Beginning the Storm

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The progress of a pastel drawing.

The Storm Begins On High

9 x 23

High Coulee

Desert Slope

9" x 7"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Intermedio - VM & BD

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The artwork above is titled Upland Air.

Nocturne and Prose

Darkly, He Writes

12" x 9"

Pastel& Charcoal

Casey Klahn

This will be the fourth book cover I have done.  Happy to do these.

You can enjoy the stories by author Terry Gildow at his website: He Writes One Page a Day.

The Blues and The River

Click on the image to see it in full.

The River Blue

11" x 15"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

River Bottom Land

Season's Change

@9" x 16"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Look for several new works to be posted over the next few days.  I will post them here first!

PDX is Short for Portland, Oregon

PDX Workshop, June 15, 16, 2013.

Studio 30 at Cathedral Park Place is Kat Sowa's premier teaching space in the heart of Portland.  I am very happy to be teaching my See Differently workshop there, in June of this year.  It would be a good idea to sign up early.

Studio 30 is huge!  This very well appointed space has natural and corrected lighting, a separate coffee break space, and is adjacent to one restaurant. It is in the St. Johns district, which is bordered by the Columbia River to the northeast, the Willamette River to the northwest, the North Portland railroad cut to the southeast, and the Cathedral Park neighborhood to the southwest. 

Studio 30 at Cathedral Park Place.

5 Things Captain Kirk Teaches You About Art

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Why consider James T. Kirk, of TV's Star Trek fame, as an example for artists?  Mostly because of thing number 1, presented below.  The Kobayashi Maru story is about innovation, and I want artists (and other leaders who might be reading) to grasp some break-out thinking styles like that represented in the fictional stories of Star Trek.

Captain Kirk is the protagonist of TV's Star Trek, a 1960's science fiction drama set in the distant future.  Many forget that in the sixties, entertainment still relied on drama, instead of special effects, to carry the plot. William Shatner, as Captain James T. Kirk, dished up drama to an absurd level, and we ate it with a spoon. Star Trek and Kirk enjoy a cult following today, and it is fun to draw analogies from this fiction.

5 Things Captain Kirk Teaches You About Art

1. The Kobayashi Maru.

The Kobayashi Maru is the name of a fictional Star Trek training exercise where Kirk finds a solution that redefines the problem, especially when faced with a no win scenario.

Another way of explaining the art principle involved here is to describe lateral solutions.  A common problem in painting, such as which color to choose next, may be solved by choosing the local color (true, common color of an object), which is boring and expected, or by selecting the complement of the local color (the opposite color on a color wheel), which may also be expected. My favorite lateral solution: choosing an unexpected color anywhere else on the color wheel. This sometimes manifests itself as choosing the one color that is proscribed by good technique: it is garish, sick, and unexpected.  Now, you have a whole new set of colorist issues at play, and fun and enjoyment is revived in your painting.

2. McCoy versus Spock.

In Star Trek, Dr. Leonard McCoy is the ship's red-blooded, plain-spoken physician, and Mr. Spock is the first officer, a half-alien who is dispassionate, and over-burdened with logic.  They present a dichotomy of ideas when adverse scenarios confront our hero, Kirk:  emotion versus logic.

Artists have learned to seek out ambiguity.  Does it need any more explanation than this: the expanding of possibilities is increased by posing questions? Antimony is your friend, if you want to discover new paradigms.

3. Struggle Much.

CPT Kirk is a warrior character, an armed forces spaceman who battles seemingly invulnerable alien forces of the universe. Do we struggle as artists in the studio, when faced with the blank canvas?

Some have an aversion to the word "struggle" as a description of the artist's way.  Not me.  Certainly you have to admit there is a surfeit of creative inertia in the world, and especially among artists working today.  I want to overcome that force, to do new things, and I want to do that every time I approach the blank paper.  It is an inner struggle.

4. Thirst for knowledge.

James T. Kirk was called "a stack of books with legs." His insatiable curiosity about the universe drove him onward, and his broad knowledge helped him in troubled times.

Art is created, in part, by the out flowing of knowledge.  At the very basic level, it is knowing what things look like, so that even the abstractionist must use the image of things as a wraith; he avoids the look of things on purpose, or else represents images by other images.  

On a greater level, the artist knows what images have gone before him, and uses that knowledge to spring forward into new terrain.  The universe of knowledge available regarding art history, art, and the look of things is only the start.  Add to these disciplines the full gamut of liberal studies, and you begin to identify the role of the artist as greater than meets the eye.  Artists are cultural leaders because they study the universe, and represent it in new ways.

5. Skill.

A Starfleet captain of Kirk's caliber has a full and broad range of skills. CPT Kirk is the best of the best and much admired for his skills and abilities.

Skill is traditionally recognized as a key element in an artist's makeup. But, Modernist artists have said they are against skill.  This is well and good as a philosophy of art, but an argument can be also made to demonstrate the high skill levels of masters like Egon Schiele, Odilon Redon, and Henri Matisse. Matisse, at the apex of Modernism, is also held up as one of the great draftsmen of history.

Skill alone does not make the artist.  But, every artist realizes more powers and abilities accrue with time. Enhancing your skill level is a great pursuit. 

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Finally, we admire CPT Kirk because he wanted to "...go where no man has gone before." You would do well to go where no artist has gone before.  Innovation is the soul of fine art. Think sideways to fool the inertia monster.  Accept asymmetry in your direction. Go to war with your own fears.  Seek new knowledge and hone your skills.  Here is where I'm tempted to say "live long and prosper," but that would be silly.

See also:
Five Leadership Lessons From Kirk


"Intuition, however illogical, is recognized as a command prerogative." Kirk in Obsession.


"Genius doesn't work on an assembly line basis. You can't simply say, 'Today I will be brilliant.' " Kirk in The Ultimate Computer.

Quotes credit: http://voices.yahoo.com/best-quotes-captain-james-t-kirk-star-trek-204167.html

Matisse Magic and Thoughts

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Somebody please tell The Met that their Matisse drawing,

...is a preparation for this painting:

"There are so many things in art, beginning with art itself, that one doesn't understand. A painter doesn't see everything that he has put into his painting. It is other people who find these treasures in it, one by one, and the richer a painting is in surprises of this sort, in treasures, the greater its author." Henri Matisse.

My review of The Conversation, 1938.

Image descriptions and credits:


Study for Song, 1938
Henri Matisse
Charcoal on paper
25 3/4 x 20 in. (65.4 x 50.8 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, 2002 (2002.456.45)
© 2011 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.


The Conversation, 1938.
Henri Matisse
o/c
18 3/8 in. x 21 3/4 in. (46.67 cm x 55.25 cm)
Acquired 1993
Collection SFMOMA
Bequest of Mr. James D. Zellerbach
© Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
93.149
Source: http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/4132##ixzz2Mm3mhbl6
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Intermedio - Michelangeli plays Debussy

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Art Blog & Page Updates

Portfolio Blog

Casey Klahn Art, Portfolio of Available Works, is my new effort at making the art in my studio available to viewers.

My current and available medium and large works will be posted and updated there.  The new blog will be linked on the "Portfolio" page at this blog.

All of the Pages, which are tabulated at the top of this page and under the banner, are in the process of being updated.  There is much workshop news, and since I wrote the last bit, 2 new workshop venues have been added.  More news to follow.

New Workshops

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Northwest Pastel Society.

Also, see my listing of scheduled and proposed workshops here.  More will be added as I get them confirmed.  

Umber Trees

Umber Trees

@ 20" x 26"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Did you know that I'm posting daily, this month, At Pastel Workshop?

Newsy

The Studio, 1912

Edouard Vuillard

 95 x 74.9 cm

Pastel

Get ready for Vuillard.

Here are some newsy links for your weekend.  Enjoy!

Matisse: They wished to Kill Him For His Color!

Betty Edwards - Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain Video: 2 Hours.

How many museums need the acronym MONA?
The new MONA in Australia.

This link to The Jewish Museums' late take on 
Edouard Vuillard: A Painter and His Muses, 1890-1940. I want to write a longer post unpacking Vuillard and his work.  Stay tuned, please.

The Wadsworth, in Hartford, CT, has an exhibit of french drawings and pastels: 
Medieval to Modern: French Drawings and Pastels.
September 29, 2012 – March 10, 2013

At Auction

Front Lit Apple

Rocks Vignette

These two small pastels are up for auction at Daily Paintworks.

Daily Paintworks.

Market Materials

This guy would jump on the internet so fast it would make your head spin. He is a marketing genius.

I'm taking a long course on the internet about marketing one's art.  It is challenging me to re-visit my marketing materials and is generally a lot of fun.  Good thing I like noodling around on Photoshop.  Here is my new logo. 

My new business card is posted below.  When I get them printed, I will be glad to mail you one.

A great place to go to school for your art business: Art Biz Coach Blog.

Dilly-Daly, Daily-Daly

Upper Church

4" x 6"

Pastel & Conte Pencil

Casey Klahn

For the month of February, I will be posting daily artwork at Pastel Workshop and Daily Paintworks.

Off The Shoulder

Off The Shoulder

@9" x 8"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

The Paint The Barn In Winter Group at Facebook is doing great work, and we are having a lot of fun while we're at it.

Forest Interiors

Interior Forest Opening

13.75" x 15"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

These forest interiors are turning into a series.

New Alders

Alders on Winter Ground

12" x 9.5"

Pastel on PastelMat

Casey Klahn

Summer Out of Phase

Summer Meadow

@11" x 8"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

You want it to be summer, don't you?  I must have gone there in my studio this past week.

Winter Alder

Alders on Winter Ground

@11" x 8"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

informal iPhone record

Tree in Green Light

Tree in Green Light

5.25" x 6" 
Pastel

Casey Klahn

Available $150, unframed.

My goal is to say something new with color every time I pick up the pastel stick and address the paper.  

Sketching Cold

Snow in the Draw

@8" by

Pastel & Charcoal

Casey Klahn

iPhone record

Cedar Shed, Sketch

Cahrcoal & Chalk

@7" x 4"

Casey Klahn

Individual Tree, Charcoal Study #2

@ 9"x 9" 

Charcoal & Chalk 

Casey Klahn

The Facebook Challenge Group for this image is found here.

Next Facebook Challenge Posted

Individual Tree

Nikon D80 Photo by: Lorie Klahn.

The Paint The Barn In Winter Group is here.  This is an open challenge to enjoy creating a new artwork in response to this photo.  Last month we did the barn image, and there were dozens of submissions.

Painting Challenge Group at Facebook

The idea behind the Paint The Barn in Winter group is to render an image with a particular photo as the genesis.  An artist may produce an entirely non-representational piece, or a colorist piece, or what have you.  This past month we have been working on this iPhone photo of my barn in a snowy landscape. In a few days, I will post a second challenge photo.

Not my idea, by the way.  More than one person was interested in having my permission to paint from the barn photo, and so I opened it up to the whole world to participate.  The results have been great, with about 40 artists participating so far.  

Here are some of my favorite images from the Paint The Barn In Winter group.

Arlene Richman

Cindy Crawford Day

David Wang

iPhone Photo - Casey Klahn

Design Blog Banners and Graphics

Let's look at blog banners. Photoshop is a popular tool for making these, and banners and designed graphics add a great touch to your blogs.  I can't tell you how to make them, but I will post a video I found that gives an adequate start to your efforts.  After the video, I'll mention some easier methods I have found.

Whenever I want to find a quick recipe, or for any other "how to" task, I now go to You Tube.  Sometimes finding the right tutorial is elusive, and I think this is especially true of Photoshop tutorials.  I learned my Photoshop skills by taking an online course for about thirty dollars, and it was money well spent. I'd link you there, but I think she quit running the course.  If anyone has a good course they run or know of, let me know and I will share that here.  Also, if you have saved any good tutorials on You Tube, I'd be happy to link those as well.

Thanks, Jennifer, from GoodEye Vintage, for this video.

My extra tips are to open your image in its file, right click that and select "open with: Photoshop," and this is quicker than browsing from Photoshop. Also, in selecting background and text colors, I use the eye dropper and find a color from my artwork or photo. 

I don't copy and paste photos into the new banner background.  Instead, I open all the content and view multiple files at once, then I drag and drop like making a puzzle.  For instance, I'll open a banner sized at about 800 x 200 pixels, then I will open a photo; select the Arrange Tool, which on my version is in the absolute upper left of the page, next to the pse icon. Now I select the jpeg, and then the Move Tool, and drag the photo jpeg to the banner.  

Instead of stretching the text, I prefer to crop the banner to achieve a fit. How to get the text to overlay the images?  I work with layers, which is the critical knowledge you need in Photoshop, and then I very carefully go around the letters with the Eraser Tool.  There must be an easier way, but that's my solution.*

Linda Rosso, of Mill Valley, CA, has a new blog about plein air painting and art marketing is also her area of expertise.  I follow her new blog, and I liked her footer signature block so much that I went into Photoshop and designed one for my blogs. I know The Colorist gets a lot of random traffic, and this is a good way to provide an introduction within each post.

Plein Air Liason, by Linda Rosso.

* Artist Gary Huber informs me that I should try a setting where the text background is transparent.  Goodbye Eraser Tool!  I tested his solution, however when I opened the text layer it was transparent by default.  Go figure.  At any rate, the solution does work and you need to work with Layer and Arrange, then push the picture to the bottom layer.  Also, another tip: remember to merge or flatten your finished image.



My new signature block:

Modigliani - Love, Nonsense & Life (Updated)

Modigliani, not looking well, 1919.

Here is The Modigliani Suite:


Amedeo Modigliani (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920) has been the subject of a couple of feature movies.  Mostly, they cover his love life, which lacked no drama.  I take that back - the more recent flick, Modigliani, 2004, by Director Mick Davis, is also very much about the artistic process.  Critics and the public hated it, but I loved it.  The metaphor of his grand premier compared to a bloody mugging in the snow is rich, and I liked the way he consulted his boyhood self from time to time.  

Watching the 1958 film, Les Amants de Montparnasse, in French, is a nonsensical treat for me, since I don't understand the language.  I had a couple scenes posted before, but they have vanished from YT. Try to find it sometime and enjoy. Tragically, both the first director and the star died during and shortly after the making of this movie. 

Here is a You Tube of his paintings streamed to some music with an Italian title about love's consequences.  I like to watch these with the digital projector on the big screen.  Maybe some of his great style and visual grace will rub off on me.

Snow Deep and Notes

  Autumn Slope Drawing

12" x 13.5" 

Charcoal, Chalk & Pastel

Casey Klahn

With my world full of snow, I have taken to drawing in a serious way. I have quit a lot of pastel works in storage, and with a head full of ideas I want to make hundreds more. Anyway, I felt the urge to simplify and sharpen the charcoals a bit. This one, posted above, devolved from a finished pastel!

My children are snowed in from school, and my wife is down with an awful virus of some kind.  My time is not very plentiful, but I do get to the studio almost daily. Maybe today I'll wear snowshoes to get there since yesterday I was plunging to the knee in snow!

Another bother is that we have misplaced the battery charger for the Nikon camera and will have to order a new one.  So, no new photos of pastels for a while, even though I have probably 20 or more to show.

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In other studio news, I am forming an idea for a large work and it may take two over-size sheets of La Carte that I have squirreled away for a special occasion.  I'm imagining them just mounted together, seam and all.  If Degas did it, I think I may try the same. I know I could unroll some Wallis, or even get a piece of Gatorboard that big, but the dream I have is for La Carte.

Another fun pastime has been virtually framing art in Photoshop.  Here is one that worked well.

Fantastic Italy in Faux Frame

Artists in Pastel and Events Around the Web

Niall O'Neill, at Artists in Pastel, writes a blog that fills a very unique niche.  It proposes to review the websites of artists who work in pastel.  I like the global reach of his blog, and the eclectic manner that he ticks one pastellist at a time off his list.  If you think you know all the active pastellists in the world, think again!  You will discover much to keep you inspired at this wonderful blog.  Hint:  if you don't have a blog or a website, how will reviewers find you and expose your art? See the post on my websites, art, and bio here.

More grand benefits of exposing your art on a blog are contests and events. In that vein, Katherine Tyrrell has been busy with the Making a Mark award series which offers readers the chance to nominate and vote for the best artwork posted that year in several categories, such as landscape or nature.  Other awards are also given, such as the best book published by an art blogger and one for "stickability," which highlights consistency in posting art.

In the realm of art events, my page at Facebook, Paint The Barn In Winter, has been a popular place where many artists have rendered a scene based on an iPhone photo I took while skiing out to recover our stuck van. When the event concludes on January 15th., or perhaps a little before, I will post some of the artworks that I want to highlight. 

You never know what will happen next around the interwebs!

The Barn in Winter

iPhone Photo, Casey Klahn

Happy New Year!

Arc of Flight on the Shortlist

Arc of Flight

 24" x 14"
Pastel
Sheila M Evans

Every year at this time Katherine Tyrrell at Making a Mark runs an awards event that I always enjoy. You can vote for any of a number of Best of The Year artworks and blogs in several categories. I try to nominate what I feel are the best images I have seen each year, and this year I feel strongly about Sheila M. Evans' work Arc of Flight.

Here is what I wrote about this pastel in the nomination:

This multi-award winning artist from Spokane, Washington, is possibly the most talented artist I know. Her idea of presenting leaves, illuminated in sunlight, is such a fine focus that you feel immediately the warmth. There is some tension in the life cycle of her subject, and she sometimes paints them in browns to drive this home. Her handling of pastels is superb.
Arc of Flight caught me with it's unique portrait aspect, subtle coloring of the leading edges, and the simple arc of color that travels the yellow to green field. Very graceful.

Voting ends in a few hours from right now.  If you agree with me, go ahead and add your vote.

Making a Mark Vote Here.

Violet Pathway

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Violet Pathway

5" x 5.75"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Goes Like This: Ho Ho Ho!

OOO

Make It New

OOO

Christmas is Upon Us

For those who didn't see this holiday greeting card a few weeks ago, here it is again.  I offer you warm wishes, and I pray you have good health and hope you will take time to rest and reflect.

The image in the card is an interior scene of my barn.  Speaking of which, I have started a Facebook page painting challenge and have offered a photo of the barn in winter snow as the subject.  It has taken off and looks to be very fun.  You are all invited to give it a go, and I think the deadline will be Jan. 15th, 2013. Paint the Barn in Winter.

This was my review of my art year in the form of my favorite 12 works of 2012.

I always enjoy examples of courage, and the soloist in the video below is a youngster whose poise and talent burn strong.  Gives me hope for a better world.