Pumpkin Still Life

Juggling, omitting , and resizing whatever elements she wants in her painting is the artist’s prerogative. Powerful fun.

(Click to enlarge)

reference photo

painting

(20″ x 13″ watercolor on paper)
Displayed artwork © 2019 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

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Friday Chickens

Happy Friday.  I hope you’ve flown the coop for some weekend fun.

(Click to enlarge)
(12.5″ x 5″ mixed media on paper)
Displayed artwork © 2019 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

More Squigglies

Just sharing a recent batch of ‘Squigglies” which I love to make because:

• they’re fast
• unpredictable
• make me laugh

Caroline’s Crazy for Carrots

Queen Mantis

Blue Jester

Einstein’s Green Eye

Little Drummer Cowboy

Freakishly Strange

Old Woman

Blue Dancing Girl(5 x 5″ mixed media in sketchbook)
Displayed artwork © 2017 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

20 Years Ago

Look what I found!

 

 

I was moving art papers around recently and discovered this collage sandwiched in the stack, created exactly 20 years ago. I had recently quit my full-time job and was taking time to decide my next step. Lot’s of uncertainty felt with a healthy dose of confusion…

I haven’t found all my answers since 1997, but I’ve survived another chunk of my life and had a lot of fun and love along the way. I just wish I could slow down the clock a little for the next twenty!  Tic-Toc.

(24″ x 36″ mixed media collage on Crescent art board)

L.A.P. Dog

It’s not what you think, although if he jumped into my lap I’d allow him a short stay. It’s that I hate wasting paint, even a little bit. He is a Leftover Acrylic Paint dog.

The orange, blue, and red colors on his face are leftover acrylic paint smeared on a page, then folded — forming his somewhat symmetrical blotches. I looked at it from time to time just enjoying the blobs. Then I spotted him and drew him out.

This ‘Rorschach’ian method may say something about my personality type and emotional functioning. Do you think I have a thought disorder?

(Click  to enlarge)

(5 x 5″ mixed media in sketchbook)
Displayed artwork © 2017 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

Flocked

Birds of a feather… or not!

(Click  to enlarge)

(~12″ x 16″ mixed media on hot press watercolor paper)
Displayed artwork © 2016 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

Step-by-step…

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Happy Village

A fabulously fun exercise from 2016: “Y” is for Yellow . This makes me happy every time I look at it — hence the title.

(Click  to enlarge)

(11 x 14″ mixed media on hot press watercolor paper)
Displayed artwork © 2016 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

Sketchbook Series — My First

This is the start of my first serious series. I am taking Carla Sonheim’s 2016: “Y” is for Yellow, an online class focused on moving your art forward and developing two series of work throughout a 12-month period — perfect!

Each small 5 x 5″ mixed media piece is based from my sketchbook. Some may look familiar to you long-time ‘Ticklers.’ I plan to do (at least) 3 more to make a symmetrical block of nine in case I get brave enough to publicly exhibit them some day!

(Click image to enlarge)

(5 x 5″ mixed media on cradled birch board)
Displayed artwork © 2016 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

Happy Easter

Digital eggs and a bunny who sprang from a blotch of extra paint. Must be Easter.

(click images to enlarge)

(4″ x 5″  digital art using Sketches^® by Tayasui)

(4″ x 4″  mixed media acrylic and Micron pen)
Displayed artwork © 2016 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.

Sketches are GOLD

You never know where a 20-second sketch will take you. And you can never make enough sketches. They are GOLD to flip through for developing future compositions, remembering places, and feeling good about all those times you picked up a tool and made marks in your sketchbook.

While attending a group event at an instructor’s studio earlier this year, I discovered her cache of sketchbooks—a TREASURE TROVE chronicling her moods, surroundings, experiments…  It almost felt like I was violating her privacy, but she assured me she left them out for that very reason. I would have sat there all night turning her pages, but for the guilt of appearing unsocial. Back to the party I went, eventually.

Where will a preliminary sketch take you? ANY WHERE! Pick a favorite simple drawing, then use other media to draw/paint it again and see what happens. You’ll get something quite different every time.

Have fun!

A one-liner ink sketch, used as source.    (click any image to enlarge it)

 

Charcoal and conte on tinted paper.

 

Eyedropper+ink with watercolors on hot press watercolor paper.

 

Different one-liner ink sketch, used as source. (imagine that: another bunny)

 

Crayon sticks on Canson paper.

 

Markers and dry pastels on colored, textured paper.

 
Displayed artwork © 2015 Kim Reading. All rights reserved.