Category: Artwork

Purchasing work from my private collection

Though I sell the majority of the artwork I create, there are some paintings that I don’t want to part with. I save these works into my private collection. They are all special to me in different ways. Some I loved so much they became works that hung in my own home. Others were the best examples of specific periods in my art practice. The remainder were transitional paintings that moved me into new styles & subjects.

As time has passed and my collection has grown, I felt it was time to pass some of these artworks on others to enjoy in their own homes. I’m offering 28 paintings from my private collection for purchase for ten days only, from Sept. 21-30. The works can see can be seen on my website in the Private Collection Portfolio (link below.) Don’t delay.

Developing final art from a digital sketch

landscape water iPad procreateThis spring, I used my iPad, and the app Procreate to develop some painting ideas for a commissioned beach-themed artwork. Painting digitally is helpful because you can work with the client to try out different ideas without actually applying paint to canvas.  You can easily go back and remove the changes with just a click of a button.  In this sketch, using the client’s comments, I lightened and softened the large areas on the right.  Then I add more tan and reduced the darker areas. I thought you might like to see how the final painting turned out. To the left is the revised digital sketch.

The final painting “Nantucket Summer” is now happily hanging in my client’s home on Nantucket Island.

 

Colorado is my recharging place

Colorado landscape painting

Summer is here, and I’ve relocated to Colorado for the season.  The mountains with their wildflowers and quaking aspens have a charm that fills my soul and calls to my heart. Do you have a special summer place you get to visit to recharge your spirit? The beach, a lake, or even a favorite shady bench in a neighborhood park?

My goals for this summer are to:

  • Start a new cold wax artwork series
  • Straighten out my golf drive
  • Sit on my deck and enjoy the beauty around me

What are your plans for the summer? I hope they involve some time out in nature too.  Sending you my warmest wishes for a magical summer season.

P.S. Want a little Colorado landscape magic in your home? The painting Colorado Splendor captures a perfect September moment when the aspens are at their peak and the first snows have covered the distance mountains. Email me (info@kathyferguson.com) if interested.

Does my face really look like that?

My husband and I were in London recently taking a tour of Chelsea.  Known as the epicenter of Swinging London in the 1960-70s, it was home to artists, musicians, and models.

Though today it’s a more sedate upscale neighborhood, we were lucky enough to find one artist that still calls Chelsea home. Nick Bashall, one of England’s leading portrait painters (who has painted British royalty), offered to do a head sketch of my husband during our visit.  It was magical how he transformed paint into living flesh right before our eyes (my hubby also got to watch through a well-positioned mirror.) Nick talked about how important it was to paint from life instead of photographs to truly capture the essence of a subject. The shiny areas in the photo are because the oil paint was still very wet. Nicky’s finished sketch on the left.

 

 

While getting my MFA, I took several figurative and portrait drawing classes. I always worked from photographs as I couldn’t coerce others to sit for me for hours at a time. Watching him work while we watched makes me even more impressed with his talent. If you ever get the chance, I’d highly recommend getting a portrait painted by Nick Bashall.

This is a painting I did of my husband done around 2009. He’s is still a handsome devil, isn’t he? Or would we call him a silver fox now?

Have you ever wanted to be on the cover of a magazine?

Wild Apple Wall Decor

Honestly? No.

However, I was thrilled to have my artwork featured on the cover of Wild Apple’s Art Decor February 2019 Issue.  Wild Apple Graphics is a B2B art publisher and art licensor working with manufacturers, retailers, and designers of decorative home products and wall decor.

It’s so fun to see my artwork in a home setting. These two original paintings are still available if you’re interested. See them in detail on my website.

Hyper-Lapse sketch of leafy twig (1 minute long)

Time-lapse sketch using traveling sketch kit

In a previous blog post, I wrote about putting together a travel sketching kit.  Here, you can see me putting my travel kit into action.  So as not to make the video too long, I sketched the twig before the video started and compressed it into a hyper-lapse format.  Watch me use colored pencils as paint with the use of a water brush.  Click on photo to start the video.

Who knew I had so much to say? 22 pages worth!

Art Habens magazine

I was thrilled to be selected for a 22-page article in the international contemporary art review magazine Art Habens.  Picked to be featured in their Biennial Anniversary edition (10 years and going strong), I was given one of their longest spreads ever!

In the magazine interview, we touch on the way my artistic inquiry explores the elusive connection between reality and the dream-like. We touch how I became an artist and the people who influenced me. And finally, we discuss whether it’s important for the viewer to understand my artwork’s meaning when viewing it or if they should determine the meaning for themselves.

Click here to read the full article and see all seventeen full-color reproductions of my artwork.