Teaching Schedule 2018

Hi Everybody, I wanted to make sure that my teaching calendar is posted for dates that I have for the remainder of 2018.  My classes are fun and very informative.  You'll learn lots of methods and techniques for creating art! 

Happy Crafters here...we just made Color Burst Galaxy Cards!

Serious creativity going on here...check out that photo-bomb!

My classes are great for all skill levels and for all ages...I love it when kids come to class too.

I hope to see you in a class sometime soon.  I still have some dates to fill for 2018. And, I am already booking dates for 2019. If you'd like to find out about having a class in your town, shoot an email to me at ken@kenolivercrafts.com or contact your local scrapbook, stamp, art supply shop and let them know. 

Thank you for stopping by today...make sure to spend some time on your creative pursuits today too, it will do you good! 

Watercolor Backgrounds: Tips and Techniques

No matter your crafting style, a great watercolor background is often the best foundation for cardmaking, art journals, bible journals, or scrapbook layouts.  Watercolor can be brilliant and bold, or subtle. 
All too often, I hear students say they're afraid to try their hand at watercolor washes and backgrounds.

I put together a live video today, with a few tips and techniques that will take some mystery out of watercolor backgrounds. 
You'll be surprised because I used some mediums that you typically would not think of using for watercolor backgrounds.  I used Color Burst, Color Burst Ink Pads, Liquid Watercolors and Color Burst Ink from a refill bottle.

You'll have to watch, the results are beautiful and easy to replicate over and over. 

Thank you for joining me today!  I hope you're inspired to create a few watercolor backgrounds for your next crafting project. 

Reverse Glass Painting with a Color Burst Background

Hey everybody, I am a collector of old stuff...so, you can't imagine how happy I was when I found reverse glass painting in an antique store the other day.  Reverse glass painting has been around since the middle ages in one form or another. This piece is a vintage piece from the 30's or 40's and based on the subject matter, may have been created by a local artist.

I really loved the image...it's like so many images I photograph while walking on the river near my home.

And, although the "crinkled" aluminum foil background is typical for pieces created during the 30s and 40s, I felt like it needed something more.  I really wanted to see this piece with a magnificent sunset behind it.

I really love that silhouette image, I see it quite often when I'm walking near the river.

 

 

So I decided that it would be great to use Color Burst to create a wonderful, watercolor background that would capture some of the beauty of our sunsets.

First, I removed the tiny nails from the frame that held the foil background in place.

Then carefully removed the backing and the foil back ground.  I discovered that this was a "at home" DIY piece...the mat board on the reverse side was actually a phone book cover.

Here's close up of the foil once the piece had been deconstructed.  There were a couple different kinds of foil, and it looks like they had some color, but the color has faded away over the years.

The next thing I needed to do was to create a Color Burst color palette that would, approximate the colorful sunsets I see outside my front door nearly every day.

 I chose, Cerulean Blue Ultramarine Blue, Lemon Yellow, Gamboge, Orange, and Merlot.  That's a lot of color for an 8x10 background...but I wanted it to be very colorful!

So I created a loose, "washy" background with lots of color.  I didn't really try to catch any detail on this background.  The details are in the painted glass that overlays this background so you can be messy.  

When I reassembled this piece with it's new Color Burst background...I loved it even more. The sunset is so glowy!

If you like this project, make sure to check back in a couple days...I recreated a similar vintage reverse glass painting with a frame from a resale shop, stencils, and Color Burst. 

Til next time, 

 

Watercolor Pumpkin Patch

Hey everybody, Fall is finally here and no doubt your craft projects and art will be inspired by this wonderful season.  This is a watercolor painting project that I think you'll love. It's a pumpkin patch painting using one of my new 12"x12" stencils and Color Burst. 

I chose a Color Burst palette that's perfect for fall...Yellow Ochre, Orange, Burnt Orange, Burnt Umber and Lamp Black.  I love this color palette for fall...in fact, it's the first time that I've really focused on using Burnt Orange...the deep orange tone is wonderful!

And, here's the new stencil I used.  

It's 12"x12" and called Harvest Pumpkins.

To get started, I placed the stencil on top of one of my 12"x12" Mixed Media Art Boards, the front side of the board is covered with watercolor paper, so it's a great surface for this project.  And, as you can see, I've already used this stencil with black ink, It actually helps you to see the stencil image in this photo. 

With the stencil in place, I used a pencil to trace the outline of the pumpkins, and if you'll notice, I used the stencil to add an additional pumpkin...I simply traced the 2 pumpkins in the foreground, and moved the stencil over to add an additional pumpkin in the background on the right side of the composition.  Here's a tip, you do not have to "draw" this image with any exact precision...in fact, I just kind of scribbled through the stencil to create my "drawing."

Then, I started to paint the image with Color Burst Burnt Orange and water.  You may have seen Color Burst sprinkled and spritzed...painting with Color Burst is a little different.  Tap out a bit of Color Burst powder into a paint palette, then pick up the pigment with a wet brush and begin painting and blending.

From here on out, it's like paint by numbers, I completed the painting by filling in little sections, until each section was painted.  It's cool to watch it all come together.

And then, used Color Burst Olive Green to paint the leaves.

To paint the background, I create a muted wash with Yellow Ochre, Olive Green, and Burnt Umber.

And filled in the remaining areas with a subtle watercolor wash. You'll notice, I left the tendrils blank until the watercolor wash background was complete.  It's easier to paint them on top of the background rather than to paint around them.
To complete the painting, fill in the details, like the tendrils, pumpkin stems and...

some "straw" in the foreground with Burnt Umber. 

Here's a list of the supplies I used:

Ken Oliver Crafts Mixed Media Art Board 12"x12"

Ken Oliver Crafts Harvest Pumpkin Stencil 12"x12"

Color Burst Burnt Orange, Orange, Yellow Ochre, Olive Green and Burnt Umber

#10 Robert Simmons White Sable Round Watercolor Brush

Black Frame, Canvas Corp.

I didn't include links to the projects...please ask your local retailer to order them for you or do a quick google search if you don't have a local retailer.  You'll find lots of options.   

This little painting will look great in your home from now through Thanksgiving...and your friends will think you're a watercolor genius!

Thank you again for stopping by today, I hope you've picked up a little inspiration and will try water coloring with Color Burst and stencils.  

Til next time,

 

Color Challenge: Turquoise, Chartreuse, Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber

Hi everybody,
This past week, our color challenge was to use the colors Turquoise, Chartreuse, Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber on a project or work of art.

It's a great color palette to use and a little unexpected...

...but it works because it's an analogous color palette, or, the colors are beside each other on the color wheel.  (Burnt Umber is neutral). 

And, I've been amazed by the projects that everyone has submitted.  They're all just stunning.  At first, I thought I'd randomly pick a winner.  But, the works are all so beautiful, I couldn't choose one myself, so I would like to put it up for a vote.  Please vote for your favorite by commenting with the Number and Name of the project that you would like to vote for.

1. Milagros C. Rivera

 

2. Milagros C Rivera

3. Lauren Bergold

4. Lauren Bergold 

5. Kathy Davis

6. Emilee Grupp

7. Pam Miner

8. Lisa Smith 

9. Ayoti Mittra

The voting is now open and will remain open until noon, 12:00 pm, August 31, 2016, so you only have 1 day to vote.  Feel free to share this blog post with your friends to let them see the color palette we worked with and give them the chance to vote for their favorite.  Tomorrow, I'll count the votes and name the winner here and on my Facebook Page. The winner will receive a set of Color Burst Caribbean Brights. 

Thank you again to everyone who took my color challenge this week. I'm planning to have another color challenge really soon!

'til next time, 

Ken

Analogous Color Palettes...Color Challenge, Turquoise, Chartreuse, Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber

Hi Everybody! I hope you're having a fantastic day!

I don't know, but,  if you're like me, but every now and then I see a color palette that really gets me excited.  Recently, I noticed that the Color Burst colors Turquoise, Chartreuse, Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber look fabulous together! And I wanted to challenge myself to create some work this week with this color palette.  

The challenge is pretty easy, just create something that you like, using these 4 colors.  You can create anything you wish, a card, a mixed media piece, a collage, a painting, a tag, a scrapbook layout...heck, knit a scarf using these colors together! You'll love the result! 

Here's why this color palette works, it's an analogous color palette, that means these colors are beside each other on the color wheel. So, because their made of blues and yellows, when used together, they create a very harmonious color effect that is cooling, relaxing and peaceful. You can see below, on this example, how the colors fall beside each other on the color wheel.

So, let's see what you can do with these colors!  Try creating something with this color palette and post a photo on Ken Oliver Crafts on Facebook! I'll share the photos as they're submitted.  I know you'll love creating in this color range!

Our color challenge will be open through Monday, so you have the weekend to play!  On Monday afternoon, I'll select a color challenge winner and send out a set of Color Burst Caribbean Brights to the winner!  

Your entry can be any kind of art that you wish! 

Just create something! 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!

Have a great weekend!

Ken

Ken Oliver June Challenge Day 5

It's day 5 of sharing projects from the team on our June Challenge. This months theme is 'Vacation' and you have a chance to join in too and win a pack of Ken Oliver Color Burst.

To participate create a 'Vacation' themed project using Ken Oliver products along with any other products and mediums you choose.  To submit you can either email your entry to sharon@kenolivercrafts.com, post to Facebook and tag #kenoliverjunechallenge or add your link to the project in the comments at the bottom of this post.  Deadline for Submissions is July 12th.

(p.s. we are working towards introducing an inlinkz option to future challenges, thank you for your feedback.)

Hey did you know that we are having a Creative Team Call?.

We are looking for Team Members who can work in all mediums, be

adaptable, relish a challenge, understand color and can work in a team environment to meet our various creative needs, deadlines &

requirements.

Full details on how to apply can be found here.

So for the final day of our team projects for this challenge we have Sharon Callis who has taken a page from a DCWV Coloring Book and used Color Burst to paint it in.  Bon Voyage.

Color Burst
Color Burst Liquid Metals
DCWV Color and Create Globetrotter Pad

Ken Oliver June Challenge Day 4

It's day 4 of our June Challenge, this months theme is 'Vacation', over the next couple of days we will be sharing creations from some of the Creative Team and you have a chance to join in too and win a pack of Ken Oliver Color Burst.

To participate create a 'Vacation' themed project using Ken Oliver products along with any other products and mediums you choose.  To submit you can either email your entry to sharon@kenolivercrafts.com, post to Facebook and tag #kenoliverjunechallenge or add your link to the project in the comments at the bottom of this post.  Deadline for Submissions is July 12th.

(p.s. we are working towards introducing an inlinkz option to future challenges, thank you for your feedback.)

Hey did you know that we are having a Creative Team Call?.

We are looking for Team Members who can work in all mediums, be

adaptable, relish a challenge, understand color and can work in a team environment to meet our various creative needs, deadlines &

requirements.

Full details on how to apply can be found here.

Todays we have not one but two fantastic projects from Nikki Davis, the first is somehting we will all recognise i'm sure, a great watercolor of Big Ben and the second is something we could all use, a savings jar for our vacations.

Supplies

Color Burst

Water Media Paper

Mod Podge

Tissue

Glass Paint (for writing)

Twine