I'm Growing and Opening a New Studio!

 I had no idea what to expect when I moved back to Indiana about 2 years ago...I knew I'd do something, I just wasn't exactly sure what it would be.  Having left the comfort of a corporate job...it would be a new chapter and a new beginning. 

 

When I moved back, I found the ideal location to live and work.  I live in a historic building in Newburgh, Indiana, on the banks of the Ohio River.  It's perfect...my town has quite a few antique stores, a few artists, a few galleries, great restaurants, friendly people and amazing water views every day of the year! It's really an incredible set up! I have loved every minute of it and not once regretted "ditching" my corporate job and moving back to "small town" America.   

Yet, at the same time, I am outgrowing my present space!  There are times when I need to have help kitting for classes...my current studio is on the 3rd floor, so it's not exactly conducive for moving boxes and boxes of art and craft supplies...and there's not a lot of room for additional people to help me do my business...and, routinely, I get requests to stop by my studio for a visit.  I've had guests from all over the USA, from New Zealand, and this year the Director of the Indiana Board of Tourism even paid a visit to my humble little studio.  

So, when the office space, on the first floor of my building became available...I jumped on it! And, I am so excited about what that's going to mean for me and my business...I'll be able to do a lot of things that I've only dreamed about until now.
 

It's my plan to develop a working studio where I can host gallery nights and pop up exhibits.  There are so many wonderful local artists whose work needs to be seen. I am planning to work with The SW Indiana Council of the Arts to make this happen!
My new space will also allow me to develop a space to create videos and more online content.  I could not be happier about everything my new space will allow me to do! It's not my intention to be a retail store, with regular hours...at all. I'm a hippy artist and keeping a regular schedule ain't my bag these days. Instead...it's my goal to create a maker space that will allow me to expand on the things I'm already doing...and I think it's gonna be pretty dang cool.

It's all really new, and happening really fast...I get the space around the first of November...and I can't wait to get started.     

 Make sure that you're following me on Facebook at Ken Oliver Crafts to see more of how the plans come together!

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 a Card with Cut 'n Color Stamp and Die Sets, Tree of Life

Hey everybody, I hope you're having a great day! I am having an artful day in my workroom, creating shaped cards with my newest die and stamp sets...this set is called Tree of Life.  You can use the stamp and coordinating dies for lots of projects ranging from cards to mixed media art.

These sets are beautiful and intricately detailed.  I designed them especially for coloring.  You can color with Color Burst, watercolors, or your favorite markers.

To get started, I stamped the Tree of Life image on my Water Media Paper from Canvas Corp. with Archival Ink.  You'll want to use a permanent ink that it waterproof and won't run when you color over it.

 



 Then, I colored using my newest Color Burst colors, Rich Moroccan Shades.  The color palette is beautiful and includes Cadmium Scarlet, Cerulean Blue, Gamboge, Olive Green, Burnt Umber and Lamp Black.  And, I colored with a watercolor brush and water. 

 

When I'd finished coloring, I cut a shaped card from my Water Media Paper and cut out the colored image with the die set. Before I cut the die, I applied Stick It adhesive to the back side of the Water Media Paper...it really makes gluing intricate die cuts very easy. 

I made a couple examples for you to see...one with a background of Cerulean Blue, and one with a background of Gamboge.

If you'd like to see how I made these cards, please watch this Facebook Live broadcast from my Facebook page Ken Oliver Crafts. And, make sure to LIKE my page.  

The stamps and dies are brand new and will ship next week, so make sure to ask your local retailer to pre-order them for you.  You will love coloring and cutting these dies! 

 Thank you for stopping by today!  I hope you have a wonderfully crafty day! 

Ken

Color Challenge Winner

Hi Everybody...

Thank you again to everyone who submitted art last week for our first Color Challenge.  The palette we worked with was a beautiful palette of Turquoise, Chartreuse, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Umber. 

This weeks winner is Ayoti Mittra from the UK.  Thank you Ayoti for submitting your wonderful artwork.  I follow Ayotri on Instagram and Facebook and I always love seeing her work.

Thank you again to everyone who participated! And make sure to leave a congratulatory note for Ayoti in the comments below!

Be on the look out for our next color challenge! I'll be sharing it soon! 

Til next time, 

Ken

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

Creative Team June Challenge Winner

Hey everyone apologies for the delay in picking a winner, as you may be aware from Ken's Facebook posts he is currently on his travels teaching workshops and spreading the magic of Color Burst. We will be announcing our New Creative Team as soon as we can but in the meantime here is the winner of our June Creative Challenge.

Congratulations Emilee Grupp

While we organise our new team there will be no July challenge, however feel free to email sharon@kenolivercrafts.com with links to any of your color burst projects, we would love to see them.