Studio Stories from our WAOW Artists

Denise Horne-Kaplan • Studio Stories

Denise Horne-Kaplan • Studio Stories

Susan Slomski

I've been drawing and painting most all of my life but the past 12 years I've been focusing on miniature fine art. I love the challenge of painting fine details of a complicated subject and capturing an emotion that draws you in.

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Susan Slomski • Studio Stories

Susan Slomski • Studio Stories

Susan Slomski

Whether large scale or small, I am always employing color theory, Triads or Tetrads, with a new dimension of limiting pallette. These two theoretical approaches together allow me to create dynamic colorful works that are visually pleasing to the human eye. It is a magnificent feeling when the color is working together with composition to create the desired effect. The large painting I am presenting here is entitled 'The Hills of the Western Slope', 24x36. It was debuted in March at the Open Studios Gallery at Cheyenne's Art Walk where I was also their Featured Artist. The piece elicited wonderful commentary and curiosity, folks felt as if they had been to the place itself some adding, "I know where that is".
I titled this studio story "Bringing the Outside In" as this is how I view my work - I carry my experience and engagement with the Western landscape back into the studio where the mystique and the grandeur are expressed on canvas, immortalized in both large and small scale works, founded in color theory.

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Debra Keirce • Studio Stories

Debra Keirce • Studio Stories

Debra Keirce

Today’s miniatures can be created in almost any 2D or 3D medium. Generally, the rule of thumb is 25 square inches or less for paintings and drawings, 8 inches or less for sculptures, and 1/6 life-size or smaller for subjects. Both representational and abstract art of all subjects are welcome, and most exhibitions are international.

If you've never considered "going small," let me share a few reasons why I continue to put so much love and effort into painting and drawing in little:

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Brenda Morgan • Studio Stories

Brenda Morgan • Studio Stories

Brenda Morgan

Leaving a Legacy

In a world filled with so much noise and strife, art, and the creating of art is how I relax. It’s how I rest my heart and mind. It is my therapy.

All genres of art have that ability, music is one of them. It enables me to relax and get lost in my work (my art). Some songs on my playlist are so beautiful that I listen to them every day as I paint.

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Laurie Pace • Studio Stories

Laurie Pace • Studio Stories

Treasures of the Heart
This morning I wasn't searching for a painting. I found myself searching for the artist I was at that time.

Back in the early days of blogging, around 2006, I was painting almost every day as part of the Daily Painters movement. While many artists were creating small daily works, I found myself filling larger canvases—18 × 27, 24 × 30, even 30 × 40—and sharing the journey through my blog.

Those years became more than paintings. They became books. Every year I gathered my artwork and the stories behind the different collections documenting my work and my life as a mom, a wife and an artist.

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Deborah Allison • Studio Stories

Deborah Allison • Studio Stories

It's a beautiful time of the year in Santa Fe, New Mexico! And it is also the time when Santa Fe artists open their studios to the public. There will be about 95 studios participating this year in one of the largest art communities in the US.

Though #38 is a small studio, I will have loads of artwork on display and for sale during the two weekends at the end of June. It is the perfect opportunity to see how I work and to ask any burning questions about my methods, color choices and inspirations. I will have my palettes, sketches and demonstrations on display as well.

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Debra Keirce • Studio Stories

Debra Keirce • Studio Stories

Debra Keirce

The team at Fine Art Studios Online asked me to be a guest speaker in a recent webinar. I write monthly articles that they share, about sales and marketing in the life of an artist. So, I was at once, happy to appear on their show, but also wondering what I had to say that I don't already write about.

Then it came to me - why not talk about the exact things I never write about? Why not have a discussion about all the things that artists don't say out loud? We are all thinking them. I'm sure of it. Yet, we never post or write articles about them.

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