Mourning Colors

Remember this photo? This is a mourning dove resting on a branch outside my window.
I love his pose. That's what mourning doves do. They flop on a branch and leisurely look around. They take their time and just chill.

Sometimes I need to just chill. I know so many other people that also would benefit from just chilling. LOL.

Here is my interpretation of Mr. Mourning Dove chillin' on his branch, happy as a bird on a branch could be, in all his colors!

This watercolor is 9x12. I let loose once again and assigned colors that aren't realistic.

He likes it that way.

So do I!

Paintings in Bank Lobby

I've been invited to hang 7 of my painting at Prospect Federal Bank in Oak Lawn, Illinois!
They are hanging in the lobby, behind the tellers, and also in a few offices.

Weeee! Whooo Hoooo!

Here is a list of the paintings:

Waterfall Glen 18x24
Copper Falls, Wisconsin 20x16
Deep Forest Secret 16x20
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe 23x14
Dancing Shadows 11x14
Wind Swept, California 11x14
January - Morton Arboretum 16x20

The paintings will be on display and for sale for all of June and July.

If You Love Color...

Do you remember this photo?
I took this last month when I was walking in Tinley Creek Woods. I really love this spot which actually came as a surprise the first time I spotted it. I couldn't see the creek nor hear the creek until I was on top of it. Now, I'm not even really sure this is the official creek of Tinley Creek Woods, because the area is so large.


Inspired to paint this picture, I had a very large dilemma...there is NO color! The scene is very monotone on a cloudy afternoon. Well, I'll just have to create my own color. That's where the fun begins!


Using Wallis Museum Grade pastel paper, I decided to make an under-painting wash to set the mood. I usually block out shapes with pastel and then with a brush and turpenoid (a turpentine without smell), move the color around once wet. Today I decided to make a watercolor under-painting instead of a pastel under-painting because watercolors have such a mysterious look when allowed to do their own thing and I wanted this to show through the final painting.

©2008 Christine Kane Art

Here is the final painting which is titled: "Deep Forest Secret" 16x20 Pastel.
Can you see the watercolor drip marks on the bottom left corner of the painting? That is the watercolor paint showing through. I love it! These drip marks can represent a physical thing like tree roots, or it can convict a feeling like mystery or an oddity, which is what I was aiming for.
I used oranges and pinks which are clashing colors to represent excitement and that is exactly what I felt when I discovered this creek. Now, as you can tell by my photo, I had no color to start with. As an artist you can make up whatever colors you choose. They don't have to be realistic! What's your mood like at the time? How were you feeling? Were you happy, excited, depressed, sad? Let those colors set your mood...it's fun!

"Deep Forest Secret" will be matted and framed and made available at ChristineKaneArt.com in a few weeks.
Hope you enjoy.

Eeny Meeny Miny Moe

Here is the latest pastel, which is titled: "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe....Moe Has a Seed"


This painting was done from a picture that Joan from Appalachian Journal took of a real bird line-up in her tree by her feeder. Click here to see the original picture and read story.
I love Joan's nature blog and was trilled when she gave me permission to paint this picture! For her generosity, she will receive a print in the mail shortly. :)

It has taken me since the end of January to complete this painting and I am super happy with it.
Why do I love this picture?

Well, first, I love Meeny's butt. That's the second bird. I must admit I did a good butt. This backwards bird drove Gary, my pastel teacher, nuts! Every time I brought it to class he asked, "Does that bird have to face in the opposite direction?" Every time I replied, "He must!"
Moe is the last one on the right and really does have a sunflower seed in his "mouth".
Eeny is a molting American Goldfinch. Do you see the bit of black on top of his head? In the spring/summer the top will become completely black.
Miny steals the show and just happened to receive an appropriate female name!

Secondly, I love how this painting breaks the rules in art world. You are never, NEVER, supposed to have an even number of subjects in a painting or picture. He, He, He....
That is why Meeny had to remain facing in the opposite direction like the real photo, it makes the composition work even when it's not supposed to.

Lastly, I love how the lighting is coming from underneath the birds and branches, highlighting all their bellies and one butt! Their big round bellies!

This painting is rather large at 23x14.5" and is framed with a 2" wood frame the same color as the highlight in the branches and is currently on display at the LaGrange Art Gallery until May 2nd. If it does not sell, it will be made available on Christine Kane Art after May 4th.

Celebrating Spring with birdies!
Thanks Joan!!!

Welcome Spring Watercolor

I don't know...this maybe hopeful wishing because there is still snow on the ground, but today I felt inspired to paint this picture from earlier this month.....



Remember this post on "evidence of spring"?
Now in my painting, I used my artistic license and made the female sparrow larger and the birdhouse a little smaller, removed the wood fence background, and added nice watercolor drip marks representing rain for the spring season.
Oh it's so much fun to paint!

This watercolor painting is called "Welcome Spring" and will be on display at the LaGrange Art Gallery on March 31 through May 2nd 2008. If it does not sell, it will be made available after May 4th on Christine Kane Art.

I have taken on a part time job as a newsletter editor as well as holding down my full time job. This may cause me less time on the computer as I am realizing there are too little hours in a day! Posting may decrease, I hope everyone understands.
Thank you!

End of Day Pastel

© 2008 Christine Kane Art

This pastel was created after I was driving home through the country, passing many farms, trying to get on the highway and suddenly fell in love with these trees against a setting sun. I pulled off the side of the road, ignored my family's moans and groans about having to stop, and took a beautiful picture. "Nature doesn't wait for us...." I explained to them, "You have to be ready or else it's gone!"
Well, I'm ready!

What is it about this winter picture that I liked so much?
The best feature is the dramatic skeleton shape of the trees against a warm sunset. I love warm sunsets (reds, oranges, yellows) in the winter time, it's such an ironic contrast. Next, you can still see the rows that the farmer left behind after harvest....proof of man. The cool colors (blues and purples) accented on the field, I placed to represent the cool night quickly approaching. "Hurry home!" It says, "Before the cold night takes over!"

This painting is titled, End of Day. It is available at Christine Kane Art on the pastel page.
Hope you enjoy

Class Painting

Last week in Gary Wick's pastel painting class, he had everyone paint from the same picture and had us finish it in 2.5 hours. Even though the size is pretty small (9x6), that's still pushing it, to complete a painting in such a short amount of time!
Well, he must have taught us something right, because everyone did finished it.
When Gary was in Italy taking a bus tour, he took a picture of a field and made copies so that everyone can have one.
Here is my painting:


Gary made just one restriction. You had to paint the picture upside down. From start to finish! Now, I can handle a few twigs upside down, but the whole entire thing? That's really hard!
The trick is just to look for shapes. Don't think tree, sky, mountains...think block, oval, and squiggly lines. It's like painting blind, your brain doesn't really make sense of what you're looking at.
Here is what I was staring at:

You really can only be sure of shapes and colors to succeed at painting in this manner.
It was so much fun at the end of the class to turn them right side up and see all of the beautiful variations the students came up with. No two paintings were the same, all of the colors were slightly different and some students decided to leave a few trees out. It was so fascinating to see the differences, I wish I had brought my camera!

I have decided to name this painting, Italian Countryside. The painting is 9x6 and mounted to fit a 14x11 medium wood frame with a 2.5" off white mat. It is currently not for sale right now, because I'm in love with it. He...he...he.
You might find it for sale in a few months at www.christinekaneart.com

You can tell Gary that was proud of us and I think we were surprised ourselves!

My Friend Jim

My friend Jim Milkowski loves nature and creates beautiful pieces of artwork with various types of wood that he finds in the wild. How exciting! Where I merely copy what I see with paint, he creates art with actual nature itself!

picture submitted by Jim to www.roundthefountain.org

Here is how Jim describes his art:
"My work begins with an unfinished wood picture frame. By using natural twigs, Mother Nature provides an unlimited palette of color and texture to apply to the frame. The amber hues of weeping willow, the ivory-speckled deep-brown of birch, the olives of common willow, the brilliant magenta of dogwood, and the grays and browns of basswood are what first catch our eye. In most cases though, the original color is not retained. After a 3 month drying period, the twigs usually take on subtler, more subdued hues. Other times, the color change is striking. This can be either exciting or frustrating when the colors I sought to capture have changed.
Though tedious and time consuming, peeling the bark from the twigs is well worth the effort. It opens a whole new avenue of color and texture. It affords me the option of applying stain for color and leaving the inherent character of the wood unchanged."

picture submitted by Jim to www.roundthefountain.org

I love how he tells which colors come from which type of wood. Just fascinating!

picture submitted by Jim to www.roundthefountain.org

I met Jim at the Little Red Schoolhouse Art Show, where we were both participants. I really respect and admire his work and dedication to nature. Jim has shown his work throughout Illinois (including the Morton Arboretum), Wisconsin and Michigan. In May, he will receive this year's schedule, to which I will keep everyone posted. If you're a local, I hope that you can visit Jim and view for yourself such wonderful pieces of art!

I try to make it a point to encourage and promote any artist dedicated to nature and our Creator.
Thank you Jim for allowing me to use your photos and share your talent!
Great work!

Gallery Approved

I am happy to announce that the LaGrange Art Gallery has accepted my work to hang in their gallery! Whooooo Hoooo!
Downtown LaGrange is a very charming area with an old world feeling. It has many specialty shops and classy restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, yesterday a few spaces from the gallery is Cafe 36 where they are currently filming a cooking show!

Remember this painting of Sunset Fire? Click here it see the step by step post. This month's theme at the gallery is "new light". I thought this painting was fitting for the subject. It looks really good framed, however I take really bad pictures of paintings after they have glass on them!


The second submittal is this painting titled, Dancing Shadows. This is also a pastel painting and was inspired by a visit to Maple Lake East early in the morning when the sunlight peaked through behind the trees causing shadows to dance on the grass. It was a great sight and another good "new light" theme.


For all the locals, you can visit the LaGrange Art Gallery and find directions by clicking here. The paintings will be on display and for sale from 03-03-08 through 03-29-08, the gallery is open M-Sat. 10am-5pm. I viewed the many paintings from various artists yesterday and they're all really good!

Watercolor Winter Tree

This is a watercolor painting I did after I was inspired at the Little Red Schoolhouse yesterday. It is called, "Little Red Schoolhouse Winter Tree" and was painted on a 12x9 piece of watercolor paper.
There are a few main things I wanted to bring out in this painting. First, I love the shape of the oak and how our heavy snow storm has left a few inches on all major branches. Second, I love the amber grasses peaking through the snow, that was real fun to paint, flick, flick, flick! Third, I also love a misty background and the snow covered fence.
Here is the actual photo I used for reference.....


As you can tell, the real photo does not have a misty background. That's when you just whip out you artistic license! Now the oak doesn't have to compete with the background trees.
I think there must be a painting hiding in every square foot of the Little Red Schoolhouse grounds, it is an endless source of inspiration for an artist, poet, writer, and hiker!

"Little Red Schoolhouse Winter Tree" watercolor painting is available on Christine Kane Art.

P.S. Don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Still Holding On

Who loves nature?
We do! We do!

This is a picture I took at Tinley Creek Woods when it was much warmer and the snow had melted. What did I love about this scene? Many things:

First, this picture was taken this January, notice all the trees in the background have lost their leaves. This little guy held on to his. I stood there and thought about all the wind storms that came through this winter and I'm pretty impressed with the tree's strength, especially because he's standing in an open field all alone. Perhaps it is because of his youth that he is able to hang on or maybe the background forest is his shield, a row of soldiers. Maybe the forest is looking out for this little guy? The tree probably is still holding on to it's leaves because that's just the nature of an oak tree (boring), but it's much more fun to think of all other possibilities. I'm sure there's a life lesson in here somewhere.

Secondly, the detail in the trunk made me say, "Ooooo." I love it's "arms" reaching out near the bottom, searching for all possibilities in life.

Thirdly, warm colors in the dead of winter rock! My interpretation exaggerates this feature...I'm just whipping out my artistic license here.

Here is my translation of what was actually there. My main goal was to keep this little guy the focal point and not get him lost with a busy background, notice the blue forest (represents distance) and is shorter that actual photo.
I had a super difficult time attempting to draw any trees in the background, it was just shades of blue. I really thought I was going to ruin it by painting trees. Gary, who is a wonderful teacher, challenged me and said, "Do you always want to be stuck at this level?"
WOW, no I don't...growth is good!
Gary taught me to turn the painting upside down and get loose with the background. Dandy! It worked!

This pastel took a total of 5 hours to complete over a period of 2 days. It will be made available in a few days at www.christinekaneart.com

Hope you enjoyed!

Pastel Step by Step

Well, because this weekend was so cold it just happened to be perfect for hibernation and artwork. Every weekend is perfect for artwork, but when the temperature dips below zero, instead of looking for inspiration outside, you start digging out pictures from warmer memories.


I thought I would show you the materials and a little bit of the process of creating a pastel painting. Oooo it's so much fun! Here is my setup. The tan paper to the left is Ersta pastel paper, made in Germany, bought on line. Ersta is just like sand paper, it holds the soft pastel pigment as you grind it into the surface.
My subject is to the right, a sunset picture I took last November. All around I'm surrounded with beautiful, beautiful pastels....


Oh such lovely colors! You can never have too many colors, however they're not exactly cheap, so you must cherish them to the last speck of crumb! These are Rembrandt landscape soft pastels, notice how much I like the blues they're almost gone! How can a Chicago artist not like the blues...hahahahaha


Here is the painting, which I've named, Sunset Fire, in progress. I usually start at the top and work my way down. Meanwhile, I start with underneath layers of color and work my way to the top. It's so much fun and I believe anyone with training can do this!
Speaking of training, once a week I will be working under the direction of artist Gary Wick, who creates amazing art. He's just a neat, creative artist whom I admire a lot and a swell guy! Lets hope he can transform me into something!


Just working my way down...adding the sun's highlights to selected clouds. Yellow is the complementary color to purple and orange is the complement to blue, that's why these colors look so good next to each other. Nature has it all figured out!

©2008 Christine Kane Art

TaDa.... the finished painting. Foreground trees silhouette in a mixture of dark blue and dark purple...never black...too harsh. The cloud "holes" were softened lightly with my finger and the highlights in the horizon are left strong. The mood has been translated into paper.

This painting, Sunset Fire, is now available on Christine Kane Art on the autumn pastel page because this picture was taken last autumn.

It is so neat to see my nature friends become artists themselves. We all must have that desire to take what we love and in our own "language" show our version of a moment in time.
Click on links to view art.
Tom with Ohio Nature has attempted his first painting after many years and he did a super job, I love it!
Tom at Monarch's Nature, takes breathtaking photos which is artwork in itself. It's too hard to pick a favorite, but I love his frost photos.
Jennifer at A Passion for Nature has been adding beautiful text to her photos, creating a wonderful piece of art.
Drowsey at DrowseyMonkey has pick up her artistic skills after many years also, such great talent cannot be left unused!

I'm happy to see talent not waisted! I encourage everyone who has had a love for art in their younger days to polish off the brushes and develop your skills where you left off. Don't worry, It's not as hard as you think!

Mr. Cardinal in Pastel

Here is Mr. Cardinal painted in pastel as a vignette. A vignette is a design that has no definite edges, to put it simply. I love them because the subject is never in question and the viewer has the ability to finish off the background in his or her mind.
You may recognize Mr. Cardinal's pose from a watercolor I did earlier. I used the same picture to create this pastel. Pastel paper is so much fun to work with because it feels and looks like sandpaper. It holds the soft pastel's pure pigment and there is such satisfaction scraping the pigment into the paper....oooooo, it's so much fun! Everyone should try it.

In a few days this original pastel will me made available on Christine Kane Art
Hope you enjoyed!

Bear Lake

This is a Christmas present for my dear friend Sharon. Shhhh...it's a surprise. If she's reading this before Wednesday, well, she stumbled upon her own surprise!
This is a pastel painting I did today of her cottage on Bear Lake in Wisconsin. She loves this place and I don't blame her. What a peaceful setting. I was kinda missing autumn lately so I decided to give this picture a try.
Why this place looks so pretty that it could be used for a movie location! Maybe a nature movie!!!
I would like to spend some time at this cottage in 2008. Hahemm...Sharon...hint...hint!


I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! A happy and healthy one.

I also want to leave you with a saying from Saint Therese of Lisieux, that really helped me out when I was feeling low. Use it for 2008.

"May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts you received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us."

Saint Therese of Lisieux

She rocks.
Happy New Year!

PS Prints for this painting will be made available sometime in January at Christine Kane Art.

Negative Painting

In this case "negative" is not a bad word!

These are negative ink wash paintings of oak leaves that I collected while on a hike.
What is negative painting? Negative painting is painting outside of the subject. Sort of like painting the "air" around the leaf.
What is ink wash? Ink wash is in this case is India ink and water applied with a bamboo brush. I really like the contrast and this type of painting technique seems to exaggerate the shape of the leaf. Cool effect.

It is interesting to note the different shapes. Oak leaves especially reminds me of people. Some are tall and skinny (like the bottom leaf and my dad), some top heavy (like the top leaf), and some bottom heavy. They're all wonderfully made each with their own characteristics. I love them all. I wouldn't want them to look the same. No way.

Some other good negatives? Negative bills, negative aches and pains, negative worries, negative debt, a negative criminal record, a negative biopsy....

Here's wishing you good negatives this Holiday Season!

Nature Sculpture

This is a life size nature sculpture done by artist Patrick Dougherty. It is on exhibit at the Morton Arboretum until the end of this year and it is as much fun as it looks!
This life size twig house isn't just for kids but for us big people too. You can run in and out of the rooms and nobody will laugh at you. It is expected you regress in age the minute you step in and play as if you were 10 again.


Here is what the ceiling looks like inside, a big hole! I mean, natural skylight...where is my imagination! Perhaps it is a portal to the stars? Who knows maybe it is where the smoke escapes when cooking inside?


Here are the inside walls, there are many windows and places to hide. If only it were in my backyard!
It took Patrick Dougherty 3 weeks to build and used 3 semi-trailer loads of 15 different kinds of small trees and shrubs . WOW, that's a lot of work!

Autumn Tree with Nest

I absolutely love when autumn trees look like this. I made my poor cousin take this picture from her phone before work one day.
I saw a million reasons right away, why I had to have this one on "film". I knew when driving by that I wanted to paint this tree someday because I fell in love with the way all it's leaves have dropped right below itself, I fell in love with the way the top is bare and the lower branches are clinging on to leaves yet, I feel in love with the yellow color and I also fell in love with the November sky behind it. This morning was a typical November morning with a little drizzle, with clouds meaner than they really are, and cool temperatures. My favorite.
Do you know what else attracted me to this tree? The fact that it looks like all the autumn trees Charles Schulz painted in his "Peanuts" cartoons! My all time favorite cartoon.


In my interpretation, the top of the tree has a nest exposed remember the post on exposed tree nests?
I had to give it one even though this tree really didn't have a nest. I pulled out my artistic license right here! This painting is also an action shot, see the leaf falling from the tree? LOL.

Any who, I'm please at how this watercolor turned out, not overworked at all, just the right amount of paint and light. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and a lot of turkey leftovers!

For more info on how to purchase this painting click here.

Henry Immortalized in Watercolors

Henry shall live on! Forever! He is now immortalized and embedded in watercolor paper. Because I love him so, I painted him balancing on the suet feeder cage from the post a week ago or so. I sprayed the background with a misting water bottle sprayer, so that it was a little "out of focus" and Henry was able to come in loud and clear.

I love the patch of red on his head. Do you know Emeril, the cooking guy chef? Do you know how he says, "BAM!" When he throws in some spice?" Well, that is exactly what I said when I painted the red male trait part of Henry's head!

Anyway, I'm pleased at how he turned out. If I wasn't, I would have said so!
Henry is available for sale by clicking here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day tomorrow! Enjoy it with your family and friends.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Art Site Up and Running

Yeah! After many hours and going cross-eyed my new art website is up and running.
To view click here.

Some folks might ask, Why did you feel the need to change it?
Well, its been a year and a half and it needed a face lift. I also will be able to update more frequently than before, that means more paintings! Faster! Weeeeee!

Hope you enjoy.