2021 Building an art business in these crazy times.

Wow, I can not believe how much our lives have changed in 3 short years. We finally found our forever home in the beautiful Kootenays, gave up the hustle and bustle of corporate life, and have become semi-retired homesteaders. As I am not very good at downtime I needed to come up with something that fills my heart with joy as well as my free time. It has always been a dream of mine to have a dedicated art studio and a fantasy to have a gallery, Well this year, with the support and coaxing from my husband, I am finally making things happen.

One of the buildings is perfect for this endeavor, now we just need to find a contractor that will work in the middle of the boonies to bring my dreams to fruition. Until that time I am advertising as a working studio and so far from the visitors coming into or out of the States it is slowly garnering attention.

I took a few years off from selling and now I feel like I am starting from scratch, having to relearn all of the intricacies in building a brand, social media marketing, business development, and best practices for running a successful company.

So first things first, I am super stoked to announce that my website and online store will be opening on Monday October 11, 2021. I have been crazy busy this year putting together an amazing body of works that will be available for purchase in original, print and some will be made into wearables. Excited? I know I am. If you hop over to www.eclecticstudio.ca you will be able to view all available works. If you see something that you would like made into a specific product reach out and let me know and I will work with my design team to get you what you want.

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UNDER PAINTING IN WATERCOLOR - Grisaille underpainting technique

I chose to use a grisaille technique for the painting of this old man in watercolor. Grisaille is an old technique oil painters used to develop a monochromatic value study, kinda like a road map for your painting. This later served as a base for the addition of transparent layers of color. For this painting, I chose to use a limited palette of dioxazine purple, Naples yellow, alizarin crimson for the face with a pop or 2 of transparent orange and green gold at the end. **This is not a palette I would choose again and here's why. Naples yellow doesn't pack any punch and is opaque. This is not a great mix when you need to cover or mute the purple. Diox purple is also strong stainer, making it difficult to remove pigment. Sometimes this is ok, but didn't really help on this piece. I started this gentleman with an ink sketch that can be found in my Strathmore watercolor 400 series journal. I love the quality of paper in this journal but I wish it wou...

Granite tabletops

Well not really I have a fully stocked canvas corner.. but I just wanted to switch it up a bit. In our home we are all about the 3 r's. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle so when these off cuts of granite used for counter tops were dropped off at the bin at my husbands work he called and asked if I would be interested. Well I am always up for a challenge. These are 2 garden table tops. The black one is in my little corner of the garden and the pinky one is a thank you gift for all the perenials she filled my garden with this spring. :) She has no idea she is getting it but cant stop talking about the one in my garden. I cant wait to see her face.

Drawing an African Girl in a Turban step by step

Thank you for stopping by for another step-by-step tutorial on how I drew this African girl in a turban. I am not a traditionalist when it comes to drawing. I don't use any fancy tools or grids, gosh I don't even use a pencil, actually using a pencil or eraser has become a hindrance instead of a help. I start and finish all of my work in pen and upside down. Most of us have read or should have Betty Edwards Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain on their to-read list, well one of the most valuable lessons she teaches is flipping your work upside down. You trick your eyes into actually seeing what is in front of you and not what you think you see. Your mind is much better at picking up spatial changes, angles, and values much better when your mind doesn't label an object. As you see from the following example I keep my lines loose and flowing and I develop the overall shapes and form of my subject. At this stage, I am not worried about the details just the of the ...

Eclectic Studio - Tammy Morrison-Koenig

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