Katharine Krieg

Finally back in the PA studio and missing the island already.  It was a fantastic 3 weeks full of painting, friends, teaching, new experiences and beautiful weather. "Monhegan Sky"        charcoal        14x20"    sold This year marked my 5th year of holding an open studio on Monhegan and each year gets better. Thanks to Bradley Hendershot for helping to make this year special. He manned the studio while I was teaching my "Super Small" three day workshop (my first on the island). That was a terrific experience and a heck of a lot of fun so I am doing it again next summer. Thanks to the great students this year and the wonderful feedback!!! In addition, Brad and I were invited to come back and teach a two person workshop next summer during July 2015. Brad will be handling the watercolor part and I will teach a plein air workshop for oil painting. So I will have 2 classes to offer next summer. We are both very excited...

Open Studio and Workshop on Monhegan Island "The Discovery"                        20x30"                                 oil Summer pulled up outside my door and revved it's engine. When I got in it peeled out of the parking lot like something out of Dukes of Hazzard. The only thing missing was the cheesy horn. The studio has been in high gear since May getting ready for my annual trek to Monhegan Island, Maine. This year is the Quadricentennial (or for those of you who are spelling challenged like me - the 400 year anniversary) of the visit of John Smith and his seafaring entourage to this little island off the coast of Maine.  There is not a lot written about this landing but I'm guessing they weren't uber impressed because although they traded with the natives and checked out the fishing, they continued on in the...

Rainy Day Activity That Won't Break the Bank or Burn Down the Studio Jan Vermeer "The Art of Painting" 1666 Use of mahl stick A mahl stick is an aid painters use to steady their hand while painting. Like me, they have found that trying to hold their hand rock still when making thin, controlled tree branches or tiny highlights usually ends up with the fat heel of their palm smearing across the surface of wet paint. This then leads to swear words or some animal-like scream of despair that echoes through the neighborhood which can frighten your neighbor's kids and lead to inquisitive police officers at your door. Most importantly, a wayward hand on your canvas undoes lots of hard work. The mahl stick is usually a stick approximately 3 feet long made of wood or aluminum with a padded end covered in suede. I have been using a cheap wooden yard stick from Sleepy's Mattress and before that, a cane I inherited from a relative after their foot surgery (...

3 Day Super Small Workshop on Monhegan Island, ME "Sunny Day at Fish Beach"           watercolor         13x19" During my time going to Monhegan I have had people ask each year if I would do a workshop at any point. So, I decided to take a step into the workshop world of Monhegan and create a small plein air class for this summer. Monhegan Island really is a fantastic place to paint and learn. It's a place that has such a history of attracting artists and when you see the island you do realize why so many great painters have come here. The harbor, village and cliffs have been the subject of so many works for a long time. There are some spots open so please feel free to contact me to join in and sign up. Thanks! katy.krieg@verizon.net  Summer 2014 Location: Monhegan Island, ME Dates: July 21, 22, 23 9am-4:30pm  Cost: $225.00 (Price for workshop only. Accommodations and travel are the student's respon...

A New (and busy!) Year Ahead I missed this past fall's blog post so I will try to bring readers up to speed on what's been happening. In October I was invited to speak at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, PA for their Meet the Artist program. It was a truly enjoyable visit. I gave a demo on creating a value underpainting from a sketch I did in the field earlier in the season. I spoke with a group of about 50 people who were very engaged and asked some really fantastic questions. I love when that happens! Many thanks to Jan Marabito for being so great at organizing this event. Jan Marabito and me in front of my value demo Me demonstrating how to close your eyes when you paint. I painted from a pretty detailed drawing of a house I found not far from my studio. It sits back a bit from the road behind a larger stone house. I have driven by many many times and just happened to notice that the lamp in the first floor window was always on. I mean, ALWAYS. No ...