Kim Morin Weineck's Art

Friday, July 19, 2013

Warm Welcome

While walking with the girls during the Independence Day holiday, we passed this Patriotic vignette which called to me immediately. It's call could not be silenced: "Paint me!"

And so I did. This study worked up quickly, thank goodness. It had to be 95 degrees from my easel.

Hope you're enjoying your July :)
Thanks for reading! -kmw

Friday, July 5, 2013

Smart Creative Mom: It all matters

My column on Smart Creative Women, "Smart Creative Mom" appeared July 5, 2013. Take a look!

Kim Weineck is popping in again while I am up in New Hampshire. Kim has a fabulous painting retreat to Vermont planned Aug 4-7 at the darling Amee Farm. Rustic and luxurious, you get to spend several days painting the gorgeous countryside of Vermont under Kim gentle instruction. (She is just the best teacher!) AND for the foodie in you, there is a farm-to-table event planned as well! Lots of yum! You can find out more details here.

Recently I was at an art show discussing the artwork on display, some of it mine, with someone I had never met before that night. The exchange of dialogue went something like this –

Art Lover: I’ve been a fan of your work for a long time. It’s so nice to finally meet you in person.
Me: (a little dumbfounded) That’s quite nice to hear. (More pleasantries were exchanged.)
Art Lover: When you posted this painting on your blog, I enjoyed your backstory about what drew you to make this piece. I’ve had similar experiences and it was great to learn you did, too.
Me: It’s funny how that often happens.

Yesterday this was in my email in box:

Online Follower I didn’t know I had: I want to register for your August Workshop in Vermont. It sounds like such fun, and I’m excited to take a class with you after following you and your work on line for a while.
Me: That’s great! I’m glad you’re excited about it, too! It’s going to be such fun!

A comment on one of my paintings I’d pinned to my Pinterest pin board read:

“This is beautiful. Is it for sale?”

These three examples proved something to me: It all matters. “It” is the effort you make to put yourself “out there” in that place (often scary if you’re doing it for the first time) for others to see and offer their response. As a mother of two young girls, doing this is a question of managing my time. For the short amount I have to myself, I want to spend it making art rather than marketing it!

What I’ve learned is that marketing doesn’t take a ton of time. Just get it done – something. Period.

* Write that blog post about what you’re doing (it can be quick and short!)
* Post something on your Facebook page. (Don’t have time? Share something great in your feed!)
* Sign up for an Instagram account and photograph some pictures of your process.
* Create a Pin Board on Pinterest of things you’re doing – this can be ANYTHING at all!

Whatever your method, do something to show off your talents! Don’t put it on hold. When you hit “publish” or “send” it doesn’t go into the ether. Someone is noticing. Some days the effort to be visible is tantamount to climbing Everest, but when you start, you’ll find it’s more of an anthill. Your work is too special to be kept quiet. SHOUT IT OUT!

pinterest.com/kimweineck
kimweineck.com

Friday, June 28, 2013

VT Workshop added! :: Oct 13-16, 2013

Paintings from a Vermont Farm

October 13-16th, 2013
An artists’ workshop & retreat with Kim Morin Weineck

My photo of the free range chickens at
Sweet Georgia P's CSA @Amee Farm

To sign up or for more information, email kimweineck@gmail.com or call Becca at (802)746-8061. Thanks!
Good paintings often spring from the inspiration provided by a location. Surrounded by mountains, fields, ripening crops, rivers, and farm life – your paintings of Amee Farm in Pittsfield, VT will be truly inspired!

my photo of the view from Amee Farm Lodge, Pittsfield, VT

Dates : Sunday, October 13th through Wednesday, October 16^th

Please arrive any time after 3:30pm on Sunday to settle into your room and get acquainted with the landscape. A welcome dinner will be provided with participant introductions at the gathering.

Schedule : Each day begins with breakfast, followed by a painting lesson with handouts and a demonstration by the instructor. Locations for the day’s painting will be determined before breaking for lunch, which each participant is responsible for daily. On-location painting continues after the lunch break with individual instruction throughout the remainder of the day. All mediums and painting levels are welcome.

The group will convene for lively critiques of the day’s work before dinner.

Tuesday night is an extra-special Farm-to-Table dinner comprised of selections from Sweet Georgia P’s at Amee Farm: a perfect send-off meal together. What a treat this will be! We'll be painting from the landscape, creating still lifes of veggies and foliage from Sweet Georgia P's at Amee Farm, and then enjoying a fantastic meal with cheeses and soups! This is the French idea of terroir at its best -- just for us!

If the weather cooperates, those interested can paint the sunrise and enjoy a brown bag picnic breakfast. Wednesday’s lesson and final painting session concludes with our last critique over a catered lunch. The workshop ends at 1:30pm on Wednesday, October 16^th.

The livestock barn filled with gorgeous goats.
Too bad you can't see any of the cutie kids in my photo.

Lodging: Workshop participants are housed at the rustic luxury bed and breakfast, Amee Farm Lodge, just across from Sweet Georgia P’s at Amee Farm. The inn is reserved for the group solely, providing a wonderful opportunity to be immersed in the art experience alone and in collaboration with others. Take a look at their site for pictures of their rooms and be sure to check out their blog for some amazing photos of the landscape.

My photo of rte 100 near the free-range
chicken field and the Pittsfield General Store

*The inn offers many different rooms, some with private bath and some a semi-private bath (shared between two rooms). Rooms are granted on a first-come first-served basis. When you pay, you reserve your room choice, so reserve early!

Pricing: $ 850 includes 3 night’s lodging and breakfast daily. A welcome dinner is provided on Sunday as well as a private Farm-to-table dinner event on Tuesday and lunch on departure day. Participants receive three days of in-depth art instruction with painting demonstrations. Not a painter? You are welcome to join us, too. Retreat only, no instruction is $695.

For a slideshow of painting locations and the Amee Farm Lodge, check out this slideshow. Enjoy!

To sign up or for more information, email kimweineck@gmail.com or call Becca at (802)746-8061. Thanks!

The artist/instructor:

Kim Morin Weineck is an accomplished artist who has been teaching all mediums of painting and drawing for more than a decade. Kim concentrates on the beauty of interpretive landscapes in her own work. She is a juried member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA), Signature Member of the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod (PPSCC), among other art society memberships. Founder and Instructor of the Neponset Valley Artists (NVA), Kim holds a BFA in Fine Art, 2D from Massachusetts College of Art and Design where she graduated with distinction and found her artist-voice studying in Pont-Aven, Brittany, France. Kim has served as Gallery Director at Gallery9, Norwood, MA.

Inspiration overload

Have you seen the slideshow of photos from our quick Vermont trip? If you scan through them, you can see there's a true abundance of inspiration. As I typed that I loved how the word "abundance" came to mind because abundance is probably the most perfect word for a farm.

Since my return I've been working on my marketing materials for my workshops (!) as well as creating new works based on drawings, photos, and other references from my trip.

Here are two finished pastels:

I cannot wait to post more paintings as they are completed. New work wants to percolate out of me quickly, and I'm trying to keep up!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Vermont Slideshow!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Going grander

Some wonderful things happen in my paintings when I work small. The scale of my mark is grand in small works, so the little marks I make mean something. Everything is large and effective for me when I work small. Scaling things up is tricky. I don't do it easily. The simple large stroke with the side of a brush or pastel in a little painting doesn't have the same 'umph' when you are working larger.

To improve my larger works, I've been working up studies in smaller sizes and then creating the larger works once the smaller piece is successful. With the small piece I can work out the glitches, take a chance without so much risk, experiment, and try something freely. When the pieces are successful, then on to the larger surface. It's an academic approach.

In the past I've done thumbnails and value studies, but the studies I'm working on now are more complete small works.

At one time I told my husband that I thought today's larger painting "Dianne's Flowers" was probably going in the trash -- it was coming along that poorly. Listening to the advice I often tell my students, I forced myself to work through the 'yuck' period and finally saw the possibilities of the piece. When Tim saw the painting again he said, "Ah! You brought it back from the dead!" It was totally affirming.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Thursday, June 13, 2013

People!

I know! Shock!! I mean, I'm a LANDSCAPE painter...

...This is a painting with PEOPLE! People I know and love, to be exact. In the back is Lucy, running out of the sea while Pippa is combing the beach for shells and such on the sand.

Versions of this painting have been floating in my mind's eye for a while now, and it's been percolating in my head that figures need to enter my paintings. For some reason, this was the one that started it. We'll see what happens next.

Thanks for reading! -kmw