The Invitation Suite (Courtney Khail Watercolors for Weddings Unveiled Spring Inspiration Shoot)

The Invitation Suite (Courtney Khail Watercolors for Weddings Unveiled Spring Inspiration Shoot)

Custom Fine Art Watercolor Wedding Invitation Suite by Courtney Khail | photo by ellegolden

I absolutely love when I'm given free reign with designing. Which aside from sending over inspiration boards to give me an idea for the overall look and colors, is pretty much exactly what Raquel did. She trusted my expertise and ability and just let me create- and in the end she got amazing pieces. (I stress this point to anyone looking to work with an artist- whether it's for commissioned art for custom wedding invitations or for your home. Choose someone whose work and style you love, give them enough information- favorite colors, overall mood, etc- so they know what you want, and then trust them to provide that. By giving people the freedom to really create, more often than not you will be rewarded with exceptional art far exceeding anything you could have imagined!)

The color palette board I made to show the original inspiration (photo by Elle Golden)

But back to this suite. Raquel wanted a natural palette- lots of greens, blues, and whites- that evoked spring. After seeing her inspiration, I immediately envisioned a garden after a spring rain (Wow. Feels like I'm writing copy for the J. Peterman catalog with that one.) Subdued, yet still vibrant colors, with enough contrast for interest, but not so much that anything is jarring. Have you ever looked into a clear, blue lake? How close to the surface the water is barely blue at all- more crystal clear- but as your eyes look deeper, the water gradually darkens until it's almost navy or midnight? (If not, I suggest you go explore the outdoors more because the world is beautiful and you'll get to see things like what I just described.) I wanted my pieces to appear delicate, but strong enough to stand on their own, with subtle color variations like those that occur in nature.

Invitation by Courtney Khail Watercolors (photo by Elle Golden)

Like all of my work, I incorporated handwritten elements as well. With this particular one though, I kept the lines very thin. (The style was inspired by the handwritten notes my grandmothers used to send. Cursive, airy, and always consistent in the width- probably because they were written with a ball point pen. There was always something so feminine about their handwriting and I want to capture that in this suite.)

The design itself was directly inspired by spring time in the South. I'm originally from Augusta, Georgia and for Augustans the beginning of spring is marked by one thing- The Masters golf tournament. Always the first full week of April, the city is full of bright azalea blooms, dogwood blooms so bright they appear to be glowing, and tons of green- in everything from manicured lawns to the famed green jacket. I dialed back on the colors some, but still strived to capture the overall feeling of spring's "fresh start" with the artwork itself.

Watercolor RSVP by Courtney Khail Watercolors (Photo by Elle Golden)

And there you have it- the back story and inspiration of the invitation suite. Does it remind you of spring as well?

From concept to final design- watercolor mock ups by courtney khail

Custom Watercolor Design Mock Up by courtney khail watercolors

Good design always starts with a good plan. For the Weddings unveiled wedding inspiration shoot, Michelle and Raquel of Lemiga Events wanted me to create a watercolor "mock up" of the table and place settings to show Raquel's vision throughly before any actual styling began. It was so much fun to do and I absolutely loved how these turned out! (Fun fact- this service is also available for Lemiga clients so they can see what the overall design will resemble before their big day!)

Final Table Design featuring courtney khail watercolors fine art stationery | photo by elle golden photography

Custom Watercolor Design Mock Up of Table Setting by courtney khail watercolors 

Final Place Setting featuring watercolor fine art wedding stationery by courtney khail watercolors | photography by elle golden photography

courtney khail watercolors | Weddings Unveiled Spring/Summer 2016 Launch Party

Weddings Unveiled Spring/Summer 2016 Launch Party

Last Thursday, I drove over to StudioWed's studio for the launch party for Wedding Unveiled's Spring/ Summer issue. While I most likely would have gone anyway because I'm a big fan of the women behind both StudioWed and Weddings Unveiled, this launch was especially exciting because this particular issue featured a four page spread of a shoot I'd collaborated on! 

Seeing my work never fails to get me all excited, and despite trying to act like a professional, much less a normal functioning human being, I'm pretty sure I just transformed into a five year old who was just found out they were going to Disneyworld. (Maybe a bad example since I can't even look at a roller coaster without getting sick. Okay how about a five year old being told they were getting a puppy? Yep that works. Because if you don't get excited about puppies, something might be wrong with you.) So yes, imagine me first walking in as "Courtney Khail, professional artist" and then moments after being handed the magazine turning into "Courtney Khail, five year old that just found herself surrounded by lab puppies."  (Because labs are my favorite.) 

THEN if seeing the feature wasn't enough, surround me with friends, put me in a photo booth, and hand me a huge cloud of (organic coconut) cotton candy. Which all most definitely happened. 

(Speaking of, way to throw a party StudioWed and Weddings Unveiled. I tip my hat to you.)

Over the next few days/weeks/tbd time frame (I'm just being honest here. I'm not the best at blogging regularly) I'm going to share my work, (as well as some of the work of the other amazing vendors,) behind the scenes moments, and shots that didn't make the magazine. Until then though, definitely go pick up a copy and see the feature in it's entirety for yourself! It's a stunning magazine filled with gorgeous photos, inspiring work, and beautiful ideas.

"Where It's At" - new original watercolor painting

"Where It's At" - original watercolor and ink painting on paper by Atlanta artist Courtney Khail

Aside from "flowers," I wasn't sure where this painting was going when I first started- I just knew I loved the colors and the fluidity of it. Eventually it morphed into what you see now- a super close up of peonies. It wasn't until after I finished the watercolors though, and begin doing a loose contour drawing over top of the painting, that I really started to fall in love with it. The line work- especially around the stamens-  just has so much amazing movement. Your eyes can't help but jump from petal to petal.

Kindness in refusal

"It's kindness to refuse immediately what you eventually intend to deny." - jimmy collins | watercolor by courtney khail 

I read this quote a little while back in an interview and it resonated with me. So often people feel it's kinder to "slowly" or "gently" let someone down - whether for an opportunity, a date, what have you- than to simply just be upfront and direct. I've never agreed with that feeling. We've all been on the receiving end of false hope, and it never makes the reality any easier. (Honestly, I'd argue it makes it worse. What many people consider gentle or kind, is actually just prolonging the discomfort or hurt.) So I urge you to always be direct and honest about all of your intentions. In the end, it's the kind thing to do.

invitations

Seeing how engagement season is in full swing, I thought this quote was only fitting. Invitations are your guests' very first glimpse into your wedding and although you most likely will not be able to invite every person dear to your heart, make sure those that you do invite feel special and excited when they receive your invitation. Plus, with all the time and energy you've put into planning an amazing wedding to celebrate the love you and your partner have, it only makes sense that the invitations to that event are just as amazing! If you're stuck on how to make that possible, I'd love to chat about all the possibilities and create a custom wedding invitation just for you! 

courtney khail watercolors is now a part of style me pretty's little black book

I am so excited to share this news- courtney khail watercolors is now a preferred invitation vendor in Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book! It's a huge honor and I'm so excited to be a part of one of my all time favorite wedding sites. Check out my profile here!

courtney khail watercolors on food network's blog "the dish"

Sometimes you find good news a little later than expected, which is exactly what happened here. While testing SEO and other things that I act like I understand for my site, I stumbled across this little gem while googling my artwork. Apparently last year, Kelly Lanza (of Oh So Beautiful Paper) included my pineapple painting in a piece she wrote for the Food Network blog. Such an amazing surprise! Thank you so much, Kelly!

You can see the whole piece (as well as a ton of other pineapple goodness) right here.

Love does not consist in gazing at each other

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." - Antoine De Saint Exupery (watercolor by courtney khail)

With engagement season in full swing, I wanted to send out a heartfelt congratulations to all those who have promised to spend the rest of their lives together. I am so so so excited for you and wish you both all the happiness in the world.

courtney khail + west elm pop up shop THIS Sunday

courtney khail watercolors and west elm pop up shop

Sunday, December 13th

1-5p

Ponce City Market West Elm

Atlanta, GA

You may have seen on Instagram (or maybe not. I easily get overwhelmed with the amount of photos in my feed and sometimes just close the app after one or two scrolls) but THIS Sunday, from 1-5p, Ponce City Market's West Elm is hosting a pop up shop of my work! I am so honored to be able to do this with them and am so excited to meet you all in real life. 

I'll of course have my stationery available (both single cards and note card sets,) but I'm excited to also have my hand painted ornaments (which sold out when I released the first round!) as well as a few original paintings! And in case you still have a few presents to cross of the list, we'll have gift ideas ready and waiting for you.

So if you are in Atlanta this weekend (or wanted an excuse to come to Atlanta) I would be thrilled to see you there! 

A brand new look- and shop!

Welcome to the brand new site! I'm so happy to share this with you. 

For the past few months, I've been sketching and designing a new look for the site. While I loved my old site, I felt it was time to create a place that combined all aspects of my business- my stationery, my invitations, and my fine art- so that's exactly what I created. Now you can browse my portfolio, stay up to date with happenings in the studio by signing up for the newsletter, and what I'm probably most excited about- shop my stationery and paintings directly from my site! (Seriously, I'm so stoked about that one. About time I offered that, right?!)

Now that all the designing is wrapped up (well maybe not all of it. I still have some tweaks. I was just way too excited to keep this under wraps any longer...) I need to ask for your help. 

Would you help me spread the word? (I'm going to just go ahead and imagine you said yes. Which is super sweet of you!) And to make it more fun, let's have a giveaway!

Using the form below, enter to win $75 to the shop. There are a lot of different ways to earn entries, so make sure you read them all! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents

Good luck! (I'll notify the winner next weekend.) And as thank you for all of your support, from now until the end of the month enjoy 15% off everything in the shop using the code NEWSITE15. Maybe use it to get a head start on Christmas shopping, or maybe- quoting Parks and Recreation here-simply take this as a sign to "treat yo self!"