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Tuesday, September 27, 2016

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,

 


Monday, September 26, 2016

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


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

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

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

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

Friday, August 26, 2016

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



Tuesday, July 19, 2016

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.


Sunday, July 3, 2016

Ken Oliver June Challenge Day 6

It's day 6 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.


Today's Challenge inspiration comes from Dunja Ducker, how beautiful are these flip flops !, made using color burst, the Mandala Stamps and water media paper.




Supplies: