Occoquan Art on the Block! Nov 10th

Figure Drawing Class at Rockledge Mansion in Occoquan

Take a figure drawing class in historic Rockledge Mansion on November 10th with instructor Kelly Campbell! Kelly has been teaching at her studio in Occoquan for over 4 years and is a portrait and mural artist. Rockledge is a gorgeous mansion built in the 1700's. It is also known for it's ghost history!

Students will be taught proportion, value, about the human figure, drapery and will be drawing from models.

When: Wednesday, November 10th from 7-9:30PM
How Much? $50 per person.
Class fee includes drawing materials (kneaded eraser, conte', charcoal, and pencil), refreshments (cappuchino, coffee and cookies), and a detailed syllabus.
RSVP no later than Oct 30th, however sign up by Oct 20th recieve $5 off your class fee!

The class is "PG 13" and the models will be partially nude and draped with fabric.

Please RSVP via Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101088113291387
or by emailing Kelly at kcampbellartist@hotmail.com.
Non refundable $25 is due upon reservation. Paypal, Visa, or MC is accepted.

Kelly's Artbox Newly Remodeled for 2010

Valentine's window display

My little studio, Kelly's Artbox, in Occoquan, VA has come a long way since it's start in 2007. I moved locations from a second level store to a storefront and with the help of my amazing boyfriend, in January I completely rearranged everything and now it looks like a whole new store!

I've also got some new items in! I now carry cards from Earmark Invitations (very smart and funny), and also have custom made couture hairpins/brooches by Glen & Constance designs.

All my items (except the furniture) are handmade and completely unique.

Glen & Constance Brooch/Hairpins ($8-12) displayed in a vintage wheelbarrel ($30)

Earmark Invitations Limited edition journals $10-15) Handmade zipper pouches ($8)

Shabby Chic shelf $30, "Freak Out and Throw Stuff" parody card sets $10

looking towards my entranceway


my classroom and studio work area

right corner of "retail room"

left corner of "retail room"

earring wall

I now have a whole wall dedicated to my jewelry

Please stop by to check out all the new changes! Also, become a fan of Kelly's Artbox on Facebook! Recieve special fan deals and get the update on all events!

Kelly's Artbox is located on 304 Mill St., Occoquan, VA

Art on the Occoquan- artwalk in Prince William County

Art on the Occoquan is an artwalk event with over a dozen local artists to meet and greet!
Some artists will be doing demos, and there will be complimentary food and drinks available at some locations.

The artwalk is being held on a late night second Saturday shopping night so expect alot of the shops to still be open.

So come, have dinner, SHOP, meet some great local artists, and stroll the streets of Occoquan!

New Items in Kelly's Artbox!

poppy stool painted by me, Kelly Campbell

Forget Me Not child's chair painted by Kelly Campbell

Shabby Chic footstool with bird nest

"Espresso Yourself" display

handmade zipper pouches made from Japanese fabric. Humorous retro magnets

Handmade reed diffusers

Handmade tile coasters

New tables!

New display

Well I have been a very busy bee! I have TONS of new things in the shop and it's looking quite filled :-) Here are some photos, but stop on in to purchase some of these pretties before someone else does!

Beach Window Sash

Remember that work in progress? Well here is the finished piece.

You can purchase this gorgeous oil and acrylic painting at my studio, Kelly's Artbox, on Mill St. in Occoquan for $98

it's painted on an antique window sash from Albany, NY.

Don't you just love the Adirondack chair?

Want a custom window sash to match your home decor? No problem! Just contact me for info and pricing :-)

Ivans Request Appaloosa Custom Breyer

This handsome gelding belongs to McKayla in North Dakota! He was by far the most challenging custom I have done so far, but also alot of fun!
This fellow was done on the Smarty Jones Breyer mold and was painted in acrylics, had his boy parts removed (to make him a gelding), and was very meticulously spotted.
There is mapping around his spots, and perhaps my favorite part is his pinked and spotted nose.

Interested in owning your own custom of your horse? Prices range from $50-100 (VERY good deal for customized breyers!!) you can view more of my customs on my website at:
http://www.kellycampbellartist.com/

Kate Pastel Portrait

As a portrait artist in northern Virginia, sometimes I need to do something to help me remember that art isn't just my job, it's my passion. I have decided to do a series of celebrity portraits from my favorite tv shows.

Some of you might remember seeing my "HOUSE" portrait I did of Hugh Laurie a couple weeks ago-- well here's the second in my series of celebrity tv stars. Evangeline Lily who plays "Kate" on LOST.

This portrait is available for purchase in my etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15335886

Prints will be available soon!

First Place!

I am excited to say that I recieved "First Place" at the 42nd Colonial Beach Arts & Crafts Festival this weekend. I also did really well selling my handmade nature-themed jewelry. Some of the biggest hits included my portrait of Hugh Laurie (from HOUSE), my handmade pmc "Mod Bird" necklaces, and my antique key jewelry.

You can view some of these items here--

Hugh Laurie portrait: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14360162

Mod Bird: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13713231

One of my most favorite comments was:

"We only buy the best stuff, and you have the best jewelry on the beach"

and the fact that I named all of my jewelry theme names like "Night Fire" etc. went over really well.

Thank you to everyone for all of their support!

My next craft show will be November 8th in Falls Church at Falls Church High School located at 7521Jaguar Trail, Falls Church, VA at the junction of I-495 and Route 50. I hope to see you there!

The things I do for fun

What does a commissionable artist do for fun? More art. I will be doing some celebrity paintings of some of my favorite tv stars so that my potential clients can relate when they see them.

So I decided to finally paint something for myself and have a little fun. Here's HOUSE.

Hugh Laurie who plays Greg House on Fox. Enjoy!

Watercolor: In Love with Gouache

"What's 'gouache'?" You may be asking. Well gouache is a type of watercolor. I love it because I think it has the best of both worlds with typical watercolor, and acrylic (also another form of watercolor), in that gouache is still workable after it dries like watercolor, but has a white pigment like acrylic and can be very opaque.

In this recent painting of mine from my original photo, I decided to take more of a translucent approach, but used the white pigment in parts of the nest. The only dowfall to the white is that it can "muddy up" easily, so I reccommend still trying to use the white of the paper as your true white in the piece.

You can buy this piece and other gouache pieces of mine online or at my studio Kelly's Artbox in Occoquan, VA.

Latest Breyer Creation

Even though I am an artist in the northern VA area, I have had the priviledge of creating breyers for people all over the US.

This pretty grey gelding's name is Hundred. :-) I hope you like him! I think he's my favorite so far.

Portrait in Progress

When I do a portrait there are quite a few stages it goes through. I thought I'd go ahead and write about it, to help those who are not artists visualize the process.

Stages:

1. Preliminary drawing- I draw out the portrait on tracing paper first. It is much easier to erase on tracing paper than on canvas. Plus, any pencil will mix with your paint and grey it out.

2. Transfer to canvas. Notice how clean it looks.

3. Laying in basic colors, aka the "ugly stage". That painting will stay in this phase for a while before evolving into a recognizable piece of art.

4. Adding detail and form, background first.

5. Adding detail and form to the subject.

6. Adding the final touches to the subject.

7. After it's fully dry-- varnish it!