The Only Magic Line of Code Bloggers Need

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How to Embed a Link in Comments

Takes Me Elsewhere, You Know.

To embed a link in the comments of a blog, you have to use a line of code.  Since I don't know any code, what I do is recall that it begins as "a href."  I search query a href, and don't even open the results, as the Google page has enough introductory words and, inevitably, one result will say something beginning with a left angle bracket (<) and an "a," a website address in the middle, and ending with an "a" and a right angle bracket (>).  This shows me that the code is complete.  The words you wish to present with the link are also present and enclosed within angle brackets.

This magic line of code will take your readers out to your target page, and you have a smart looking line of text highlighted as a hot link.  What I do is cut and paste the sample line of code from the source to the comment field.  I switch the target web address, and the bracketed word that sends the reader outbound to the target, and now I have my own custom line of code with a link in it.

Write down the brief "a href" on a piece of tape and put it by your keyboard.  I could write the whole code, too, but I would rather cut and paste it from my Google search.  Perhaps you type 300 words per minute, and would prefer to just type it.  I find the address of my target website in the address box at the top off the webpage, and I copy it to paste, as well.

Cheers!

What Vincent Drank

Drink 3 to 5 of these.  Slowly.

Your Authority

Growth comes with struggle.  The key in art is to get it over into the subconscious, and the sooner you start just making art, the easier it will be to find expression. 

Here are some quotes on the Artist's Authority that were published here some time ago.   

You should be able to click on these documents and view them.  Save them and print them out to post in your studio.

Seattle Visit

Enjoying the Great Wheel on Elliott Bay, Seattle.  Ferry on Puget Sound in the background.  While I'm sitting here, smiling, the meter maid is ticketing my car.  I blame those new e-meters.  Anyway, we had family fun touring western Washington.

Thinking My Way Through Yellowstone

Madison River, Yellowstone NP, 2013.

yellowstone.co

Casey Klahn Art - Intimate Sizes

Blue Water

10" x 5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

My new portfolio blog, Intimate Sizes, features small works available in framed or unframed formats.  Have a look!

New Blog!

The popularity of my portfolio blog, currentcaseyklahn.blogspot (Casey Klahn Art Portfolio of Available Works) has been surprising. 26,500 pageviews in 9 month!

Here is what I intentionally left out of that portfolio blog: the small works.  Now, I am introducing a new portfolio blog that covers the works under 12 inches. Casey Klahn Art - Intimate Sizes, small works available in framed or unframed formats fills that gap, and may be seen here. 500 hits in one day makes me think it will be another great place to showcase new works. And, I am grateful to my kind readers.

Portfolio of Medium & Large Works.
Small Works Portfolio.

What Does Yellow Taste Like?

Canola Flavor

7" x 11"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Please click on the image to see the whole cropping

On Color! Resolutions at The MADDEN

Artists Ken Elliott and Casey Klahn taught On Color! Color Breakthrough at the Denver MADDEN Museum of Art July 20 & 21st. 25 artists participated. 

One Oh One - Blog Topics

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Don't tell me you have nothing to post about:

100 Things I Love About Art
Highlight a Master Artist
Compare Two Master Artists
Your Subjects
Review Your Exhibit

Goal Setting
Photo Journal an Event
Studio Description or Photos

Other Social Media Besides the Blog
Museum Visit
Museum Highlight
List of Links Out to Other Art Blogs

Interview
You Tube of an Art Topic
Tips On Your Media
Art History Topic

Rant
Praise

Personal Story
Personal Opinion
Art Lesson That is Authentically Different
How To Do a Blogger (Wordpress) Task, such as embedding a hotlink in a comment

Guest Blogger
Art News
Take Apart One of Your Paintings

Your Drawings
Group Drawings On a Topic
Post Off Topic (Cuisine/Auto Repair/ Target Shooting/Macrame)
Your Bio

Resume
One Sheet

604 Ideas
Book Review
Highlight a New Blogger
Write an Essay

Make That Essay Into a Series
Take a Poll
Find Out What Your Social Objects Are and Post Them

Meet Another Blogger (Post a Picture)
A Local Attraction
An Obituary

Mind Map Your Blog
Post About Your Mother
Foreign Country
A List of Your Favorite Posts

Your Other Blog(s)
Your Website
An Orginization or Society
Coffee

Illuminated Umber Slope

10" x 16"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Technique That You "Own"
An Art Goal
Your Works from Art School

Art Materials - Something Obscure
Anything That Really Interests You
Something That Happened To You That Was New, Odd, Unusual or Funny.

Newsletter Update
Holiday Greetings
Cats

Another Art Form - Not Your Own
An Art Genre, Such as Portraiture
Participate in a Blog Project
Become an Authority Blog

Any Event That You Find Interesting
A Magazine Article
Research That You Have Done


A Movie Review
Report On An Historical Art Movement
Your Upcoming Exhibit
Post a Fantastic Photoshop of Yourself on the Banks of the Seine with van Gogh

Vincent et Moi

An Interesting iPhone App
A PANO Outside of Your Studio 
Highlight a Great Post on Another Blog and Make a Link

Make Up a Silly Prize and Award it to Someone
Any Excuse to Post a Link List of Your Blogger Chums
Your Insights on the Business of Being an Artist

Your Sketchbook
Write a Formal Critique

Your Influences

Small Studies
The Art Festival 
Quotes

Your Slideshow
Your Video

Details About Your Palette
Your "Take" on the Color Wheel
Tricks for Establishing a Value Composition
Studio Tips

An Art Tool You Made Yourself
Patrons or Collectors
Your Faith and Art
Why You Paint or Draw in Your Style

Art and Health
Art Philosophy
Your painting Holiday or Road Trip

Press Release
Motivational Words, Sentence or Essay
Photos  or Paintings of Snow

Another Artist's Studio That You Admire
Any List That is Topical
The Year In Review


Post Your Latest Artwork



This post was bumped from 2011.

MADDEN

The MADDEN Museum of Art

Denver, CO

July 15 - August 30, 2013.

I won't have my art up until after the 20, 21st.

On Color! Quotes

These pages are jpegs, and may be copied and printed for your studio.  Assembled by Casey Klahn.

Colorists Coloring With Colors

What follows is a post first published in August of 2012.

Previous Post: Colorist Methods - My Thoughts On The Subject Of Color.

This is the second post of an undetermined number of posts about the subject of color use.

There is some danger in this subject for both of us. For me, I risk either writing inanity, banality or nonsense. For you, probably the worst risk is that you will become convinced that these theories I write will impart some method. There will be no methodology about color use here. Just ideas, tips, and histories. That is about as good as it can get, because we enter this aware of the personal nature of one's color use, called color sense, and it is known by many who study color that people see and respond to color in a manner different each from the other. If there is any commiseration on color feelings, then these ideas are already widely known.

Some Thoughts:

• Starting with a color idea involves, for me, either choosing one bright, pure color, or designing a color triad in my mind at the very first part of the process.
• Reacting to the previous color involves intuitive choice, and/or some reference to known color properties, such as what compliments or what harmonizes the colors already laid down.
• Keep looking at the work and making adjustments as you progress.
• Respond to problems to create the harmony that you seek.

Fauvism is the first school or movement we think of when we are faced with funny color in artwork. The Fauvists were a crazy bunch of Frenchmen, mostly, who painted in the Modern era. Among their ranks were Vlamink, Rouault, Derain, and the King of the Fauves, Henri Matisse. The ideas they shared involved a reaction to earlier movements and the late  Impressionist school of thought. They wanted bright, pure colors versus enhanced local color and an explanation of light. Their work was also considered painterly in the use of bold brushstrokes.

There will be no methodology about color use here.

 

I don't seek color that is a response to local color, meaning that that I don't choose a color that is purposefully not the actual (local) color. I just choose the color I want, and usually for personal reasons. It may often be the local color, and that is perfectly okay with me, especially because I am now set to react to the color I just used. I am a terrible reactionary in the artistic sense!

This approach, I think, is better than aiming for the "wrong" color or the opposite of the local color, because these methods can be formulaic.  One is required to prejudice his choice when he will not choose the local color.

Atelier Of Ellen Eagle

Phyllis, 2002

11 3/4" x 7 7/8"

Pastel on Pumice Board

Ellen Eagle

sensitive

 Atelier is the French word for that place where you do your painting. It feels more intimate than the word, "studio." In her new book, Ellen Eagle has invited you into her atelier and offered you a look at her expertise and practices. Pastel Painting Atelier covers basics, such as studio set-up, pastel choices, brands, and pastel tools and surfaces. But the real experience of reading her book is like that of participating in a Japanese tea ceremony. You are made to feel special  and revelations abound.

observant

 Ellen spotlights both historic and contemporary artists working in pastel. A favorite section of the book for me was the in-depth walk through of her process where she unpacks her thoughts, feelings, and methods while showing progress on portrait, figure, and still life works.

attentive  

 The following is what Ellen wrote to you, the readers of The Colorist and Pastel Workshop.

Pastel Painting Atelier is my first book. I began the writing by entering my studio. I looked into my work environment and the treasured tools of my trade. My opening preface emerged naturally, and that personal statement set the tone for the whole book.  Throughout, I wrote about my inspirations and hands-on working practices.   My goal was to suggest to the reader ways to open up his and her own path. 

I also reached beyond my studio, into the ever-evolving history of our gorgeous medium. It was very important to me to exalt the magnificent lineage of artists who, across centuries and continents and styles, continue to  bequeath to us breathtaking works in pastel, artists who daily transform powder into monument. I closed the book with an index of public collections in which to view firsthand the enduring beauty of our collective endeavor.  

Ellen Eagle.

intimate 

Pastel Painting Atelier

ESSENTIAL LESSONS IN TECHNIQUES, PRACTICES AND MATERIALS

Ellen Eagle

Anticipate

Pastels and Anticipation!

Have a great Independence Day week, and when you return here in a few days, I will have an exclusive greeting for you from artist and author Ellen Eagle, written just for the readers of The Colorist!

ArtHamptons! July 11-14, 2013

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Start making plans for your road trip to The Hamptons, on Long Island, NY.  If you make it you'll get to see up to nine of my recent works, most of which are dated 2013. The Galerie LuCo, which is hosting my pastels, is anchored by the incredible glass sculptures of Marlene Rose. Also, see exciting mixed media pieces by Carolina Cleere.


Casey Klahn

ArtHamptons

Galerie LuCo (Booth #112)

Marlene Rose, of Galerie LuCo.

Bridgehampton, NY

Now I'm Trying Feedly

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Bloglovin is fine, but Feedly seems to over-arch my non-blog world, too.  I'm going to try it.  Yes, it offers to vacuum up your Google Reader and it's a bit scary how it does it!  No questions asked, just a "hoover" noise and wham!  Your GR stuff is on Feedly, now.

To add to the creepy factor, I cannot give you a link because it goes straight to my iCloud.  Anyway, I will be trying it out, as I am trying out multiple new feeds.

Okay, here is the About link to Feedly.

Google Reader, I hardly knew you...

Blogger Goes Blind Sunday Night - Follow With New Tools

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One idea:

Thanks!

Contemplative Rock

Japanese Garden

9.1" x 6"

Pastel 

Casey Klahn

Does The Creek Rise?

Deep Creek Alder

12" x 14.25"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Bye Bye, Google Reader

http://cristinaswatercolors.blogspot.com/

The soon-coming demise of Google Reader fulfills the tenants of Murphy's Law.  In particular, the one about when something is really good, it will be discontinued.

Please take the time to switch my humble blog over to your new feed service, kind reader.

I very much like Cristina Dalla Valentina's blog, and here is her suggestion to use Feedly as an alternative.  What is your idea or plan? 

The Colorist Slope is a Slippery One

Illuminated Umber Slope

10" x 16"

Pastel & Charcoal

Casey Klahn

Hue.  Value.  Intensity.  

Colorism.

WOLF KAHN 6 June - 26 July 2013

Wolf Kahn, 2013

The River Revisited

The Lazy River

19" x 25"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

I didn't like the color on the earlier photo, so we re-shot The Lazy River last week.  This one is more accurate.

Why not add Satchmo?

Why are these people having so much fun?  I think concerts are fun, but these peeps are swingin'.  It's 1958, which is a good vintage.  I was born in 1958.  

The Newport Jazz Festival (Rhode Island) was started only four years prior to this performance by Louis Armstrong.  I looked at their website.  It looks like a faded simile of it's once fantastic self.  Like a bag with all the gas let out.  I don't know how you top The Satch, anyway. I think they rate his performance as their high water mark.  

Maybe I'm waxing too nostalgic about it.   Although I avoid, like the plague, the subject of sympathy in my art, I do like it in music.  I'm not much of a music person, to be sure.  I don't know which end of the horn the sound comes out.  This guy: Sippican Cottage, knows a lot about music, and he comments on it all the time.  If you aren't reading his blog, you are missing out on the best prose in the interweb-osphere. 

About second number 23 in the video, you see this Caucasian lady (we used to call women ladies back then, but for a host of reasons that has fallen out of favor) start to mouth his lyrics.  That moment in the song, and it is early-on, you see the audience has totally boughten into his performance.   They are wrapped around his little finger, and that finger will be pushing valves on his blare like no other performer we remember.  He was called, "Pops" by his friends, and we all felt like his friends.  But, his music was anything but "pop."  It was Jazz, in all its glory: the music we listened to before that rolly type came ashore from a foreign land.  It was American, and it was crazy, free and wild.  

Don't get me started on the Fifties, either.  Those were salad days for American art.  Mark Tobey, Jackson Pollock  and Willem de Kooning were putting their expressionist versions of the same ideas as Louise on canvas.  Abstractionist notes and marks were colluding to turn our culture on its ear.

Are you still on your ear?  Just wondering.  Maybe your art, or your music, needs a little goose in the posterior.  Mr. Armstrong would approve of that.

Louis Armstrong.

NJF.
The River Series.

A Haunting Passed

Public Sale

10" x 19"

Charcoal & Pastel

Casey Klahn

This layout and mood reminded me of a painting by Andrew Wyeth, so as an hommage I titled this Public Sale.

Summer Wishes

Click image to see full size

Summer and June

7.5" x 9'

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Shades Mill

Shades Grand River, Canada

14.5" x 18.5."

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Panorama in Yellows

Click on the image to see the full view.

Canola Panorama

6" x 14"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

I Am A Civil War Artist This Memorial Day Weekend!

I Am A Civil War Artist This Memorial Day Weekend!

Imagine my delight at being out among hundreds of costumed actors; the solders in dark blue uniforms and the ladies in hooped skirt outfits.  I am getting some great sketches, and did one plein air pastel session today.  I get very few opportunities at drawing people, so it is an artist's heaven.

Please look for some images to be posted in the next few days. 

The Civil War is remembered for having started 152 years ago this past April. 

See what I mean?

Walt Disney Presents: Four Artists On Location, 1958

This early TV episode gives you the old "studio-president-sits-at-his-desk-and-pontificates" treatment.  But, given it's Walt Disney, and given that he is reading from The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri, I think you will profit by watching this. 

The premise of this film short is the contrast between the regimented studio production, where everything must fit animation cells like a glove, versus the natural inclination of the artist to do his own thing.  And, if you haven't read Henri's 1923 master book on American art sensibilities, you will be surprised at his stance of grasping your own independent ideas and style.

Robert Henri wrote of Thomas Eakins, "His vision was not touched by fashion."  I like the description from the negative.  There is a counter-movement to the artist's way; he doesn't swim up stream to cooperate, but to counter the school.

It seems to me that Disney knew he had a studio of artists, and if they were going to be good at all, they needed to be let off the leash occasionally. 

   

Robert Henri

Walt Disney

White Tree

White Tree Study

12.5" x 6.75"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

View the recent professional interview that covers my studio practice here.

In other news, I am working daily (with early-ups!) to get ready for exhibitions in Albuquerque, NM and The Hamptons on Long Island.  I will give links when time gets closer.

Ready To Ship To New Mexico!

This pastel is framed and ready to ship to the June, 2013 IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) exhibit and convention in Albuquerque, NM.

See more about IAPS here.

Preperceived Ghost Trees

Vardøgr (Forest Vardogr)

11" x 8"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Abstracted Forest

Green & Gray Forest

13" x 8"

Pastel & Charcoal

Casey Klahn