Motion photography, taken at Rotorua lakefront for third assignment for Diploma in Digital Photography, Southern Institute of Technology.

Liked working with TV and with the camera on continuus shooting, trying to pan.

It looks like an Impressionist painting, don't you think?

This was on a windy day and the gulls loved being fed in mid air by this visitor

Flying in for the bread.

Coming in for landing

                                                                 Caught in mid flight

 Birds in motion.

                                                               At rest, motion shots over

I will be going back soon to the lakefront with my camera and tripod  I  will be asking more people from foreign lands to interact with the seagulls. It is my way of being free.

Gulls,  though over looked by many are quite beautiful creatures when you take the time to study  the texture of their feathers.  Visitors to  this country seem to appreciate them far more than New Zealanders do.
Just because something is common and always hungry, and scrappy, doesnt mean it shouldn't be appreciated.

Quotes from Jonathon Livingstone Seagull.
“How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!

““To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is,” he said,”you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived…”

10 reasons to take your 550D Canon SLR camera every day and keep on snapping.

The more you practise the better you get....

Acrylic Painting Class Lesson 5 Scraffitto and the Hundertwasser style, work on aluminium foil.

Heather Vail with her attractrive design, first she glued some aluminium foil on stetched canvas.

The family came to class with this already done because if you don't  do it a day ahead, the foil doesn't have time to dry and it can rip.

Ron Vail with his bird and fish.  Very dramatic.  Secondly they all painted their foil with black twice for good coverage.

Together we can achieve more with painiting as a family. 

Primary colours were used in the style of Hundertwasser.

 Bright,  happy primary colurs.

Hundertwasser was reputed to say that he had no use for the straight line.

Laleyna with her  funky cosmic looking creation.

After the design is done you scratch back some of the colours to reveal the aluminium underneath.

Hundertwasser, organic and curvilinear

Julian with his abstract creative design.

You are now finished and you can stand back and admire the bold bright design.

The whole family has work that goes together but shows each of their style.

In my courses no two people come out with the same design because I encourage you to express yourself.
The next Beginners Acrylic Painting class starts on  Monday the 30th of April , 6 to 8pm.
I am taking enrolments now.
 Classes limited to 8 people.

I am also running an advanced acrylic painting class  on Tuesday nights starting 25th April and I have one vacancy.
People work on their own designs and we work towards exhibition pieces.
They use my art books for inspiration. and we have in class critiques which help people grow in a positive and encouraging environment.

I will be featuring some of their work in the next post.


Past students are welcome to return for Beginners Painting Classes 2 where we will be working with plaster of paris, making acrylic skins, doing a coloured self portrait, working with wax, creating a landscape using glazing medium and aboriginal style pointilism work.

Group  enquiries welcome.
Weekend workshops by arrangement.

http://www.jkeen.net/
Join me on facebook.
 Phone 07 3463435 to enquire.

Creativity quotes of the day
Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!  ~Albert Einstein


Family faces are magic mirrors.  Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.  ~Gail Lumet Buckley

Doodling, why do it?

If you buy a hard back A6 visual Dairy and some crayons and coloured pencils plus fine tip black marker you can make something creative in a small amount of time and just because it's for your own amusement it should be fun.

Have a go if you are time poor.

Who can't spare half an hour while sitting in front of the tv?

It's portable,  take it to a cafe have a cup of coffee and do a doodle about coffee cups.

I'm planning to fill mine and on the facing page write some haiku.

I want to be a published writer but I only have time for haiku, writing on my blog, writing letters and writing lessons plans.

I bought some Crayola  Fun Effects Twistables Crayons last week. . 

 They come in a set of funky colours and you can draw over them with felts.

Plus some cheap Glitter paint a set of 12 candy colours from a one of those two dollar shops. 

 I want to try them out in my doodle diary and see what  I  can come up with.

Creative Quotes of the Day

Even if you can't draw, do a little doodle or rip an illustration from a magazine - these visuals will help bring your idea to life.
John Emmerling

I would recommend the short story form, which is a lot harder to write since you have to be so careful with words, until there is plenty of time to doodle through a novel.

Anne McCaffrey

Self Portrait Painting School, check out this latest crop of graduates from Painting Yourself 101.

Expresso Portrait Painting in only two hours....

These people came for a Community Group set of classes thanks to the generous support of the Rotorua  Civic Arts Trust. 

None of them had ever made a portrait before and with my step -by- step instructions and demonstrations they all came out wth pieces to be proud of. 

The most important thing is they really enjoyed the classes and I  loved having them.

 It is great to teach people who arent afraid to give things a go and focus on having fun. 

 

 

Creativity Quotes of the day

My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain.
Helmut Newton
The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
The portrait I do best is of the person I know best.
Nadar

Check out my website http://www.jkeen.net.
 Please feel free to friend me on facebook if you are a writer, photographer or artistor  or a  supporter of the aforementioned.
I want at least 1000 facebook friends by Christmas.

Family create fun works of art for beginners in Rotorua, New Zealand.

One of the best things about teaching acrylic painting classes for beginners are the smiles after they have produced their first masterpieces.
The Vail Family, originally form Oregin have a positive attitude towards creativity;  they see  the time spent in my studio as  a chance to relax and have fun, bond and to break away from their  busy lives.

Lesson Number One 
Based on American action painter  Jackson Pollack,  this lesson is about creating a smooth wash, practising colour mixing and using masking tape for sharp or smudgy edges.
 It's all about relaxing and going with the flow of the paint and setting yourself free by drizzling and splattering. 

 No-one knows exactly what their creation  will look like until they rip off the tape.

Past pupils have even sold their first paintings. 

Here's a lightening bolt moment

                                                                   A trio of fireworks
Lesson Number Two
This lesson  is based on NZ Artist Richard Killeen.
 It is a  graphic design style that  is common  in a lot of commercial art. 
The idea is for pupils to achieve a smooth wash on the background with a colour of their choice.
They then need to find a silhouette on the internet of their  favourite symbol, using google image search.  
They cut it out, draw around it and place it in different positions and sizes on the picture plane, taking onto account the interplay of  negative and positive space.
Pupils are then taught a simple brush control technique to achieve a smooth line around their illustrations.
This is harder than you think, especially if you have shaky hands.
Didn't they do well?
I can't see a crooked line in sight. 

 

Heather and her good luck elephants

Leleyna  and her golden pigs.

             Ron with  his abundant  dollar signs and Julian with  his  dragon and two flying  or is that tumbling  pigs.


Lively works, don't you think?


Lesson Number Three
This lesson is about  using  found objects to create texture and pattern.
Pupils attach sand, paper, string, buttons, glitter and all sorts of  discarded and found objects onto a painted background of their choice with pva glue.
They then have the option of dry brushing contrasting colours over the top of it.

   Lots of movement and rhythm going on here.

Lesson Number Four
Self portrait in black and white.
For this lesson a black and white front on view  is achieved with graduated tones.
The picture  is created by my  fail safe, secret and simple method, (you'll have to attend a class to find out how) to create a recognisable likeness.
Pupils are required to produce at least five values from white to black to create depth and likeness.

                               Julian  decided to do his face a (black) humourous shade, very inventive.

Smiles all around, lovely tones achieved, dazzling teeth

 

Sparkles and glamour for this beauty

 

 An almost photographic likeness, the eyes are startling, its hard to believe that this is only Ron's thrid painting. .

              The art class is great, and yes we all enjoy the "break" and you're inspiring us to "be ourselves"! The Vale Family


 They  all did so well with this challenging lesson and were a pleasure to teach. I can already see that Justin has a big thing going with the colour black.

                               We certainly had a lot of laughs.
                                         If you aren't having fun, you're not doing it right. 


Lesson Five and Six to come over the coming weeks, watch this space.


My dream is to be invited over to America  to teach at a mixed media art retreat.
I feel I have come closer to this dream by meeting the Vail family.
I've  made a  vision board about it, now I am waiting with eager anticipation for the dream to materialise,  while always looking out for clues as to which next step to take.

My goal  is also to teach more happy families, so bring it on .
 Artists, photographers and writers please contact me on facebook,  I want at least 1000 friends by December 2012.
See my website  http://www.jkeen.net


Creative quotes of the day

Peace begins with a smile
 Mother Teresa.

Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
Mother Teresa

Photographic Safari's, Plenty in your own back yard.

Admittedly Waitomo isn't exactly in Rotorua's own back year but it's only a couple of hours drive away.

Mixed media painting pupils work and testimonials.

"Janet is great at unlocking people's inherent creativity and guiding with her dynamic and inspiring energy". Karina Gulieva.

I  first met Karina while I was hanging my photographic work in the library last year.

We spent a good half hour talking about art and creativity. 

 I handed her my business card and she rang up the next week and booked herself on one of my 6 week  mixed media painting courses.

Her work is vibrant and compelling and she has an innate sense of design .

She staged a solo exhibition in the Rotorua library early this year and is now doing a year long Diploma in Small Business at the  Waiariki Institute of Technology and is looking around to exhibit in galleries around the Bay of Plenty.

 As you all probably know the marketing and business side of being an artist is as important as producing the actual artwork so Karina is on track.

Up to 40 per cent of your time needs to be spent on marketing, according to experts like  Art Marketing guru  Lisa Stanfield who has written a very popular book called "I'd Rather be the Studio."  

Your first works are often sold to friends and family members so networking is paramount. 

 Karina has a number of commissions from clients who are related to her partner and she is busy completing them.

 My mixed media painting classes cater to all types of artists, from individuals, groups and families  who want to come along and have some fun and time out  to express themselves to people who would like to make art as a full time career.

 Phone me on 3463435 for a free in studio consultation about your artistic needs.

Check out my wesite ( which my husband is supposed to be updating). http://www.jkeen.net/

and friend me on facebook, I want to have 1000 friends by Chirstmas 2012.

Creativity quotes of the day

"We are all students. The moment we believe we have 'arrived we're in trouble". Brenda Behr

"As a student I learned from wonderful teachers and ever since then I've thought everyone is a teacher."

Bill Moyers

Learn new techniques in Mixed media Classes by Janet Keen - recent student work.

Mixed media, this client is making a series of six women from all over the world. This one's obviously French.
I think the series is going to be stunning when it's finished. This was done after the clients second class with
me.


          
 After Mondiglani. Lisa'a second painting. Lisa is a very patient and diligent art pupil.
I cater to people l who have different styles from gestural to photographic.
 Pupils  are encouraged to  loosen up and have fun because  it's not about perfection it' about leaving gaps and letting people's minds fill them.
You don't have to spell out every last word in the story.
I have the studio, the space and the inspiration to make it easy to start or continue your artistic journey.

Catwoman,  Heather has been coming to classes for a while, she is in my advanced mixed media paintings classes where pupls do their own series of works with my guidance and using my vast array of art books for prompts.
I arrange exhibitions for them and guide  them on trips to art galleries in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. Heather has sold around 8 works so far and has had a number of commissions.
Staying on track in these time poor challenging times helps if you have support and I am available  to be a mentor to people  who geniunely want to achieve.
 After 28 years of art making; I have the knowlege and connections to help  a range of people.

Debbie has been coming to me for the longest  time out of all my adult pupils. About 6 years I think. She is going so well and is ready to be exhibiting in professional galleries.
She just needs some more encouragement to take that first step.
I am available with my advanced pupils to recommend which galleries they should exhibit  into and to help prepare their submissions.

Some of us at our last years Rotorua library exhibition.


More work will  be posted soon with client testimonials.

I am taking bookings for my next lot of beginners mixed media classes. Please email me at jkeen@clear.net.nz for enquiries on dates.
Also arrange for a  free introductory consultation to visit my studio and discuss your creativity dreams and aspirations.


Visit my website at http://www.jkeen.net/
Let me help you to fly with creativity in 2012.
Phone 07 3463435

Why take a Photography course? Three reasons....

       Reason Number One.
It gets me out of my comfort zone and makes me view the world differently so that I take shots that I may not normally think about.

For instance I never would have taken these shots oof the dandelions if I hadn't attended an Eva Polack workshop on transcending the light. It was through her that  I  learned about extenders for my 50mm macro lens which enabled me to get that much closer.

To the fluffy textures, almost as I was a caterpillar looking for a place to hide from a parasitic wasp.  

Reason Number 2
It makes me try taking shots from differing viewpoints and opens me up to  photographic powers of possibility.

Like my abstracted berry collection, which represents my concept of the harmony of worlds within worlds.
There are views from an ants perspective that most humans have never slowed down enough to take the time to see before they squirt it all with pesticides.
This is why my garden is 100 per cent organic.
Everything is in harmony and even wasps are welcome because they have their part to play.

      I like soft focus, abstracted forms, textures and photos with mystery.

The Southern Institute of Technology Diploma in Digital Photography which I am attempting to do has a focus ( literally ) on work that is not really in my comfort zone.
They like tack  sharp images most of the time.
To get a tack sharp image is quite challenging  for me, especially with my kit lenses which is why I want a 24 to 105  Canon series l lens at $1800.00

It  requires you to have an excellent understanding of exposure, to put your camera on a tripod using a cable release and to try to be really original and exciting with your shots.
The images need to tell a story or say something extra ordinary and you need to take lots of shots and cull, cull, cull.


I  am starting the second paper this week

Reason Number Three 
 Learning something new is always inspiring to me and reviewing what I have already learned is also helpful for reinforcement.

Southern Institute of Technology Diploma in Digital Photography.
Doing a tertiary level course likes this  makes you get off the sofa and take the shots in all weather and try harder.
It also makes you toughen up when you get hard critiqing.

Aerial shot of Redwoods that my tutor last year liked.

I ended up getting a B for the beginners course and I was happy with that.

 Of course I  would have been ecstatic with an A but it's the journey not the destination that counts.

Which leads me to talk about my own Acrylic painting and mosaic classes.

If you want to see the world through anothers eyes, be opened up to the powers of possibility and to be inspired in a fun and organic environment then you are welcome to enquire about a special place tailor made for you.

jkeen@clear.net.nz

http://www.jkeen.net/

Janet Keen  Creativity Classes, teaching you to fly with creativity.