Category Archives: art

Inspiration Monday, a collage! Art Journal for March 2013

I have created my first art journal page of the year, friends! I really wanted to work on a collage piece, for I was just itching to tear up paper. My intention was to have a mellow background with stark foreground. I am not sure I achieved this, but here is my first “Passion” Art Journal page for 2013! I am really hoping this is going to turn into a weekly post series, Inspiration Monday! I am trying, I promise. We were all sick here for 7 weeks, with only 3 days well in the middle. It wasn’t cool, but we are back in the runnings folks! Anyways, here is the art journal page: I used paper, torn into strips for the background. I tried to use only yellow and gray, but then the red just sort of happened. Do you think I should’ve stuck with a lighter background, and maybe used red flowers instead? Then I painted flowers and the word “Passion”. As I’ve somewhat mentioned before “Joyful Passion” and “Spreadable Joy” are really my phrases for the year. I am hoping that my upcoming posts will help encourage joy in your life and life experiences, both play time and work time. I believe finding your passion is key to helping you be joyful. And I also think that you can choose joy in a situation, too. If you have a passion for something though, I feel like the joy won’t have to be chosen or worked at. It just appears! That is what I hope to help you find and inspire you through my art. Or inspire you to make art for yourself that instills this passion and joy! More to come in the future on that, though. For now, let me leave you with this to think about: What are the things in your life that you find yourself losing track of time while you are doing? You know the thing that puts you in the blissful state of mind and suddenly four hours have passed. One of these things, for me, is painting. I get a paint brush in my hands and suddenly I realize I was supposed to be in bed hours prior. What is one of these things for you? Later, Kate

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How to Bring Focus to Your Life!!!

This post “How to have Bring Focus to Your Life” is a continuance from my previous post. I talked about how I am going to work on making a daily practice of one idea and theme that has been revolving around my world and making occasional (noticeable) appearances! This is how I figured out what that theme was: Step One, I think, is to determine WHAT you love.  WHO you want to be. WHO you would like to be like.  I love people with a passion for what they do. I think that people who are passionate are more successful in the long run. I love what I do. I love spending the day with my kiddo. I love creating anything really. I am very content, but I still felt like I was rudderless. (To be clear, that’s not actually true, I do have True Direction in Jesus. He is more like the river that I am speeding down, though. He guides my life, but I often seem to misplace my rudder in the day to day goings of my life. Sad, but true. I think I have figured out how to install a permanent rudder so-to-speak.) So… Step Two, Work backwards. I found some people that I admired and tried to figure out WHY I admired them and WHAT it was specifically that I wanted to emulate. Passion, check. But more than that, passion for God and passion for others. Positive outlook. I want to INSPIRE. Step Three, look at where those elements you admire intersect with one another. Then look at where that intersects with you are right now. Start there and expand. This is where I am at right now. Right now, I have been swerving all over the lines of intersection. But by narrowing down to a few elements that I want to live by and that one common thread that I see in everything that I want and by moving forward with a specific purpose, my ducks should all fall in a row! I am not saying there isn’t going to be work, there will be lots of it. But it will be fun, so on to what my goal moving forward is: Yes, this is a very unoriginal idea. But I don’t think that’s bad! I painted these letters for my studio and have plastered phrases with joy all around my life to remind myself all the time. I am also hoping that this new focus will spill into my blog. You will see thinks about: Choosing Joy. Spreading Joy. Creating Joy. Living Joyfully. While this is a personal step and goal, I want this for you too. So I hope you join me. Yes, we already have some joy in our life, yeah! But there is always, always, always room for more! And I feel like the more purposeful joy I have in my life, the less junk. This isn’t so much about change as providing specific direction. A lens, a perspective! I realize that this seems like a very simple outcome, but you can make it as specific as you want. In short, figure out who you want to be and what it would take for you to get there. <Spread Joy> Kate

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Bird Commission Painting now on Etsy!

In case you were wondering what I’ve been up to – I have just listed the 3 paintings from a recent commission that I completed and am allowed to post! Woohoo, she loved them! They look awesome in her nursery too! The decor is a butter yellow and light gray with white and black accents. It fits, don’t ya think? <heart> Kate

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Digital Art for PPF

Hi Dear Readers, Wow, life has been busy for me. What about you? Do you just get overwhelmed with family stuff during the holidays, too? Thankfully I have still been able to work on my art during this time, but its mostly been digital stuff at my other blog Drawings and Illustrations. I have been throwing my digital art up on that site, because I really felt that my digital art didn’t really belong on this site. But I have decided that it does. This is a part of  me, this is my brand and I play with digital stuff, too. I will be honest and tell you that part of the reason it’s on that site is that my digital art is not yet where I want it to be. BUT I also decided that that doesn’t matter. Sometimes its a good thing to have your community alongside you as you try to learn something different. So, yes, it isn’t what I’d like it to be, but its getting there. Most importantly though, I am loving working digitally and I am having a blast! (It is a lot easier for me at this time with a small kiddo to not have the full blown paint mess to clean up, etc…)I have also finished those commissions (more soon) that I was working on that had also been taking up my traditional painting time … in other words, I am planning to move forward with both painting styles still, and I will hopefully have time for it again at least until Christmas! p.s. please let me know what you think about my decision? Is it ok to have traditional craft/painting, digital illlustration and childrens art all in one place? I mean it is all very much me and my passion and I’d love for it to all be in one spot. Is it too much though?

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KMericks Work in Progress: Birds & PPF

Just wanted to share the current state of my work in progress. Most likely, the whole painting will change immensely minus the concept. Its just the very first rough of the painting. I love to sketch in paint almost more than in pencil. Sometimes I feel like I lose something from that initial sketch to final product, and when I eliminate the pencil stage it usually feels fresher. We shall see, we shall see! Happy PPF!

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Featured and Reviewed at Tight Wad in Utah

KMericks Etsy shop is featured again online ! Woo hoo! Click here for a review of KMericks Art art print! Aimee says such sweet things about her print. I’m so excited that I had to post this immediately! Note: She is offering a giveaway, so go look and see how you can win!! ******Ends October 17th. (Because she is going to have a baby end of October!)          

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New Girl Face Painting

Yesterday, I was overwhelmed by the state of my studi0, and I just started cleaning, reorganizing, rearranging, etc… It felt so good! Then before I even really knew what happened, I had (apparently) sat down in my chair and started painting, because I set my brush down. And lo and behold, look what I had painted. Without planning or thinking or realizing it even. Definitely different from my other paintings so far, but also very me. I am still deciding whether I will list her or not, but for now, just enjoy her freshness with me, will you? I really love her pink hair, I had actually started with a lighter background and added pink hair and loved it. But it remember thinking that only I really wanted pink hair, so I played around with a lot of colors, some natural some not. But in the end, I just decided to have fun and have pink hair. What do you think?  <heart> Kate P.S. I realized that I lost my signature in my move to the new blog design, ack! Never ending edits. I think I subconsciously like having things to improve on constantly.

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Appeared on Donna Downey Studios “Simply Me” Blog

KMericks Studio is all over the web. You can find me here! I took some screen shots to include below. I am beyond thrilled that Donna from Downey Studios mentioned that she loved my sky diver! Woo hoo! If you haven’t checked out her Art Brush Project, you can find it at the link I listed above and on Pintrest.

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Featured Illustration on Writing and Illustrating Blog by Kathy Temean!

KMericks Studio is on the web here! I took some screen shots to include below. Writing and Illustrating with Kathy Temean is one of my favorite blog reads currently. She is always posting new and relevant information about the book publishing world.  If you are interested in children’s book publishing world and you haven’t checked out Kathy Temean’s blog Writing and Illustrating, you are totally missing out! September Illustration Submission for Writing and Illustrating Blog

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Busy Busy Bear Painting

I know I’ve not kept all my Interweb Peeps in the loop, but I have been working fervently here in my shop that last few weeks in efforts to get my shop stocked more fully by the end of the month. Below is an image of the cute 4″x4″ canvases I am currently painting. A couple of things are happening in October-ish (hopefully) – a product review, a shop highlight, a giveaway and possibly a mention by Donna Downey for sending in a paintbrush for her paintbrush project. If you haven’t already, you really should join in! Loads of fun. Here is the brush that I sent her and hopefully will see soon on her site! Yes, you have seen that phrase before, but I just love it and what it means! Don’t you? I also have a bear painting that I’m working on, which I actually had to redo. (It looked a little too realistic and more scary than cute the first time around). I am totally loving where it is at right now, though, and it should be finished pronto! I am totally forgetting something major, I just feel it… But I can’t remember and its bed time. Until next time!

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