Kiwi Arts updated blog - hmmmmmm?

Hmmmm? Where to begin? I have not updated my blog in a while. I have gotten behind on some of my orders while I focused on a Dinner Theater I was in, and recital week at the dance studio. Now that these things are complete, I can focus on the new week ahead. There are several orders for people I need to get finished this week as well as some projects I committed to at the Art House here in ATL. http://www.arthousecoop.com/ It is going to be so neat to see all of our work in the Atlanta Airport all summer. I was casted in a new Dinner Theater for June 12 and 13th by Page to Stage Productions as well. I can't wait to learn more about my new character and get started. Our last audience was so much fun, and I am really enjoyed messing with them. Who knows what things we will pull on them this time. LOL!

Every now in then in life you are sent small messages, and you have to listen to your small voice very carefully so you won't miss anything. And then there are other times, that messages are literally shouted at you. That is when you better listen or you are certain to make a mistake. So, this was one of those weekends. It is all good though. Once again, I have learned some things about myself, and I know where to concentrate and what direction I need continue to move in. Life never seems to surprise me. The old saying that doors open and some close really has some meaning to it. You have to be opened minded enough to move through those doors and always be prepared for it to happen really fast. I guess that is why this place called life is also considered school for us. I hope to always learn, and never shy away from these opportunities. I have been through so many things in my life so far, but I am not sorry for any of it. All of these events in my life have shaped me into who I am. It is hard not to be thankful for that. The tears can be hard to see through at first, but if you can get through it and start listening, it won't hurt so much.

I can't wait to get started on some of these unfinished orders and put my mind where it needs to be. I swept up my studio tonight, washed some wine glasses to paint, got out some new canvas, and prepared my work space for the week ahead. Hopefully I can get most of this done before the weekend. I am going on a semi professional paranormal investigation with my Ghosts of Georgia Paranormal team on Saturday. I can't wait to meet the guest that are coming on the investigation with us. My understanding is that they can offer some wonderful learning opportunities. www.ghostsofgeorgia.com
I hope everyone has a great week, and I will post new pictures of my finished work later this week. G. Singletary, D. Willis, Jyl, Chrissy K, and C. Peters - I will have your orders done by Saturday.

Beth

Dance Painting getting better - part -1 (forgot to show you first sketch!)

OK, so - the painting is getting better. Please leave me comments - Good, Bad, or Ugly! I learn so much from all of you, and your opinions are very valuable to me. I actually have fun with it! :-) It feeds me and helps me finish the painting. I hope to be done tomorrow night after work. So, three days working after work is not too bad I guess. I realistically probably only dedicated 2 hrs of working time a night on it, if you take out all the interruptions. I did not get to start on the painting tonight until after playing mom taxi for most of the night - and then the President's speech. I probably could have done without the speech, but I felt like I needed to listen so if I need to say something negative or positive to someone about it, I would know what I was talking about! LOL! I hate it when people speak up, but don't know what they are talking about. Don't you? Drives me crazy! My favorite line is......."I voted this way or that way because this was how I was raised, or this is what my parents do.". Or even better - "I did not vote because it is a waste of time, but whoever elected this President was crazy." Aghh!!! So, I guess I keep up with politics so I feel like I can make an educated opinion rather than talking from my rear end.

I almost forgot - I did not show you my first sketch that was approved by the buyer to start this painting. So, you can see where the painting started from. Now, If I can concur my fears of some areas of this painting, add the rest of the dancers, and finish fine details - I will be done! Hopefully my customer will be very happy! If she is not, you will see it on Etsy later - ha ha!! :-)

Hugs to all! Happy Wednesday! Already half way through the work week! Yea! Can you believe it? This weekend I am going to go see two different plays my dear friends are in with my paranormal investigation team as a group outing, then one of my daughter's orchestra concerts, and finally paint, paint, paint for the rest of the weekend! Sounds fun huh? I love weekends!!!

Beth

Dance Painting (taking too long?) - part 1

Ok, so I have worked ALL day on this one painting I have been commissioned to do. It is only a $50 painting. The specs were given to me, so it is taped off at 14x20, and the color palette she would like me to use was given to me as well.

So, I am trying to stay in this same family of the color palette, but I am not doing so well - ha ha! I still have several dancers to add to this painting, lots of flowing material and gowns, and as you can see, I am not getting anywhere too fast! I figure by the time I am done with the painting, I might make $ .02 an hour! LOL! :-)Oh well - it is a challenge, and I love a challenge. I spent much of my time with the negative space, and texture. Even though, she has a specific color palette in mind, I still wanted her to be able to see the richness of color in the negative space behind her color choices. I am afraid if I stick to her colors, it will be very flat when I am finished. This is no big deal, I love building the paint. I don't think this painting will look anything close to what it looks like now.

The things I want to fix in this painting already.......... The one dancer's face in this painting. I hate faces! I don't do them well at all. I don't want the reader of this painting to be too distracted by the face of this dancer, and not looking at the movement and grace of the dancer instead. It is more important to show movement, soft flowing material, and to be able to hear the music by the time it is finished. I am thinking of swooping her face out, a little more abstract. What do you think? The other thing I need to finish.........I started off with some great transparencies, but I added too much opaque over my transparencies. I was scumbling over the texture, and I did too much. I lost some of that really nice rich color you could see through her gown. So I am trying to figure out how to get that back. Once you have used an opaque, it is hard to do much more. I figure I can add some transparencies back on top of the opaque, so I can add more color and tints to the fabric of the dress.

Well, this is part 1. I will post again with more pictures soon. Thanks for looking. I hope to finish after work tomorrow. We shall see after getting home, then transporting all my teens to where they need to go, and cooking dinner. I wish I could stay up later and work on it. I hate going to bed with that unfinished feeling.....

Everyone have a wonderful week! Stay warm, dry, and happy. Keep positive thoughts with you night and day. We will have so many good things to write about at the end of the week. I can't wait to hear them all!

Hugs!
Beth