Real and Imagined in Bakersfield

I did manage to take a few photos of "Real and Imagined: A Collection of (Mostly) Animal Paintings" at Metro Galleries in Bakersfield, CA.

For scale: the blue abstract on the left is 48 x 48 inches.

The show continues through May.

I am giving away postcards and posters for the show designed by Don Martin, the owner of the gallery. If anyone would like either a poster (17 x 11 inches) or a postcard (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches) let me know. Leave me a comment or email me and I will get one to you!
They look like the image below:

The show is going really well, and I am already working on new animal paintings for the second half of the exhibition!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Giveaway!!!

I am excited to announce that my talented friend, Carla Sonheim, has another book out. It is called Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals and Carla is giving away a signed copy of this book right here! How cool is THAT? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. On Saturday, I will choose a random comment from this blog and give the winning name and address to Carla, who will mail the book out to one of you. You should also hop over to her blog, since she is having a TWO WEEK blog celebration with more giveaways to come.

One of my jackrabbit paintings is happy to have made an appearance in this fabulous book. Carla and I have known each other for many years. She was one of the artists I represented when I had my gallery, Cool Mountain Art, in Salida Colorado. She is a talented artist, a gifted teacher and a dear friend. Whenever I see her art, I think, "Carla is one of the most creative people I know!" I am always honored to be a part of her endeavors, so when she asked me if I would like to have a spot in this book, of course I jumped at the chance. I have taken a class from her, and I would recommend her classes highly to anyone who wants to grow creatively. I will also mention that this is her second book, and if it is anything like her first book, Drawing Lab for the Mixed Media Artist, it is well worth adding to your library.

"Badass Jack." Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches. ©2011 Karine Swenson (This is the rabbit.)

What if you don't want to wait for a chance at a giveaway? If you already know you want this new book, all you have to do is click on one of these links:
amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Q Bookshop
Independent Bookstores

Easy.

Don't be shy. Leave your comments right here!

Giveaway

I have been posting on this blog for the better part of six years. SIX YEARS. Recently, I have been wondering if I should continue. Is my writing stale? Has the world of blogging been replaced by facebook and twitter? Maybe our short attention spans and busy, busy lives are no longer in need of blogs. Are my reasons for posting on this blog good enough for me to keep going? What are my reasons for keeping this blog? I have been asking myself these questions over and over again. I have no answers just yet. I will keep asking these questions, and until I find what I am looking for, I will keep on writing and posting, albeit sporadically. If you read my blog and enjoy it, maybe you can help me out. What do you like? what do you want to see more of? less of? What keeps you coming back? What might keep you away?

One thing I know for certain: when I tell myself "I must blog more regularly", I find that I don't want to do it at all. If it isn't fun and I don't have a real reason to post, I won't post. That seems fair. If it means my readership suffers, well then so be it. I find that with each passing year, my willingness to conform to what others think I should do seems to be fading. Perhaps even disappearing altogether. I still hope to be able to listen to constructive criticism and benefit from it. I want to know what people think! I want to know what you think! Can I get advice and still follow my own path? I think so.

Last week, I received an unexpected package in the mail. When I rushed home to open it, this is what I found inside:

WOW!!! Copies of The War of Art and Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield! Now is that a cool package to receive or what?!? (Thanks Callie!) I picked up the new book, Turning Pro, immediately and began reading. Apparently, Steve Pressfield and Shawn Coyne have teamed up and started a new publishing house called Black Irish. To quote Shawn Coyne in the forward of Turning Pro: "We intend to publish steak-and-potato kind of books whose aim is to inspire, encourage, and fortify those artists, entrepreneurs, and athletes whose ambition is not to stand on the sidelines, waiting for permission from others, but to take their destiny in their own fists -- to pursue their heart's calling and make it work." I love that. Those are the kinds of books I love! Best of luck to Misters Pressfield and Coyne with this new venture.

Now, I love my copy of The War of Art. It lives in my studio and is often required reading when I am struggling. But I don't need two copies. I would rather another artist/writer/musician/dancer/human being find the same enlightenment I have from it. And so, in honor of six years of blogging, a new exciting publishing house and my recent birthday, I have decided it is time for a giveaway. Leave your comments here, or email me. Feedback about my blogging is welcome and encouraged but not required. I will enter your name in a drawing for this brand new copy of The War of Art, from Black Irish publishing!

I will apologize in advance for the confusing and irritating mystery code required for comment leaving by blogger. Every time I think I am going to change that setting, I get a spam comment. I am reluctant to turn my blog into a platform for another evil spammer. Please bear with the imperfections, and leave a comment. Or email me: karine@karineswenson.com

A Giveaway

"Grooming."  Oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inches.  ©k.swenson10

No, the above painting is not the giveaway.  It is one of the paintings I sold during the Hwy. 62 Art Tours the weekend before last.

However, I have surpassed 30,000 visitors to this blog, and I am having a giveaway, as promised.  I haven't decided exactly what I am going to give away just YET, but I promise you will be able to choose between more than one thing, and it will be a piece of my art.  I am sure you are wondering how you go about being part of this giveaway.  It's pretty easy.  Just leave me a comment, between now and November 7th.  If you want to share how long you have been following this blog, that would be kinda cool, but it is optional.  I will choose my winner on Monday, the 8th of November.  I will post photos later this week of the items you will be able to choose from, if you happen to be the lucky one.  There will most likely be three things to choose from.  I have already picked one of the things, I just haven't decided on the other two things yet.  (I know - so much suspense!)  

For those of you who are wondering about my recent shows, both the Open Studio Art Tour and the Art in the Park in Ventura were successful shows!!!  I have worked really hard this year, and it is clear to me now that hard work does pay off.  My goal this year was to paint 100 paintings, and as I write this, I have completed 90 paintings.  I have already told some of you about this goal, so I apologize if I sound like a broken record.  I just wanted to tell others about it, because I am so excited that I am going to meet my goal.

I am off to visit my long absent husband next week, and I hope to be blogging about my overseas adventures.  It will depend on internet access, of course, but it will be fun to do a little traveling.  I love sharing adventures with you, my dear blog readers.  I am going to make a concerted effort to catch up on my fellow bloggers this week.  I hope all of you U.S. readers remembered to vote today.  I did.

Happy 300 and the winner

Well, I know you have all been anxiously waiting to hear who the lucky winner of my latest giveaway is.  I had so many wonderful entries that I finally had to employ the help of my husband.  (Pono gave his input, too, with a tail wag.)  The lucky winner is Charmaine, a fellow blogger and author of High Desert Diva.  Her winning title for the diptych I posted was "Lake Reflections, Autumn."  Congratulations, Charmaine!!!  You are the winner of "Three Quail", the linocut.  I am also going to award Melissa, of Pugnotes an honorable mention, since her entry included part of the title.  (Reflections)  Thank you so much, to EVERYONE who entered.  I needed help with the title of that diptych, and I appreciate all of your input.  It was a difficult decision, choosing a winner.  I am thankful to have such loyal readers to celebrate post number 300 with!  Thank you, my dears!

I am still a little tired from the Studio Tours.  I think I just overdid it.  I did show again this weekend, with the life drawing group.  I delivered two framed portraits and some unframed drawings to the show, but I did not stay to talk about my art and meet people.  I kept thinking I should be down at the exhibit all weekend, but to be perfectly honest, I just didn't have it in me.  I want to thank my friend, Janis Comments, who organized the whole event, and for those artists that did stay to talk to people who came.  You did what I could not do, and I am grateful for you!

I don't have much else to write about, other than to say that our little cold snap is over, and we are back up to 75 to 80 degrees during the day, with an abundance of sunshine.  This desert living is hard to beat!  I look out at the big moon, and think about how wonderful and full my life is, and I feel gratitude.  I will now leave you to go and be with my handsome husband and freshly bathed dog.  Fond thoughts go out to all of you, dear blog readers!

We have a winner!

You see what happens when I go away for one night? I fall behind on absolutely everything. I had meant to announce the winners of my giveaway on Monday, and now it is Wednesday night! Sheesh. Could I please have a drum roll?

The winner is....AMY from Red Fish Circle!!!! Congratulations, Amy! You are the lucky winner of "Woman with Veil!" I don't think I have your snail mail address, so if you could please email it to me (weenafish@gmail.com), I will put your lovely lady in the mail.

In other news, the high desert has finally decided to cool off a bit. It now gets down in the low 70's or even sometimes the mid-60's at night, and the daytime temperatures are usually in the 90's. (This is Fahrenheit, mind you.) I am enjoying the cool morning temperatures for the daily dog walk/run. Pono likes it, too.

The opening at Spezzano Gallery was a great one. I will post photos this week.



What I really want to post for you today are some of the fun birds by the sea that I watched the morning after the opening. It was a cool, cloudy day, and I was up early enough to have a fairly empty beach to walk along, which is something I love. I can walk on a sandy beach for what seems like an eternity. It feels GREAT to have my toes in wet sand!!! If it had been just a teeny bit warmer, I would have gone for a swim.

A Giveaway

Greetings, my lovely blog readers! I am happy to announce a new giveaway. This time, I am going to let the winner choose between two different pieces of art. These are both giclee reproductions of a charcoal drawing. Each one comes with its own mat and backing board, all acid free. The paper they are printed on is high quality giclee paper, and the inks are archival. So yes, they are reproductions, but they are good quality reproductions. The original drawings have both been sold. They both measure 14 x 11 inches for the outside mat dimensions. That means they will fit perfectly into a standard sized photo frame, making the framing easy and cost effective. The first one is called "Island Girl" and it is a portrait of one of my friends. I drew it while we were still living on Maui. The second one is called "Woman with Veil", and it was also done when we lived in Hawaii. This woman is another friend, and one of my favorite models.





All you have to do to be entered in this giveaway is post a comment here in the next week. Tell me which one you would like in your comment. I will pick a winner next week.

Here is another new monotype. This one I called "Departure" and it measures 7 x 5 inches.


This is the desert denizen who helped me create the new monotype. Mr. Roadrunner! Usually, they are cruising much to fast for me to get any decent photos, so I was happy this one stayed long enough for me to grab my camera and click away. I did take this photo through a window, which will account for the strangeness. Doesn't it look like he has something to tell us??? Too bad we don't speak roadrunner.

Drumroll, Please...

Other bloggers have had their pets help them pick the winner for their giveaways, and since Matthias is out of town, I decided Pono could help me. So I wrote down all the names on a piece of paper, cut the paper into little pieces, and spread them out on the kitchen floor. This is what happened:



I guess it isn't really that interesting for dogs. At least, it isn't nearly as interesting as that itchy part of a leg that needs chewing on. So I sweetened the deal a little for mister Pono, by putting a tiny bit of peanut butter in the corner on each and every piece of paper. It worked!!! Pono picked a winner, and the winner is....
NANCY of Nancy Medina Art!!!!! Congratulations, Nancy! Please email your address to me at weenfish@gmail.com so I can mail your lizard to you. Thank you everyone who left a comment. And stay tuned. I may do another because that was so much fun!!!

Sorry I didn't post another video of Pono actually choosing the winner. I was having trouble directing and filming at the same time. I guess this film making stuff is not for me!

The Giveaway!!!

In my last post I mentioned that I had just reached over 10,000 visitors to my blog. In honor of that benchmark, and of the new year, I am giving away one of my monotypes. It measures 7 x 5 inches, and I called it "Royal Reptile". It will be UNFRAMED. It will come mounted to foamcore so that it doesn't get bent in the shipping process. All you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment on this post. I will draw names next week on Wednesday, January 14th! Good luck, and thank you all for reading my blog!

Today was a beautiful sunny day, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. I do love warm weather! The hike with Mr. Pono this morning was a splendid one. I took some photos, but haven't loaded them on the computer yet. You will see them soon. The one I am posting is from last week.

100th Post!!

Well, this is the long awaited 100th post on my blog! I didn't think it would take me so long to reach this milestone, but I am happy I am here. As a celebration and thank you gesture for the faithful readers of this blog, I have decided to give away a piece of art. No, not an original painting. Sorry. It is a framed giclee reproduction of one of my more popular images. Called "Colorado Landscape", the original painting was oil on paper, and measured about 22 x 30". I have always loved the colors in this painting. The giclee I am giving away measures 13 1/2 x 11 1/4" in the frame. The frame can either hang on the wall, or stand on its own. The art is an archival ink jet reproduction printed on a heavy somerset velvet paper. It is matted using acid free matboard. This is a nice piece of art, either for you to keep, or to give as a gift. (Christmas IS rapidly approaching! I know, I know, where does the time go?)

Here's how to win this art: contact me via email with your name, address, and how you found my blog. I will put all the names in a hat and have my husband pull the lucky winner out. My email address is karine@karineswenson.com. I will draw the names this Sunday, October 7th, at 5 pm. So you must email before that in order to get your name in the drawing. Good luck to all of you! Thank you for reading my blog.

A visit to the Salton Sea

Here it is, the last day of July. Only 10 more days until we close on our house! I can't wait to finally have a chance to settle in for good somewhere. In the meantime, my desire to create art - and as you may have noticed - write in my blog have dwindled down to almost nothing. I apologize! It will get better very soon.

For the first topic today, I wanted to mention Cy Twombly, one of my favorite living painters. For those of you who haven't heard about the recent incident, a woman in France KISSED one of his paintings (valued at $2 million!) and left red lipstick marks on the white part of the canvas. After seeing these gorgeous paintings of Mr. Twombly's, here, I can sympathize her plight. However, I doubt that I would have the audacity to perform such an ignorant stunt. As an artist seeking a "break" in the art world myself, I have to wonder, was her stunt merely a way to launch herself into the eyes of the public? (She is herself an artist) There is that saying "there's no such thing as bad press". Hmmm... Even still, if that were in fact the case, it can only be viewed as an act of desperation in the long run. It did make me wonder!

Matthias had a birthday yesterday, and we decided to take a little road trip to the Salton Sea. Neither one of us had ever been there before, and we thought we could take the dog, and let him enjoy some of his favorite "chase the ball into water" pasttime. It was another scorching day in the desert - topping off at a toasty 110 F - and it seemed like a good plan. It looked pretty good when we first got there. However, Matthias opened up the car door, and the first thing I noticed was the 50 flies that entered the car. I got out (more flies) and was assaulted by a powerful, eggy, fishy kind of stench. There was trash along the edge of the lake, and the beach was a deep bed of what looked like tiny barnacle shells. It smelled BAD. Pono's first reaction was to ROLL in the stinky beach. He would not go in the water. We drove around the Sea (lake, whatever you call it) and thought another spot might be more inviting. This time, the shoreline was a little more appealing at first glance (no trash or barnacle shells) but the edges of the shore were lined with two layers of dead and rotting fish carcasses. YUCK!!! We didn't know anything about the Salton Sea, but of course our adventure lead us to do some googling.

Apparently, it was formed in 1907 when the Colorado River flooded, bursting through some irrigation channels. It filled up the basin and became the Salton Sea. Since the main outlet for the Sea is evaporation, it is saltier than the ocean. It is plagued with massive die-offs of fish and birds, despite being a major wildlife refuge. You can read more about it on the link above. Let's just say, I won't be bringing visitors there. It's too bad, because it LOOKS like it would be really nice. I can see why most of the attempts at business ended up resembling these lonely places. The stench alone would drive me insane. Never mind the infestation of flies...

I am going to extend my notecard giveaway for one more week. If any of you are just reading about this, I have 7 notecards listed for sale on my etsy site. If you would like to have one all of your very own (for FREE!), all you have to do is visit my etsy site, choose the card you'd most like to have, and send me a "conversation" (click "contact karine swenson") with the card you want and your address. I will happily send a card off to you. Happy Christmas in July (soon August)! This free giveaway will end on August 7th. Thanks for visiting my blog!