Kate Innes Contemporary Acrylics

I will miss seeing all of you! Keri and I always saw this weekend as our kick off to summer. This year, Janet Whittington, the amazing jewellery artist was going to join us. For now, I will make lemonade out of lemons...

Bidding opens on Monday! Once again, the artists of Oxford County are generously supporting this worthwhile cause. All proceeds to United Way of Oxford. PLEASE SHARE.

Thank you to everyone who purchased a painting during my "Studio Tour was Cancelled" sale. Seven pieces are going out to homes in Ontario and the US! That is the best motivation of all to keep doing what I love to do! There are still several 24x24 pieces available at 25% off. Contact me for details.

"Sea to Sky" is headed to It's new home in Oklahoma.

"Point of Sail" 24x24

5 sold today! Thank you for your wonderful response to my "Studio Tour Cancellation Sale". These are the paintings that are still available... Contact me for details

"Filtered Light" 24x24 will be part of the April United Way online auction to benefit the United Way of Oxford. Links to follow.

"Studio Tour is Cancelled" sale continues... 25 % off all in stock paintings These three northern wood inspired pieces are 30x30 inches. Reg. 900. The first one on the left is now sold.

Summer at the Point 24x24

Work space. It ain't pretty, but it works for me. Sure I dream about dedicated studios surrounded by windows and I did create some space for painting at our cottage, but my reality is, that I make a mess. When I was painting on my main floor my paintings were much more controlled and less painterly. This space allows me to splatter, dab, squirt, swipe and yes, paint to my heart's content. I have LED lights installed to help eliminate colour distortion.This photo is actually the neater side of my room.

Another 24x24 abstract in my jazz inspired series... "Mood Indigo"

Well it's official. The Oxford Studio Tour is a go for the first weekend in May 2021. All precautions will be in place. It will be SO NICE to see everyone!!! Working on a new collection of 24x24 inch abstracts.

Let's talk about colour Once again, this is just my opinion, but I believe that colour choices are the single most important decision when starting a painting. In the past I would ground my canvas in a warm neutral tone and then dive right in. Today I force myself to make a colour plan often with the help of colour chips I've collected from paint shops over the years. Often, the first comment I hear from customers is "I love the colours"! Discovering interesting colour combi...nations and understanding the power of neutrals and colour value is a valuable tool. If I mix a colour that I don't love on the palette, I dont use it.( What I will do is scrape it up and put in my "sludge pot" to mix up to paint the edges of my painting.) I have discovered that I am much happier with the final product when I stick to a colour plan. I broke that rule last week on an abstract with predictable results. I was really pleased with the composition, but the colour combination was a big, fat "meh". I gessoed over it.... See more

Blog - Abstracts It must be Covid, but I've had an overwhelming urge to explore non-representational art. I personally find this type of painting to be the most challenging. I would never really feel comfortable teaching a class in abstract art because for me the process is quite organic. I get started and just kind of follow my instincts until I am happy with what I see - which usually involves lots of layers and stepping away from the painting for a day or two. Good abstract is not random. It has been said that you need to understand the rules in order to break them. I will admit that I have seen LOTS of abstract art that does not speak to me on any level but then there are those pieces that just stop me in my tracks - and therein lies the challenge.

Hello! And Happy February! The beauty of painting, is that I get to change up my art on a regular basis. This one has been hanging in my home but I realized that I need something bigger. If you are interested in purchasing this piece (30x30), I'm selling it for half my regular price. Treat yourself to a Valentine's bouquet which will last all year round! Only 450. PM me if interested. ALL PROCEEDS TO THE INN OF OXFORD COUNTY.

So cool to find one of my licenced paintings posted on Instagram with this commentary...

Blog - Laying your ground Canvases usually come with a layer of gesso in place to give you a smooth white finish. Because I work on wooden surfaces, I apply a layer of gesso for the same reason and it provides a barrier that stops the surface from absorbing your paint ( think of paint primer)After it dries, I give the board a light sanding because the gesso tends to raise the grain of the wood, making it quite rough. At this point I lay my "ground" or base layer. The ground ...provides an undertone for your painting and generally I find that a warm tone is the most versatile. For this purpose, I often by large jugs of student grade yellow acrylic paint that I can tint with small amounts of burnt sienna or red as desired.At this point you can you can use a darker version of your ground colour to rough in your composition. Some artists routinely use a red or even bright pink ground which often peaks through with spectacular results! You can water down your ground layer of paint for semi transparent coverage but don't add more than 30% water as you may end up with subsequent layers of paint flaking off. As you can see in the attached photo, I premixed my ground in a pot - I ordered a bunch of these pots with snap lids to use when I need to mix up large amounts of paint. You can even use a house painting brush for this purpose and just apply your paint in a loose and painterly way for more interest. Then leave it alone until it is COMPLETELY dry. I often do it the night before to be sure. Questions or comments?? This is quite a vibrant ground - but I plan to have only glimpses of it showing through in the final painting.

https://robertburridge.com/ I mentioned Robert Burridge in my last post. I was lucky enough to attend one of his workshops about 10 years ago in New York. This week long workshop really changed my approach to painting! When we come out on the other side of this hibernation, I encourage you to check out painting workshops that are available - from one day in Ingersoll to 10 days in Tuscany In the meantime, check out this link - Bob has some great tips!

A good friend asked me about creating semi-abstract paintings. As artists we fight the urge to reproduce a literal rendering of what we see. I know some artists will rely on programs such as Photoshop to create interesting versions of their photos before they paint. The original impressionist artists of course didn't have Photoshop in their box of tricks, so they squinted at their subjects which broke the scene down to the very basic elements, eliminating details. When I te...ach classes, everyone brings a collection of little brushes to capture the details. If you wish to adapt a more "painterly style", I suggest you put away all of your small brushes. Try painting only with brushes 1 inch and larger. My favourite workshop instructor Robert Burridge often attaches 2 foot extenders onto his paint brushes! Talk about loose! Impressionists were also masters of interpreting the light in a kaleidoscope of fabulous colours. More about that later See more