MY STUDIO WORKSPACES

MY MAIN STUDIO

Alcove where I paint smaller art works. (above)

 Central area where I paint larger art-work 

(My 'apprentice' Bella sleeping on the armchair)

View looking out from my south facing window.

Daily I express my gratitude for our home and spectacular location. I have two studio spaces, the first has large windows all around with oodles of sun and daylight making it an ideal place to paint and photograph my work. (see photos above). My smaller studio serves as a storage room for the bulk of my art supplies, work in progress and completed art work waiting to be sold or to be exhibited.  With covered wide decks on the South and North sides, I am able to lay down super large canvases so I can literally throw paint around.

If you're a fellow artist, I'd love to hear about your own work-space and studio. 

INFERNO work in progress: day 3

Husband Ralph & I were looking at how it looks now .. he suggested I title it 'INFERNO' (was previously;Fire), said it looked like looking down into a volcano etc. So I am hereby giving him credit for the name.

'Shades of Pirongia' Exhibition (W.I.P.) - using Golden Open Acrylics

This series of works requires all the patience I can muster. I prefer to work on large canvases, my style being;  loose, liberated with large brush strokes, splashes, lots of paint and heavily textured. Echoing in my mind are my art tutor Pam  (Watson, Hamilton) words; 'open up... remember ... circles and sausages' and I chuckle as I write. Destiny served me well, causing my first tutor to be Pam, her teachings allowed my natural style to flow; I'm sure had I first attended a fine arts teaching institute my natural gift would have been 'stiffled' and possibly not even given birth. Back to the subject at hand;

Each piece from this series is on average 10 x 10 inches in size, portraying scenes from my local village, Pirongia. Being detailed and of the realism genre, I'm using brush sizes in the small range. As I'm quite short-sighted and prefer not to wear glasses when I paint, whilst I started this series with gusto and passion ... eventually my enthusiasm wore off as the work requires a lot of attention, is time consuming, intensive and thus stressful, mentally and physically. I get so focused as I sit with a table easel, that I tend to forget to take regular breaks, resulting in tension head-aches, eye-strain, neck and back ache. (getting old .. LOL). Initially I used Golden Heavy Body Acrylics, using the Golden Flow Medium to thin the paint. I considered using the Golden Fluid Acrylics but the Golden Open Acrylic range was released. The Open range, in tubes, is of a much thiner viscosity than the Heavy Body and the biggest benefit is they dry much slower, allowing easier blending. This is 'Alexander Tavern' as it looked last year. Check this post for updates,

INFERNO work in progress: day 2

2-3 hours work ... stroke by stroke, layer by layer the image on canvas develops like an embryo in the uterus.

INFERNO work in progress

Being an artist who's unafraid to share the creation process. Shapshot of how it looked at the end of the day Sunday 17th April.

CREATIVE WORKSHOPS - paint & sketching

Over the years; many have asked me to run workshops. Being a full-time artist I value my time not to mention the solitude required to focus on my own work. Finally after much deliberation, I've made the decision to hold 'CREATIVE WORKSHOPS' with the focus being on the fun side of creating art. The workshops will be held on week and weekend days. For those who do not have their own art supplies; these will be provided  at an affordable cost. Weather permitting there will be excursions to sketch, paint and photograph on location as well as visits to local galleries, cafe's and of course the local tavern; The Alexander Tavern in Pirongia. (Food and refreshments at your own cost).For those who come to the two day workshops, there is a variety of local accommodation available. The size of the workshops is limited to a maximum of 3 thus you'll need to book in advance. Dates and cost of the workshops will be posted soon. Please post your interest or email me at; mckenziedeborahnz@gmail.com. regards Deborah McKenzie

Blending and layers with Atelier Interactive and Golden Open Acrylic Paints.

I find it easier blending with these slower drying acrylics compared to standard acrylics. The only one downside is sometimes the paint seems to dry 'too slow'. As yet I haven't decided which of the two I prefer working with. Recently I used the Atelier range for 3 'practice' portraits done to better my blending skills. I was able to 'rework' a previous dried layer merely by brushing on a little water. When this was not what I wanted I learned to ensure the next layer was not 'watery'. When working in layers with Atelier Interactive paints I needed to apply each layer carefully and 'gently', to avoid re-activating the previous layer.

Blogspot for fellow-artists

I'm waiting for paint to dry .... listening to Van Morrison .... thinking to myself ... wonder what other artists like myself do when waiting for the paint to dry ... ???