Starting a New Job!

So back in August or September of 2011, I saw an ad posting on Craigslist for a painting instructor (I like to browse Craigslist every once in a while to see if there are any fun creative opportunities).  I looked into the position further, and found out places like it are popping up EVERYWHERE!  Basically it is a painting studio where people can sign up for a specific painting on the website.  On the day they signed up, they come to the studio and over the 2-3 hours an instructor leads them through the steps to create that specific painting.  On top of that, they can bring their own cocktails of choice.  What a fun night out!  I thought this sounded like so much fun, and when I researched it more I found tons of studios that do this.

I interviewed for the position and I was hired as a painting instructor.  I was ecstatic!  For the next few weeks I worked on numerous paintings that I thought were creative enough but easy enough to teach to beginners. Here are some of my ideas:

Cherry Blossom

Margarita

Calla Lily

I just found out recently that the business is scheduled to have its grand opening on March 24.  Woohoo!  This sounds like one of the most fun "jobs" I've ever had and I can't wait to start.  Have any of you ever taken a class at a place like this?  Do you have any tips for a new instructor (what to do or not to do?).

As always, you can see more of my original paintings on Etsy too:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyjae

Giveaway!!

I am hosting my first giveaway on Facebook!  My facebook link is here: http://www.facebook.com/artbyjae

 

If you decide to participate, you could receive a FREE print of one of my paintings, either an 8x10 or 8x8 depending on whether the painting is rectangular or square.  Here is what you have to do to enter:

1)  "Like" my facebook page. Easy right?  You must be a current fan of my page when the giveaway ends to still be eligible.

2)  Write on your wall what your favorite painting by me is, linking my shop with it.  To link my shop, just type the @ symbol before my shop name.  For example: I love the tulip paintings by Art by Jae!

Feel free to share this giveaway with friends and family!  Anybody who completes the two steps above is eligible to win!  Someone will be randomly selected on February 12 and will be able to choose their print.  Have fun!

You can see my prints on my etsy shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyjae 
 Facebook website:  http://www.facebook.com/artbyjae

How to Paint the Edges of a Painting

Happy Holidays to all!  As I've recently started selling artwork on Etsy, I've been thinking about painting the edges of my canvas more and more.  Painting the edges makes the painting ready to hang, without the need for a frame, which appeals to many people (including myself!).  It seems like many artists paint the edges of their canvas black, so it mimics a more modern framing around the picture.  I think this works beautifully will many paintings.  Other artists continue the painting onto the edges, so it wraps around the stretcher bars.  I have done this myself for a few paintings and I think this is a really neat effect.

My dilemma is that I never use straight black paint in any of my paintings.  Many of my paintings are very colorful, and I feel that black paint would take away from a lot of my colors.  So for these paintings, I tend to paint the sides a dominant color found in the painting, or a neutral color like brown.  For example:

I painted the sides of this particular painting a flat yellow-green.  This helps to match the overall tone of the painting without being distracting, and I think it works really well.







For this painting:

I painted the sides a dark umber brown.  I love this color on the sides because its an earthy color, which goes along with the organic nature of this painting.  I didn't want any one color of this painting to become dominant by painting the sides of the canvas that color, so the brown was a good choice for this particular painting.







Overall, I think painting the sides of a canvas (as long as it is gallery wrapped) is a great choice for artists.  Personally, I love hanging paintings on my wall without the frame, because that is how the artist was looking at the canvas while painting so that is how I want to view it as well.  It also gives a more modern feel to the room the painting is hanging in.

You can find these paintings and more at my etsy store (hey I rhymed!):  http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyjae

Retro and Bicycles

Lately I've been inspired by retro bicycles.  They give off a feeling of simple times, carefree existence, and community.  I'm not a big "vintage" or "retro" person, but retro bikes appeal to me and they make great subject matter to paint because they are SO dynamic!  I took it upon myself to do a retro bicycle painting a few weeks ago on a 24x36" canvas and I really love how it turned out:

I think next I want to try to do a retro bike from various angles, in different settings (maybe one on a beach?).  

Sometimes I have a problem after I paint something; I want to keep it!!  I think this is a good thing, because I put so much effort, thought, and soul into my paintings that they become a part of me.  This specific painting is being entered into a local art show, but hopefully I will have more to post on my etsy soon!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyjae

Impasto & Palette Knife

So I have been experimenting lately with palette knife painting after seeing some incredible paintings online that used this technique.  The paintings are so textured and alive!  For my first attempt, I decided to use a photograph of pink flowers I took last year at the park as inspiration and used the palette knife to paint the background.  I mixed my acrylic paints with a heavy acrylic gel medium to give them more weight and texture.  Here is the photograph:

And here is my painting interpretation:

I love how the palette knife helped me to make the background imitate the grass texture, while keeping it somewhat blurry so that the focus is on the flowers.

Obviously I did not paint the flowers using the palette knife, because I wanted them to be more clear and show up more realistically.  They still have a textured feel because of the textured background.

Another palette knife painting I finished this week was inspired by the colors gold and red.  I think those two colors together are beautiful, so I was inspired to paint red tulips on a gold background to imitate dusk, fall, or a sunset (depending on how the viewer interprets it!).  Here is the painting:

I think this is a technique I will teach to my art students this year because it makes them think about how colors are used together and the marks they are making on the painting.  I think it will also help to loosen up my "perfectionist" art students  =)

I'd love to hear some of what you guys have experienced with the palette knife!

Be sure to check out my etsy site for examples of my paintings:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyjae

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