Karen Budan Fine Art Blog

A Change in My Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:37:00 +0000

A couple of months ago I moved my websdite to a new hosting site, Fine Art Studios Online. The service includes a blog, but I continued to use my Blogger account for my blog and linked it over. I have decided to begin using the blog that comes with my website. This will require you to go to the new blog location at www.karenbudanfineart.com/blog and once again sign up for an RSS feed to continue receiving new posts in your e-mail. I apologize for any inconvenience.....but this will give you access to other sections of my website quickly if questions arise from reading my blog entries. I posted my latest entry this morning about my weekend at the Scottsdale Arts Festival. Please check it out!

Happy Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 02:48:00 +0000

I have been very frustrated in the last few weeks that my schedule has kept me from focused time at the easel. All the activities I have been consumed with have been great experiences that I very much wanted to engage in.....but I have missed painting. I participated in an art festival in very cold and rainy weather....but I still enjoyed talking about my art with the hearty souls that braved the elements. I also coordinated a week long workshop for the Arizona Pastel Artists Association with Richard McKinley. I have worked with Richard for a few years now but each workshop is a great learning experience. This one was no exception. I have also been preparing for a workshop I am teaching this next week. All of this will be culminated with two art festivals the next two weekends. All of it great......but it is not the same as being able to spend time at the easel.....and I can't wait to get back to my painting. So in the midst of all this hectic activity I received a letter in the mail today that put a big smile back on my face! My piece, "Radishes" was juried into the Pastel Society of the West Coast's Pastels USA International Pastel Show. I am thrilled as I am working towards signature status in this very prestigious pastel society. One becomes signature by being juried into three Pastels USA shows. I now have two of the three as this is the second year in a row that I have been juried into the show. With this great news I can relax and enjoy the next few weeks of non-easel based activities. Life is good!!

Arizona Pastel Artists Association Spring Juried Show

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 14:09:00 +0000

I just received notification that all three of my entries for the spring juried show in Sedona were accepted! I am tickled as Richard McKinley is our judge and I deeply respect his opinion. This was a hotly contested show as we had more entries than for any show in the past. I was just hoping to get one painting in.....so the notification was definitely a nice surprise! The three pieces juried in were "Pear Study", "Red Roses", and "The Line Up". The show will be judged for awards while Richard is here for our workshop at the end of the month....but we will not know the results until the actual show the last two weeks of April. Talk about building anticipation!!!

Radishes

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:59:00 +0000

"Radishes" is the latest artwork to leave the Budan easel. I planned to leave fruits and vegetables for awhile.....but I had this piece in my mind and decided to bring it to life before moving on! This is the first painting of vegetables that I included any of the grocery store labeling....but I thought it added a little interest to this composition. This is an 18 x 24 piece....and required the use of a lot of red pastel!! Good thing I had just gotten all my new Ludwig pastels won in the Pastel Society of New Mexico national show. Now I am headed back to my new series called "Fun and Games". "Marbles I" was the first in this new series....but there is more to come! Enjoy "Radishes"!

Festival of Fine Art

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:41:00 +0000

My first art festival of 2011 is just around the corner. I am participating in the Sonoran Art League's Festival of Fine Art the weekend of Feb. 18th through the 20th. Stagecoach Village in Cave Creek is a great location for an art festival and I have my fingers crossed for good weather! If you are in the area please plan to come and enjoy the festival. I will have some of my newer paintings with me that I would love to have you see. As you can see, my painting "Artichokes", was one of the pieces chosen for use in the advertising for the festival.....always a compliment! I hope to see you there!

Marbles 1

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:22:00 +0000

I have always been fascinated by some of the pieces people have done with marbles.....so I decided I wanted to do one. I loved the colors of the marbles themselves and even more I loved the reflections in this setup. It is a small piece....6" x 6". I created it with an upcoming miniature show at a gallery in Scottsdale in mind to possibly enter. It came out to my expectations so I think I will enter it and see what happens!

Chile Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:15:00 +0000

Chile Peppers is the second painting that I started during the Hidden In The Hills Open Studio Tour and Sale. I had fun with the reflections on this piece. For me the paintings come alive when you start adding the highlights and the lights in general. This is a 12 x 16 painting that I wish I had done in a larger format. Maybe I will still do that at some point. Enjoy!

Exciting Night!!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:17:00 +0000

In a previous post I had mentioned that I had both of my entries successfully juried into the Scottsdale Artist's School Best and Brightest Show. I had applied for the last two years and did not get in. At that time I was doing landscapes. Since then I have switched to still life which turned out to be my genre! Last night was the opening reception. Bob and I arrived to a crowded reception to find that my piece, "Market Colors" won an Honorable Mention! To top it off.....both of my pieces had red dots on their labels meaning they were both SOLD! They sold during the VIP preview for the reception. "Market Colors" was purchased by one of the Scottsdale Artist's School Board of Directors.

Definitely an exciting night!!!!

Final painting of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:07:00 +0000

I know this is January.....but I did not have time to do a posting prior to leaving for our Hawaii trip over the holidays. I was running around getting last minute things done.....one of which is getting this piece to the framers to take advantage of their sale pricing on framing. This is my final completed painting for 2010. I have another piece that is close to completion but will be finished in 2011. Both the pieces were paintings I worked on as a demo of pastel painting during the Hidden in the Hills open studio tour and sale. It is fairly easy to do the initial layers of a painting with constant interruptions, but when I get to the point of final layers and bringing the painting together I need to focus. As a result I planned on starting a piece each of the two weekends. This piece is titled "Apple Slice". I had a lot of fun painting the cut portions of the red apple.....it was easier than I thought. The slight browning effect was actually achieved with a yellow green color! I was pleased with the results.

This piece and the next piece of chile peppers, which I plan to finish in the next few days, may be the closeout of my "fruit and vegetable" period....although I can't say fruits and vegetables may not be a component in future paintings. I have a hankering to paint some still life pieces that are southwest themed. I have a few ideas floating around in my head that I am excited about. Stay tuned to see where it goes.

Sonoran Arts League Small Works Show & Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:28:00 +0000

Each December the Sonoran Arts League holds a juried small works show in their office/gallery. Again this year I had a piece juried into the show. I don't usually paint that small as the maximum size for an entry was 35 sq.inches which is basically a 5" x 7" piece. However, as shared in a previous blog I painting a color study of a single pear with this show in mind. The show includes over 200 entries in a variety of mediums. If you live in the area and have a chance....stop by the show. You may find the perfect gift for several people on your gift list. There is no better gift than original art!!

Hidden in the Hills Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Well, my second Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour is now under my belt. After a day of breakdown and couple of days of rest I can look back and reflect on this year's event.
First and foremost is how happy I was to be in an indoor setting this year! I had a great time at the studio I was at last year....but I was outdoors on a back patio. I took my art down each night and worried about wind and rain each day. I lucked out last year in that I only had rain at the very end of two of the days while I was removing my art. This year the Sunday of the first weekend was on and off rain all day. There were a couple of good downpours and even a little wind. The Sunday of the second weekend was very cold and windy....yes, even in Arizona we get some cold fronts that come through. I was very glad I wore tights under my jeans and brought my gloves! Both weekends I would have been desperately protecting my art if I was still in an outside setting! Thank you Toni for inviting me to be a part of your studio with an indoor setting!!
My second reflection is one that is very gratifying to me as a pastel artist. With only a couple of exceptions, my visitors were all familiar with pastel as a medium. This is a big change from past years where I spent a lot of time explaining what pastels are and how they are used. I even had people coming into my booth and saying "Oh, I love pastels!". Definitely gratifying! It follows the resurgence of the popularity of pastels both nationally and internationally that is occurring.
A third reflection is how much I enjoy talking with people about my art. Although festivals and open studios are a lot of work, the opportunity to talk with people about my art makes it all well worthwhile.
A final reflection is how much I learn spending long periods of time with fellow artists in an art setting. We share strategies and resources for making art and marketing our art. I learned last year with the folks I was with and again this year. Fellow artists are so generous with their knowledge and experience....it is truly a great group of people to be a part of!
Well, I am already thinking about modifications of my presentation for next year and how I will use what I learned for my next art festival which is the Sonoran Arts League Fine Art Festival at Stagecoach Village in Cave Creek in February. I am hoping for great weather and lots of folks to share my art with!

Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:59:00 +0000

The first of the two weekends of this year's Hidden in the Hills is in the books. I am so very happy in my new location. Last year I was at a studio where my location was on the back patio of the host artist. My host was wonderful and I had a great time with my fellow artists.....but I was outdoors. I took my art down each night and worried about the weather each day of the event. Two of the days we had rain at the end of the day as I was taking down my work and trying to get it into my car unscathed. When my friend, Toni, called to invite me to exhibit at her home/studio with an indoor location this year I couldn't say no. I miss my former studio mates.....but I am so-o-o-o happy in my new location! I am once again working with a great group of artists (actually not sure I ever met an artist I didn't like :-)). However, the bonus is setting up my booth and being able to leave it fully set up for the full two weekends of the event. At the end of each day we shut the garage door and my art is safe and sound from weather and any other risks! This was really brought home to me yesterday as it rained most of the day with some wind to factor in as well. I would have been in deep trouble on the patio in my former location. In my new location I was safe and dry.....albeit a little chilly as the storm front brought colder temperatures. Here is a picture of my booth. We had great traffic this weekend despite the weather on Sunday and I am looking forward to next weekend!

Scottsdale Artist's School Best and Brightest Show

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:32:00 +0000

I received the exciting news today that both of my entries to the Scottsdale Artist's School Best and Brightest Show were juried into the show. The two pieces are "Market Colors" and "Ripe Strawberries". In addition to the show being on display at the School from January 8th through March 15th, it will also be on display at the ten-week Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona. The artwork will be rotated on a regular basis from the School to Celebration and back. Definitely exciting news!

Breaking the Rule with "A Pair of Pears"

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:04:00 +0000

My last two paintings, "A Pear of Reds" and "A Pair of Pears" break one of the basic rules of composition. The rule is that there should an odd numbers of objects in a composition. In the first painting, "A Pear of Reds", I flat out forgot this rule as I played with my setup of the pears I was so enthralled with to get one I liked. In fact I did not even realize it until I was in the middle of this second painting, "A Pair of Pears". Oops!!! At least I caught my own mistake (I comforted myself with this thought). Then I decided I liked the two paintings for the color and the warmth.....so I am not going to try to change them......I am going to consciously break the rule. That's what rules are for.....right??? I plan to have them as part of my display of paintings for sale at the upcoming Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour. I wonder what visitors will think of them. It is going to be fun to see what the comments are......I will let you know! Here is "A Pair of Pears".

A Pear of Reds

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:04:00 +0000

I am continuing my current love affair with pears. I had fun with this title...."A Pear of Reds" for two pears that encompass a variety of shades of red. Pears are not my favorite fruit to eat....but they are definitely fun to paint. I love the warm and yet vibrant colors of the various pears and the nice round shapes. I have one more I am hoping to finish tomorrow.....and then it is time to move on to something different. Not sure yet what it will be....but right now warm reds, oranges and yellows are catching my eye (maybe the cooler temperatures are impacting my choices). Let's see......warm reds, oranges and yellows........hmmm.....that does not really narrow the field that much....I guess I will be as surprised as you!

Pear I and Pear II

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:28:00 +0000

I did something a little different with my latest painting....I mean, paintings. I wanted to create a painting to possibly enter (if it came out good) in the Sonoran Arts League Small Works show. Paintings for this show are limited to a maximum size of 35 sq. inches. I set up a still life using a pear with rich red and orange gold colors. Once I set it up and took some photos I decided I would really like to add it to my upcoming open studio tour. So I painted two paintings of the pear in two different sizes ( 7 x 5 and 12 x 9) at the same time. I did the two backgrounds at the same time and then moved to the pears. They came out pretty much the same except for the scalloped edges of the cloth they are setting on.....not sure how that happened....but I ran with it. What made it even more interesting was that I painted them on two different pastel papers. Pear II (the 7 x 5) is painted on UArt paper in 400 grit. Pear I (the 12 x 9) is painted on Wallis paper. I found myself becoming very aware of the difference in the two papers. The Wallis paper has a coarser texture with a touch of variety in the texture across the paper. The UArt was very consistent and felt finer even though it is the coarsest grit they offer. I found I leaned towards the UArt....although I certainly plan to continue using Wallis. Here are the two paintings on the easel, then Pear I (12 x 9) and last is Pear II (7 x 5)

Talk About Being Thrilled!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:35:00 +0000

I received a phone call today notifying me that my piece, "Artichokes", won the 5th place award in the Pastel Society of New Mexico's National Show! The award for 5th place is a gift certificate from Terry Ludwig for $500 in pastels! I have truly died and gone to heaven!!!! Ludwig pastels are one of my very favorite pastels and I use them extensively. Life is good!

Limes

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:56:00 +0000

I am continuing to work hard to get pieces ready for this year's Hidden in the Hills (HITH) Open Studio Tour which takes place the last two weekends of November. You may recall that I had entered three pieces in the Pastel Society of New Mexico National Show with the hopes of getting one piece in. I never dreamed all three would get in in! I was excited about that success......but also concerned about losing three of the best pieces from my inventory as opposed to one piece for the upcoming HITH. Aaawwwggghh! I have been painting every chance I get! I just finished "Limes" this morning. It is 24" x 18", a size which usually takes me a couple of weeks to complete. "Limes" was finished in one week! It helped that it did not include as much detail as my previous larger pieces. I am pleased with the results......but have to move on to the next painting! Enjoy!

Red Roses....at last!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Red Roses was one of those tough ones. It is a larger piece at 24" x 18" which means it took more time simply because of the size. However, when I had completed the painting......the first time....I was not really happy with the results (image on the left). I was happy with the fruit in the bowl and the pitcher....but I felt the roses looked flat and the whole piece just didn't meet my expectations. I knew something was wrong....but wasn't sure what to do. So I called a good friend who is an excellent artist as well as a great teacher. I sent her the image and we brainstormed. Her first reaction was not one I wanted to hear since I had labored over it. She felt my shadow competed with the actual pitcher of roses. She suggested I think of presenting the shadow as on a wall much further back so it wasn't so "in your face". I didn't want to let the shadow go....but as I digested her comments I realized she was right. When I talked about the roses being flat we talked about adding more contrast to the roses themselves....but also the possibility of darkening the background.....hmmmmm.....hadn't thought of that! Maybe I could address both issues with a change of the background. Another thing she pointed out to me was that she was confused about the rose on the table.....but it was because she couldn't see the stem as it was in the shadow of the bowl. That would be an easy fix. I left the painting to work on another piece while I continued to think about how to address the background. I looked on the web for pieces by still life artists I admire to see how they did their backgrounds when there were reds in their setups. Finally, I was ready for the redo! I completely changed the background, spent a lot of time adding more contrast to the roses and ended up changing not only the stem of the rose on the table...but the cloth itself underwent a transition. A lot of work.....but now I am happy!!!

Art Challenge 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:41:00 +0000

I once again signed up for the Arizona Pastel Artists Association Art Challenge. Last year's experience was a career changer for me as shared in previous blogs. This year the objects for the challenge were two creamy white ceramic bird salt and pepper shakers. I had a lot of ideas for paintings around the objects....but decided to go with a little sense of humor. My son and daughter-in-law gave us a wonderful handmade wooden birdhouse a few years ago. It is beautifully decorated with greenery and pine cones. It was so cute we kept it indoors as decoration instead of putting it out for possible use by real birds. I decided it was the perfect house for my newly obtained salt and pepper shaker birds! I set the scene up and added a couple of rocks from the yard and some additional greenery. I changed the name on the mailbox from "The Birds" to "Mr. Pepper & Mrs. Salt Bird"........and that became the name for the piece as well. I can't wait to take it to the November APAA meeting to share and to see what the other participants chose to do with their set of salt and pepper shaker birds!!

APAA Artist of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:38:00 +0000

Each month the Arizona Pastel Artists Association holds an Artist of the Month Competition at our monthly meeting. The winner of each month's competition is eligible to have their winning painting compete for the Artist of the Year honor at the end of the meeting year. At the October meeting I entered my most recent painting, "Ripe Strawberries". I was excited to have the painting bring me the Artist of the Month award. I am now eligible for the Artist of the Year competition.....as long as the painting does not sell in the meantime. Oh well....a good home for my painting is more important than an award.......right????

Taste of Cave Creek 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 23:13:00 +0000

Wednesday and Thursday of this last week I participated in the Taste of Cave Creek. The Taste of Cave Creek has been an expanding event over the last few years. This year the town decided to add an art exhibit and sale. They approached the Sonoran Arts League of which I am a member to provide the exhibit. I coordinated the exhibit as well as exhibited my own work. Considering it was the first year for the art exhibit, the event was a great success. The artists participating were hoping for sales of course, but realized that as it was a first time event getting additional exposure was the big goal. However, many of us sold artwork to our surprise. I sold my landscape piece, "Bulldog Cliffs" to a couple from Illinois who have a second home in the Cave Creek area. I also have a couple of follow-ups that may result in additional sales. This was the first event of the art season in the Valley of the Sun for most artists....and if this event is an indicator.....this year should be a much better year than the last couple for selling art. Above are a couple of pictures of my setup.

Ripe Strawberries

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:10:00 +0000

I have been working on a 24 x 18 painting of a still life setup that is giving me problems. I conferred with a painting buddy who gave me some insights and made me think about the piece. I think I have decided what to do to fix it....but also decided I needed some time away from it to let my ideas "percolate" a little more. I set it on an easel at one end of my studio to look at every now and then. In the meantime I decided to paint a piece that I have had waiting in the wings. I decided to do this piece in a smaller format and ended up with a 9 x 12 size. The blue towel was fun to do but the strawberries took a little longer than I thought they would. I wanted them to be painted in warm, luscious colors. As a result I struggled with the highlights....what color to use for the highlights. I ended up using a light warm yellow and then an almost white warm yellow for the final highlights to get the look I was after. Enjoy "Ripe Strawberries"!

Excitement, Excitement!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 23:30:00 +0000

I just received notice that all three of my entries were accepted into the 19th Annual National Exhibition of the Pastel Society of New Mexico. The show will be hung from November 5th through the 28th at the Hispanic Arts Center at EXPO New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. The selection judges were Patti Andre', Aaron Schuerr, and Sally Strand. The judge of awards will be Clive Tyler. The three pieces are: "Vine Tomatoes"; "Artichokes"; and "The Line Up".

Time to Think and Reflect

noreply@blogger.com (Karen) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:36:00 +0000

This week my husband and I rented an oceanfront condo in Carlsbad, CA to celebrate our 36th anniversary. It has been a very relaxing and peaceful week overall. We spent some time in antique shops looking for still life objects and in general driving around checking out the area. A highlight for me has been my daily walks on the beach. It is definitely cooler here than in Scottsdale, AZ so even in the bright sunshine in the first half of the week the walks were quite pleasant with the breeze off the ocean. However, the second half of the week we have been pretty much socked in with marine layer (fog) all day or most of the day. This made for very interesting morning walks as I found I even needed a jacket. But.....a plus has been the fact that such an environment of few people, inability to see very far in any direction, and the sound of the ocean leads to introspection. I found myself doing a lot of thinking this week. I thought about how I came to painting after retirement totally enthused about plein air painting. I thrived on being outside with friends painting the landscape. I have worked with some of the top plein air pastel landscape artists in workshops. My inner soul thrived on being out with Mother Nature......but my frustration with my painting was a constant. Although I saw great improvement and I certainly learned a lot.....I never felt that I had met my potential for a painting. Interesting enough I had done some still life in classes....but saw them only as a stepping stone for better landscapes. I also was not driven to paint in the studio....only to be out with friends in the field. I was collecting a large number of unfinished paintings begun in the field and never finished. Then I signed up for the Art Challenge with the Arizona Pastel Artists Association. In previous blogs I talked about how you receive an object and must somehow incorporate it into a painting. My object was a glass goblet.......how do you incorporate a goblet into a landscape meaningfully??? I didn't......I set up a still life to simply fulfill the task......and this has changed the direction of my art totally. It came out so good I wanted to enter it into a show....so I did a second one for the challenge. I loved that one.....and it got into an International Association of Pastel Societies show. Suddenly I found myself planning my next painting as I was working on one. I found myself eager to get into the studio and paint. I think I have found my niche. I still love being outdoors....but I am not driven to paint it.....I am driven to paint setups that I create. I have total control over setting up a still that speaks to me and calls for me to paint it. I think part of it is the fact that I like to paint realistically and to a level of detail that creates problems in landscapes. I was constantly working to paint more "painterly". But I am a "type AAAAAAAAA" person (that is not a typo)....very organized and detail oriented. This is an asset in still life. I do not have to try to change what I am but apply my innate way of operating to the principles of a solid painting. Thus the comfort level and inner satisfaction. Yes....reflection and thinking is good....it helps you to see where you've been, where you are.....and provides goals for where you are going. I am going to miss the foggy walks on the beach as I head back to my beloved Scottsdale, my 2 little Italian Greyhounds (Emily and Jasmine), and my studio with a half done painting calling for me.