Art and Design by Sarah Kellington

  • “Fat over lean” (It’s not cooking advice)

    “Fat over lean” (It’s not cooking advice)

    [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]There are a bewildering array of products for mixing your mediums and cleaning brushes, even when you’re only looking at one type of painting. Each oil has distinct properties, every paint manufacturer has their own trademarked medium, and everyone has a favorite combination they swear by. When it comes down to it, though, every…

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  • Nancy’s Fiddle: Adding some excitement

    Nancy’s Fiddle: Adding some excitement

    I started this painting in January, did one more session to correct some mistakes, and then abandoned it for a few months. I let it lie partly because I was busy, and partly because it lacked a certain something. Life’s too short to work on a painting that bores you, unless you’re being well paid.…

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  • Painting Planning

    I attended a music workshop last night that happened to be in held in the space where Quartet is hanging, and one of the students brought up the artwork as a way to describe a musical concept (which thrilled me no end). The discussion made me realize what’s been missing in the violin portrait I started…

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  • Crocus

    Crocus

    The species crocus that were buds two weeks ago are in full bloom.

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  • Capitol City Press Tour

    Capitol City Press Tour

    Yesterday I went to the Capitol City Press open house with my day job office. Cap City is an awesome employee-owned more-than-full-service print shop, and they’ve added quite a few new capabilities since I was last there. The tables for the catered lunch were made of falcon board,  which is basically corrugated cardboard’s much beefier…

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  • Sketch of Spring Snowdrops

    Sketch of Spring Snowdrops

    The snowdrops have been blooming in the back yarden for a week, and today I saw crocus buds. It’s nice to see the yarden waking up. I’ve been playing with my new phone camera, too, collecting inspiration and references for future paintings. The color balance and automatic exposure are better than the old one, and…

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  • Bright red columbine

    Bright red columbine

    This is from last night, and took about 45 minutes, complete with mistakes. No sketch first, which contributed to the ‘mistakes’ part. It’s all mixes of golden acrylics’ cad red (hue – I think the pigment is napthol) and titanium white, on one of the brown panels I prepped this weekend. It’s supposed to be…

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  • Paintings start out ugly

    Paintings start out ugly

    It’s been over eight years since I last used oil paints. Yesterday, after a year in my new studio, I finally got brave enough to get them back out. I like to paint on panel, rather than canvas, and I usually make my own. It’s cheap, but it adds a significant delay to starting any…

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  • New painting sketches

    New painting sketches

    I’ve been in my studio for almost a year, but have yet to break out the oil paints. Now I’m one step closer. The sketch is based on a photo I took a few months ago.

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  • Revisiting Old Art

    Revisiting Old Art

    Friends of mine in Portland own my second-ever oil painting, a still life I started as a university and revisited and finished a few years later because they wanted it and I was mortified to think of displaying it as-is (or as-was, I suppose). When I finished the painting, I painted the edges of the canvas black… except…

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