Autumn Trees and Abstract Strokes

I have always enjoyed the abstract quality of working with watercolor. Putting down the colors  and letting them mix randomly on paper is what I love best.

However, working in oil presents a bigger challenge because you have to apply the paint more directly than with a watercolor medium. 

I had some luck with this small oil painting of an autumn tree. Lots of paint, mixing on the canvas and random brushstrokes gave me more of an abstract quality with just enough impressionism to satisfy me.

Below is the finished 10" x 8" oil painting of one of my favorite autumn trees.

"Finally Fall"

Krys Pettit

Oil on canvas panel, 10"H x 8"W

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Creating a Portrait of Hands

"Hands of An Artist"

Krys Pettit

Watercolor on Archival Paper

Private Collection

I typically paint commissioned portraits of houses and buildings, something I enjoy doing because I feel I connect with a client, though the dwelling or the memories they have of a certain structure or place.  Most recently I was given a unique opportunity to create a portrait commission of a fellow artist's hands, truly a different subject than I am used to doing, but equally as connecting and emotional as any other personal portrait. 

I was moved by the request from my friend and at the same time a bit challenged. The objects in the hands  have special meaning to this person and they needed to be placed in the hands in this specific way, capturing a moment in time when they fell into the open palms.  

Originally we discussed creating a black and white drawing but I felt delicate washes of watercolor would tell the story better than the just black and white marks. The washes were kept simple and light but added the right amount of complexity to the painting. 

We often think of portraits of faces, but other parts of our bodies are unique and define us, like the hands of an artist. 

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Oil Painting - Who Needs a Reference Image?

"Driving Into Autumn"

Krys Pettit

Oil on Canvas

 8" x 10"

I have worked from my own images for decades. I have stacks of reference photos.  Files of digital images.  Books with painting ideas.  Sometimes is a just too much for my creative brain and I want to just paint. 

Artists rely on memory more than we care to admit. All those years of sitting in the car observing while my husband drove gave me a memory palace better than any photo file. "Driving Into Autumn" took about 90 minutes to do. Loose, impressionistic and fresh. It's that scene in the mountains in October I am looking forward to seeing which exists only in my mind.

Below some images of the progression of the piece:

Ready to paint after putting in some basic shapes and colors. Cotton candy colored sky not my fav.

Adding some darker colors in the middle and lots of orange and green for trees

Loving how the orange, green and red hint at fall leaves turning in the distance

Starting the finesse the mountains in the distance with cool lavender, blues and greens. Add more color to the sky for a mood -- sunrise or sunset?

Suggested more variation in the mountains in the distance, pumped up the sky a bit and added some colors in the foreground. 

And that's a good day in the studio.

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Exhibiting in Virginia Avery Memorial “Reflections II” Juried Art Exhibition

"Edge of Autumn"

Krys Pettit

Watercolor on Paper

14"H x 20"W

"Windswept"

Krys Pettit

Watercolor on Gesso-coated Paper

11"H x 15"W

I am very honored to have two of my original paintings shown above chosen for exhibit at the Virginia Avery Memorial “Reflections II” Juried Art Exhibition sponsored by the Art Committee of the Atlanta Branch of the The National League of American Pen Women. It was open to all Georgia Women Artists and exhibit dates are August 1~21, 2020. 


It is rare to have an actual physical exhibit lately in the Atlanta area because of the challenges of COVID so I am particularly delighted to have my work physically on display with a talented group of women artists. The exhibit is at the Bowen Center for the Arts in Dawsonville, Georgia, about an hour north of Atlanta.

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

New Work in the Gallery

"Wisteria Spring"

Krys Pettit

Acrylic on wrapped canvas 

11"Hx14"W

I just dropped off new work at the gallery that handles my paintings in Decatur Georgia. Wild Oats & Billy Goats is a fun, relaxed fine art and craft gallery just outside of Atlanta in the cool town of Decatur, Georgia. 

Kim is the manager over at WO&BG and she knows how to showcase the artists over there. She does a super job of curating all beautiful creations in the shop. Window displays and items constantly change and it's a delight spend an hour (or two!) in the Gallery.  Wild Oats has a great web site and Kim will be happy to ship my work to you.

Here are a few more of the new pieces I recently dropped off with Kim:

"Oaks and Azaleas"

Krys Pettit

Watercolor on wrapped canvas

10"H x8"W

"Red Buds in the Spring"

Krys Pettit

Acrylic on wrapped canvas

10"H x 8"W

"Still Working"

Krys Pettit

Oil on wrapped canvas

11"Hx14"W

Check out my other paintings available at Wild Oats & Billy Goats:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Watercolor in an abstract way

Picked this piece up after about 4 year. I avoided it -- too abstract for my style at the time. 

Now might be the time to get back into playing with color and shapes. Here is how it went to finishing it (and trying to remember what I had in mind those many years ago).

"Hiding in Paradise" © Krys Pettit

watercolor on paper, 15"H x 11"W

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist

Painting Happiness

"Nestled" watercolor of wisteria by Krys Pettit

11x15 inches

I have not been actively blogging for a while.  Taking classes, growing my online presence with my artwork devoured my time. Then COVID came along and altered the way art is shown.  

Many art organizations I belong to have stopped or limited on-site exhibits.  The gallery I am part of in Decatur, GA continues to thrive so my work is available there. I work available online in Etsy and on eBay and of course my commissions keep me busy. 

But like so many of us the personal contact and interaction is missing. That makes my job of communicating in person with collectors and art supporters basically not happening.  

I am filling the gap of non-communication with blogging once again. I've done a tremendous amount of work in the last 6 months and I'm happy to share it here.

 I will also be sharing works in progress, what inspires and motivates me. This will help me create more work and continue my growth as an artist. Some of my job is the craft and the technique.  And the evolution and challenge of getting the painting done are something I am happy to share -- we all need someone to occasionally complain to  :).

I tried to analyze why I paint and a big part of it is to bring something unique to a viewer and collector.  It may be joy, sorrow, contemplation, pride -- the emotions vary. In the end my job is to create something that resonates with you. I look forward to being on that journey with you. 

Visit my website for a sampling of my work and custom house portraiture:

https://www.kryspettit.com

Wild Oats and Billy Goats is a great, eclectic fine art and craft gallery in Decatur, GA and I am thrilled be a part of their tribe:

https://wildoatsandbillygoats.com/collections/krys-pettit

Etsy is a great marketplace for fine art and craft and I have had my store there for a number of years.  You'll find prints and my medium-sized oils, acrylic and watercolors.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KrysPettitArtwork

Looking for art to fill your home and within budget?  I regularly put out studies, smaller works, and older pieces for auction at my eBay store.  It's fun to bid and win and I keep the work varied and fresh:

https://www.ebay.com/str/kryspettitartist