Contemplative by Frances Kuta

NOTE: After today, you can still see my paintings on my blogspot http://www.franceskuta.blogspot.com/

Thank you my friends at LCDP...will stay in touch :)

This painting of Cassidy is another of my Victorian oil paintings I've recently done. The striped dress costume reminded me of one of Norman Rockwell's illustrations of Jo in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women...the one where she was standing outside the publisher's office with her manuscript in hand. Either her skirt or her jacket were striped...I can't remember which it was...but the stripes showing the fullness and pleats in the clothing intrigued me.

11" x 14" oil on canvas Raymar panel

The Blue Kimono by Frances Kuta

Uh oh, last week I posted but forgot to add the image....here she is...I painted this beautiful model a while ago but the composition was a 3/4 view from the back. Here she is again but from the front. She was refreshing to paint after my dark Victorian paintings.
Oil on canvas 14" x 11".

Beautiful Virtue by Frances Kuta

This is another of my paintings for my "Mostly Victorian" show in Weaverville, June 4 - June 26. My model is wearing a beautiful hat made by Dale Pifer out of Fortuna. Dale was nice enough to let me go through her hat collection and choose a few to borrow. This one is 12" x 9 oil on canvas Raymar panel. I put her in this beautiful old world European style carved frame.

Sketch of Roman

Why is it so difficult to paint family? I sweat bullets when I attempt to paint a sister, brother, niece or nephew. It is one exercise where I really need to practice the "drawing on the right side of the brain" concept....focusing on unrecognizable shapes and their relationship to each other.

This is a sketch of my brother in law's father. I like the feel of this painting but when I paint the larger version I'll have to 'sweat bullets' to get a good likeness. This little sketch is oil on canvas panel 5" x 7". Thanks for looking!

Plum, Ranunculas & Silver by Frances Kuta

I think ranunculas are my favorite flower. I set this little arrangement up and of course my husbands' great grandmothers' teapot found a way into the composition. I love to paint that curvy, silver, tarnished old pot. This one is 5" x 7" oil on board.

Tea For One by Frances Kuta

My blue teapot and red box are 2 favorites I like to paint so I decided to pair them up! This one is 9" x 12" oil on linen. If interested in bidding please click here.

Portrait of Kristen by Frances Kuta

Kristen is a local beauty that I saw and thought..."oh...she would be so much fun to paint!" In fact I asked if she would sit for us gals in the Representational Art League and she agreed. You can see this painting of Kristen and several others at Studio S this coming Arts Alive April 2nd.

11" x 14" oil on canvas Raymar panel.

At A Glance by Frances Kuta

I originally painted this model in 2006 as a beginner studying with Vanessa Lemon at Studio 2nd St. in Encinitas, Ca. They always had the best models and lighting. I didn't do a very good job back then...so I decided to try again using the photo of this extraordinary model. I am much happier with this result and will enter this painting in the upcoming RAA Spring show....hope i get juried in :) 14" x 11" oil on Raymar canvas panel

Local Treasures by Frances Kuta

I titled this painting "Local Treasures"...wine and cheese of Humboldt County! Did you know Humboldt County has 26 wineries??? The cheese is the wonderful Cypress Grove "Humboldt Fog"...a semi-soft aged goat cheese of the cleanest, purest goats milk in the area...yielding goat cheese from heaven in my opinion! I'm ramping up to paint a handful of paintings that are all about wine. It'll be fun. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel. Minimum bid $300. Click here to bid.

Blue Vase and Carnations by Frances Kuta

I like to set up these little still lifes very close to me and really study the light and color. I stare at the color then look at my color charts on my wall if I need help. I have these color charts I created on the advice of Richard Schmid's book "Alla Prima - Everything I Know About Painting". The charts were created with only 9 tubes of paint....but the colors created are 200 +....this has helped me to re-create colors I mix and avoid mixing piles of paint i can't use....something that really frustrated me early on. Thanks for looking & reading :)
8" x 10" oil on linen panel. Minimum bid $200. Click here to bid.

Hydrangeas and Red by Frances Kuta

Well...I was thinking of painting red with the coming of Valentines Day and I love the contrast between bright blue and reddish-orange so I set up this still life and painted it. 8" x 8" oil on canvas. Minimum bid $200. Click here to bid.

Just Apples

Lately I've been exploring the art of Quang Ho where he discusses "local tone" vs. "light and shadow"....i love the light and shadow...but I know what he means when he says many artists confuse the two...and a painting ends up being neither 'light and shadow' nor local tone...resulting in a lost painting. Today I made the effort to paint local tone. It was really difficult...but I think I did it. I set up these apples in a beautiful hand thrown ceramic bowl...and let just the natural light hit them...no additional light source. It's a real challenge to paint like that...every value and temperature has to be correct. I realized how really dark my studio is..if I don't provide additional lighting. 8" x 8" oil on canvas.

After Velasquez

I lost my camera cord and couldn't post my daily painting so I decided to put up an old masters study I did a few years ago. An artist friend Dan Pinkham once told me if I would paint in black and white for a year...it would save me 20 years on development. Heh heh...i don't know about the 20 years thing...but it did help me understand value. I love Velasquez's paintings and especially The Dwarf. This is a little 5" x 7" on cardboard...NFS.

Little Model by Frances Kuta

There is something about painting an object live, in 3-D that brings more life to that subject....versus using a photo as reference. I use photos all the time, for reference...but mostly paint from life. I set this little doll up in the light...she was leaning forward a bit. Very fun to paint her. "6 x 8" oil on linen panel. Minimum bid $200. Click here to bid.

Thanks for looking!

Teapot and Friends by Frances Kuta

I set this little still life up with the intention of painting in a higher key (lighter, closer values range). It is a challenge for me to paint like this but I like the nice soft result.

Minimum bid $75.00 Click here to bid

Tulips and Cherries by Frances Kuta

This is part 1 of 3 paintings I did yesterday in my studio. I bought some fresh tulips and set them up with one of my little teapots...added cherries...ate some cherries too! 5" x 7" oil on board.

Minimum bid $75. Click here to bid

Chinese Teapot by Frances Kuta

I set this still life up yesterday and painted it in one session. For a change I decided to use the Zorn pallete of white, yellow ochre, black and red. Instead of ivory black I used blue/black to achieve a stronger blue. The red was Vermillion Red Deep...but I think I could've easily used Cad Red Light...i noticed the Vermillion has weak tinting strength. I love Anders Zorns paintings. I think he strictly used Ivory Black because I see much more green/yellow in his paintings. I read that his palette lent itself well to his geographic location (Norway) with a much more cold gray climate. 8" x 10" oil on board
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Victorian Dress Study by Frances Kuta

I love the Victorian era of clothing. I have this little 'jewelry hanger' that is made to be a little Victorian lady in a beautiful green dress. The dress is actual fabric with little ribbons & jewels. The jewelry hanger has no head or arms...just these decorative pieces of wire coming out the top for your jewelry hanging. I love the little dress so much I decided to paint it...but I needed to improvise and add arms and head. So here is the little jewelry hanger...come to life. 9" x 12" oil on linen
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Pin-Up Girl by Frances Kuta

I love to paint different era's of style and clothing. The pin-up girl is fun because everything is exaggerated and shapely. This model's beautiful dress was from her own collection!
Click here if you would like to bid on this painting.

Portrait of Lela by Frances Kuta

I had this lovely, dignified lady in my studio yesterday. She held this pose for 3 hours and was a wonderful, gracious model. Thank you Lela.
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