Most of you know that I have taken care of my Mother for the last four years.  She lost her battle with LBD on 3/31/13.  It has been a really trying time dealing with her funeral and her personal things but now I am starting to move back into a life of my own.

To that end, I have decided to blog about my journey back into the reality of my own life.  When you undertake care giving, you tend to give up your own life so that you can focus all your energy on taking care of your loved one.  Now, I am starting a new life.  I have decided to take this next year and rediscover myself and my art.

I am going to blog about my journey thru this process, in hopes of inspiring and teaching and learning.  I invite you to join me on my journey.

It started with deciding to reorganize my studio and move it back into my home.  I had originally thought about having a studio/gallery space at another location and I still may do that in the future.  For now, I have decided to concentrate on my own art and rediscover my passion. 

I'm currently working on the new studio space and will post pictures when I get it up and running or maybe a progress picture.

Stay tuned,
Happy painting,
Jennylynne

Well, it's time for the Stems Event again this year.  All the painting has been done and now the paintings will be taken to the Rice Gallery for judging and hopefully sales.

 

I have done the Stems every year since it's beginning and it is a wonderful event.  What's not to like, flowers, water features, horses, buildings, etc.  There is a wide variety of subjects to appeal to all the painters out there.  I tried my first flower painting this year and am pretty pleased with the results.  I encourage everyone to try to get out of their comfort zone every once in awhile.  It's an awesome experience whether it works out or not.

I love doing landscapes with a combination of brush work and knife strokes.  It is a chance for me to get out of my portrait mindset and into a different creative mode and mood.  Landscape painting for me is an ongoing learning experience.  I really don't like painting still lifes but do enjoy the learning and experience you get from painting from life-so-for me-I plein aire paint.

I encourage all of you to try it and get out there and enjoy our world.

Wish me luck at Stems,

Happy Painting,

Jennylynne

We had a great time and our first workshop at The Art Cottage.  Ken Chapin demoed in the morning and afternoon.  The morning session was all about creating depth in your plein air paintings.   He started with a block in phase and proceeded thru the ending phase of completion. 

This is the block in phase of the demo on depth.  He told us to think in big and simplified shapes.

This is the final phase of the depth demo.  I don't know if it's his final stage of his painting:)
I will post the start of my own depth painting on the next blog.

Happy painting,
Jennylynne

Exciting News:

SAVE THE DATE: MAY 11, 2013 FROM 9AM TO 4PM

The Art Cottage is having it's first workshop just in time for a warm up before the Stems Paint out.  Our instructor and workshop leader will be Ken Chapin.  He is a wonderful plein aire painter and an even more exciting teacher!

Cost of the workshop is $50.00 per student and class size is limited to the first 10 students.

Objectives:
In the morning session, we will cover the basics of showing realistic, deep space in a landscape, atomospheric perspective, etc.  A demonstation will be followed by student practice.

In the afternoon session, we will explore more challenging impressionist style color techniques(with broken brushwork, analogous and complementary enrichment stokes, etc. ) A second demostration will be followed by student practice.

Supply List:
Oils or Acrylics
Required colors"
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow Light
Alizarin Crimson(oil) or Napthol Crimson(acrylic)
Ultramarine Blue

Optional colors include:
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red Light
Pthalo Blue

Painting Mediums and Thinners:
For Oil: Gamsol or Turpenoid Natural(not odorless paint thinner, turpentin, or other toxic materials as we will be working in an enclosed space).

For Acrylic:
Matte Medium or Gloss Medium, Three water cups

Burshes:
These 4 brushes are required:
two softer, synthetic brushes--one smaller(such as #3) & one larger(such as #6)
two bristle brushes--one smaller (such as #3) and one larger (such as #6
Bring more brushes, if you have them.  Oil painters use more brushes than acrylic painters.

Paper towels and/or paint rags and a small trash bag for taking your trash with you.

Canvass boards(or stretched canvases, gessoed panels, etc. )
Bring at least 4.
size options include 8x10, 9x12,11x14.

The workshop will be from 9am to 4pm on May 11, 2013.  Please bring a sack lunch and a drink.  there is a frig at the cottage for students to store food or drink that may need refrigerate.

To sign up or for any questions, please call Jennylynne Gragg at 816-898-6646.
The Art Cottage, 1100 NE Delta School Rd., Lee's Summit, Mo. 64064

We are humming along again on the The Art Cottage.  Hubby knee injury is feeling better so we are going to try and lay the new carpet on the stairs this weekend.  We are also going to decide on the hallway trim-whether to do new or keep part of the existing and just add new where needed. ARGH-I hate all these design decisions-like the doing better.  We may also get to the flooring in the hall but not setting the pressure to high for now.

We got all our paperwork back from the State of Missouri and are halfway to getting the City of Lee's Summit on board.  Still a little work to do in that department, but hopefully will get there soon.  In the meantime, my studio is open by appointment only. Just give me a call and I'll give you the five cent tour:)

I have started a new portrait and am very excited about it so I'll be posting the progress pics from time to time.  It is hard to juggle care giving duties, gallery remodel and my art work but somehow it is all getting done.  I am learning patience and that the world will not stop if something doesn't get done right away.

I have been working on the garden design for the front of the cottage and it is almost complete-on paper at least.  I love designing gardens and this one is so fun because it is a themed garden.  We are going to have lots of perennials and roses.  I have designed a new porch idea and can't wait to get that put together and up along with the new railing system that will line the sidewalk.

Hope you have a great day,
Happy Painting,
Jennylynne

Great and wonderfully exciting things happening at the new gallery space.  Have finished the studio space and the gallery space and are almost done with the kitchen space.  Just need to paint the bottom 1/4 round and then we are headed up the stairs.

Next stop, carpeting the stairs and laying laminate in the hall and main bathroom.  Hall is painted, still need to do some door trim and paint that.

Had a great time tearing out the last of the wall separating the two rooms that will be the classroom space.  Hubby says the two things he will have to be careful to say are 1. It's not a load bearing wall and 2. where the sledge hammer is. :)

We are still debating about taking the existing tub out and replacing with just a shower.  More on that later.

The name has been chosen and registered so I can now let you all know what we named it.

The new gallery is The Art Cottage.  We are still on track for the opening on March 1, 2013.  My studio space and gallery is open now by appointment, so if you want a tour, just give me a call.

Happy Painting,
Jennylynne

It has been so much fun, designing, painting and planning the new gallery/studio space.  This two pics are of the front door and the new window trim outside.  I can't wait to add the black shutters to the windows and get started on the replacement of siding in the porch area.

 

The color in the room where I'm painting the new door is the new studio color.  Today, I am going to paint the trim, and put a second coat on the walls and then we will be ready for the flooring.

 

Once the flooring is in, the moving can begin.  It is an exciting time and I'm sure it will be worth all the work going into it.

 

Stay tuned, peeps,

Happy Painting,

Jennylynne