The Sizzix Big Shot has a wider opening that lets you use larger embossing folders like the 5" x 7" size, and it also is big enough to take large die cut dies, However it was too large for my tiny crafting space and limited storage space. It also came with a fairly big price tag too.

The Sizzix Texture Boutique was small and simple. It uses the standard A2 embossing folders (4.5" x 5.75" (Large enough to do the entire front of a note card.)

The Cricut Cuttlebug can accommodate the A2 and the larger 5" x 7" folders like the Big Shot, but it is not quite as big and bulky.

I had decided that for my needs, the Texture Boutique would work just fine. So, I had been keeping my eyes peeled for holiday sales.

A few weeks ago, I saw an e-mail from my local  Stampin' Up! demonstrator mentioning the sale going on to make room for all the new holiday scrapbooking and stamping kits. And the Stampin' up version of the Sizzix Texture Boutique was on clearance! I got a SWEET DEAL - less than $25 even with shipping!

But, when my Boutique arrived in the mail a few days later, I realized that I had no folders to test it out with. Thankfully a friend and fellow crafter, Liz Carlin, let me come by her craft studio, and "play" with her folders and die cuts. I brought paper scraps and my embosser, and she had a huge storage bin of folders!

I am going to use this one on a flip card I'm putting together for Halloween. I tried adding some black sparkles but then changed my mind. (I haven't removed them all in this picture, as you can see.) I think it might look really cool with BLACK card stock as the base.



Well, that was 2 weeks ago. Since then, I have been scouring the the internet for deals on A2 embossing folders. My eBay find just arrived from Canada today.

It is a two folder set: Dots/Zigzags and Flowers.

I tried them out on a few different papers that I have. The first is a heavy 140 lb professional watercolor paper. (I had some small pieces that I had used to "practice" a wet into wet blending technique before applying it to a large painting. They were completely dry and had been sitting there just waiting for me to figure out what to do with them.)

The other two are Canson 98 lb mix media paper scraps. One is plain the other I used a chalk pastel to emphasize the embossing image.



Unfortunately, embossing does not make for good photography. You can't really see the texture here. Especially not on the thicker painted watercolor paper. Take my word for it, they are great!

I also found another deal on eBay a few nights ago. That one should get here early next week.

I'll post more pics then. Please be sure to check out Liz's crafting blog too. (CraftItWithLiz.wordpress.com) She is so creative with so many different materials! Until next time...Keep Calm and Keep Crafting!

Monday, August 17, 2015

Wes Waugh Teaches Wet Into Wet Watercolor

I wanted to share a watercolor workshop that I enjoyed the other day. Mr. Wes Waugh painted Grandfather Mountain and explained his wet into wet technique  before the Newell Hendershot Watermedia Exhibition opening reception at Sycamore Shoals Historic Site. In less than 3 hours he created a watercolor painting start to finish. His bold color combinations and knowledge of the medium, and subject matter is inspiring.

Wes Waugh can be found on Youtube.







Wes Waugh can be found on Youtube for more educational watercolor presentations.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Watercolors, Cats, Dogs, and Lakes

This is a picture of my latest painting that I just received back from the Summer Art Show at Sycamore Shoals Historic Site. It had been on display for a few months.
Green Eyes by Kimberly McCarron

I also did one of my dog, but I don't think it came out quite as good. Although some friends convinced me to use it in my Aussiedoodle T-shirt design on Zazzle.

And the very latest, hot off the drawing board... Life is Better @TheLake. I really liked doing this painting. It is so inviting and relaxing. I liked it so much that I used it in a few different product designs including a really cute note card.


I have a good friend who has been very sick lately and in and out of the hospital. He saw a photo of the unfinished painting, and told me he liked it because it reminded him of the movie "Beaches", So, I am giving him the finished painting... I just need to find a nice frame.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Lacy Butterfly Card with Cutting Machine

I finally got a chance to really play with my new Silhouette Cameo Machine. I had purchased it about 2 months ago, and haven't had a chance to use it until recently.

I made this pretty butterfly lace card for my MIL's birthday. (She loved it, BTW.)

This was not a very difficult design, as I purchased the cut file from their online store. It was, however a very delicate cut. I had a problem with the paper ripping, especially at the very thin cuts where the blade had to change direction.

 I was using some pretty card stock that I had in my stash. It was off-white with some colored speckles woven through it. I am not sure of the weight, but it was about the thickness of a nice business card. 

I slowed down the cut, and adjusted the pressure to the blade. In the end, the blade setting was at 3 with a ratchet blade. The speed was set at 3 cm/s, and the thickness at 33.

I just used some scrap paper for the 3 small butterflies. about an inch and a half  sq. each.  and two larger pieces of 2 of the same scrap paper pieces for the larger center butterfly. I used a hot glue gun to attach them.

The "Happy Birthday" text was done with the sketch pens, and then cut out, and stuck onto the front of the card with foam squares.

For the inside, I used the print and cut feature. I measured the space from the butterfly cutout to the inside fold and made a rectangle that would fit in that space. I typed the saying using kissmekissme font, and using the print and cut, I printed it to my HP printer. Then loaded it into my Silhouette machine and cut out the words inside the rectangle.


I found a pretty velum envelope to put it in, to keep it protected in the mailing envelope.

This is the final result. Enjoy.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

WVAL Summer Art Show

Just wanted to share a quick announcement. The Watauga Valley Art League is holding its 21st annual art show at the Sycamore Shoals Historical Site from June 28 to July 26, 2015. The People's Choice awards will be announced at 2:45 pm on June 28th during the Artist reception. (This means if you want to vote on your favorite artist or artwork, you must do so on June 28th between 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm.)

I don't understand the reason for not allowing more time for the public to view and vote on the entered pieces, but that is just the way of things.

There will be lots of beautiful works of art from local artists and WVAL members. (There will also be snacks, and refreshments) PLEASE COME BY DURING THE RECEPTION and VOTE!

 

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