Goldfinch on Cone Flower

It has been a while since I have painted with my palette knives. Doing a very similar painting to one that I recently painted with brush really allowed me to compare the way I paint with each. When I went at the prior painting with a brush, that is exactly what I did, just went at it. On the other hand, for this painting I made grid lines and did an under drawing with pencil. Not as fun, or as loose, but I still love the result.

8x10 on 1/8" Museum Quality Panel

www.halliekohnart.com

Husband

Normally when I do a painting, I make grid lines and draw it out with a good amount of detail. For this one I did a sketch in yellow with my brush and just got right to it. I kept intending to switch to palette knife along the way, but was liking it so much I just stuck with the brush. I have to say, painting so loosely felt awesome. Must. Do. More. Often.

Years ago my husband and I had a pair of goldfinches in our yard, and I always referred to them as Husband and Wife, thus the title. I did a painting very similar to this one in 2009, and knew it was time for an update. He is paired with some coneflowers, which are one of my favorite flowers. This painting just makes me happy.

12x12" oil on 1/8" museum quality panel/brush

www.halliekohnart.com

Hummingbird on Bee Balm

Deciding what to paint is often a challenge for me, something that I know a lot of artists struggle with. When this happens I typically go through all of my photos (over and over again) looking for inspiration. However, there are often times when I get tired of my selection or nothing is really calling to me.

Luckily, I was inspired by the little visitors we've had to our yard the past two weeks or so. I knew I wanted to paint a hummingbird, and my bee balm also started opening this week--which they love! It was a match made in (painting) heaven. 

8x10 oil on 1/8" museum quality panel/brush

www.halliekohnart.com

Tim's Vermeer

My husband and I like watching good documentaries, and I have to share this one with you since it is art related and is AMAZING. It's called Tim's Vermeer, and is about a man's quest to solve the "mystery" surrounding Vermeer's art. Johannes Vermeer is most well-known for his painting The Girl with a Pearl Earring, but that painting is not one of the ones featured in this documentary. 

A man named Tim Jenison is obsessed with Vermeer's art and shares some amazing details about the paintings and the artist. One unknown fact is who Vermeer studied with as an artist apprentice. Another unknown that is most important to this movie is that none of his very detailed paintings show any drawing lines or under paintings. He was a master of light and realistic paintings, and his art looked so realistic, they almost looked like photographs. How was this possible?

I don't want to give too much away, but if you haven't seen this yet, I highly recommend watching. I think anyone could appreciate this movie, not just painters. My jaw hurt after watching it.

Golf Cart Companions

This was a commissioned painting done using brush instead of palette knife. I think once I become more comfortable painting people (this might be my third painted person), then I would love to try using the knives. It would definitely require me painting a looser representation, something I know would be fun to work on more.

8x10 oil on museum quality panel/brush

www.halliekohnart.com 

Color Blaster?

One of my siblings showed me a picture and asked me if I could paint it for him. It was during the time when I was almost done working on more of a high-pressure piece, and so I thought it would be a lot of fun to paint. His picture wasn't with palette knife, or any paint throwing, but mine is! 

It's painted with acrylic on a thick box canvas with light gray edges. The background is stark white with lots of paint and thick texture. I used fluid acrylic paint (rather than heavy-bodied as for the white) and did the paint throwing outside. My boys got a kick out of it! 

30x40" acrylic on 1-1/2" canvas

www.halliekohnart.com

My husband captured a photo of the flinging bit.