A new series

Don't Ask

 I have had my shop on my website the same for years. I have decided to put out collections of paintings instead of just listing them all together in a random order.

Many of the paintings will be no more. 

This month I'm doing neutrals.

Here are a few of them.

Salient wave

Wrecked

Entropy

These are just a few of what's available in my shop.

Let me know when you stop by and tell me what you think.

A dreamy powder room

How do I get the power room I want? I ask myself this almost daily.

I need gloss black paint and a marble sink  with brass hardware and a modern toilet. The toilet is important. It must not have any sides that I'd have to lean over in about three inches of space to clean.

I'd top it off with a tiny chandelier like this one.

Then I'd add a painting with feeling like this one called Black Palm.

It's pretty moody but in a tiny little powder room I think it works.

New artwork

"Intermezzo" 36x 36 oil on canvas

I have been hard at work on a new body of work that is heavy on neutrals. It is intended to head off to galleries in August.

"Speranza" 36 x 36 oil on canvas

Some have watery, turquoise colors and warm greens too.

It feels like I am busiest with new work in the summer which is the worst time for it. My 6 year-old wants to be outside and even as I write this we are both in our PJs far later than we should be.

"Guide us" 60 x 48 mixed media on canvas

It has, however, been a joy to watch the different grays and browns relate to and change each other as I go through the process.

You can see all of the new work thus far on my website or follow along on Instagram or Facebook to see them as I post them.

New artwork

Fat mini #2 HERE

I have been spending a ton of time in my studio lately...way more than usual. I thought I'd show off some of my latest pieces. 

I'll start with abstracts and these "fat minis" so called because the thick, impasto oil paint makes these 6 x 6 pieces of paper heavy for their size.

Fat mini #1 HERE

 I had a huge backlog of half finished canvases in my studio and, frankly, I think it was depressing to see all of those incomplete thoughts that stacked up everywhere so I got seriously busy making them done. Once I started, it was truly fun.

"Out is through" HERE

This abstract was one of them. I had thought it was done. maybe even photographed it and for some long forgotten reason, I started adding white and immediately hated it. It was all the way against the wall turned in shame and I pulled it out, quickly finding where I wanted to go with it.

SOLD

I had also been wanting to get a few medium sized nudes done and a few unfinished abstracts were the perfect starting point.

email inquiries to art@kerrysteele.com

A few framed linen pieces happened too.

They seem so vastly different from my other work but my flower paintings are a great visual and cognitive break from my usual.

Sunday Flowers HERE

 Lots of paper pieces are in my Etsy shop too.

This is just a fraction of the work I have done but I often post it on Instagram as I go.

3 trendy classics that I will never tire of...

How can something be a "trendy classic"? Well, I simply mean that there are classics that happen to be getting a lot of attention right now. I won't tire of them and keep buying them.

The first on my list is Oriental rugs.

Since I was very little I loved them, imaging romantic flying adventures on them and the inside of a genie's bottle filled with layers of the carpets.

I inherited a small Persian and have been slowly collecting my own.

I just bought this one on eBay and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

The second thing on my list is blue and white porcelain.

I have much of my great-grandmother's collection and I have been adding to it with antiques and new pieces as I find them.

My latest and yet to be delivered eBay buy

A recent auction find

Trumpet vases from The Pink Pagoda

I am not new to loving this color palette. In my first house everything in my kitchen had to be blue or white or blue and white!

The third on my list will be no surprise. It is abstract art. But not just what I paint.

A small mixed media that I bought for my living room

Linda Monfort

This abstract by Linda Monfort was my very first Etsy purchase and inspired my painting "Into elan" which hangs in my daughter's room and is not for sale.

"Into elan"

She likes to touch it because "The good dreams are in there"

I will not tire of this...ever!

Do you have anything to add to my list?

Recent aquisitions

Moulins Faience

I have recently received a few gifts that I thought I would show you.

The petite bowl above is a bit of Moulins Faience that my mother brought back from her trip to France.

I will never have enough of this Provencal pottery. The simple, French country motifs have long been a favorite of mine.

She also got these lovely antique linen cocktail squares at a Paris flea market.

They need to be pressed again but the pale gray detail is lovely.

Another exciting treat was these two charming paintings from Sally Kelly.

I doubt that these spots will be their permanent home but they represent a dreamy place to be in my book.

The only thing I bought was this bracelet from the Etsy seller, O my heart.

I love bracelets but have freakishly small wrists and was able to have this made smaller to fit.

What goodies have you been given recently?
P.S. If have not already seen my guest post and giveaway on The Pink Pagoda yesterday, please check it out. I am so amazed at all of the lovely comments so far.

Collage fun

I had fun with Pic Monkey creating this board around my newest painting, "Imperata"

"Imperata" 30 x 40 acrylic on canvas by Kerry Steele HERE

I am horrible about sourcing links. Most of the images on this board can be found on my Pinterest board "Pink"

The painting is named for this ornamental grass.

It is known by several names including Japanese blood grass but that would not have been a good title so I went with the Latin botanical name.

Have you made any fun collage boards lately?

If so, feel free to link to them in the comments section.

Happy Wednesday!

Prints coming soon! Opinions wanted.

I have had a few folks interested in less expensive giclee prints of my originals. Mostly of this piece which I retitled "Into Elan".

I found one printer locally that does giclees and surprisingly it is not terribly expensive as long as I order multiples.

My question to you is what size would you want and how much would you pay?

Are there any others in my portfolio that you would purchase a giclee of?

Also, there are prints available through Saatchi online of a few of my paintings. I hope to add more soon.

Artist Claire Desjardins

cropped to protect the artist's interest

I have been digging Claire Desjardin's art since I first saw it pinned on an art board on Pinterest.

Her art is for sale on Saatchi online and her portfolio is a truly cohesive body that I find very engaging!

When I was looking at the image above my first thought was that I love the way she treats paint like paint. In other words, she embraces its properties and then I read her statement about the piece. It follows....

"I had just bought a couple of new (and expensive) jars of cadmium orange and red. I was longing to slurp the paint onto the canvas. This was the result of my engagement with my new paint."

I love it. In fact  it might be the most compelling bit of art I have seen since I found Sally King Benedict and her work.

Here are a few of Ms. Desjardin's fabulous pieces.

I u

Habanero by Claire Desjardins

"Boys get tough" by Claire Desjardins

"Urban Blue" by Claire Desjardins

I never feel like I am in competition with other artists in the marketplace. Maybe that is foolish on my part but I don't think its the same as owning a 7eleven or something. It is just a matter of being oneself and finding the person who likes that particular expression.

 I urge you to look at Claire's portfolio HERE and tell me what you think.

I don't know her or receive any compensation for sending some art love her way so speak freely with your opinions.

I have "Spring into action" work to finish up tomorrow so that my post is ready for Thursday's progress report. No Wednesday post.

 I am hoping to post 2 videos of my framing how-tos, but they are not done yet, so no promises.

Newest paintings

11 X 14 acrylic and gouache on cradled panel by Kerry Steele "Satsuki Rain"

I have completed a few paintings recently. The abstract above sat unfinished for at least a month and I got back to it after the craziness of juried show submissions was over.

This one is in a regional show...

16 x 20 mixed media by Kerry Steele "Figure 2"

This is in a nationally juried show...

20 x 16 acrylic on canvas by Kerry Steele

But alas, it is a difficult business and  up to the taste of the juror. These two were not accepted.

16 x 20 mixed media on canvas by Kerry Steele "Figure 3"

16 x 20 mixed media on canvas by Kerry Steele titled "undone"

This last one makes me laugh because no one I know likes it. My husband calls it "Freaky Zombie Girl" !! Hahaha.

I'll be painting some rather large scale things in the near future. I am excited to stretch some raw silk on a 32 x 36 frame once the fabric arrives.

2 new paintings

 24 x 20 untitled abstract on clear primed cotton using gouache, acrylic and chalk pastel.

I have been wanting to paint on clear primed cotton for awhile and was waiting to get the clear gesso that I ordered online. In minutes I was stretching a canvas and priming like a kid on Christmas morning.

I think I will try to get a better photo in bright sunlight, the colors are not so muted.

16 x 20 acrylic on Canson board

This nude is listed on my portfolio page as commission work but it was for my mother and I don't think she likes it so it may end up on Etsy at some point in the future.

What do you think?  Go ahead be brutally honest. I won't take it personally or hate you if you say something negative.
Oh, and one more thing. I had to write an artist's statement because this...

  was accepted in a Regional juried show. Yay. I must say I felt really silly, and I mean really silly, writing an artist's statement but here it is.
Kerry Steele is a mostly self-taught artist and former interior designer. Her art professor Grandmother was an instructive and inspiring influence. Using mainly acrylics, oil pastels and graphite, she prefers to paint abstracts and nude figure studies in unusual colors. The unnaturally colored figures allow for exploration of shapes and shadow and abstractions of line. Her abstracts exhibit a strongly feminine feel and the palettes are inspired by current trends in interior design and women's fashion.
Whether fully abstract or figure painting, the tension as a composition unfolds and ultimate exhilaration when the final brushstroke has been made, keeps her playing with paint.

Have at it, folks.