Charlie: April 21, 2009

"Charlie" is a 5"x7" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Rhododendron: April 20, 2009

"Rhododendron" is painted on a 5"x7" sheet of 140 lb. watercolor paper. The background is a wash of watercolor; the flower is acrylic. I used this as stationery and mailed it to my mother-in-law.

The reference photo of the rhododendron was taken by Jeanette Jobson. It was submitted for Virtual Sketch Date, a monthly blog in which artists are asked to create a work of art using the same reference. Results are posted on Flickr.

Wiley: April 18, 2009

"Wiley" is a 5"x7" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Wiley (progress): April 16, 2009

"Wiley" is another Yorkie, in progress. In this state, he looks like he's trying to hyp-no-tize you. But don't worry. His warm cuddly spirit will emerge in no time.

Mountain Goat (finished): March 31, 2009

It's finished! Maybe. I'll have to live with it for a day to see if I want to make any changes. "Mountain Goat, Hidden Lake Overlook, Glacier" is an acrylic 11"x14" painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Mountain Goat (progress): March 27, 2009

I worked on this until bedtime on Friday so it was too dark to photograph the progress that day. And then, this weekend was super busy. I finally got a photo taken late this afternoon (Sunday). Some of the foreground has been laid in.

Mountain Goat (progress): March 25, 2009

Great progress was made today!

Junior Duck Stamp and Website: March 24, 2009

Today, I, along with 4 others, had the priviledge of judging the Junior Duck Stamp Competition for Montana. We gathered at the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge in Stevensville and spent 4 hours pouring over all the entries. It's very exciting to see the talent that our young artists have. They ranged in age from kindergarten to high school. The best of show entry will go on to the National Junior Duck Stamp Competition in Washington, DC, in April.

In other news - I now have an official website! It's been long in coming so I'm really excited to have it done. It's still a work in progress but I do have the basics - a gallery to showcase my work, an "about" page with my biography and artist's statement, contact information and news about current, upcoming and past show. You can visit it at www.KianaFecteau.com.

Mountain Goat (progress): March 20, 2009

Some of the detail in the mountains has been put in.

Mountain Goat (progress): March 19, 2009

This is the beginning of a new acrylic painting "Mountain Goat, Hidden Lake Overlook, Glacier". For the underpainting, I used a wash of acrylic paints thinned down to give a watercolor effect.

Juliette (complete): March 15, 2009

"Juliette" is a 4"x6" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Juliette (progress): March 14, 2009

This is Juliette. She's a Yorkie in acrylic, in progress.

Glacier III (finished): March 10, 2009

"Glacier III" is an 11"x14" acrylic on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Glacier III (progress): March 9, 2009

This is coming along. It looks a bit ghastly because of the swaths of wild color on the lower third of the painting. That was done just to get some paint on the surface. It will be followed by more exacting colors and shapes.

Glacier III (progress): March 7, 2009

Some of the shadows and highlights have been put in on the mountain.

Glacier III (progress): March 6, 2009

I only got a little done on "Glacier III" today. The Olde Coffee Mill in Stevensville, Montana, called needing an artist to show for First Friday, which is tonight. Their previously scheduled artist didn't work out so I put up my paintings and a few of my husband's photographic prints. They will be on display through the rest of the month.

Glacier III (progress): March 4, 2009

This is an acrylic painting (in progress) of a scene along the Red Rock Lakes Trail in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park, Montana.

Even More Bike Rack Designs: March 2, 2009

These are the last of the Bike Rack Designs. The designs themselves are 15" in diameter painted and drawn in ink on freezer paper.

Lake Louise, Canada (finished): February 26-27, 2009

"Lake Louise, Canada" is an 11"x14" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper. The reference is a photo by Debbie Later for the Virtual Sketch Date blog for February 2009.

Lake Louise, Canada (in progress): February 25, 2009

This is an 11"x14" acrylic painting in progress. This is part of a project for the Virtual Sketch Date blog and the reference for February 2009 is a photo of Lake Louise, Canada, taken by Debbie Later.

More Bike Rack Designs: February 21, 2009

Here are a few more designs for the bike rack competition. The following are the guidelines:

-The design should be in black (any media) on white paper or poster board.
-Design should fit in the top two thirds of a 15” circle. The bottom third must remain empty space. Please include the 15” circular frame in your design.
-The design has to be a bold silhouette that may be cut out of metal and is reversible. (No numbers or letters).
-The image should reflect the local history, natural world, landmarks, activities, etc. that are relevant to the Stevensville Community.
- The design should avoid having sharp edges, points and small openings that once cut out of metal could be dangerous for small children.
- There is no limit to the number of design entries from one artist.
- Deadline: Wednesday, March 4, 2009
- Include with your entries: clearly printed name, address, email and phone number(s). Submit entries to: Bike Rack Design Entry, Stevensville Main Street Association, 102 Main Street, Stevensville, MT, 59870.

Bike Rack Designs: February 17, 2009

These are some designs that I have created for a bike rack design competition which is sponsored by the Stevensville Main Street Association and the Stevensville Art & Sculpture Society. These were drawn with ink on freezer paper.

Chair: November 3-5, 2009

This small child's chair was painted with a bird theme with eggs, feathers, seeds, birdhouses, a nest and tracks. This chair will be auctioned off at the Red Shoe Ball on February 13. The ball benefits the Ronald McDonald House in Missoula, MT.

Rooster redo: January 23, 2009

The background for this rooster has been softened.

Roosters: January 21, 2009

These roosters are 4"x6" acrylic on handmade watercolor papers.

Roosters: January 16, 2009

Two of the roosters have been done except for the foreground, or grass beneath them, which I will do once I get all three roosters completed.

Aliens and Roosters: January 13, 2009

I redid the alien for my son. He wanted it bigger and with a wider stance so I adjusted the legs for him.
I also began three 4"x6" paintings of roosters on handmade watercolor paper. I plan to mount these paintings in floatframes in which the paintings are pressed between two sheets of glass and mounted in a frame. So instead of a mat creating a space between the artwork and the frame, there will be clear glass, thus the color of the wall behind the framed painting will act as the mat. This will show off the rough edges of the handmade paper.