Hydrangeas in Shadow and Light - Different Strokes from Different Folks

I started working on a commission today and needed a break so I thought I'd do a quick study of Karin Jurick's challenge this week in her blog Different Strokes from Different Folks.

It didn't turn out too bad - it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone special.

Hydrangeas in Shadow and Light
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.8cm)
Pastel on Velour
$100 plus $10 shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

To see more of my work please visit my website Karen Hargett Fine Art

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer by Mary Fairchild

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.

We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.

For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,

For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.

So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! God Bless.

2008 Christmas Card - The Lord Is My Shepherd

I know it isn't Thanksgiving yet and here I am featuring my 2008 Christmas Card but I have a good reason. I thought last year's card would be hard to follow - I love that donkey - but this one holds an extra special meaning for me and featuring it before Thanksgiving is very appropriate.

The 23rd Psalm is one of the first Bible verses I memorized as a child and much to my mother's surprise I did a little presentation during vacation bible school with felt figures on a board while reciting the Bible verse.

Today it is even more special to me. You see I have a very dear friend at work who has been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in August. It's not curable. It is a very elusive cancer as they can't determine where it started and is pretty much throughout his body. He was given 6 months to live. He is only 36, married and has a 5 year old son. In fact he commissioned me to draw a portrait of him and his son a year or so ago for his wife as present. He is one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet, hard worker, family man - all around good guy.

As you can imagine his life has been turned upside down. He has lost 75 pounds in just a couple of months. He has gone through radiation and is currently still going through chemo and with all its bad side effects and has really had a hard time with it. They have told him the doses they are giving him are three times the normal amount they usually give someone. He told me that when he feels like he can't go on, or the pain gets too bad, or when he gets down he prays the 23rd Psalm over and over. Saying that prayer has given him much comfort when nothing else has.

Friday he called to tell me the results of his CT scan. The good news shows that the cancer has stabilized! The bad news is the doctors have started him on another regimen of chemo more potent than what he has been going through already. My heart ached for him. Happy for the good news but I knew he was dreading this new chemo round more than ever. However, he still remains positive and in his words "is continuing the fight."

I have been praying for a miracle - specifically for him to go into remission but I'm oh so thankful for this small miracle and that his cancer has stabilized!

So you see, I'm dedicating this Christmas card to my friend and figured Thanksgiving isn't such a bad time to feature it after all.
To see more of my work please visit my website Karen Hargett Fine Art

The Blue Door is Back - Version 3

I just couldn't leave well enough alone - OK. This painting has been bugging me - a lot! After making the alterations in the second version it looked too plain to me - as if it needed something. So logically. . . I added chickens.

The second version doesn't exist any more - but I have chickens now and I think I like it better. The chickens aren't quite as red as they appear here but they are Rhode Island Reds.

The Blue Door
8" x 10" (20.4cm x 25.4cm)
Pastel on Velour
$75 plus $10 shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

I promise I won't be adding any more to this - the tooth of the paper is almost full and probably won't take much more pastel. I really am finished this time.

The Blue Door - New, Different Improved???

After some critiques on the Blue Door in another forum I took the piece I had done and redid it somewhat. The Blue Door showing here no longer exists. I took out the fountain, the bird, the rock border, the grassy area and added some shadows and lights. I hope it works because I'm done!

City Walker aka Upside Down Walker

This is another of Karin Jurick's challenges on Different Strokes From Different Folks. We were given a photo reference with instructions to paint the painting upside down - well at least 90% of it anyway. So that is what I did! I didn't stand on my head or anything like that - just turned my reference upside down and painted. I did sketch the woman out upside down before blocking in the color color upside down but it was quite fun. I found I wasn't too concerned with what I was painting - just the shape.

Actually in the past, I've turned my graphite drawings upside down from time to time to see if I had gotten all the details or to see where I was off but I've never painted something from the start upside down.

I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out except for the face. My velour board is only 5"x7" so the face is pretty small - couldn't get the nose and shape of the face with my fat pastel sticks so guess what - a gust of wind blew her hair in her face! I also changed the shadow a bit because in the reference photo it looked like she might have x-ray vision the with way the light appeared to be coming from her glasses and it creeped me out so I moved it. It's great to be an artist!

These challenges of Karin's are just that for me - a challenge. They are usually not subjects that I would paint but I'm learning something with each one and enjoying doing something different. Thanks Karin!

The Blue Door

This is the results of a challenge on Wet Canvas by Jo Castillo. Jo had come out to the art club I belong to, Artists of the South Corridor, and did a pastel demo for us. She is a really neat lady, talented too. I started following her blog and saw beautiful photo she had posted of a blue door for the southwest challenge on Wet Canvas. I had to do it. So here it is.

I'm not sure I'm finished but wanted to post it. I'll put a price on it in a day or two when I've decided I'm through painting.

To see more of my work please visit my website Karen Hargett Fine Art

Multicultural Artists Partnership Holiday Exhibition

If you are in the Austin area, please be sure to stop by the Real Gallery on 2824 Real Street in Austin. I will be participating in the Multicultural Artists Partnership Holiday Exhibition. All work will be for sale.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, November 15 from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm and runs through Sunday, November 16 from noon to 4:30 pm. There is a reception on Saturday, November 15 from 1:00 - 5:00 pm. Admission and parking are free.

It will be a great way to start your holiday shopping, meet some local artists and enjoy some live jazz music.