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.

Photography a short photographic safari.

Some recent shots of Rotorua that I took for my first  Photography Assignment that I  am doing  through Trish McAuslan's online photography course. A day in Rotorua, photo essay.

If you would like to know more about this course please contact Trish at

                                                             galleryone@xtra.co.nz
                                                           Gallery One Photo School
                                                                   PO Box 11129
                                                                      Palm Beach
                                                                     Tauranga 3151

                                                       



Rotorua Photographic Safai.
If you  are a beginning photographer and would like to go on a Photo Safari around Rotorua for a day or half a day I can show you all the "best spots to take the best shots".

You will need to be up early and also shooting just before dusk to capture the beautiful light that this volcanic paradise  has to offer.

The Bath House now called the Rotorua Museum is fully completed.

One of the finest buildings in New Zealand inside and out.

Photography only permitted on the outside.

Uncropped version, which do you like best?

You can see more of the Government Gardens bowling green in this one.

 The Government Gardens are beautifully presented, the council garden designers have a lot of artistic flair  All the annual beds around the city are frequently changed.

Their spring display of tulips with Forget-Me-Nots are unforgettable.

You could spend a whole day in here and you would get a large variety of potentially award winning shots. .

The best time is Spring and Summer so that you can shoot the  unusual perennial  flowers and annual borders.

Flowers with statue in background

I liked the seagull perching on top of this  war heroes head.

Must find out the name of the man.

Why aren't more women put up on top of pedastals is always a question I ask myself.

The Te Runanga Tea Rooms.

 Hired out for intimate functions and nostalgic  afternoon teas.

I could just imagine tucking into a pile of home made cakes and club sandwiches on  bone china, three tiered plates- if my diet would allow such indulgences.

Tea rooms with rotunda in the background.

 In summer they hold free concerts for families  here. 

 Great to think that Rotorua musicians are such community minded spirits.

Intriguing Maori carving with black bowler hat

Another, looking quite serious

And another poking out his tongue looking quite ferocious. 

 Te Arawa has some of the best master carvers in New Zealand or should I say Aotearoa.

 Thought this statue looked particularly foreboding with the sharp fence around the outside of a boiling mud pool .
Don't know the name of this historic figure either.

 Close up of the detail of the elegant lights.
This place is amazing for getting great night shots of lights on buildings and vegetation.

Couldn't resist one last passing shot of the seagull.

                                       Whakarewarewa  Geyser early morning taken from Whaka Golf course.
It's a marvellous thing to travel through Rotorua early morning or just on dusk and see the patterns that the billowing steam makes.
It's never boring.

             Whaka Golf course,  challenging shots  if you were a golfer.
Nice to walk around and take camera shots if you're not.
 Best to do it early morning when there's no chance of being hit by a flying ball.

                              Always some steaming pool to lose your balls in.

Lakefront Rotorua, plenty of touristy and sightseeing things to do from here.
Imagine the shots you could take.
Hire a boat, go on a paddle steamer trip around the lake, go up in a plane and see an aerial view of Mt Tarawera, walk along the lakefront trying to get the perfect shot of ...

                            your favourite geese in front of Mokoia Island.

                        
                                  Good eating down at the lakefront with some tasty cafes nearby.

This whole area is up for redevelopment with cafes and art galleries and boutique shops.

I guess the geese will be shunted out.

There is a lovely walk around the lakefront to Sulphur Point .

It  has an incredible array of bird life.

 If  you are a bird nut like me you'll be enchanted .

This is only a small taste of what you could experience on a Rotorua  Photographic Photo Safari with me so drop me an email today jkeen@clear.net.nz

We can work out a plan.

Women beginner  photographers from overseas countries are especially welcome.

Affirmations Weekly.

I always start off the year with the intention of doing something often like an illustration a day. This lasts about a week and then I get distracted with something else or  I become too busy.
Sound familiar?
I have decided not to make any further promises. I am going to just post what I'm doing every week and see if anyone at all reads it and comments.
Sometimes it will be everry day sometimes not.

This way I won't be putting too much pressure on  or disappointing my vast audience of followers.

Today I am sorting ourt photos that I have taken for an online Photography course by Trish McAuslan from Tauranga New Zealand. She is a very good teacher and a nice person so I am looking forward to getting her feedback on my work.
This is a beginners course and it is forcing me to look at my  manual which is a good thing because I  haven't opened it since I bought my Canon 550 D two years ago.

Affirmation Angels by Janet keen

Illustrations Daily: Affirmation Angels by Janet Keen

Currently I am doing one or two illustrations per day in an old Popular Science book.
They are all angels doing different things with positive affirmations.
This years featured word for me is happiness.
 I will be striving this year to achieve as much of this as possible.
Each illustration or quick sketch can be made in half an hour, they are not perfect, which is great because who needs to be perfect while you are having fun being creative?

           

Princess Adele and her Corgi Sebastian walked daily in the  Redwoods exercising park where he was allowed to run around without his lead on.
Sebastian preferred sitting to running or even walking so he had to be bribed with heart shaped dog biscuits.
      
Affirmation: The true miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth."    Thich Hhat Hanh  

                  
Princess Bethanie would often catch her white moggie Blamange walking across her piano keys.
She used to tell him off until she stopped to listen to what he was playing and she recognised it was his  attempt at composing a love song.

 Affirmation: "There are many ways to touch a piano - and if the player invests the time, effort, and the will to love, the response of the instrument is absolutely enormous."
Kostia

Angel Callista  tried  lots of  spells to disuade three quail from raiding her vege garden for snow peas.  It was not until she bought them their own packet of birdseed that they became friends and agreed to let her peas prosper.

Affirmation:“You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself.”

Harvey S. Firestone

                                               
Princes Daniella flew over roadside verges in hot weather watering thirsty wildflowers that were  regarded by most people as weeds.
She knew that honey bees and buttefflies loved them for their nectar as much, if not more than the most highly cultivated roses.
 
Affirmation "Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things. I am tempted to think there are no little things."

Barton, Bruce

Become my friend at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1633230611&ref=tn_tnmn
See me at my website http://www.jkeen.net/

Mixed Media Painting Classes with Janet Keen. 20 reasons why you should read this.