Return to Painting

It's been a really long time since I've updated this blog, and I think that it's about time for something fresh. I'm still making jewelry. I will post some photos of some recent work soon. Lately, however, I've been spending more time developing my painting skills. In particular, I have returned to the classic still life genre. While I love my previous works, I wanted to add a fresh new style to revamp my paintings. I've made four small 8x10 still-lifes, and although two of them, quite frankly, are duds, I really like the other two. This style of painting forces you to get better at looking very closely at your subject matter. I seem to be less skillful with that, so I'm very excited to be giving myself this challenge. I will post pictures of these soon.

My intentions are to take these processes and apply them to my larger works on canvas. It seems to be the next logical step in the progression.



This is an example of an older work of mine. It is watercolor, ink and gouache on paper. It's roughly 24" x 24". I think some fully rendered objects would give more substance to this style. For now, I think I'm going to concentrate on the smaller studies and see where that leads.

See My Work in Person

I've just recently started selling my work through a fantastic venue in New Orleans called Magazine Metals, located on Magazine Street, just a few doors away from Juan's Flying Burrito. I'm very excited about being there among a very fine selection of local metal artists. In fact, I had been thinking about making copper cuffs for quite awhile now, and the many variations of metals that are exhibited at the boutique inspired me to create a few. The price range for them varies, but they mostly cost between $50-$75. They are an inch wide and are very sturdy. I will make more of them in different styles within the next week or so and I will probably be offering them for sale in my etsy shop and also at smashing darling.

Here are some photos:

Spring/Summer 2009

Very slowly, but surely have I been working on creating a new Spring/Summer Collection. I don't expect it to be absolutely completed for quite awhile, but I'm definitely trying to have at least a few pieces to contribute to the overall feel of my perspective on these fashion seasons. Floral motifs and pastel colors have always been integral parts of many Spring collections, but I definitely believe that there is so much more to be gleaned. In addition to the simple floral shape, I've added a few pieces that focus on leaves. After all, they are usually the first indicators of the change from the winter cold to warmer temperatures. I expect to be using varying cabochons from different shell varieties such as mother of pearl, abalone and paua. They are bright, bold and certainly very warm. 

Here is a small sample of what I've come up with so far:

The Outfit Has Relocated!

I'm very excited to announce that I have a brand new workspace. It is within walking distance to my house and it is completely secured. Here are some photos:

New Website and Other Things

I've decided to create a new website that is all mine. It should be up within the next week or so. The new title will be kgaleana.com, when it is completed. I'm very excited about the site and the direction I see my work going. I recently participated in the Thibodaux Art Walk in Thibodaux, Louisiana. It went very well, and I'm looking forward to participating in Houma's Art After Dark during the first week of April. Here is a photo of the display in Thibodaux:

Also, I created a look book that should be here by the beginning of next week. It will be an excellent companion to have with me at Art After Dark. I'm very excited about all of these things and I will be posting some photos of my latest work soon. 

New Photos

I'm thinking about adding all of these pieces to my Etsy shop, but I haven't yet decided. I love them, and I think that the look will be a blast of freshness to my older collection. Either I will add these photos or I will create a new shop. Anyway, here they are:

NEW COLLECTION!

I have recently been working very diligently on creating a brand new collection inspired by shadow and light. It's called the De La Sombra Collection, which means "of the shadow." I'm very proud of what I've come up with so far and I've even managed to get some pretty sharp professional pictures of them. Some of them are currently on display at the Houma Waterlife Museum.

They are all made from sterling silver, semi precious gemstones, freshwater pearls, and 14 karat gold. I will continue to post more photos as I finish more pieces. Cheers!