100 Paintings for Lung Cancer

It's that time of year again for my 100 painting project.  Last November, in honor of my dad, a portion of my sales was donated to the Lung Cancer Alliance

Kristina and her dad, Errol

I wrote how lung cancer has touched my life here.  In just 8 months, I lost both my mother-in-law and father to this terrible disease.  Lung cancer kills more people than breast, colon & prostate cancers combined.  Yet it has no early detection screening.  Yet it only receives a fraction of the research dollars as other cancers.  Yet it still has a terrible stigma because of its association with smoking.  Yet almost half of those newly diagnosed have never smoked or have been non-smokers for decades.  Read this powerful letter about the stigma of lung cancer.

November is lung cancer awareness month.  Once again, in honor of my dad, I will donate a portion of my sales to the Lung Cancer Alliance, a support and advocacy organization for those living with lung cancer.

The 3rd annual 100 Paintings for $100 or Less  sale is available online and in the Happy Camper Mobile Art Gallery through December 31, 2012.  Check back during the month of November as I will be adding more paintings daily until I reach my goal of 100.

If you're in the Keene area, please join me November 6th, 2012 for the Shine a Light on Lung Cancer Vigil on Central Square at 6pm.

Keene Art Tour ~ join the magic!

Come visit me this weekend at Keene's very first Art Studio Tour! The Happy Camper and my home/studio will be open. I'll also be kicking off my 100 paintings for $100 or Less Sale.

SEE THE MAGIC IN KEENE THIS YEAR!
reposted from the Keene Art Tour blog, written by Luann Udell, (stop #7 on the tour)


Keene’s very first open studio tour debuts in November, 2012.

“We are the people who ran away to join the circus.”
(Bruce Baker, jeweler and public speaker on arts and crafts)

Remember the kid in first grade who drew horses for you? Ever wonder what happened to her? Ever cherished a beautiful handmade vase and wondered how it was made? Want to see someone who draws a bowl of fruit so life-like, you’ll swear you can smell the apples?


Well, now you can.


Keene, New Hampshire, is rich in artistic talent, and home to many artists and craftspeople. Yet there’s never been a local open studio tour, devoted exclusively to artists living and working in Keene–until now!


One day, Terri Lipman (studio #4 on the tour) invited a group of artists to her home. The agenda? “Let’s put on a show!” (Shades of Andy Hardy!) We’re using the entire city of Keene for our “show”, rather than just a big red barn, but the excitement and the enthusiasm is the same.


An artist open studio tour is magic! It’s magic for our visitors–a chance to see the spaces where creative people do their thing. Whether it’s a light-filled airy studio loft, a room above a Main Street storefront, a hide-away closet or a converted warehouse, every artist studio is a work of art in itself. We even have an actual ‘big red barn’ on our show…er, tour….a la Micky Rooney and Judy Garland.

Luann Udell's studio, an actual big red barn!

Come meet our artists, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3 & 4 from 10-5. Meet the artists, and see their working studios. Enjoy the diversity of talent and creativity that’s right here in your backyard.


Most of all, you’ll see what it’s really like to run away and join the circus.


From nationally- exhibited artists to fresh work from emerging artists, traditional fine art media to outsider art, art inspired by prehistory and modern abstracts, and everything in between. Works in wood, fiber, glass and clay. Photography and fine art furniture, fiber, jewelry, landscapes and folk art.

You name it, it’s here.

Enjoy lunch at our eclectic restaurants and coffee shops downtown. Or make a weekend of it! Try our local bed-and-breakfasts or downtown hotels and take up where you left off the second day.
In short, something for everyone. All within Keene’s city limits, and most within walking distance.


Welcome to the magic show!

Halloween costume- how to make "A Girl with a Pearl Earring"

It's Halloween time again! 

Every year, I love coming up with fun costume ideas to make with my kids. They don't always like my suggestions--this year my son turned down my idea of a cool owl costume and insisted on going as a character from one his favorite cartoons. No worries--green ninja it was. (I'll post photos of that and some past costumes later)  In the meantime, my daughter liked the idea of going as the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring.  It was fun to do and didn't cost a dime!

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

To start, find a extra large frame and cut a sturdy piece of cardboard to fit. Paint one side white with acrylic paint or gesso. Let dry.  Using the painting as reference, sketch in the basic shapes.

Using acrylic paint, sketch in the face (life size) and folds of the fabric and paint in the shadows.

Finishing the shadows.

Paint in the clothing and scarf. Add highlights on the folds of fabric.

Using an x-acto knife, carefully cut out face shape.

We found a silk scarf in the perfect shade of blue to wrap around my daughters hair. I also scrounged up a large pearl earring (not exactly the right shape but it still gave a good effect). 

Fit cardboard into frame and Voila!

Happy Camper on facebook

Happy Camper Mobile Art Gallery: Happy Camper on facebook: The Happy Camper now has a facebook page. Stop by for updates on events, photos, and special offers. https://www.facebook.com/pag...

Guest Blogger: artist Frances Clements Fawcett: Loons! Maine “Memory Mailbox” Continues to Deliver Delight

I'm pleased to welcome guest blogger Frances Clements Fawcett. Welcome, Frances!





Hooray it’s autumn! Brilliant reds, rich oranges and yellows, and sizzling gold are staging their annual fashion show on the trees here at Yes and Yay HQ.  Predictably, when I spot a particularly dazzling tree, I’ll smile and declare, “Oh my, this reminds me of Maine!”

I’ve blurted this phrase umpteen times to my patient husband and friends, when some image, scent or sound sparks a childhood memory. You see, I grew up spending my summers on Barker Pond, which is about an hour inland from Portland. Embraced by the forest, water and lots of family and kids, this magical time is lovingly stamped into my heart.

 
And these cherished memories continue to delight and inspire me. When they pop up into my head (or “FCF’s Memory Mailbox”, as I like to call my brain), it’s like receiving a surprise postcard from the past!

One of my all-time favorites was paddling our family’s blue canoe on the pond, hoping to spot a loon. Ah those enchanting loons!  As a kid I’d hear their haunting laughs and cries between claps of thunder on a muggy summer night, or in the early morning before other sounds competed with their songs.

Loons have popped into my art in colorful ways.  I never tire of interpreting their bold markings in my whimsical paintings and hand carved prints.

 Jeff and I even designed our wedding bands with entwining loons!

Today as I tap out these words, I’m spying on a petite and feisty Douglas squirrel that is dropping fir cones from the towering tree outside my studio window. After he collects a pile, he gathers them into golden pyramid-like mounds. I imagine that he’ll save the extra-special, plump cones to unpack and savor later this winter.


And like the squirrel, my treasured cache of Maine memories continues to delight and inspire my art-filled life. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)


What cherished childhood memories are squirreled away in your heart?


When they arrive in your Memory Mailbox how do you translate them into fresh stories and art?

Why not hit that reply button and share your favorite memory sparks with us?!



In Delight and Loon-Lovin’ Gratitude,

PS  - thanks Kristina for letting me share this post on your blog!

mountains, lupines & fiddleheads: 2 artists' love-affair with Maine

 

As you may know from my previous writings---I have long had a love-affair with the state of Maine.




beaver pond, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell




From spending my childhood summers with my grandparents in the northwestern mountains to living as an adult along the rocky, wave tossed shores of the state-- I have always felt this beautiful place to be home.



going back to camp, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches. ©2009 Kristina Wentzell

The first time I put brush to canvas, scenes from Maine have been a seminal inspiration for my art.  Dusky blue mountains rising from jewel colored lakes, purple lupines covering every meadow & roadside, spring green curls of fiddleheads, dark conifer forests dotted with slender white birches--these are the images I draw from again and again.




lupine field, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell

I happily make my home in the lovely Monadnock region of New Hampshire now (complete with its own set of unparalleled inspirations) but Maine will always have my heart.


So, when my friend and fellow artist, Frances Clements Fawcett agreed to guest post on my blog and asked if she could write about her own love affair with Maine--I was beyond thrilled.


Frances (AKA The Delight Detective) hails from the pacific northwest. Her blog, The Delight Detective's Universe of Yes and Yay, is a whimsical and wonderful place.  Filled with Frances' delightful fiber creations and her musings about life are just brimming with happiness and positivity. I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and stop over and spend a while.  A couple favorites are this post about Frances' belief in a friendly universe and this post about the unexpected delights that await us when we drop everything and just go.


In the meantime, stay tuned--on Tuesday Frances will be posting here about her own inspirations from Maine (including that very special & ethereal Maine water bird beloved by many--can you guess which kind?)





dead river evening, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell



3rd Annual 100 Paintings

It's getting to be that time of year again!


In case you're wondering-- I will once again be having my annual 100 painting sale.  For the third year, I will be creating 100 small original oil paintings and offering them for sale for $100 or less.  See last year's paintings here.

3rd Annual 100 Paintings for 
$100 or Less

November 3rd - December 31st, 2012

available online and on display in the:

Happy Camper Mobile Art Gallery

87 Ashuelot Street

Keene, New Hampshire

This year's sale dates are November 3rd - December 31st.  I will be having an open studio November 3rd & 4th to kick off the sale (as part of the Keene Art Tour).


And new this year, the paintings will be on display in the Happy Camper Mobile Art Gallery at my home/studio in Keene, New Hampshire.  As usual, the paintings will also be available online.



So, stay tuned!  I will post photos of the paintings as I paint them.

Fall Foliage Art Studio Tour

 

Looking for a great activity over Columbus Weekend?

 

 

Take a drive through the scenic Monadnock region this Saturday & Sunday on a self-guided art studio tour. The foliage is beautiful this time of year. See some art, stop for lunch, enjoy the scenery--what could be better?

 

Fall Foliage Art Studio Tour

October 6th & 7th

10am to 5pm

 

87 Ashuelot Street

Keene, New Hampshire
 

The Fall Foliage Art Studio Tour features a wonderful selection of fine artists & craftsmen--painting, pottery, photography, fine furniture, wood turning, jewelry, sculpture and more.

 

 

This is a unique opportunity to get a peek into the working studios and get a feel for how these artists perfect their craft.

Info is available on the FFAST website. I'll also have tour maps on hand in my studio at 87 Ashuelot Street in Keene, New Hampshire.

If you need an extra incentive-- the Happy Camper Mobile Art Gallery is finished and will be on display in front of my studio. This summer I converted a vintage 1966 trailer into a mobile art gallery. Come check it out!