Getting Back to it !

     Hi there,, I hope you have been keeping your brush wet and doing better job at that than I have lately.
     What am I doing today ?  Getting back into it , I actually started yesterday  starring at a blank sheet of paper wondering how to get back to it .

    I want to share what works for me when I have been away from my easel and  or
sketchbook for a while . We all have our own ways to restart but I thought I would share what works for me.
   First       I set my priorities  :  Mine are God , Family and Painting  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

   Second    I go back to what I know,  a review of sorts.  A few favorite brushes, simple palette auerolin yellow, permanent rose , cobalt blue  and lots of paper .

    Third     I take out some of my favorite art books looking for inspiration and then I begin with Bob's Blobs . Those of you who have taken classes from me know I love Robert Wade's Bob's Blobs as a great practice and exercise . Where you just put paint on little squares with no idea where you will end up . I did two sheets before lunch , I  guess I was thinking water , trees, and landscape when I did these , Lol !

    This afternoon I continued using my books doing little lessons and exercises that are in them and then finally went for two of my own from my recent photos of Maine . I hope you enjoy seeing them  and that you are inspired to open your sketchbook and stand at your easel and get back into it . No excuses on why you couldn't paint over the holidays  ( I didn't either )  but now it is time to get back to practicing and painting what you love .

I hope you enjoy seeing these and that they encourage you to get back to it . 

Merry Christmas

                         Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year

Isaiah 9:6
  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given : and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be Wonderful Counselor , Mighty God , Everlasting Father , Prince of Peace.

A Little Of This and That

Wow ! I can hardly believe it is December already and Christmas will soon be upon us.  In the midst of all the things that need to be done , I look forward to my quiet time each day to thank the Lord for all He has done as I prepare to celebrate My Saviors birth.

Well , I said a little of this and that so a huge Thank You goes out to Nanette Hance of Artisans' Loft for hosting a fabulous reception on November 7. We had a wonderful evening and I was thrilled to share my love for sketching and painting with all those I met. It was fun reuniting with old friends and making new ones as well as uniting a few paintings with their new owners.

I have finally put some of my new work and ink/watercolor sketches onto my website . You can check that out here  www.dianeklock.fineartstudioonline.com

Here is a preview of a few.

And finally as we start to look ahead to 2016 and plan our schedules  here are a few things that might interest you. 

Steve Hall   NYC  Plein Air Watercolor Workshop  June 6-10 2016  

Steve is a wonderful painter from the UK. I have had the pleasure of taking three  courses from him. He will be coming to NYC to teach in June so if any of you are interested in signing up please contact me for additional information.

I will be having a show with fellow artist  Barbara Aras in July . It will be in Tenants Harbor Maine , more information will follow as time gets closer.

I also hope to teach a few workshops in  2016 so I will be keeping you posted about those as well.   

Bye for now and I hope your day is full of joy as you take time to slow down and look at the world around you and as always practice, practice practice....

UK, Italy, Singapore , Painting , Sketching and Meet the Artist Reception in Pultneyville ,N.Y.

Hi there, no, I have not forgotten you and hope you have been busy practicing, sketching and painting in my absence from technology over numerous weeks.

Last things first . Meet The Artist  Event in Pultneyville , N.Y.  This Saturday November 7th   4-6 pm. If you are in the Rochester, Pultneyville area please stop by as I would love to see you.

    So What have I been up to since teaching a class in Litchfield , CT ?
Traveling , painting and sketching of course. I was blessed to be able to attend a plein air watercolor course given by Steve Hall in Norfolk , U.K. What a beautiful part of the world to paint in. Steve will be teaching a course in NYC June 6-10  2016 . Click here to visit his website  Steve Hall  I will share more information on that in another post but if you think you might be interested please let me know.
     From England we went to Lucca , Italy and I painted and sketched my little heart out on my own. How grateful I am to The Lord for giving me this passion which I hope to pass on to you.
     Then off to Singapore , a very diverse weather change and packing challenge to say the least. I met up with many Urban Sketchers and fellow Watercolor painters  . We had a wonderful time sketching and painting . I will try to post some of what I did in another post but you can see a few sketches at my Facebook Art page
      Now I am trying to re enter the real world , I must admit after filling 4 sketchbooks  and painting many watercolor sheets I am as passionate as ever and grateful for the opportunity God has given me to fulfill this passion.
      Getting ready to pack for Pultneyville  now , see you there or here next time  . Enjoy this beautiful day we have been given.

Hard Workers in Litchfield Class

Where did this month go , Hmmm !  A month ago I was teaching a Joy of Watercolor class in Litchfield CT. It was wonderful working with these 7 hard working artists, I was so proud of them for all their hard work. The class was  an intense two days full of lots of information and practice time.  Next time I have to remember to get a few group shots. Sorry about that .

Since the workshop I took advantage of the beautiful weather for a plein air adventure  with a friend to Manchester By The Sea, Gloucester and Rockport MA. Visiting grandchildren , friends and dropping off new work at the Artisans'  Loft in Pultneyville , NY round out the month. Please check out the gallery if you are in the Pultneyville area.

I have exciting painting adventures coming up next month  so till next time paint, paint, paint and practice, practice, practice and if any of you are interested in a workshop please let me know.  I hope this post finds you full of joy and peace for a wonderful day.

The Joy of Watercolor Workshop

Long time no see, yup that is true. I have been spending most of my time watercolor sketching , traveling and practicing , something I am always talking about. Slowly but surely I am painting larger, 1/2 sheets of watercolor paper and  even a few full sheets here and there. This all takes time and I am sure I don't need to share how much extra time I have found when I am off the internet and Facebook.  I am not sure how many followers I have lost because of that but priorities and priorities.

For those of you who follow this blog , my artwork and travels I wanted to share I am teaching a 2 day watercolor workshop Friday July 31-August 1 here in Litchfield CT.  9am -4 pm  with an hour for lunch.

 Day 1 will focus on painting with a simple watercolor palette , doing lots of fun exercises while learning sound foundational principles of good painting and paint handling.

Day 2 We will focus on painting from photos while continuing to learn sound foundational principles useful for any medium. We will also cover the importance of having and using a sketchbook .

If any of you are in the area and would like to attend I still have a few spots open so just let me know. Until next time happy sketching , painting and practicing .

Quick Sketches from my walk to the Met here in New York City

Hi,  hope you are all painting and sketching away. I am up in Connecticut this week playing in my studio, practicing and painting and getting refreshed. Thank you all for your calls and emails about last weeks post. I am glad so many of you are giving black and white value studies a try. You will grow in your painting because of it.
       I wanted to share some of the quick sketches I did last week as I left my apartment on what was a beautiful Spring day. My total time out was 2 hours so quick sketching indeed . I stood on street corners and did find places to sit here and there. Quick sketching on my travels has become such a part of my life and I just want to encourage you to give it a go. When you look back at your sketches you will recall the moment better than any photograph can. It teaches you to really live in the moment and look . You hand eye coordination will improve the more you do it and you will learn to express your feelings of the day . Sketching is recording what you are doing at a particular time.

 Enjoy these quick sketches and remember perfection is not the goal  as these are not finished drawings , just get an impression of what is around you and the more you sketch the better you will get at it and your paintings will also improve. This is your voice with a pen or pencil so Travel Light and Have Fun ! 

New York City Value Studies

Hi,  I thought I would share some value studies with you today that I did using peach black tubed watercolor and my brush. These are currently hanging on my living room wall and they  remind me how much can be said with so little. Charles Sovek always said , " it takes 3 values to turn an object " I have learned so much by painting and focusing on values that now I almost do it automatically. You can be assured if a painting works in black and white it will work in color. I have also been spending time studying the work of Ted Kautzky  and his wonderful value sketches.

 I hope these two paintings have inspired you to try painting in black and white for a while .  Love to hear how it works for you and if I can help you in any way just leave a comment or email me. Well, a new Sketchbook Skool  sketchbookskool.com   Session starts next week so I am off to hit the streets with my sketchbook and fountain pens and of course a tiny watercolor kit. See you next time . Enjoy this beautiful day !

Teaching moment ... Start to Finish New York City Street Scene

Hi there, I have been busy painting, sketching, teaching ,traveling and planning .
 I would like to encourage you today to do a painting from a photo or outdoors if you live where the weather is cooperating , easier said than done I know. Those of you that I have taught I would love to see you put together what you have learned and have practiced into a painting of your own. Below I will share  the 3 steps I used to do that during my practice session today. I hope you enjoy seeing it and if I can be of any help to you please don't hesitate to ask as my purpose for  this blog is to encourage you and help you grow on your  own artistic journey.  I will also be more than happy to help you via Skype , FaceTime or email.  Enjoy and I'll see you next time.

 1. This photo was taken with my phone.

 

2. A quick value sketch done with Copic markers of a light, mid and dark value. I like Copic markers because they have no odor. Block in the values , this should only take a few minutes.

3. I only use the photo as a reference then once I have done a value sketch and have an idea where I am going I start painting , usually putting the photograph away and using my sketch , my imagination and what I have learned from practicing sound principles. Ask yourself what does this painting need ?  If you need help with your painting look at it in a mirror as this will help you see with a fresh eye. Remember less is more so let the viewer into your painting and leave room for their imaginations to take over from there. 

Snow Day Painting

Hi,
 Wow ! has it been snowing here in the Northeast , and what does one do on a snow day ,
                                                           
                   

     Paint
   

    Paint

   Paint


                               

How to make a Collage or quick Video of your Paintings

I am participating in a Facebook Art challenge posting 3 paintings a day for 5 days. This challenge was started by watercolor artist Kristi Grurssendorf  . It has been fun seeing all the art work posted over the last few weeks , works both old and new.  Many have been posting in a Collage form and I wanted to share with you how to do that if you are unfamiliar.

This collage is the first one I posted for this challenge and each section is a bit of a full painting but I think it works well as a whole. To do this I used a site online called Pic Monkey  once there you upload your photos and follow the prompts. It is pretty user friendly. I have also used Ipiccy to do this as well. For this post I had to go back and resize my collage because it was too big for  Blogger but it was easy enough to do. Both these sites do similar things and are easy to use.  I want to leave you with one more tip ,  My New Years post was a quick 30 second video. This was done using a site called Animoto  . You do need to set up an account. It is also easy to use. All these sites are free and readily available.  Have fun with these and paint, paint , paint.

Happy New Year 2015

Happy New Year 2015     Animato Video

I made a short video for you , just click on the above link . I hope you enjoy it !