Madeline

Back when I was still hand painting note cards, my best friend Caroline gifted a set of five to her Gran. i can't remember if it was for her birthday, or Mother's Day, or just because, but that detail doesn't really matter anyway. What does matter was how much Gran loved them- so much so that she treated them like fine china; putting them in a special place to only use for the most special occasions. (She only had five, so she had to make them count!) From then on, Gran knew me as "the girl who paints the notecards." When I finally got to meet Gran at Caroline's wedding, she was just as warm and spunky as I had imagined she would be. And sure enough- despite it being years since she'd received Caroline's gift- she knew exactly who I was and excitedly told me how much she loved the cards I made.

This week Gran passed away at the age of 96 and in celebration of her life I thought I would share the painting that her great granddaughter (and namesake) inspired. I'd like to think Gran would especially enjoy all of the hot pink. 

In the studio with Courtney Khail - Documenting my process with professional photos

Atlanta artist Courtney Khail in the studio | photo by Elle Golden

I feel like this post should actually be titled "what not to do when taking photos" or "why having a great photographer matters," but I thought I'd keep it simple. Plus, I'm not sharing any of the photos of me acting like a moron because this is the internet and NOTHING goes away on the internet so that title wouldn't fit anyway. (Take note kids. That snapchat seems harmless now, but someone took a screenshot and it will haunt you in 30 years when you're trying to get elected or something. Hashtag, make good choices.)

Anyhow, off that soapbox. A little while back my good friend, LeiLani (of Elle Golden Photography) came over to capture some images of me painting. Aside from classes, I'd never actually painted in front of anyone before- much less when I was also trying to sit up straight, not make awkward expressions with my face, or do anything weird with my resting hand- so while excited, I was also a little nervous. (Of course, there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about. As soon as I got into my rhythm, it was just like any other time we'd hung out. Except you know, instead of eating lunch, I was painting and she was photographing- but pretty much the same.) 

A few things though- I'd never been so acutely aware of how I hold a paintbrush or just how restrictive jeans are when you're painting on the floor. Because while I do occasionally paint in jeans, those are my comfy jeans. My painting jeans if you will. The ones I do not wear outside, that are hanging on by a thread, and practically fall off when I wear them so they barely constitute as clothing. Definitely not what I was going to be photographed in. In the photos though, I'd chosen to wear more flattering (read- tighter) jeans which made for a few interesting moments while I tried to find a comfortable position that also photographed well.

Atlanta artist Courtney Khail in the studio | photo by Elle Golden

*Speaking of picking out clothes, during a previous phone call where I may have been lamenting what I was going to wear, LeiLani joked with me saying that if she had to wear real pants to work, then so did I- i.e. my cheerleading shorts and paint covered, ripped UGA orientation T-shirt from 2004 probably wasn't going to cut it. (side note, I call them cheerleading shorts, but aside from a brief moment in my childhood where I was enrolled in cheerleading camp, I have never been a cheerleader and therefore probably should just call them "cotton shorts I wear when I don't want to ruin something I actually care about" but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.)

Okay circling back to the point. So LeiLani came over with all of her gear and after I put on some cool jamz (that's right. jamz with a "z." The only appropriate term to categorize rap and hip hop that spans from N.W.A. to Ludacris with just a sprinkling of one hit wonders like Sisqo and 2000's classics like Britney Spears' "Toxic") we both got to work- me painting, her shooting. These are just a few of the images she captured (I'll share more later.) I'm so thrilled with the end result. (Aren't they beautiful? I just love the moments she caught- the movement, the thought, the light- all of it.) And just geeking out a little here, but if you look closely, you can see how I change as the piece evolves. In the beginning, my clothes are looser, my hair is down, everything is more flowy. As I move to doing the line work though, I swapped my shirt- (an unintentional move, I just wanted something more comfortable and less precious) my hair is tied back, and everything seems a little stronger and pulled together. That duality is pretty much exactly the feeling I strive to express in my paintings, so it was incredibly exciting to see that LeiLani captured it so perfectly.

Atlanta artist Courtney Khail in her studio | photo by Elle Golden

*A note about working with a friend- LeiLani and I actually met in a professional setting and had worked together on a shoot before this, but this was the first time I was the client. Watching her transform from "friend" to "photographer" was a little surreal, but in the best way. I'm always humbled by people's talents and being able to witness that talent coming from someone I call a friend was just amazing.  So thank you, LeiLani. Not just for capturing such beautiful images, but for sharing your talent with me. It was an honor!

First Friday Meet the Artists Show with west elm at Ponce City Market

A few days ago I had the amazing opportunity to show my work along side three other incredibly talented local artists at the west elm at Ponce City Market. Celebrating their first ever "Meet the Artists" First Friday exhibit, the weekend long show began with an opening Friday night- complete with colorful sodas, jars of cookies, and even organic cotton candy from the ever amazing Cult Carts. 

Not only was I blown away by the turn out (seriously, you guys rock and we all appreciate the support) but I couldn't get over just how great the other artists were (personality-wise- I already knew their work was great!) Aside from a few planning emails, I don't believe any of us had ever spoken before the show, but within minutes of arriving, we all just meshed together. Maybe it was because the show took place at west elm- and therefore we were surrounded by comfy couches and beautifully styled vignettes, but the whole opening kind of just felt like a really laid back party at a friends house. A friend with a killer art collection of course. We all just kind of lounged around- laughing, drinking, and eating cotton candy. I almost forgot it was "work."

The featured artists

(Emily of Ink and Indigo, Michelle of Michelle Armas, Brynn of Brynn Casey Art, and myself)

Mandy (the owner of Cult Carts) doing her thing.

I met her at an event a few months before, but didn't get to really talk to each other until the opening. So happy we finally got the chance because she is an absolute blast! If you want your party to be amazing, hire her. (And if you're weird and don't like cotton candy, she has other carts like a champagne one and a waffle one.)

west elm hooking everyone up with snacks

Speaking of west elm, every single person I met was spectacular and went above and beyond to help make the show a success. Such fantastic hosts! (A very special thanks to Ashley and Adriana for making this whole thing a reality.)

Shots from the show

me and the hubs celebrating with Cuban food after the show.

He isn't a huge photo person so I may have been trying to be sly about this one by taking a photo of our reflection in the window. As you can tell, he caught on. Now to be fair- and for the sake of full disclosure- I may or may not be "that person" when it comes to photos. When I get in the "capture the moment" mood it's hard to get me to stop. So it's probably not that he's opposed to taking photos as much as he's not into taking a bajillion photos. (Tomato tahmato.) 

So there you have it! If you couldn't make it, I'm bummed we didn't get to meet (but there is always next time.) If you did make it though, thanks so much for spending your Friday night with us. I hope you had a great time!

"Velvet Petals" watercolor and ink painting by courtney khail

"Velvet Petals" watercolor and ink painting by Atlanta artist Courtney Khail (7" x 10" painted area, paper size 11"x15")

I've had people asking for smaller works in addition to my normal large pieces, so these past few weeks I decided to play around with proportion and scale and do just that. And by play around I mean, I wanted to capture the same movement and compositions of my large paintings in a smaller size and wanted to see if I was capable of doing that in a way that I was proud of and wanted to share with you all. As it turns out, I actually really enjoyed the challenge and the works that developed from it.

This is the first painting of a series that will be released over the next few weeks and to be honest, it almost never made it past the watercolor stage. I started this piece with the clearest vision in my head of how I wanted it to look, but (as is normal) my hand and the paint had a different idea then my mind. No matter how hard I pushed and steered, it still ended up developing into something completely different then I originally planned.

Per the usual when that happens, I put it to the side- frustrated and annoyed with the disconnect between my head and my hand and unable to see the beauty that evolved despite my best efforts to contain it. Luckily, A few days passed (and my frustration lessened) and I decided just to "play around with ink." My thought was if it was already going to end up in the garbage, I might as well practice my technique on it. 

Well as you can probably see, it didn't end up in the trash. It actually morphed into on of my favorite pieces from the series. The colors really pop against the line work, there's a ton of variation, and there is just so much energy and movement in the lines that I cannot stop looking at it. Just further goes to show that I have to believe and trust in the process instead of trying to be so controlling of my work. (What do you think about it? Do you feel the energy in it too?) 

"Madly" new watercolor and ink painting

"Madly" new watercolor and ink painting by Courtney Khail

watercolor and ink on paper, unframed size 12" x 18" $1025

Sometimes I start a piece and have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. This one happens to be one of those pieces. I've really gotten into super close up florals and botanicals (like this one) but the morning I started this piece, I pulled back. I had a sketch from a while back of the outline of a flower (and I absolutely loved how it popped off the background) so I figured I'd explore that for a minute. I mean, why not, right? What's the worst that could happen? It's either going to be awesome, not good, but not bad, or absolute crap. And if it happened to be crap, it's not like anyone would ever have to see it. (That's something I stress repeatedly any time I teach. It's just paper. It's just paint. In the end, if it's the worst thing you've ever seen- the kind of terrible that probably wouldn't even make your mom's frig*- you can just recycle it and forget about it.)

While we're on that note- the same goes for Instagram and every other social media site out there. No one is making you share (and to be honest, no one wants to see everything any how) so curate away! (Unless you're one of my close friends who gets random photos deemed #notprettyenoughforinstagram. You know, like ones showing that I haven't put on real pants yet and it's already noon. Which for anyone who doesn't know this, pajama pants become "painting pants" during work hours.)

Yea. So, back to the art. I loosely sketched out kind of what was in my head, but like I said before, I wasn't really sure what that even looked like so I was pretty much winging it. Fast forward multiple hours over multiple days (you can't really ruse watercolors or you will end up with a muddy, sheet of "well this sucks") and I had the watercolor part done. And I was pretty excited about it looked.

And then came the inking. Which, pretty much throws me into a state of anxiety because an amazing painting can go downhill REALLY fast the moment I force a line or have too heavy of a hand. Spoiler alert: This was not one of those times. I actually love the line work here, which is precisely why you get to see it. And I do hope you enjoy it as well!

*or you know your frig. Nothing wrong with handing yourself a gold star every now and then. Did you shower today AND check your email? Gold star for you. Wait, what did you say? YOU DID TAXES?! Gold star AND a prize from the treasure chest. Good job adulting. You're rocking this.