
I'm Dianna Kilgore and I have been painting for 47 years. My favorite method of working is a modified traditional technique. I often under-paint with acrylics then paint layers of oils over the acrylics. I use many layers of glazes to achieve wet effects in water or glass and that inner glow that is reminiscent of the work of the old masters. Some subjects are done wet in wet but most of my work is wet layers over dry paint. I Teach in Knoxville and Maryville TN. Contact me at (865)236-4959
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Happy Holidays!
It's that time again. We all seem to get caught up in a mad rush this time of year. Do you still make time for art? With the rounds of shopping, parties, and visits with family and friends we often put our artwork on hold. I know it's difficult to make time for ourselves in all this crazy rushing around. Make the time to create. Combine your artistic creation with family time. Decorate a gingerbread house. Fingerpaint with the kids. Design your own greeting cards. Make Christmas ornaments for the tree. Start a new tradition. You'll be glad you did.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and may you get to slow down and enjoy it to the fullest! See you in class.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Getting a Likeness: Portrait Workshop
Just a reminder about the upcoming portrait workshop. This is a drawing session with a live model. The class will be held in Knoxville at the Turkey Creek Hobby Lobby. Date and Time: Wednesday, September 4th at 3 PM.
The Purpose of the class is to increase your understanding of proportion in the human face and figure and to introduce you to quick sketching from life. While you can learn to paint without good drawing skills you must draw well to achieve greatness as a painter. I will give a short demonstration before we begin with several short poses to loosen up. Longer poses will follow so you can do more detailed drawings. Call me at 865-765-5479 for more information and a supply list.
Labor Day Schedule:
All art classes will be at their regular times Labor Day week. All the classroom locations in Maryville and Knoxville are closing early that day but that won't affect our painting lessons. We can paint then go enjoy the fireworks.
Have a safe and Happy Labor Day!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Dissecting The Scene: Painting Water
My
students frequently hear me say “Paint from back to front.” This
means we paint all the objects in back first. Each object in your
painting may be made up of many layers and it is usually best to
paint from back to front on each of those layers. How do we determine
what these layers should be? Well, to do that we have to do something
I call “Dissecting the Scene”.
To
dissect the scene you have to learn to look at a scene or photograph
in a certain way. Ask yourself what is farthest away from the viewer,
or you in this case. If you are looking at a landscape the farthest
thing might be the sky. As we move closer, the next thing would be
the clouds in the sky. Then comes that flock of birds flying up
there. The next closest might be mountains in the distance, or trees
across the skyline. Proceed forward getting closer with each object
in your painting. You get the idea.
Water
gets a little more complicated because of its transparency. Suppose
you want to paint a shallow river. Keep in mind that the farthest
thing away from you in transparent water is the bottom of the river. I'm
not counting that distant part of the stream where the water
disappears around the bend. The water that is close enough to see the
river bottom is what we're talking about here. It has multiple layers
with objects suspended throughout. I'll list a few.
- River bottom.
- Rocks on the river bottom.
- Shadows cast by the rocks on the bottom of the river.
- Shadows cast on the rocks by the objects floating or swimming on or in the water: boats, leaves, insects, fish and so forth.
- Shadows cast on the rocks and river bottom by objects above the water such as rocks, clouds, trees, buildings, docks and flying birds.
- Objects swimming or particles suspended in the water.
- Currents and waves in the depths of the water. Different levels of the river have varying visibility and you can often see the currents. Surface waves reflect light through the water too.
- Surface of the water.
- Waves on the surface both crest (top) and trough (bottom or valley).
- Shadows cast by the waves.
- Highlights on the crests of the waves.
- Reflections on the surface.
- Shadows cast on the surface.
- Things floating on the surface such as boats, leaves, and fishing floats.
- Objects that stick out of the water above the surface and stretch down through the depths. This includes fish, cattails, tree stumps, logs, and reeds. These things may go all the way to the bottom and are painted differently at each level.
So
you can see there are many layers to our subject, even more than it
seems by this list. Each object in the water should be painted in
multiple layers too. I usually paint water in seven or more layers
not counting the rocks and river bottom because I like the water to
look wet, deep, transparent and mysterious. I love the transparency
of water so I use lots of glazes. Now, we can simplify this a little
but the more layers the more real your water appears. It really isn't
as complicated as you might think. Just paint what you see and start
at the bottom and build up.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Art Show Readiness
Getting
ready for your first art show can be both scary and exciting. There
is a lot of information to swallow so I will break it down into
easily digestible bite-size pieces for you. This subject will take
several articles over a period of time. So bear with me and watch
this space.
So you think
you're ready to put your art out there for all the world to see? I'm
so proud. I knew you could do it. The first thing to consider is
this. Do you have enough work for a show? Unless I am sharing booth
space with other artists I never show with less than ten original
paintings. I prefer twenty. The more work you have to sell the
better. That applies to sculptures and photos too. If your work is
very small you will need much more. If you work well under pressure
and deadlines spur you on, you can enter your show before you have
all your artwork finished. Some people have to do this in
order to motivate themselves to get their work done. I confess I
procrastinate whenever possible so I need that fast approaching show
to push me. Once I'm committed to doing a show I knuckle down and get
to work. I hope you have more self discipline.
We will
discuss gallery shows at another time. For now let's talk about art
and craft fairs. You will need work that you can sell for a variety
of prices. In general your larger works will have larger prices than
smaller pieces. Your smaller art will usually be less expensive. It
is a good idea to have some lower priced products to sell in your
show. Prints can help with this. You may also want to sell other
products such as cards, t-shirts or other items printed with your
designs. This can increase your sales dramatically without too much
work on your part.
Now that you
have your products, you have to choose a show. Fine art shows are
probably going to be more successful for you than craft fairs. There
are all kinds of opportunities for showing your work in most areas of
the country. Many are part of larger festivals and will be better
promoted, thus drawing bigger crowds. You can find out about them
through art and craft magazines, your Chamber of Commerce, local
media, craft stores and artist groups. Remember to search online for
art shows. There are all kinds of events happening all around you.
Depending on the type of work you do you might find that home and
garden shows, pet or horse shows work well for you. If you do fantasy
art there are fantasy and sci fi conventions too. It's okay to think
outside the box. Generally the best shows cost more to enter but the
sales will likely be better for most artists. If you have to pinch
your pennies don't ignore the smaller shows. They tend to require
lower fees. These can be great starter shows and after you do your
first you will be ready for the next one. Your greatest resources for
finding out about shows in your area are your fellow artists. Ask
around. Many shows are annual events and artists who have exhibited
in previous years can tell you which ones are worth entering.
Some venues
available to you will be indoors, while others will be outdoors. I
can't say that I have a preference for one over the other. Indoor
shows will require less equipment and you don't have to worry so much
about the weather. I've shown indoors and out. I had lots of fun, met
wonderful people, learned a lot and sold some art at both.
Now that you
have picked out a show you that interests you it's time to enter.
Call, write or email to request an application. These days you can
often apply online. Show officials will want to see samples of your work
especially if the show is a juried show. You will have to send photos
or slides of your art. You might have to send digital photos on a CD
or DVD. Unless your art is photography, your best bet is to have a
pro take your photos. If you choose to do your own pictures make sure
they are the best photographs you can make. Photograph your paintings
out of the frame under natural light without flash. Do it outdoors in
the shade! Make sure the paintings are facing straight toward the
camera. Square up your corners and fill the viewing area. Use a plain
background for 3D works. Sculpture can be shot indoors with strong
directional lighting if color and glare are not a problem. Use an
image editing program to straighten and crop your photos. Small works
may be scanned instead of photographed. Your local office supply
store or print shop will do this for a small charge. The nice people
at the store will put your photos right on your jump drive or SD
card. They can also burn them to a CD or print them for you. While
you're there check out all the wonderful products they can make for
you to resell such as prints, calendars and note cards.
Next fill
out your application, pay your fees and you are on your way to the
show. Enter early so you have plenty of time to get ready. There is
much to do and I'll tell you more in a future article. Until
then keep up the good work and I'll see you in class.
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