Gethsemane (March 11, 2013)

Closeup

As seen on leather flap

"Gethsemane" is 6.25"x8.5" acrylic on a custom-made leather IPad case. This painting was copied from a much larger painting by Carl Heinrich Bloch called "Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane".

Sunflowers in a Blue Vase (March 8, 2013)

"Sunflowers in a Blue Vase" is 5"x7" watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper. This was a demonstration for my Beginning Watercolor class with Adult Education. The reference image was found at www.WetCanvas.com.

Refuge Barn I and II (February 22, 2013)

"Refuge Barn I" and "Refuge Barn II" are both 5"x7" watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper. These painting were a demonstration for both the Beginning and Intermediate Watercolor Adult Education classes. These demonstrate how different palettes of color can create different moods.
"Refuge Barn I" was painted using more muted tones: quinacridone gold, payne's gray and a touch of burnt sienna.
"Refuge Barn II" was painted with brighter tones: hansa yellow, phthalo blue and quinacridone magenta.

Elk (February 13, 2013)

"Elk" is a 5"x7" watercolor painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper. It was a demonstration for my Adult Education Intermediate Watercolor class which I teach each winter at Stevensville High School in Stevensville, MT.
As a challenge, I wanted to use random colors to paint the elk instead of using the true colors from the reference. I asked each student as they came in to class what their favorite color was. A couple said green and one said blue-green. Well, that wasn't going to be much of a challenge as I can apply those colors to the foliage.
Finally, the last student came in and said that her favorite color was pink. At last, how about a pink elk? So the colors used in this painting are opera (a bright vivid pink), phthalo blue and hansa yellow. The elk has opera, with blue mixed for shadows, and with yellow mixed for the sunny warm areas. The grass and trees are mixtures of the blue and yellow.
The original reference photo was contributed by an artist for the reference library at www.WetCanvas.com.

Molly I & Molly II (February 2 and February 18, 2013)

Both "Molly I" and "Molly II" are 20"x16" acrylic on stretched canvas. "Molly I" was done with an art nouveau-type stylized framing around the dog. I was trying something new and wanted to surprise the owner. It wasn't what she had expected so I redid the painting with Molly in a field of clovers which was more to the owner's liking.

Molly I

Molly II

Old School Desk "Spring" (January 13, 2013)

This old wooden school desk was painted in a spring theme with acrylic paint.

Getting Back to my Blog

Well, it's been over a year and a half since I last blogged here. I created my own website at www.KianaFecteau.com and began blogging there, but I miss my "blogger". I like being able to keep an account of all my paintings, good and bad, as well as any news relating to my art. Since I started here, I felt like I was deserting an old friend. So what I plan to do is update this blog with all the info that's on my website blog and with any newer information that isn't there (I'll be updating that blog as well). As I add the new posts, I will add the date of the painting or news in parenthesis in the title. That's mostly for my own reference and also for clarity.

Boz & Lucky: December 21, 2012

"Boz & Lucky" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Jack: November 11, 2012

"Jack" is a Troodle, a mixture of Irish terrier and standard poodle. This 8"x10" acrylic painting will be a birthday gift for his owner.

Spirit of Old Man Lake: October 8, 2012

"Spirit of Old Man Lake" is an acrylic painting approximately 5"x6" on deerskin. The images show a closeup and the whole leather piece.

Brownie: September 17, 2012

"Brownie" is a 22" x 28" original acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Lily: August 15, 2012

This is "Lily", my son's beagle. The painting is 11"x14" acrylic on stretched canvas.

Secret Garden desk: July 29, 2012

This is an old school desk that will be auctioned off this week to benefit the North Valley Public Library here in Stevensville, Montana. Seven desks were painted by local artists. This one, painted by me, is inspired by "The Secret Garden", a classic story written by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Br'er Rabbit: July 23, 2012

 This Br'er Rabbit leather checkbook cover is a collaborative piece by me and Howard Knight of Rocking K Custom Leather.

Howard is a master at tooling and creating one-of-a-kind custom leather work. 

Br'er Rabbit was first burned into the leather (by me) and then painted with acrylic paints. And of course most of us know about Uncle Remus's Br'er Rabbit made famous by Walt Disney.

Kirby: July 14, 2012

"Kirby" is an 11"x14" acrylic painting. He is a surprise birthday present. Shh!

George: July 8, 2012

"George" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Watercolor blocks: June 2012

"Leaves" was an experimental 11"x14" watercolor painting inspired by quilt blocks. The leaves continue through each block but change color within those blocked areas.

Playing with leftover paint: June 2012

"Feather" was an experimental painting using oil paint left on my palette after painting "Perseverance". The purple, yellow and green were in the flowers. I hated to see the paint go to waste so I scraped it off and applied it in blocks onto an 8"x10" canvas. I went for a trompe l'oleil (fool the eye) rendering of the faux grommets holding the color blocks together with faux lacing and stuck a faux feather in the lace. This was done in 2010, right after "Perseverance" was completed but I just recently signed it, officially claiming it finished.

Bigfork Bay: June 2012

"Bigfork Bay" is an acrylic 30"x48" painting. The reference photo was taken by Julie Helmer of Red Dog Photo Works.

River of Stones: March 24, 2012

"River of Stones" is an 11"x14" watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Noel: February 26, 2012

"Noel" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Maggie: February 20, 2012

"Maggie" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Jack the Movie Star

Jack the Bitterroot Beagle has posted an article about my portrait of him on his website: www.bitterrootbeagle.com. What a star!

Panda: February 3, 1012

"Panda" is a 5"x7" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Bosco: January 17, 2012

"Bosco" is a 5"x7" acrylic painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper. He is a Havanese dog.

Jack: January 8, 2012

"Jack the Bitterroot Beagle" is a 5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas. Jack is the star of two videos: The Adventures of Jack the Bitterroot Beagle and The Golden Bone. To see more about Jack and his sister, Jill, or to purchase videos, see Jack's personal website.

Killer Cobwebs: January 7, 2011

"Killer Cobwebs" is acrylic on a 12"x12" hardboard. This is a sign for someone's front door. In North Carolina, where I grew up, these Black and Yellow Argiope spiders were a treat to find. I liked to try to decipher the messages within their webs.

Five Bears: December 27, 2011

"Five Bears" is an 18"x36" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Monsters: December 2011

"There are No Monsters at Grandma's House" is a childrens' book by Kathy Dufresne, a retired teacher. She is writing stories inspired by her grandchildren. The illustrations of "Monsters" were done by me. They were created using mostly digital media. You can purchase Kathy's book and others on her website.

Tank & Sophie: November 5, 2011

"Tank & Sophie" is an 11"x14" acrylic on stretched canvas. This wasn't blogged about when I painted it because it was a Christmas present and I was afraid the secret might have gotten out. The owner of the dogs is a glass artist working with fused glass. She started with stained glass, thus the stained glass look of the painting. You can see her work at Amy Knight's Glass Obsession.

Bryce: December 17-18, 2011

"Bryce" is a 22"x28" acrylic painting on stretched canvas. Bryce was a constant companion and he passed away this year. This is a Christmas gift from Bryce's "dad" to his "mom". Every Christmas, I received a photo card from them. The photos always had Bryce---and only Bryce.

Lila's table piece: December 5-6, 2011

This is a wooden board that will be attached to a Lila's table. Her name and "Calico Critters" were painted in acrylic.

Jack: November 19, 2011

"Jack" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on stretched canvas. This is a commissioned painting for a Christmas gift. Jack is a very active chocolate lab.

Rez: October 15-17, 2011

"Rez" is a commissioned painting, 8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas. Rez was an abandoned dog that chose her current owner who loves her dearly. Rez is enjoying the large bone that her owner's previous dog had discovered and carried out of the mountains.

Dove: September 3, 2011

"Dove" is an 8"x10" acrylic painting. This is a commissioned painting of a beloved pet.

Clegg Winery: August 25, 2011

"Clegg Winery" is a 14"x32" acrylic painting on stretched canvas. Many thanks to the client who commissioned this piece.