The Blog Hop Around the World

click here to go to my Etsy cityscape section

My website: www.kimstenberg.com
My blog: http://www.kimstenbergart.blogspot.com
My Etsy shop: Kim Stenberg Fine Art
My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kimstenbergfineart


I am thrilled to be part of the Blog Hop Around the World.  My friend and fellow artist, Jo Mackenzie, was the one who honored me with her invitation.  She is a terrific watercolorist whose artistic enthusiasm and productivity are legendary.  She is also one of the most generous persons I know!

I am what they call a self-taught artist, as I don't have any art degrees.  I do, however, have three advanced degrees in history.  I received a PhD degree in British history from the University of Minnesota in 1993 and has taught history at the college level for 20 years until my early retirement.

click here to go to my Etsy floral section

Turning 50 was the reason for my foolhardy decision to become a full-time artist.  Although I was delusional about selling my paintings like hotcakes, quitting my job and committing myself to what I always wanted to do made all the difference.  I have been working prodigiously hard for the last four years and, I believe, my paintings have improved tremendously.

One of my "problems" is that I like to paint pretty much everything!  I paint figure, animal, landscape, floral, and occasionally still life.  I paint in two very different mediums of oil and watercolor in quite different styles.  I find beauty in so many things that I want to try to render them in paint, to see if I can make them come alive by capturing light striking them.

click here to go to my Etsy landscape section

The turning point in my art business came about when I started painting pet portraits in the summer of the last year, partly influenced by my friend, Jo Mackenzie.  Who knew I had a natural knack for capturing the spirit, not just the likeness, of cats and dogs!  My pet portraits have brought joys of tears to my clients.

click here to go to my Etsy custom pet portrait section

The success of my custom pet portraits led me to venture into the portrait business.  I plan to take classes with a renowned portrait artist, Danni Dawson, for the next couple of years to strengthen my portraits.

click here to go to my Etsy custom portrait section

I like to work in series.  The collage below was created with some of the watercolor floral still lifes I painted in March 2013.  Yes, I work in watercolors too!  In fact, I used to be a watercolorist for a long time until I decided to try oils several years ago.

click here to go to my Etsy watercolor section

As I like to challenge myself, in the summer of 2013, I did a series of watercolors on Yupo, one of the most difficult surfaces to paint on.  Here is the collage that resulted from my Yupo Challenge.

click here to go to my Etsy watercolor section

My current passion is cityscapes.  As a big city girl from Seoul, Korea, I love what big cities can offer--monuments, museums, parks, bridges, boulevards, bustling neighborhoods, etc. My favorite cities--Paris, London, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Venice, etc.--are my muse!


Now I am passing the baton to my friend, CJ Roughton.  CJ paints in oils and likes to paint people and pets.  She has been nursing her sick husband for the past months, and is excited to get back to the game with the Blog Hop.  She will post next Monday the 20th. Stay tuned!