Bailey

Anticipating Spring ©2008 Karen Mathison Schmidt
6 x 6 • acrylic on Gessobord
gloss varnish for protection and easy cleaning
SOLD

Here’s Bailey, in a comfy spot by the window, looking out at the wintery day. I like to imagine she’s anticipating the warm days ahead, but I really have no idea what goes on in that head. She might be remembering back to her carefree kitten days (as opposed to her stress-ridden and over-burdened life of today ... ha!). Or she might be planning her next strategic move in her secret plan to become Queen of the Universe.

I really meant to take more work in progress photos, but once I got to a certain point, I just couldn’t stop painting ... I guess I was “in the zone”!


and here’s a close-up view:

A Basket Full O’ Ray

Basket Full O’ Ray © 2007 Karen Mathison Schmidt
5 x 7 • acrylic on gessobord
Gloss varnish for protection and ease of cleaning • sold unframed
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Whenever I’m painting I keep the tubes of paint for my current palette in a basket on the floor beside my chair, and occasionally I’ll toss in a used paper towel, to be recycled after it dries. On this particular occasion, when I turned to reach down for a new paper towel, this is the sight that greeted me ... Ray, making himself at home in my work basket. I didn’t hear him come in because when he does things like this he goes into “super stealth” mode. I laughed out loud and immediately reached for my camera. Here’s the result: A Basket Full O’ Ray.

And yes, his eyes are really that green!

Avery and Jazz

"Avery and Jazz" © 2007 Karen Mathison Schmidt
12x12 • acrylic on 3/4" cradled gessobord • SOLD

I posted progress photos of this painting a few days ago; here it is finished!

Several weeks ago my friend Andrea commissioned me to take photos of her son, herself and her mom, in various combinations. Of course, being 7, Avery wasn't really into the photo shoot; it was next to impossible to get him to sit in any one spot for more than about 4 seconds, and even harder to get a natural expression out of him. (From experience I know that it takes about a thousand clicks of the shutter to get 2 or 3 really good shots of a kid or a pet - thank goodness for digital!)

At one point I got Avery to sit looking out the window and tell me all the things he could see out in the back yard.
Me: What do you see out there?
Avery: ummm...
Me (clicking away): Is there an elephant out there?
Avery (very matter-of-fact): No.
Me: Hmmm ... he must have gone home to eat lunch. Is the giraffe still out there?
Avery (laughing): No-ho-ho-ho!

Then, just for a second, he stopped talking and was just looking, and their cat, Jazz, hopped up behind Avery and was looking in the exact same direction. It was the kind of moment a photographer dreams of – a real gift! I snapped the picture and I knew I had a gem. Out of an hour long photo session, this turned out to be everyone's favorite. Later, looking at the photos on my computer, I knew I had to paint this one. I've been trying to build up my portrait painting portfolio (wow - say that 3 times real fast!) so I have more to show potential clients.


The big challenge for me in painting a portrait is to end up with a good likeness without trying to control the outcome too much. It's kind of like a creative tightrope walking act, trying constantly to keep that balance. And of course I want to be true to my own style, seeing as how that might be a reason that a person chooses me over another portrait artist.

I have a tendency to be very detail-oriented in my work, which is a plus in my graphic design job, but which I have to fight against in my painting in order to keep my brushstrokes loose and painterly. Somewhere in my past (it could have been in an art class or something I read) I heard that the less information the artist provides in a painting, the more the audience has to fill in from their own experience and memories, so a less detailed work can seem very personal and familiar, even when you're seeing it for the very first time. This might explain the extreme popularity of impressionistic art.

Well, boys and girls, that concludes our art class for today. In closing, I would like to say one more thing: it was really fun painting the cat!