Tag Archives: kit miracle

Adding pizazz to a painting with gold and silver leaf

Posted on September 10, 2023 | 1 comment

Leo’s Muse, final, acrylic on canvas, 23K gold leaf, sterling silver leaf, 16 x 16, Kit Miracle

For the past several months, I’ve been experimenting with adding gold and silver leaf to some of my paintings. I don’t know why I decided that this was a path for me, but as with most artists, we get inspired with new ideas and techniques. I posted on here earlier about some glam cat paintings and some others, but the most recent sparkly paintings have been both challenging and rewarding.

Leo’s Muse, several sample preliminary sketches

In Leo’s Muse, I began with some ideas rolling around. I took a few dozen photos of my model in different lighting and poses. Then began the difficult part of winnowing down all my options to a few good poses. It may seem like an unnecessary step, but I have found that it helps to do a number of sketches even before I get to the final idea. This allows me to familiarize myself with the model and the lighting until I reach my final idea.

I then sketched the outline of the pose on a prepared canvas (gesso and a couple of coats of acrylic paint.) Then I basically start…somewhere. For a portrait, it will be with the head or body. Then I lay in some loose background colors. In this particular painting, I painted the flesh in grisaille (grey undertones) before I began adding color to the face. After I have the basic face laid in, I just keep working on the painting as I would a normal painting until I reach a point where I am satisfied.

Leo’s Muse, adding more color, grisaille grey under tones on canvas

Another challenge with this painting is the added wreath of flowers. That is entirely imaginary as I didn’t really think of it while I was planning the painting. That is often the way of the creative process. Surprises pop up.

Leo’s Muse, nearly finished. Last step before gold and silver leaf is added

The canvas is two inches deep so the painting is carried around the sides.

After letting the painting dry for awhile, I then began to add the gold and silver leaf. I was a bit conflicted about this step as I really liked the painting without the added touch. But the design in my head called for it so, what the heck? I took the leap.

If you have never used gold or silver leaf, let me tell you, it is challenging. This is not a paint but actual sheets of real 23K gold and real sterling silver which have to be applied to the painting. The sheets of precious metal are so thin (.003 microns, whatever that is), that I can’t have a breath of air in the studio. No fan. No air conditioner. Hold my own breath while I’m applying the metal. And the little flakes get everywhere! On me, my clothes, other parts of the painting, all around my studio.

A fixative must first be applied to the surface that you wish to apply the metal. Then you have to wait until it has the right amount of tackiness. Then gently apply the metal, transferring from the tissue paper leaves to the painting, then gently press it into the fixative, and then remove the tissue paper all the while praying that the gold will actually adhere to where you have placed it. The fixative is clear as it dries, so that’s another dimension of challenge. Where did you paint it? Ha!

After I’ve let it dry, then I can take a somewhat stiffer clean brush and brush it off the rest of the painting. More challenges with flying gold and silver flakes. If you’ve never tried this before, you might want to experiment with the fake gold until you get the hang of it. When possible, I collect the extra flakes and put them in labeled jars for use on backgrounds or other areas.

After the paintings have had time to “set”, I will spray them with a clear coat of acrylic. This prevents the sterling silver from tarnishing, and the gold from flaking more or rubbing off. Or so I am told. I haven’t used it enough to be absolutely certain but we’ll see.

By the way, the title of the painting, “Leo’s Muse” is actually short for Leonardo’s Muse. The model’s direct gaze and Mona Lisa smile of that other famous lady with the knowing look.

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Posted in art, painting instruction

Tagged acrylic, art, contemporary impressionist, gold leaf, kit miracle, mona lisa, painting instruction, silver leaf

August summary

Posted on September 3, 2023 | Comments Off

Afternoon visitors. They’re eating fallen fruit from the orchard.

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, maybe imagining some exotic vacation, nothing could be further from reality. Mostly just hanging around here tackling one thing after another.

Although we had a week or two of pretty hot weather, last week was marvelously cool with temps in the 70s. We also have managed to have pretty even rain – not too much, not too little. All good.

My little raised bed garden has been producing better than I thought. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. Note to self: plant less squash next year and more beans. And I just planted a fall crop of spinach and lettuce.

Unfortunately, all this produce came at an unlucky time when our 35 year old freezer elected to die. This involved a lot of hassle with the local big box store (HD) on delivery dates. But mostly the fact that the huge truck they decided to deliver the freezer – the same one that they delivered the washing machine two months ago – suddenly couldn’t make it down our drive. Lots of unhelpful phone calls until we cancelled the order and went with the local appliance store. Spent a little more but the service was great. I like supporting local businesses, too.

The second half of this misadventure is that the freezer resides in the back of my studio. Which meant, of course. hauling out most of the paintings that have been stored back there. Might as well clean it out while I’m at it. None of this was on my schedule. Anyway, it’s all fixed up now. On to other things.

The Golden Marble (detail), acrylic, real gold and silver leaf, 30 x 24. Kit Miracle

I’ve been experimenting with more applications of gold and silver leaf to my paintings as discussed earlier. I really like this but it is so tricky to work with. This is 23K gold and sterling silver on the thinnest of metallic sheets. Even a breath of air will mess it up while applying it to the canvases. Here is a detail shot of one of the largest paintings that I’ve done using this technique. I’ll post more about it later.

And, the deer seem to be out in abundance. Although we rent our fields out, it’s sure a shame to see how much these visitors eat. The beans are high enough now that we mostly only see their heads. And they don’t seem to be skittish at all with the noises coming from the house and yard. Well, another couple of months it will be a different story when hunting season starts. Meanwhile, I love watching the twins playing in the yard just as any youngsters might do.

I hope to post a bit more regularly in the future. And I also hope that you’ve all been managing the weather – heat, drought, hurricanes. Autumn is coming and the leaves are even beginning to change. Can’t wait!

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Posted in contemporary impressionism, country living, garden

Tagged acrylic, contemporary impressionist, country living, deer, gardening, gold leaf, kit miracle

Generosity

Posted on July 30, 2023 | 3 comments

A couple of weeks ago I jokingly claimed that people around here had to keep their car doors locked in the summer to prevent good-intentioned neighbors from leaving bags of zucchini in them. Zucchini are prolific, in case you don’t know.

But a few days later, I found myself foisting off some fresh-picked tomatoes on a visiting neighbor. He wasn’t unhappy about it as he doesn’t have a garden this year, but it gave me pause. This is what gardeners do. What we love to do, i.e., share our bounty. Although our garden area is much reduced this year, I still love to share.

A few years ago, I did a painting of my grandmother who so generously shared her garden bounty, too. You never left her house empty-handed.

Generosity, 24 x 18, oil on canvas, Kit Miracle artist

The painting depicts her holding an armful of, what? Probably turnips but it could have been tomatoes or peppers or just about anything. The original photo was black and white. The dress was typical summer attire, homemade with no pattern. She just laid out an old dress on the fabric and cut around it. Something I would never be confident enough to try, but grandma worked in an underwear factory during WWII, cutting out fifty layers of long johns at a time. A simple housedress could be whipped up in no time. On her Singer peddle sewing machine. Which I now use as a bedside table. Memories.

Anyway, if someone offers you an armful of fresh garden produce this summer, take it. Even if you don’t like turnips, you’ll be perpetuating the nearly lost act of sharing what we have with fellow human beings. It’s worth reminding ourselves that caring for others reflects well on all of us eventually.

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Posted in country living, garden, portrait, Uncategorized

Tagged contemporary impressionist, gardening, kit miracle, produce, sharing

Chocolate zucchini brownies

Posted on July 9, 2023 | Comments Off

Chocolate zucchini brownie and butter pecan ice cream. Yumm!

The joke here in Indiana is that you lock your car doors in the summer so that you don’t return to find it filled with bags of zucchini from your friendly neighbors. Ha ha.

That is only partially a joke because the vegetable is so prolific and easy to grow. When it starts coming in, you will be searching for ways to use it. Well, I have several delicious ways to use zucchini and I’m going to share with you one of my favorites.

This recipe is from one of those hometown cookbooks which and was compiled by the Parishioners and Friends of Saint Sebastian Church in Belle Vernon, PA. My mother-in-law gave me this book years ago. I cherish it for all the homecooked recipies featuring recipies from the area. It joins a couple of other favorite regional cookbooks on my shelf.

I promise you that this is one of the most delicious brownie recipes (of any kind) but suggest that you don’t tell anyone that it has zucchini in it until after they’ve eaten it. The brownies are very moist and this is a sneaky way to get your kids to eat their vegetables. The zucchini has no flavor actually but adds some body, similar to coconut.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

½ cup butter (1 stick), softened

½ cup oil

1 ¾ cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup chocolate chips, chopped (or use mini chips), and I’m pretty generous with these

2 cups grated zucchini, plus ½ cup more chocolate chips

½ cup sour milk (add 1 tablespoon vinegar to ½ cup milk)

2 ½ cup sifted flour

4 Tbsp cocoa

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ cups chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Cream the butter, oil and sugar until it’s about the consistency of butter-cream frosting.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour milk. Beat until mixed well.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then gradually add to the mixture as you are beating it.

Stir in the grated zucchini, mini chocolate chips, and nuts until well mixed.

Spoon the batter into a 9 x 13 greased pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chips.

Bake at 325 for 40 to 45 minutes.

Baking dish of chocolate zucchini brownies with mini chocolate chip topping.

These are so delicious, moist and light. You can use a box grater or food processor to grate the zucchini. I peel the vegetable but it isn’t necessary. The variety of zucchini is Grey Zucchini by Ferry-Morse which only grows about seven inches.

Smallish zucchini, about six to eight inches long. Peel and cut into strips, taking out any seeds before grating.

While I’m grating zucchini, I grate a lot more to freeze in two-cup portions, just right for these brownies.

They also make tasty fritters, zucchini pineapple bread, muffins, layered in vegetable lasagna, soups and stews. Don’t worry, you’ll find plenty of uses for this easy-to-grow veggie.

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Posted in garden, recipe

Tagged brownie, chocolate brownie, gardening, kit miracle, zucchini

Garden update, June 2023

Posted on June 24, 2023 | Comments Off

It’s been about a month since my last garden post with the raised beds. Most of the garden was planted on May 6^th.

As you can see from the photos, the growth of the plants has exploded. We’ve been eating spinach and lettuce for a few weeks now. The netting has kept the plants very clean and bug free. I think it also supplies a bit of shade, too. When I planted the seeds back in mid-April, I thought that I didn’t have a very large spot for the leafy greens, but the small space has been more than enough to supply our needs. I also discovered that it’s better to cut the greens early in the morning so they’ll stay crisp. If I cut them later in the day, they tend to get wilty.

Also, in the same raised bed I have sixteen pepper plants (hot and sweet), a large basil plant and cilantro, and some sugar pea pods. The peppers are just coming in this week and I’ve been eating the pea pods every time I pass by so I couldn’t exactly tell you how those are producing.

The second raised bed has ten tomato plants and two eggplants. The first set of tomato plants that I planted in mid April were hit heavily by a very hard frost at the end of April. I just cut off the cherry tomatoes and, surprise surprise, the plants grew back. The others I pulled out and planted some new plants. We have Sweet 100 (cherry), Fat Mama (roma-type), Park Whopper, Pink Brandywine (a German tomato which was our favorite a couple of years ago.) They all are heavy with tomatoes so I’m sure we’ll be eating them in a few weeks.

The eggplants were only hit a little by flea beetles. We don’t use any pesticides and, as before, the plants pulled out of the attack.

Beans to the left. Squash and zucchini on the right.

The green beans are blossoming heavily so I expect we’ll have some beans pretty soon. And the two squash mounds are producing. We have yellow squash and grey zucchini which we’ve been eating for a week or so.

I’ve been watering about every other day depending upon the soil moisture. The ground cloth and the cardboard have been doing a great job of keeping the weeds down and the moisture up. No pesticides and a light feeding about once a week.

Today’s harvest. Went into stir-fry tonight.

So far, I’m pretty pleased with the new raised beds. So much less work after initial set up. But I’m going to miss fresh sweet corn and my cut flowers.

Stay tuned for future reports. Meanwhile, I’ll have to check out my zucchini brownies recipe.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged country living, gardening, kit miracle, pea pods, raised beds, southern indiana

May garden update

Posted on May 22, 2023 | 1 comment

We had quite a bit of rain last week but temps are creeping up and I think the rain is over for awhile.

Five varieties of tomatoes and two eggplants.

The raised bed frames that I posted last month in April are doing well for the most part. As I expected, we had a late freeze and lost some tomatoes that we planted too early. I knew that we were taking a chance but, oh, well, it’s fun to experiment.

The first set of tomatoes that we had planted were two cherry tomatoes and four Park Whoppers. They had time to get established so when the freeze hit, they were still viable below the ground cloth. I cut off the dead tops of the cherry tomatoes and pulled out the Park Whoppers although they probably could have made it, too. The cherry tomatoes came back and have made up for lost growth. We’ve added some more tomato varieties – Pink Brandywine, Celebrity, Fat Mama (a roma variety) and a couple more Park Whoppers. And two eggplants in that raised bed.

The second raised bed with peppers, peas, and a variety of vegetables.

The second raised bed has more variety. I planted spinach and two kinds of lettuce. I put some netting over it to keep the cat out of there and that is actually helping keep bugs out and provides some shade. Those greens taste as tender as butter. Then several varieties of peppers, cilantro, basil, and some climbing pea pod vines.

Row of beans and two hills of squash. The cardboard is to keep down weeds and to keep in moisture. And the wood is to keep the cardboard from blowing away until it gets really moist.

Then I had some space between the second raised bed and the asparagus patch. So it’s bush beans and two kinds of squash. I’ve added cardboard between the rows to keep down the weeds.

I’ve filled flowerpots and weeded. But there is always more to be done. Trimming bushes. Trimming back the lane. Trimming trees. It’s a never ending project but it sure racks up the mileage on my FitBit. I guess that’s a good thing.

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Posted in country living, garden

Tagged country living, gardening, kit miracle, raised beds

Golden cats

Posted on May 14, 2023 | Comments Off

Leo napping, original painting, acrylic on canvas 16 x 16 with gold leaf on sides.

As an artist, I’ve often been asked over the years, where do you get your ideas? This is a tough question because you can’t just go to the store and pick some ideas up. Well, maybe depending upon which direction you feel like moving.

For me, ideas can come from a variety of sources. Something I see, read about, even from dreams. Sometimes I think I want to explore a certain idea but end up going in an entirely new direction. That is what happened to me recently.

I was contemplating a series of local scenes. Landscapes, cityscapes. Just a variety of ideas have been strolling through my brain. Then I found myself noodling around with some sketches of my cat, in fact, various cats that I’ve owned throughout the years. (Not forgetting all the dogs, birds, lizards, and a variety of other pets we’ve had over the years.) No, I am not a crazy cat lady. I like cats and it seems as if I’ve had one around nearly all my life.

Tom. Original painting on canvas with gold leaf on front and sides. 8 x 8 x 2.5

So I started with some sketches of my little buddy Leo the cat. He seems to manage to find so many different ways to sleep that he’s almost acrobatic. One particular pose leads to another. Then I removed his ratty old blanket and put him on an Oriental carpet. And this lead me to think, Why not really jazz it up with some gold?!

Anyway, Leo was the first victim, er uh, volunteer. Then came Tom, my dad’s cat. Then Princess who is just too too glam. Adding backgrounds of oriental carpets and some real 23K gold or silver leaf. I have never done anything with gold leaf before but, hey, it’s always good to try new things.

Ki, original painting on canvas, 8 x 8 x 2.5. Unfinished.

Then I realized that I was running out of cat subjects. Even photos of my old cats.

So with the help of a friend who volunteers, I went to the local humane society. BINGO! Back in business. They have lots of cats. Every time the volunteer was telling me that this cat was shy or standoffish, it would come and climb all over me, waiting for its ears to be scratched or belly rubbed. Such a beautiful variety. These people do such good work, especially with the help of many volunteers.

But what really broke my heart was seeing the older cats who appeared in good shape but had been turned into the humane society because their owners died or who were no longer able to take care of them. How confused they must be. They looked so sweet and loving.

Anyway, I’ll be making more trips back there in the coming months. If you have a humane society near you, check it out next time you need a new pet, or just another pet. They definitely get high marks on my list.

Meanwhile, check out my Etsy shop KitMiracleArt to keep track of the new golden cats.

Dubois County Humane Society if you need to adopt a pet.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged cats, contemporary impressionist, gold leaf, humane society, indiana, kit miracle, painting, painting instruction, pet adoption

Sense of smell in photography

Posted on April 30, 2023 | Comments Off

In the photography class that I’m taking, we were asked this week to convey a sense of smell that means something to us. Some people composed photos of favorite lotions or perfumes, others of special cleaning products. (Lemon Pledge still brings back memories of my mother.) It was actually a more difficult assignment than you would guess.

I chose a rather eclectic group of images. Sun-ripened tomatoes on the windowsill. The scent of old books will take me back to every library I’ve ever been in. Irises to every house I’ve ever lived in. Homemade bread and pizza. Dusty old barns and outbuildings.

What smells trigger your memories?

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Posted in country living, painting instruction, Uncategorized

Tagged country living, emotion, kit miracle, photography, sense of smell

Shiny stuff

Posted on April 23, 2023 | Comments Off

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to call this post Reflections or Shiny Stuff. As you can see, my campy sense of humor won out.

I’m taking a photography class this spring. Not so much to learn about composition but more to learn how to make better use of my equipment. I’m using my cell phone and my Nikon. Neither is one of the most remarkable of their class, but they still have plenty of options, bells and whistles that I don’t utilize as much as they should be.

Ooooo, shiny pretty stuff. And who doesn’t like rainbows and unicorns?

This week’s assignment was to take photos of reflections and do some shallow focus assignments. Well, after trying to figure out how to make use of windows and mirrors, I nixed that idea. So what next?

The chef spoons in the camping department

Grocery shopping at the neighborhood big box store. They should have plenty of shiny stuff. Actually I was looking for those big round mirrors that they have mounted at the tops of columns and aisles. Guess what? They’re not there anymore. They probably rely solely on cameras these days.

As I walked around the store, I was tuned into shiny stuff. This is what caught my eye. I whipped out my phone and took pictures here and there. I think security was watching me but this isn’t the first time I’ve taken photos in the store. The fruit and vegetable aisle is striking with all the colors. And one time I even set up my plein air easel in the flower department outside during Mother’s Day weekend. People kept thinking that I worked there.

The remainder of my photos were from a couple of walks in the woods. Capturing the reflections in the creek, seeing through the surface, focusing on leaves and branches.

If you’ve wondered where artists get our ideas, this is the convoluted path we take. One thing leads to the next and then to the next. I’m not using any of these photos as inspiration for future paintings…at least not right now. Maybe I’ll come back to them in a month or a year or several years. I guess the whole inspiration thing just means to be prepared, keep your eyes open and your camera handy. Today might be the day of the BIG IDEA!

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Posted in contemporary impressionism

Tagged contemporary impressionist, kit miracle, painting instruction, photography ideas, sequins, shiny stuff, where do artists get ideas

Painting small

Posted on March 19, 2023 | Comments Off

Let’s face it. There are few people who are not inspired when they walk into a museum or cathedral and face a giant painting depicting a well-known scene. I have been brought to tears when I’ve been overwhelmed with some exhibits.

But that is not always the case. Most people cannot accommodate a wall-size painting or afford one. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t like real art nonetheless.

A typical variety of colorful flowers, 4.5 x 6.5 to be matted to 8 x 10

Over the years I have created and sold paintings of many sizes. Some pretty large ones but most have been medium size. And I’ve sold a whole lot of small pieces.

There are pros and cons with creating small paintings. On one hand, larger paintings are immensely fun to create, taking that large brush and swishing it across a wall-size canvas. But they are also much more difficult to sell due to the size.

Small painting have many advantages, too. They are a good way to try out new ideas, materials and techniques. They are very portable. You can just pick them up and move them around your home, or transport them easily. They are also economical to create since they use less materials.

Vertical tulips in various colors, to be matted to 8 x 10.

I’ve used small paintings to make preliminary compositions and try out various mediums. Some of the mediums that I’ve used are drawing, watercolor, pen and ink, acrylic, oil, etching, collage and prints. The most common has been watercolor with pen and ink overlay for the details. These are usually on medium weight (140 pound) imported watercolor paper.

Small paintings were also my bread and butter when I used to travel the country for art show, earning back the booth fees and traveling expenses. At one time, I painted a series of over forty different fruits, vegetables and flowers, each hand-painted and individually matted. These were all 4 x 6, matted to 8 x 10, and either framed or inserted into glassine envelopes. I initially hand-cut the mats but eventually found sources for ready-cut mats, backs and the envelopes. This made the whole process so much more efficient.

Ready-cut mats, backs, and bags from Clear Bags. Also, check out Ready-cut mats.

These days, the primary size of the small paintings are 4.5 x 6.5 plus a border for matting. Very easy to assemble. BUT…I also create 4 x 6 size painted postcards. These are so fun. I cut out a bunch, maybe 100 of that size. I take them with me on my travels, make quick original sketches, and then mail them back to friends. Surprisingly, all of the postcards have arrived safely at their destinations and my friends are so surprised.

Some of the tiniest paintings that I have created are 2 x 2 and 2 x 3. These are cute and fun but I have to specially cut the mats. Unless I want to order a bunch of ready-mades, I just don’t do that too often anymore.

A variety of teen-tiny, 2 x 2 and 2 x 3.

One thing that I would like to point out is that all of my small paintings are originals, not prints. If you are buying these on the market, make sure what you are getting. Many small paintings are digitally reproduced, either on paper or printed on canvas. The artist may add a swipe of paint in order to call them original but they’re not really. Just pay attention

I still enjoy making larger paintings, mostly for the challenge. But I would certainly recommend that you give small paintings a try. They’re great for experimenting with new ideas and compositions without having to put an excessive amount of time into them. And they can be attractively priced if you’re planning to sell them.

Good luck and let me know how they turn out if you experiment with this option.