Carol Keene

"Peony Demo"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on panel 

I taught a two-day knife workshop in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin last week. The ten attendees were, for the most part, watercolorists with a willingness to learn to: #1 paint vertically  #2 paint with thick acrylics  #3 use a painting knife  and #4 paint on a black background. None of these things were at all like what they were accustomed to.  

Below are two photos. One is from day two of my workshop.  The women are holding their second paintings. Many of them began a third or fourth — wishing for another few hours of painting time, or perhaps another day.  

The last photo is of me with Texas artist, Qiang Huang. Qiang was teaching a workshop in the neighboring town of Lake Zurich at the Mainstreet Art Center.  Since he had traveled so far, and I have followed his blog and his career for years, I stopped by during his lunch break to meet him. His oils are inspiring and Qiang is getting the recognition he so readily deserves. Director Frankie Johnson brings in the BEST artists from around the country.  I've taken several workshops there. Find out more about Qiang here.  Learn more about Mainstreet Art Center here.

Watch for a musical slideshow of my own workshop on tomorrow's post. My husband and I finished it tonight, but we would like to save it for tomorrow. 

Day two of my knife workshop 

Meeting Qiang Huang