Reindeer Games

Kid Friendly Reindeer Games

This was definitely kid friendly reindeer games.

Mom and 2 girls came into the gallery

to paint reindeers.

So, what should my wondering eyes should appear,

 but a crazy instructor

and two magical reindeer.

 Give it up for the reindeer girls!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Don't forget to sign up to win a free painting.  I give one away every month. 

Follow the link below to get your name in the hat.

 

Let's Paint Sunflowers

Sunflowers

Let's Paint Sunflowers!

 Ladies, young and a little older,

came together to paint sunflowers.

We had a pretty wide age range here,

but you would never know it!

Everyone had a great time painting tonight.

Especially me.

Here are 2 short videos showing off the fun

we all had, and . . . 

 Progress being made!

 And look at all this sunflower beauty!

Get your posse together to do a little painting.

 

We'll be painting this Saturday morning, December 5

10-11:30 a.m. $25

If your child would love to paint this fun mermaid,

I have a few seats left.  If your child hasn't painted with me before an adult will need to stay with them.

 Here's another fun painting for Saturday, 

December 5, 1-2:30 p.m. $25.

This Christmas reindeer will be one of your favorites,

with that fun smile and happy look.

Let's get your paint on.

I get it on everything I own.

Tres' Chic Fashion

Fashionista's, Listen Up!

Our fiber artist Sylvia Brestel has something to say!

A great wrap can keep you warm and looking stunning!

And boy does she have the gorgeous wraps.

 This beauty is made of alpaca and you really need to feel it.

Click HERE to see more details. 

 This beautiful Merino wool scarf is made to intertwine.

Click HERE to see more photos and pricing.

Silk and wool Monet wrap.

Click HERE for more photos and pricing. 

This is a stunner and you will be too all snuggled up in it.

Click HERE for more photos and pricing.

Beautiful fall colors hand dyed and felted in silk and wool.

Click HERE to see more photos and pricing.

This blue silk and wool cape is created on a silk chiffon scarf and then. . .

OK well I don't really know how she does it, but it is gorgeous.

See those ties.  They aren't sewn on.  They are created as the piece is created.

Click HERE for more photos and pricing.

 This is a photo of the detail of the collar that began life as a silk chiffon scarf. . .

then Sylvia used her magic on it.

Now, didn't I tell you she had some fabulous wraps.

Sylvia Brestel of feltedfeather.com 

shows her work all over the region,

including at the St. James art fair.

We are very lucky to have her work

here in Carrollton.

Give her work a good look the next time you're in River Run Gallery,

449 Main St.,

Carrollton, KY

or on our website at

www.riverrungallery.com  

 She has items in the wearable art, fiber art, and home decor sections

of our website.  

Don't forget we have several sales going on in the gallery right now.

One is all spring and summer garden stones are now 25% off.

That means they were $30 and now they are $22.50.

That's a pretty good deal.

Our jeweler, Mary Ebert has a select rack of earrings that are all 20% off.

Galleries don't usually go in for big sales,

so you're in a pretty good spot right now for some super deals.

With my new online beginning painting course,

you can learn to paint anytime of the day or night.

 

Click HERE to get the scoop on this super course.

Thanks for stopping by today,

and I really love it when you make it to the end of my post.

 

October Winner

October Has A Winner

I give away a painting every month,

and October was no different.  

Congratulations to Kendra.

I pulled her name out of the hat to win this fun painting of Augusta, KY.

It's hard to see the painting above because it's in a cellophane package, but this is the October painting I gave away.

This is from Augusta, KY inside the Mains Garden on Riverside Dr.

Get in on the fun by clicking on the link below and signing up.

 

Enter for a FREE Panting Here

Click HERE to view my beginning online painting course. 

 If you have ever wanted to learn to paint,

this is the course for you.

You can learn at your home,

at your pace,

and watch all the videos as often as you want.

Painting Christmas Coasters

Want to Paint Christmas Coasters?

Sure you do!!

I'm offering two Friday morning classes

to make these coasters.

 Friday, November 13, 10-11:30 a.m.

you can create this set of four different coasters,

or you could make them all the same.

They're your coasters,

Paint em how you want em.

$25

Friday, November 20, 10-11:30 a.m. you'll be painting 

these fun Santa coasters.

Each tile looks totally complete by itself,

but when you stack them like this,

look what you get.

$25.

Tiles are all hand cut and sanded (by me)

yes, I use power tools!

They all have a minimum of 3 coats of an 

indoor/outdoor varnish on them,

they have felt feet, so they don't scratch your surfaces.

When we are finished painting them,

we'll give them about 3 more coats of varnish,

unless the weather isn't cooperating.

In that case, you'll need to do that at home

before you use them.

Enter for a FREE Panting Here

And finally,

hope you're going to give my new online beginning painting course a look see.

There might be someone on your shopping list who has been looking for just this type of course.

And you can be the hero by getting it for them,

or

pointing them in the right direction to it.

Click HERE to get a really good look.

 

Meeting Our Artists

Meeting Artists Can Be Scary

After all,

they are artists.

And we all know how crazy tempermental they can be

 Oh look,

Enter for a FREE Panting Here

there's two of those tempermental artist types now.

Sylvia Brestel, fiber artist and

Kristen Beck, photographer.

Sylvia creates truly one of a kind items using her own felting process

  and she loves to show you her work and explain how she does it.

Here's a short video of just a few of her items.

To see more of her art, click HERE 

 Kristen offers beautiful scenic photography that would enhance any office or home.

Click HERE to see more of her work. 

If you fall in love with something,

but it's in the wrong size,

just let us know and we'll get it made up for you.

See, so far that wasn't so bad, meeting those two artists.

You barely have to say a word to an artist.

They can't wait to talk to you about their creative process or their art.

Now lets meet another artist.

Jeweler, Mary Ebert.

 I'll bet the headgear was a dead give away about her art.

  Here she is helping a customer with  a bracelet.  

This short video shows off some of Mary's earrings.

She also has a sale rack of earrings, which almost never happens,

so hop on in before they are all snatched up.

 Click HERE to see more of Mary's work. 

Don't give up!

We have more artists you haven't met yet.

Jeremy Cobb

Master of Fine Art with a specialty in, wait for it. . .

drawing, silly.

 You have to look close to see what he's working on in the top drawing.
But it is stunning!

This one's pretty self explanatory.

Jeremy will be hosting a class/meeting

Thursday, November 5, 6-7 p.m. where he will be demonstrating

and explaining a new 6-week course he's offering on drawing portraits.

This will be an intense 6 week course where students will watch as he teaches them how to draw portraits, and then they will do lots of work themselves.

That's really the only way to learn any art form.

Get in there and make lots of mistakes and then learn from them.

The one night class will be $10, but it will be refunded

 if you sign up for the 6-week course that night.   

The full course is $150.

And then there's me.

OK, so that's not really me,

but it is my painting of marshes near Logan, Utah.

I recently had a skin cancer removed,

and well. . .

I don't look so hot right now.

Click HERE to see more of my work. 

Now you've met all of us,
and now you know,
we're not that hard to talk to
and
we're not that crazy.

 I hope you're going to come into the gallery real soon

to see the beautiful work created by our artists

or take a painting or drawing class. 

Enter for a FREE Panting Here

Before you go,

I hope you'll take a look at a new online beginning painting course I created

just for beginners and home schoolers.

Click HERE to give the course a really good look.

 

 

This course has everything you need to get started learning the basic concepts of art 

and then follow step by step instructions for two paintings.

Thanks for stopping by today 

and

I'm glad you got to meet us.

 

Whitley's Birthday Party

Oh To Be 12!

Whitley celebrated her 12th birthday in

River Run Gallery

with 7 of her friends.

I got out the shoe horn and we all

squeezed in my tiny little gallery

and boy did we have fun!

 They were painting a fun painting

with lots of color and creativity in it.

Yes, there were fears.

My oval looks like a rectangle!

My tree is too dark!

Will you help me?

But we didn't lose a single girl.

There was lots of giggles

and wiggles

and fun all over the place.

And look how they ended up.

 Yea!!!!!!!

You all did a super duper job!

Happy birthday Whitley!!!

Interested in learning to paint

at your own pace?

I have created an online course

where you can do just that.

Start at the very beginning,

with lots of art concepts,

do the exercises and practices 

I show you,

then,

jump into the step by step instructions 

for two pretty paintings.

Click HERE for the link. 

 

Panther Tots

Panther Tots

Just what are Panther Tots?

Tonight I was part of a program for head start children and their parents.

They came to a local elementary school, Kathryn Winn,

in Carrollton, KY and did crafts, listened to stories, and got a free book.

I taught how to make a Halloween card.

 Elle and Cora and Grandma Betty working on a Halloween card.

Elle's painted in River Run Gallery many times.

 Lily is also another painter from the gallery.

Her brothers also came by to make a card.

 Some of the other opportunities for families to 

learn fun things.

 A very young man who created his own card.

Brother and sisters creating Halloween cards.
 

Lots of concentration as this young artist
creates a card.
 

This little one was all in as she colored, stamped and stickered her card.

 A young man creating his card.

And then these two stopped by to 
create their cards.
 

 This young lady had several helpers.

Leslie from the library

had a very hungry caterpillar.

Lots of fun and creativity went into tonights program.

Thanks to Leah for inviting me to attend

and teach some great kiddos how to make cards.

Don't forget to stop by River Run Gallery,

449 Main St.,

Carrollton, KY 

Friday, Oct., 23, 5-8 p.m.

for our Meet The Artists night.

You'll see artists demonstrating how they create their art

and their new fall items.

Here's your opportunity to look over 

the online course I have created for

beginning painters or home school families.

This course will take you from the foundations of art

right up through painting two paintings

using videos, pdf's and cheat sheets.

Click HERE to take a good look at this course. 

Price increase will go into effect Nov. 1.

 

 

 

Art is Personal

Why is Art so Personal?

Art is personal because:

you create it,

you put yourself out there,

you're afraid you can't do it,

you're afraid to let anyone see it,

you're afraid everyone is better than you,

letting people in is scary,

you might want to keep it to yourself,

there's a learning curve

and a practice curve.

Boy, that's a lot of fear, worry and doubt.

Lisa is one of our beginning drawing students

and it can be overwhelming.  But she has hung in there and perserveered and improved.

I have been to painting workshops

and before anyone ever laid down a stroke,

I was sure everyone in the room was better than me

and I should just go home.

Usually when you go to a workshop that lasts for several days, you spend over $1,000, so I was staying and learning everything I could as I tried to get over my fear.

I get FEAR! 

I've been AFRAID

That's why I am so proud of all our students

as they overcome their fear and dive in to learn 

something new and often hard.

Lisa is working on a swan drawing here,

and she is learning how to draw as she works.

It's fun and hard at the same time.  

Ain't that right Lisa?

(What's the secret to learning how to draw, or paint or create any type of art?)

Secret #1.

Practice

Secret #2.

Practice

Secret #3.

Practice.

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Yep!

That's the only way!

Practice and more practice.

It's the same thing if you want to learn to:

play the tuba,

shoot hoops,

twirl the batton,

tie your shoe.

I know in painting, when that brush becomes part of your hand, your painting begins to flow better.

You begin to know intuitively what to do, how to correct  problems, and actually finish a piece of art.

FREE Advice

     Just keep at it!

Set aside some time to practice and learn.

Praise yourself.

(Don't cheat yourself out of some well earned praise.)

 Would you like to learn how to draw this comic figure?

This class is Thursday, October, 22, 5-7 p.m. and is $30.

Leave me a comment or

email me at slgraves6@gmail.com and we'll get you in.

Class is good for students 12 and up

and you'll need: a set of graduated graphite pencils,

a kneaded eraser and sharpener,

and a sketchbook, no less than 11" x 14".

All that can be purchased at Carrollton Office Supply.

Would you like to learn to paint?

I have created an online beginning painting course

that will teach you how to paint from the ground up.

Click HERE to check out the course 

Thanks for stopping by today.

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