Art Blog - Kate Kiernan

I just uploaded 5 of today's drawings using Faber-Castell PITT artist pens. I discovered these pens last week and am enjoying them. The black pens come in 3 widths, the 5 other pens in the set are different shades of gray; I also got a set of brightly colored PITT pens. Though I've been working regularly for the past month and a half, I haven't been doing much sketching, just to sketch and not to base a watercolor/gouache painting on. I've never been much of a doodler either, to my regret. I have had sketchbooks, but I've often been overly critical and never just settled into one. But this Christmas a friend sent me two Moleskine sketch books and today I decided to use one of them, the 5"_8" one… Continue reading… 1 comment

This is a gouache painting of an African woman wearing body paint. It's based on a photograph taken by Arddu on the Flickr site. I am going to be donating this painting to an art auction in Zimbabwe. It will help raise money for clean drinking water to fight the cholera crisis. ****************************** I cannot afford to hire models and so I rely on photographs to make my portraits. Lately I have been going to a site called Flickr that posts photographs. I have found some very nice ones to work from. I love that the photographs come from all over the world. This one was taken in Liberia. As I scan through the many photographs, I feel as if I am traveling and visiting all kinds of people… Continue reading… 0 comments

This is a watercolor painting based on a black and white photograph by Jock Sturges which can be found in his book The Last Day Of Summer. Periodically I return to looking at his work because I think it's compelling and beautiful. His subjects are primarily children and young people. Here we have three young women sitting before the camera in self-protective poses, yet they are still willing subjects, full of a kind of innocence that is sometimes hard to capture. The translation from photograph to painting deepens the mood a bit by accentuating the faces while adding some light washes of color. Initially I put this work up for sale in my Recent Work gallery until I ran across a site online called About… Continue reading… 4 comments

Sometime in early July I stopped painting. When I thought about taking up my brush again, I would become afraid and also the stresses of life intervened. For a week I returned to smoking, something I had quit 10 months earlier. I even had several offers to paint portraits, but I didn't follow up on them. I thought, perhaps I wasn't ready to commit to being a working artist. But why? I had the time, the means, and a modicum of talent. Should I put the blame on my mental illness or should I stand up and take responsibility for my lack of commitment? In truth, it isn't either/or, but both. Surviving the worst of schizophrenia (and over 10% do not survive) has left me with depression, voices and a damaged ego. Add to that a lack of work experience and a limited support system… Continue reading… 7 comments

I did manage to paint a portrait of my uncle when he was a very young man, but I wasn't satisfied with it and so I decided not to include it with the presents I sent him today for his birthday on Monday. I want to sent him a really good portrait, if not of him, then of my Nana, his mother. I guess it is not surprising that artwork done for family members is more emotionally loaded. There's that pressing desire to please and to gain approval. It still lingers years after one is all grown up. But it's important to stay clear headed and focused on the work at hand and not jump to an imagined response to the work (positive or negative). Don't let any bias interfere with the process of creating art. I'm happiest when I'm living and working in the moment… Continue reading… 2 comments

I am very glad to have discovered Artid. This is an ideal place to display my work to family, friends, potential clients and other artists. I have studied painting and photography for a while, but am only now venturing into the world of art business. My focus right now is on portrait painting. I am calling my business Second Sight to emphasize the fact that painting a portrait requires a fresh perspective, a new way of seeing someone. My business cards arrived yesterday with this image of the little boy on them. I am pleased to say that all the information on the cards is correct and the image of the boy looks good. Now, I have to get up the courage to start handing them out and posting them in public places locally. And it does take courage to promote oneself to one's community… Continue reading… 12 comments