New painting!

"Quince at Dusk" 9 3/4 x 14 3/4, watercolor

I started and completed this small painting today. I adore flowering quince, and this is the season here in northern California for this exquisite bush to be blooming. To me, it's quintessentially Asian, and I tried to keep to the spare and delicate format the Japanese are known for.

Tea Towels!

Tea Towels in full and border prints. 18 x 27 $30.00

I'm trying something old and new: Creating tea towels from designs I created when I was in fabric school. Some of the above will be in a February month-long show at Au Coquelet Restaurant & Café. 2000 University Ave. & Milvia. Open 7AM-Midnight daily!
This show will feature tea towels from many of my friends who attended The California School of Professional Fabric Design. Some are completely hand-made while others, like mine, have been printed professionally on cotton-linen canvas. All are vibrant, unusual and reflective of the artists who designed them.

New Painting!

"Quince Blossoms", 5x5, watercolor on Claybord©.

Another little flower painting to add to the growing number of 5 x 5s of just flowers! It's a lot of fun and quite relaxing to do. I realize this is not the season for Quince, but I perused some old photos I had of these gorgeous blossoms and had to paint one.

New Painting!

Old St. Hilary in Spring, 11 3/8 x 8 3/8

Nothing like the upcoming Marin Open Studios to get me back into painting! I've been wanting to do a smaller and more sweet (if I can say that) version of one of Marin's most picturesque churches: Old St Hilary. I remember getting down on my stomach to get this shot, hoping the bright wildflowers would be a great foreground. I'm hoping I captured this charming church in the untamed landscape that its a part.

Kate's Updates! New Painting!

Half Dome, Late Afternoon, 15 x 17 3/4, watercolor on paper

This painting was "commissioned" by the Marin Poetry Center for their forthcoming poetry anthology. The theme for the anthology is "mountains" ....and being in a Yosemite frame of mind, I chose this famous icon to paint.

I was very nervous about painting this: What is my approach? Will the drama of the branches be too much or not enough? Would I get too fussy with the details? Will the color palette be too boring?

I actually prayed to God for help! I needed Divine intervention. I started the painting one afternoon and finished it a day later. (Good music in the background helped and yes, I believe God did take a hand in this)!

I also tried a technique I've never done before--using a razor blade! To add sparkle to some of the pine needles and the water darkening the face of Half Dome, I scraped a razor point very quickly across the dried paint. I have to thank the master, Zoltan Szabo for that advice.

Kate's Updates! New Painting!

Dogwood Blossoms, Yosemite, 19 x 15, watercolor on paper

I can't get enough of Yosemite...this painting was inspired by a particular Pacific Dogwood we saw while waiting in traffic (!) in the Park. I got out of my car and photographed these blossoms. I loved the irregularities and imperfections of the petals and yet how stunning they were against the deep purple of the woods.

Kate's Updates! New Painting!

 

 

"Branch Patterns II", watercolor, 15 x 22

"Branch Patterns II" is the latest installment in my tree series. I am definitely obsessed! This painting, however, is a bit unsettling to me as I'm not sure if it's done or, did I do too much? It was done very quickly (as you can probably tell), which is the approach I'm most aiming for, but I'm just not sure if this is the last I'll see of it in this state. Regardless, I'm  moving on for now. There are so many more trees to paint!

Kate's Art: "Townsend's Warbler"

Townsend's Warbler was done today for my husband as a Valentine's gift. This bird is truly vibrant and is one of the most looked-for birds in our backyard come Spring!


Townsend's Warbler, 12 x 12, watercolor on clayboard, NFS

Kate's Art: Spring Calves in Olema

New Painting depicting some very happy calves along Hwy 1.

This is actually a very long piece--30" x 7". I had the urge to do something long and narrow and something with a lot of space. I always bring my camera along Hwy 1 because you never know what will be there.