Collage of My July Paintings

Collage of My July 2014 Paintings

How do you like the collage of my July paintings?  I am impressed if I may say so, considering I was gone for more than two weeks.  Which is your favorite painting?

"Monarchs on Coneflower" (watercolor on paper; 4.5" x 6.5")

click here to buy

"Hanging Out" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6")
click here to buy

Collage of My Animal World in Watercolor

This is it.  The collage shows my summer watercolor series of animal paintings.  I have been away from watercolors several years, because I was bored and felt I hit the wall.  I thought I couldn't achieve the rich, luxurious, textural, and painterly feel with the medium.  And I was quite right.  Switching to oils freed me.  I no longer worry about careful underdrawing and am wild with laying down thick paints.  

I also realized that I could be spontaneous with watercolors, perhaps a side benefit of having worked in oils that are more forgiving and "carefree".  My watercolor paintings are not tight. They are fresh, watercolory, and effortless-looking.  I like puddles, blooms, and paints beyond pencil lines.  I adore granulating paints that leave granular residues, such as cobalts and other mineral colors.  I don't use making fluid, because it leaves obvious, tell-tale marks.  In other words, I use watercolors to do things that can be done only with this transparent, fickle medium.  I let watercolor paints and water work their own magic!

"Kiss Me, I Am Your Prince" (watercolor and marker on paper; 6.5" x 4.5") sold

sold

"Quack Quack Ducklings" (watercolor and marker on paper; 4.5" x 6.5")
click here to buy

"Ba Ba Sheep" (watercolor and marker on paper; 4.5" x 6.5")
click here to buy

"Ba Ba Sheep" was my first "illustrated" painting, with lettering.  I got such a kick out of the experience that I wanted to make more.  "Kiss Me, I Am Your Prince" is the latest one.  Will you kiss the red-eyed frog?  Will he truly turn into a prince?  A question to consider carefully.  By the way, despite its flamboyant coloring, it is not poisonous.  So, will you kiss him?

"Emperor Penguin Love" (watercolor on paper; 6.5" x 4.5") sold

sold

"Baby Emperor Penguin" (watercolor on paper; 6.5" x 4.5")
sold

Who doesn't love the story of emperor penguins, the largest and tallest of all penguins?  How they breed and protect their young in the extreme climatic conditions of the Antarctica.  Did you see the movie, narrated by Morgan Freeman?  They also look majestic as adults and adorable as babies, made for artistic renditions.  Here are my attempts to capture their images. I hope you enjoy them.

Collage of My June Paintings

Collage of my June 2014 paintings

I was very productive last month.  I had to drop several paintings for this collage of my June 2014 paintings. What do you think?  Which painting is your favorite?

August Newsletter

Hello, everybody!

Can you believe summer is almost over?  I hope you are all enjoying a great summer. We Virginians have been blessed with some lovely weather this year!  

I started a new, fun, ongoing series--"Pet Portraits".   If you love to see your beloved pet painted by me and shared on my blog and Facebook page, please email me at kimstenbergart@gmail.com.  Send me a picture or two, preferably taken in natural light without flash.  I will do a drawing at the end of September and give one painting away!  Since I first made the call for pet pictures last Friday, I already painted four pet portraits! I am totally out of photos at the moment and waiting for more.  Please check out my blog for the stories behind these beautiful cats and dogs.  

"Collage of Pet Portraits I"

When you are sending me pictures of your pets, don't forget to add their names, ages, breeds, and some fun facts.  And please send me more than one picture. My paintings will be as good as the reference photos, as I give every painting 110%.  I will work in oil for these pet portraits in various sizes, such as 6" x 8", 8" x 8", and 8" x 10". If you like the painting of your pet, you can buy it later.  By the way, it doesn't have to be cats and dogs; I can paint any animals.  Are you a birder?  I can paint from your favorite pictures!  The only condition is that you took the pictures yourself (because of copyright issues).

"Collage of Birds for Birders"

It was a summer without a vacation for me.  Instead, I've had a different kind of fun, creating watercolor paintings.  You wouldn't believe how exciting it is to switch back and forth between mediums. Watercolors do something oils cannot do; there are things one can do only with oils.  As I told a friend of mine, by renewing my watercolor ways, which were my first love, I doubled the fun!  I am sharing the collage of the paintings I did during my explorations on Yupo painting last month.  How do you like the collage of my July paintings? 

The paintings are available on my website or on my Etsy shop.  The prices are the same on both sites, but they offer you different ways of viewing and buying my art. Please check them out.

"Collage of My July 2013 Watercolor Paintings

My original plan for July was to do some more boat paintings, but I got distracted as you can see above!  A boat painting from June ("After Independence Day"), however, was juried into the prestigious annual landscape show at the Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA this month!

"After Independence Day" (oil, 12"x 16"; $500)
For purchase information, email gallery@theartleague.org, or call 703-683-1780.

Exciting things happen in Kim Stenberg Fine Art Studio!  Thank you for your continuing interest in my art.  Enjoy the rest of the summer!