November Winner

And The November Winner Is. . .

 Kelsey Clay

I give away a small painting every month

to one of my subscribers.

So if you want your name in the hat,

you have to enter to win.

At the top of this blog on the right is a button

that says,

Enter To Win a FREE Painting.

I can't make it much more obvious than that.

Give me your name and email 

and you're in

for every painting I give away.

Here's the painting I'm giving away in December.

It's an Osprey from the Naples, FL area.    

If you want to learn to paint from the beginning

principles and finish two paintings,

click HERE to view my online

beginning painting course,

Painting With Acrylics 101. 

 

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.

 

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.

Please feel free to share this post. 

Let It Snow!

This Just In From Perry Park

Six women are reported 

to have been painting snowmen

in the RAIN!

Yes, our Perry Park Paintsters

painted in the garage of a member of this 

fearless group as it poured just outside the open door.

 

The groups painting choice for this month 

was a snow covered blue spruce

and a well dressed snowman 

on a slate roofing shingle.

 Neither rain, nor storm, nor snarled traffic kept this devoted paintster from her appointed class.

 

Learning how to paint trees was harder than expected,

but Shirley would not be defeated by a blue spruce.

 

Pamela steadies her hand as she painted this cute snowman's hat.

 And here are the finished snowmen,

painted on slate shingles.

These are fun and easy to paint on.

Your next opportunity to paint a snowman of your very own, will be Wednesday, October 14, 10-noon.

The class is $35 and I supply everything you need to complete the project.  

If you want in on the fun,

email me at slgraves6@gmail.com

and put painting class in the subject line.

Thanks for stopping by today,

and sorry I ate so many of your snacks paintsters. 

If you haven't heard about 

my online beginning painting course,

Shame on me! 

I have created https://www.paintingwithacrylics101.com

with the beginning painter in mind. 

 

This online course has 11 modules that will take the beginning art student from understanding color, what brushes do I need and how do I use them, how to set up a palette, creating form with color, perspective, composition and so much more. 

Then we'll take all that knowledge and I'll walk you through,

step by step,

how to complete two paintings.

 

The introductory price is only good until November 1.

After that the price will increase $50.

 

This course offers the beginner a complete course in acrylic paint all in one place.

 

No need to try to find that two minute video again,

I have over 50 videos here to show you exactly how to do  everything.

 

Hop on over and give it a look right now, 

before you FORGET.

 

 

Click HERE to learn all about this course.

 

 

It's Time to Make the Donuts

OK!

It's really time to give away another 

FREE 

Painting. 

This fun 6" x 6" water miscible oil painting was created using only a palette knife. (and paint of course)

Not my normal way to paint, 

but I like to play around with a knife every once in a while.

This is the September painting I'm giving away.

I know!  I'm CRAZY!

Here's the rules!

1.  On the right hand side near the top of this blog is a blue button that says "Enter to Win A FREE Painting".  Click the button and put in your name and email address.

2.  You're entered.

3.  At the end of every month I'll draw out one of those emails and I'll send you a note saying YOU WON!.  

4.  You have 24 hours to email me back and give me your address so I can mail you your new FREE painting, or I have to draw out another name.

5.  Then I brag all over you on facebook!

Really!

Now, if you have a BFF or something,

please feel free to share this with them.

Don't hog it all to yourself!

hehehehehe 

Click HERE to check out my new online beginning painting course. 

It's THE course for beginning painters with everything you need to be successful in one place.

No need to:

Go to the library and find and check out books,

Go to the bookstore to buy books,

Watch videos about painting and then not be able to find them again.
Watch painting shows on TV.
Buy a DVD on painting.
Take an expensive workshop.
 

It's all right here in one place!

Introductory price is good until Nov. 1.