A series of Whales by Pennsylvania artist Kolene Spicher

Whales, Whales, Whales 

and More Whales! 

This is a series of whales that were painted for a customer in the mid west.  Depending on what she chooses, there may be some of these available by the end of this week (Jan 16, 2017).  Message me if you have any questions.  

14" x 16" No. 1-585LG

This is a watercolor on paper using highly pigmented paints, the painting is an one-of-a-kind original and the antique frame has a wonderful patina and lemon gold finish. This one is a little more unusual because I don't often come across this type of fun oval frame with the right amount of 'chippy.'

7 1/2"x 8 1/2   No. 2-165-LG

Loving all the little sailboats floating around in front of my little whale.  This frame is antique and little but it is nearly perfect in it's finish.  I love it.  Watercolor on paper! Look at his grin!

5"x6" No 3-135-LG

This is a new frame! Moby Dick!  

5 1/2" x 4" No. 4-137-LG 

I love the color tones on this one.  The frame is antique and Italian! 

4"x4" No. 5-130-LG

The depth of the sides on this make the painting look like it's in a shadowbox.  The turquoise in the water is the perfect shade to compliment the yellow gold tones in this little square frame.

17 1/2 " x 10 1/2" No. 6-485-LG 

Moby Dick...AGAIN.  This little guy isn't as little as the rest.  Measuring in close to 18" wide, this piece makes a nice statement.  It has Clean lines, a lemon gold frame, is a watercolor on paper, and  has lots of action and movement in the water!

Thanks for looking and enjoy this winter day! 

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Custom Antique Reproduction Silhouette by Kolene Spicher

Silhouette of a Lady with

relatives from 

Denmark

From Denmark to America, this piece of art
tells the story of where this lady's ancestors came from
as well as the day she married.  

I started this project day one by creating a wonderfully crackled and antiqued background to paint upon.  Special consideration was taken to accommodate the lettering across the bottom.  It needed to be smooth enough to write the genealogy out yet  antiqued enough to match the rest of the painting. 

I loved this frame.  The painting was sized to fit it perfectly.  The condition is great.  Finally, the look is correct for the home that 

this piece was made for.  

MY Customer likes nautical and wanted the dress to also be nautical in nature.  Finding reference material for this had its challenges!  My inspiration came from antique silhouettes from the 1800s.  

I love house this looks hanging over the bench my foyer. 

You can sort of see the texture that I achieved by looking at the above lower right picture.  The customer also wanted the flag of Denmark flying on a ship in the background.  I also have the American flag flying on the ship to the right.  Pictorially, this suggests a story of coming to America.   It is also what we are all about here in the USA,  we were ONCE  all little seedlings. 

I love the corner blocks on this frame and the drape across the top of the painting.  I am known for including decorative drapes in my pieces.  

Here is my lady! 

Here is her likeness 1800s style!  

LOOK at the writing, you can see the genealogy,  and you will notice that her GRANDPARENTS were from Denmark.  It is a special gift to have someone illustrate how one's family came to the great melting pot!  I was happy to do this. 

Thank you for taking the time to look at this piece of artwork.  The painting will be a Christmas gift. 

Enjoy. 

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Flocking Birds Painting - Post 2

The many steps 

I take to complete a painting.

There are a few steps involved in starting a painting.  Yesterday, you learned that I started with a photograph.  Obviously, this is not always the case.  Many paintings I make up!   I am going to condense the rest of the steps into one final post for ease.  

Can you see the wavy glass 

Choosing a frame can be a job in itself.  This  one was an antique Currier and Ives frame at one time.  The print was not in great shape so I bought it for the frame. 

I drew the tree first.  

After cutting the paper to the correct size,  I drew the tree.  Here is the reference photo for your comparison.  This will help you understand my goal.  

The tree is the one with the bushes underneath! 

After drawing the tree, it was  then time to do the landscape area that you see in the background, minus the houses.

Can you see the hills in the background? 

It is a lot of fun changing things up, and sometimes the little twists that are added as afterthoughts really make the piece special.  For instance, I added a bunch of words about birds found from the Bible.   

You can see my layers of color that I am slowly building.  

As the piece progresses and the base is set, I am now sure what direction I want to go and can start to add detail in both texture and color, which further enhances and subdues the colors as I direct with washes of paint. Each step must dry completely before starting the next.   

I added some trees at the horizon.

My horizon has trees in the photo, and I liked them.  They are simple upward strokes of black and burnt umber.  This color is nice because it compliments the blues.  

I added some quotes taken from the Bible about Birds.  

Lots of detail here and different views of flight to create the flocking illusion that I like 

I love the punch of blue in the sky 

I sort of skipped some stages but I filled in the tree, making it nearly opaque and drew in the birds in pencil first.  This was a very time consuming progress but fun.  I listened to music.  

This looks like dusk to me.  

I love outside shots of sunsets and sunrises.  I frequently have them on my FB pages, too.  I love nature.  I have a few bird paintings around the house that I am going to hang this one to compliment.    I will eventually put this original on ETSY if you are interested, message me.  It will also be added to our print line.  I intend to start another one today that has the same feel.  

Here it is in my Living room Spot light.  

I photographed it in this light so that you could really see the color pop.  This is not a dull piece! 

This is my favorite shot 

I really like this shot in front of the Robin Egg Blue table and bright white plate!  It just pops!  Thanks for looking at the progress.  You can see more of my work at www.Spicherandco.com.  I sell to the trade but can get 

anything  someone might be interested in purchasing.  I do this frequently. Thanks and 

Enjoy! 

 

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Mermaid sitting on a Barrel of RUM! YUM!

She was THE PROPERTY OF SAILOR JACK! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/208119972/whimsical-kolene-spicher-mermaid-sitting?

Sailor Jack is on the Rock! 

This is the Untrimmed original

This painting was formatted for a beautiful long frame that I felt a mermaid or a whale would go great in.  But there's an issue with the frame, it's not wide enough; and I sort of hate to cut off her tail…  This is one of those times that I could use a little advice.  

When I was in Atlanta, GA this last month, I went to a little restaurant that is situated beneath the Hilton Hotel in Atlanta.   Many of you probably have never heard of it; it's called Trader VIC's.  It is an Hawaiian Style restaurant specializing in the most amazing dishes and drinks.  There are only two left in the United States.  One is in downtown Atlanta and the other is…I'm not sure where, maybe Hawaii or California.  Nevertheless, my trip to Atlanta for the gift show is not complete without a stop at Trader Vic's.  This mermaid is in memory of this restaurant that I love.  

According to Trader Vic, Rum played an important part in molding empires (Don't ask me how).  Vic has some great drinks to show for it, too.  I like the Mai Tai and their Mohito!  I think this barrel of rum makes for an interesting painting.  Having my mermaid sit upon it is just funny. 

My favorite part of this mermaid is her hair.  

Mermaids have to have beautiful hair.  It is required in the code.  

Lastly, here she is in the pretty walnut frame.  If you think I should not cut her tail off or if you think it is okay, let me know your thoughts (if you feel like it).  She will be for my fall show!  I posted about it a few days ago! 

Here it is in the frame that I ultimately chose! 

Enjoy! 

Kolene Spicher 

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Pizza Night

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MERMAID EAT PIZZA? 

Well, I have.  It happened long ago, when sailor wore stripped pants and sailed on boats called clipper ships.  It was a Thursday in the late afternoon, and this guy would row to shore and make a tasty meal of bread with cheese and seaweed salad!  He even had his own special way of baking the pizza using bricks and stones and shells that could be found nearby.  It was just like an today's oven.  

I am just having some fun.  This painting was executed in a watercolor technique.  The frame is a little banged up but I am going to fix that right quick! 

HERE IT IS FIXED: 

YOU DON'T SEE THIS AT ALL WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PAINTING

This is a little more Orangey than is accurate but I wanted you to see what was written across the bottom. 

Call me silly, but I really like her little mole on her right cheek.  He is looking very proud of himself, too, I might add.  She's slightly bored.  I can tell.  

HERE'S A CLEVER IDEA:  I like to put paintings on little easels.  This particular easel is a stained brown one and disappears wherever I place it.  I purchased it at HOBBY LOBBY.  They have a great variety of inexpensive easels.  

To give you an idea of the scale of this, I have included a shot with some of my nautical things that I collect.  This tool box just works to my way of thinking because I imagine that it was aboard a ship. It is a shipman's tool box.  

If I get some interest in this painting, I may list it on Etsy.  My Etsy name is KOLENESPICHER :)

**this painting is sold :)

Thanks for looking! 

Enjoy

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