Blog Postings Moved to Website Blog

My blog postings are now all being done through my website at Kathryn Willis Art-Blog. I hope you will continue to visit and follow me on my website and blog. You can also follow me on my Facebook Page. Thank you.

"Pack River Studies"

6"x8" oil on panel

$100

Available

I was so enthralled with this scene along the banks of the Pack River in Northern Idaho. I decided to do two studies of it--one with a brush and the other using a palette knife. I wanted to have a nearly identical painting using each method so I would be able to compare to two methods to have a better understanding of where I want to be going.

"Old Hope Church"

6"x8" oil on panel

available

$100

The Old Hope Church is just down the road from my Idaho painting studio. The church has recently been renovated by a local couple and is being rented for weddings, and other events. They did a beautiful job, as well as mantaining the integrity of the original building. There's a beautfiul garden as well. I painted three versions of it.

Hope Cabin #3

6"x8"

Oil on panel

Available at "Outskirts Gallery"

My painting studio in Hope, ID was next door to this luscious sherbert orange cabin.

The bulbous azaleas were magnificent against the lime green of the adjacent cabin.

Idaho Painting

" Cabin #1 Study"

8"x6" oil on panel

sold

I've been absent from my blog for months, but I'm back now. We're up in Idaho for the summer, I have an art studio to paint in and I'm painting like crazy. Now, I'll start slowing a bit and start showing some of what I'm producing. This cabin is on the site where my studio is located.

March Exhibits

"Fall on McMillan Mesa"

16"x40" oil on canvas

Flagstaff's First Friday March Artwalk is March 5 from 6-9PM. Wil McNabb's Fine Jewelry Studio, located at 18 N. Leroux St., will feature a solo exhibition of my work. The exhibit will be on display through March 31.

I am also honored to have two paintings chosen for the 30th annual Sedona Arts Center Juried Member's Exhibit. The reception is the evening of March 5 and the exhibit will run through March 28.

"Aspen House in Winter #2"

8"x10"oil on panel

"My Hometown" series

available

This is the last of the four paintings of this house--at least for now. It's such a darling house, it begs to be painted over and over again.

"Aspen House in Winter #1"

6"x8" oil on panel

sold

Here's the Aspen house in the snow. This is pretty much what it looks like now--except I painted this before we got our 54" snow last week. This painting was done with a palette knife.

"Aspen House in Summer" #2

8"x10" oil on panel

"My Hometown" series

available

This painting of the Aspen House opens the view to the house a little, by eliminating one of the foreground trees.

"Aspen House in Summer" #1

6"x8" oil on panel

"My Hometown" Series
sold

I did a series of paintings of this little house on Aspen Ave. in Flagstaff as a commission for a friend of mine. He lived in this house years ago and had many fond memories while there.
The summer ones I did from photos I happened to have in my files. I'll post the other three in next few days. I'd be interested to hear which ones you like best.

"Snow on the Pond"

6"x8" oil on panel
"My Hometown" series
We don't have snow like this in Flagstaff now. This painting is from a photo I took last winter. This pond was called "City Pond" when I was growing up. Now known as the Francis Short pond it is a short walk from my house, and one of my favorite places to paint. I also just completed a larger version that you can see on my website.

"Turret Window"

"My Hometown" Series
8"x6" oil on panel

Another painting in my hometown series. This old house is on the corner of Butler and Lonetree Rd. at the site of the old sawmill in Flagstaff,AZ. The sawmill is long gone and unless you're an old-timer like me, probably most people have no memory of it. Fortunately this house remains as a reminder of Flagstaff's logging history.

"Little Colorado Gorge"

"Little Colorado Gorge"
12"x9" oil on panel
Available

Last weekend, my friend Jan and I drove north to the Little Colorado Gorge to paint for the afternoon. It was a beautiful warm afternoon for painting, but we lost the sun disappear early behind the mountain to the south and it got cold really fast. I just started a larger painting from this smaller one.

"Morning on Aspen Ave."

8"x6" oil on panel
"My Hometown" Series
$50

I have just started on a new series of small scenes of my hometown, Flagstaff, Arizona. On December 5, I will be a guest artist at one of the featured homes on the Friend's of Flagstaff's Future" Christmas Sustainable Home Tour. I thought this might be a fitting small item to purchase for Christmas gifts. I'm hoping to have about 15 completed by the event.

"Shadows on the Catalinas"

8"x10" oil on panel

Earlier this week, I did this painting at Sabino Canyon. The shadows on the Catalinas are so distinct and the light so intense, I'm immediately entranced with the light/dark color patterns. But the light changes so fast, I race to get the mountain shadows down then to the foreground.

Day 2- Taos Painting

"Don Fernando Morada"
8"x10" oil on panel
Available

I'm a little slow in getting my Taos paintings posted. Our annual Open Studios show was this past weekend, so it's been kind of crazy doing that. But now things are getting back to normal, so I hope to be posting more regularly

Painting in Taos-Day 1

"Evening at the Morada"
8"x10" oil on panel
Available $250

Last week I drove to Taos for a 2 day painting lesson with Taos artist Michelle Chrisman. Michelle is a contemporary colorist and paints expressive northern New Mexico landscapes with wonderful energy using a palette knife. I am wanting to be more expressive and energentic in my own painting so I learned much from her. Michelle has some wonderful workshops scheduled throughout the year--I hope to catch her at Ghost Ranch next year.

"Orpheum Theater"

8"x6" oil on panel

I've really been slacking on posting to my blog--I apologize to whomever is watching. On Sunday morning I went out early for a quiet walk about town before everyone started stirring. I took a bunch of photos for a possible series on Flagstaff's urban scenes. This is the historic Orpheum theater. When I was a girl, it was the only movie theater in town. Now it is a great venue for music groups. We're very lucky is still here and has not been torn down to make way for something new.
This is the first test case. I'm not really happy with the colors, maybe I will work on it again tomorrow.

"Saquaro Sunset"

12"x9" oil on panel
Available

I've been working on this painting all week--among other things too. Although I'm neglecting my blog, I am painting daily. I actually seem to have three or four paintings going at once. All my work this week has been in the studio. Mainly I'm just trying to finish up old stuff I've started and never finished. As I'm learning more about color, paintings I once tagged as rejects are getting a new life. It's fun reviving work I didn't like. However, I've been hungry to get out of the studio, and do some fresh work outdoors. So this afternoon I'm off to the mountain top.

Back to Work

"Sun on Canyon Steps"
16"x 12" oil on panel
Available

Did you all wonder where I'd gone? After I got back from Idaho, it took awhile for me to get caught up on everything, then,we had guests for a few days. For the last two weeks I've been busy working on larger paintings, getting ready for a gallery presentation. For my next few posts, I'll give you a look at these new works being featured on my website, then I'll be back to doing some daily paintings.