Hidden Purpose

 

9x12 inches, acrylic on watercolor paper

This painting began a year ago with something like throwing color in the air, letting it land where it will then scraping it across the surface of the paper.  I didn't actually throw the color in the air more like dropping paint in puddles on the paper but it has that same out of control feeling.   So thats the fun part, the next step is what to do with it, that's when a lot of thinking and sketching comes to play.  The sketches were not making me happy so I shelved it and occasionally would get the painted background out to ponder.  Just recently I did a new sketch adding and rearranging elements including negative space ideas for this final design until satisfied.  This type of painting takes me way longer than my usual acrylic paintings.  I spent half my time just looking and pondering until something clicks.

It was intentional to keep the owl blended into the background but still keep it visible and identifiable letting the background enhance the image and vice versa.  What I love about this process is how it makes me go places never thought of.

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide ©

Best Of Show!

I was honored recently by receiving a Best Of Show award for my painting "Autumn Walk", oil on canvas.  I joined an Artist's group last fall, Artist del Norte and they were advertising their spring show for 2016 with the theme Into The Woods.  They were telling everyone to get out there and take photos since the color was so beautiful at the time.  So I grabbed my camera and ended up at a nature center snapping endless photos.  It was a bit overcast that day which worked better for color and out of those endless photos I managed to get a couple that inspired me, this was one.  I don't consider myself a landscape painter and I hadn't painted a piece over 9x12 inches in years (this painting is 18x24 inches) so this was super challenging for me.  After I completed the painting which took 3 days, I went through a period of ups and downs thinking yes this is good to what were you thinking.  Anyway this award was very encouraging, the judge had many good things to say about the piece and I am feeling so honored.  Challenges are good but not always successful in terms of a finished piece, I was fortunate this time.

California Trek

NFS:  oil on gessobord, 8x10 inches

Hiking in California with my daughter and grandson we came across these hikers.  They really look like serious hikers with their backpacks and go for it strides.  Since it's very dry in California in the summer the grasses are usually golden colored and in this case there was a lot of orange as well which is beautiful against the blue sky.  I'm also experimenting again with a very loose unfinished paint style and I'm really liking the affect.

Due to the limitations and inconsistencies of various display monitors, the colors you see on your screen may not be a totally accurate reproduction of the actual painting but I work to get the best likeness possible.

(C) Deborah A. Kirkeeide

Morning Glories And Friend

Click Here To Buy It Now - $100,  oil on gessobord, 12x12 inches

This painting has a funny story.  I was trying to capture bees on flowers in my gardens; for some reason I really wanted to paint a bee sitting on a flower.  Those darn bees are so fast, as I was ready to click the photo it would either flit off or go down inside the flower.  I ended up taking a bunch of photos of flowers and no bees or bee butts sticking out of flower centers.  However as I loaded the photos this little tree frog, who was hiding among the flowers, showed up sitting on a leaf.  I never saw him at all so it was a happy surprise.  Who cares about the darn bees, I probably need a way better camera to capture them anyway.

Garden Arbor

Click Here to Buy It Now - $50, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

Remembering summer.  I'm feeling a little nostalgic about my gardens, soon they will be covered with snow and I won't see them until May.  I painted this from one of my garden photos and thought I would try to loosen my paint style a bit.