From Start to Finish Everyday

My 2014 ended with a 17 day tour of Italy. My husband and I traveled from Milan down to Sicily with many stops along the way. We made it to all of the big museums and saw many of the most beloved paintings, sculptures, and architecture that Italy has to offer (which is A LOT). It was inspiring, fast-paced, crowded, wintery, touristy, and exhausting at times.

As many knockoffs as we have all seen of this sculpture, the real thing does not disappoint! 

My husband got a video of me trying not to have a melt down when I saw Botticelli paintings for the first time. Finally seeing art that you have always loved in person can be pretty intense!

It got me thinking a lot about how the old master painters - especially my favorite Renaissance painters - got to be so good. No one becomes a master overnight. I started reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone after seeing Michaelangelo's frescos in the Sistine chapel, hoping for some insight into this question. The book is a biographical novel on Michelangelo and shows how he got to be such a great artist. In addition to good connections, self-discipline, and curiosity, he was CONSTANTLY drawing. When he was researching for a sculpture commission, he was drawing. When he had no marble to carve, he would spend all day long drawing. When he couldn't sleep, he was drawing. He never stopped. He always sketched what he was most inspired by - the human body. I suppose that is how many people become masters at any craft. They practice the fundamentals of their art/sport/craft every single day, without fail.

In that spirit, I decided that I needed to draw more if I want to grow as an artist. So, I have given myself a "sketchbook project" where I will be doing short drawings and paintings of what I am most inspired by. For me this has always been the time I spend outside in nature. Every time I step out the door I see different things that I find remarkable and beautiful. I have started documenting what I find on my morning walks, and then making a small sketch of it when I return home. My problem has always been that I paint too slowly, so for this project I have given myself a two hour cut off for each painting. Here is the first week of my documenting/sketching project!

I spend a good bit of time figuring out what to leave out of each picture without losing the essence of the image.

I also change up the colors too.

This one had me pretty freaked out. I have never painted water that you could see through but was also reflective. It's not an easy thing to paint!

I had to break the background down into color blobs to make this one work.

This sketch surprised me by being pretty easy to paint, and also the one I liked most out of the week.

I feel like I started to let the watercolor "do its thing" for this one. This is something that I have struggled with when it comes to watercolor. I like to use it like a pencil instead of paint. I can't really do that for these quick sketches though!

I just liked this picture of Maddie (my corgi/lab mix puppy), even though there are a million details, I gave it a shot anyway.

Now at the end of the week, I can definitely feel a small increment of improvement. There is also a good feeling that comes from starting and finishing something everyday. I would love to hear what other artists or anyone who has to work hard everyday to master their craft is doing to improve and stay inspired.

Keep chasing what inspires you and have an awesome weekend!

Telescopic Viewer

My painting "Telescopic Viewer" is now finished. It is 24x48 inches and painted in acrylic.

 This is a painting that I have been wanting to create since moving from Madison to Austin. Moving across the country has been a thrilling, bittersweet, and sometimes lonely adventure. The landscape of Austin is dry and starved for water. It is hot, the roads are congested, and public transportation is minimal. It is vastly different from the land of one thousand lakes that I grew up in. Despite the differences, I am learning to love the arid landscape and noisy city of Austin with its thriving community of creators and entrepreneurs.

Here is a walk through my process of making this painting:

 It always starts with the blank canvas

 Then the drawing, followed by painting the most distant background details

 When the weather cooled down for a few days I painted outside on my back porch and added hills, trees, and elk to the foreground.

Elk in the forest, a fallen tree, fish, and lily pads in the water

The water has all different kinds of creatures and objects in it.

 

Sharks, stingrays, chairs, tires, stoves, and barrels

 

 Schools of fish, rooftops, and floating jellyfish

  

Across the water is a city

  

And farthest away are the rolling hills of farmlands

 

 Coffee to keep me going

And Maddie to keep me company

 A telescopic viewer at the end of the dock

  and a White Heron perched on the boat

To create this full panoramic

The Story of a Piece of Paper

In 2004 I acquired a large, high-quality sheet of Arches Watercolor paper through very unusual circumstances. I had recently become good friends with my drawing professor, who also happened to be a horse lover. She was very supportive of my equine artistic pursuits and we would often talk about our riding adventures. One day I told her my family was looking for a home for one of our horses. We were giving him away because he had a lameness condition that made him unable to be ridden. This horse was beautiful. His coat was a dark chestnut color with a white blaze running down his face and four white legs. He stood at 16.3 hands tall. He was the sort of horse that looked like he should be pulling a chariot across the sky. Simply breathtaking to view. My professor came out to look at him to see if he would be a good pasture mate for her horses and at first glance she said she would take him. We delivered him to his new home at the top of a green grassy hill in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin a week later. The next day in drawing class, I was given an enormous sheet of Arches  watercolor paper, crafted in France and shipped to the United states, in thanks for the beautiful horse that our family had given her. 

That piece of paper has followed me around for 10 years, blankly waiting for the right project to come along and bring it to life. 

One year ago I moved away from Madison, Wisconsin to Austin, Texas. I left behind a great community of horse lovers, friends, and family. It was hard to leave. Before leaving I was asked by my friend to paint an image of her two horses grazing in a field at the farm that I had taught lessons at for over 10 years. 

"How big do you want it and

would you like watercolor or acrylic?" I asked.

"Big. Super big." She replied. "I like your watercolor painting style. Lets make it a watercolor." 

And with that, I knew that I had finally found the right use for my dauntingly large sheet of watercolor paper.

I finally arrived at a suitable layout after sifting through many potential compositions of the two horses together from the dozens of photographs I was given to work from. I began to lay down the first of many layers of paint.

 

And more layers...

 and more layers...

And many hours and layers later..

Getting there...

 Here is a reference for the size.

 At last, I applied the last few layers to darken the woods along the fence line, add some depth to the coats of the horses, and add some more texture to the field.

 After traveling around the world for 10 years this sheet-of-paper-turned-painting will be shipped out for delivery to its new and final home (although you never know where life will take you!) in South Carolina. 

Godspeed little painting!

Renewal Art Exhibit at Drift Studio

My latest peice will be in the Renewal show at Drift Studio in Mt. Horeb from March 15 through April 12th. I am really excited to be participating in this show which will feature 50 local artists work on reused panels of wood. The artwork will create a large scale wall installation in the studio space for the duration of the show.

here are some process shots and detail photos of Lion Fish

Once the drawing is complete I paint in the background

Then I make decisions about technique and color for the foreground subjects

The last couple of hours I spend on a painting are the most exciting part. I add all the details and colors that pull everything together.

Lion Fish detail

Stop by Drift Studio opening night to see this and many other works on March 15th from 6-9! Here is the link to the show and the Studio space: http://driftstudio.com/renewal-2013/

2013

Over the last month I have finished and sent out my last commissions of the year and opened an Etsy store. I have also taken the time to reflect on all of the progress over the last year. The decision to spend my time pursuing personal artistic goals was a hard one to make. Deciding to forgo the normal route of getting a secure job and all that goes with it in order to follow an uncertain dream brings great amounts of doubt and fear. It is not an easy route, but If I have learned anything in all of my work with horses over the years (my other entrepreneurial pursuit), persistence, hard work, and patience will pay off in the end. Perhaps most important of all, being surrounded by an amazing and supportive community has made this year one of the best I have ever had.


I am looking forward to improving on last year with more shows, more inventory in my store, and more commissions and illustration work. Time to get busy!

 A watercolor portrait of Henry

A watercolor portrait of Daisy

An acrylic commission inspired by my previous moose painting. The shoreline and red sandstone home carry great significance for the family that commissioned the work.

And here is a link to my store!
http://www.developer.etsy.com/shop/KatieryanArtShop?ref=shop_name_search_sugg

December Artmakings

This December there were several commissions to finish and new prints to send out. Portraits, prints and original paintings were being shipped, picked up, and delivered daily. I am so grateful for the support of my small business. It has really been a great year!

my first round of giclee prints

ready for delivery

the wonderful  Dr. Pepper, for Macy. Water color. 18x24.

The process for completing a portrait like this is very methodical and technical. Here is how I go about getting it done:

 the drawing might be the most important step. Without a good drawing there is no possible way to get  a likeness (for me). This takes a great deal of concentration.

 Then I block in the darkest shadows with a light wash

 I create surface details in very small sections, otherwise it can get overwhelming. Not everyone would do it this way, but it is the best way for me. In this case I had a very high resolution image to work from, so I was able to zoom in and really capture minute details (thank you photographer Mike!)

This is my set up of materials. Paint and water are always as close to my hand as possible.

I build color using many layers of transparent paint so that the image never looks too heavy or wooden.

 The last step is a light background wash. I like to keep it very simple so that the subject has nothing to compete with in the background.

And the very final step is delivery! I wrap up the painting and drive it to its new home.