Kristye Addison Dudley - Contemporary Fine Artist

Day 5 - Wildflowers (WIP) © Kristye Addison Dudley 6" x 4" Acrylic on Canvas Paper Day 5 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days Wildflowers (work in progress) for 99 Bottles of Art on the Wall. I am really enjoying working with landscapes. As a former athlete, I have always been drawn to the figure, but that is what this challenge is about. Stepping out of my comfort zone. Today was a very exciting day. Not only did I make it to day 5 of this challenge, but my family traveled to Tennessee to cheer on our niece as she competed in her final collegiate gymnastics meet. As a former gymnast, I remember the tears and sweat that goes into each meet. Seeing her perform with such power, grace and humility for her talent made me so proud. Her team finished first place in the NAIGC, and she placed 2nd all around out of 900 competitors from across the country and first place on vault. She is a reminder of how God gives us talents for his glory. There were so many people who admired h...

Untitled © Kristye Addison Dudley Have you ever watched the show hoarders and immediately wanted to throw away everything you own? Now that we are in the military, we are sort of gypsies. We will move every few years. Keeping lots of stuff doesn't work with this lifestyle. Yet and still, I keep collecting. I watched one Hoarders episode last week and I felt the need to purge things I hadn't worn, used or looked at in a year. Then I watched a documentary called Beautiful Losers. It's about outsider contemporary art culture. I looked at the studios of the artists and thought back to what my studio used to look like. Simply put, organized chaos and at times could have been its own episode of art hoarders. I used to collect things that inspired me. Magazines, toys, pictures, fabric, equipment (screen printing, laminating machine, book binding, cutting boards, seeing machine and more), history books, music and whatever else I found. Recently, I found some of my magazine c...

Thy Will Be Done - Acrylic on Canvas © Kristye Addison Dudley Purchase Print * It's been an interesting start to the year. I have been asked numerous times "How was your holiday?" I know that people are asking out of routine, because usually the response is "It was great. How was yours?" Then we fall in line with the dance of sharing all the good things that happened. I have had a harder time staying in step with this dance this year. The response "We went to a funeral for one of my college friends." Is not what people really want to know and I try not to over share. But that is the truth. We had a great Christmas eve. We spent it surrounded by our close friends. We had a great Christmas Day. We enjoyed a church service and spent the afternoon opening gifts and hanging out eating left overs from the night before. The next couple of days were just as lazy, until I received the call that changed the tempo for New Years. We drove from Louisiana to S...

 Intuition - 30" x 40" Acrylic on Canvas © Kristye Addison Dudley Do you listen to those voices in your head? Do you sense danger by feeling the hairs on your arms stand up? Whatever your signal is that keeps you moving in the right direction that's true intuition and the higher power moving in your life. Earlier in the year I went to a women's retreat where we were discussing being anointed, transformed and redeemed. We talked about discernment and getting clear path from God. One of the speakers talked about the difference between "Good ideas and God ideas". That really stuck with me. I sometimes feel my head is going to burst with ideas and I don't know which way to go. Sometimes I hear clear next steps and then things usually go smoothly. But other times, I go on impulse and things always take more effort, cost more money and require more work than if I had just followed my intuition and waited. This painting was created in a time of stilln...

The Dancer - 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas board © Kristye Addison Dudley purchase originals and prints This couple of weeks is a blur. We had a great anniversary. Mark took me out for a wonderful dinner and we reminisced and thought back over our lives so far and about our future. For Labor Day weekend we started a "remodel" of our apartment. We are trying to be present and not constantly feel in transition. When we married we knew we would only be in our first home for three years. We didn't take full advantage of that time. We didn't really put down roots until it was time to leave. Although we are only slotted to be here for 3 more years, we don't want to make the same mistake. We are making new friends, getting out and simply trying to enjoy the world around us. We aren't focused on what's next like we did before. What's next will come soon enough. “Do not make a noise about tomorrow, for you are not certain what a day's outco...

My 4 year wedding anniversary was Friday September 2. We had a great date night celebrating and thinking about our lives and our little family. I met my husband at a wedding and two years and a day later we married each other. He brings a harmony to my life that I can't explain. He is a true gift from God. I prayed for a man like my brother and my father, who was kind, liked to dance, loved the Lord and a few other things. I put my short list in a prayer jar and left it alone. About two weeks later, I met Mark. We laughed and danced the entire wedding reception, and I thought "he was such a breath of fresh air". We exchanged numbers and talked everyday from that point on. He met everyone in my family, including my father whose passed away two weeks later. My life was changing in so many ways so fast. Mark prayed with me and was able to help me work through the loss of my Daddy, since he had just lost his. We had such a deep connection, it was like we were in pe...

Hand sculpted ceramic figure © Kristye Addison Dudley I have always loved working with my hands. From building mud pies as a child to painting, I really find that the creative process of making something feeds my soul. The figures that I paint have always had a life of their own, but I have wanted to see them as 3D figures. So I just took a leap of faith and started to pull them off of the canvas. Small collections of figures like this, will soon be available on my site in limited editions. If there is a painting that you would like to see in 3D just let me know. I find myself always driven to make things. I can't seem to find enough things do do with my hands. The trouble comes in when instead of doing, I start to think and plan about the details. The devil truly is in the details. I am going to search for some new projects for this fall. I have been wanting to try to make jewelry. Maybe that's next for my busy hands. Blessings to you all, Kristye kdudley@kristy...

"Iron Sharpens Iron" 24" x 24" © Kristye Addison Dudley Whew, I am tired. But, I am the best kind of tired. My brain is tired, but I keep thinking of new projects to do! The commission shown was a purchased as a gift. My good friend Dr. Antwan Treadway wanted a gift for his mentor, Dr. Paul E. Gates, brother of Dr. Henry Lewis Gates. I found a scripture that gave me inspiration to create this work. Psalm 27:17 Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. We went through a number of drafts, and he selected this theme. The reflection of mentor and student. I have really found that using the palette knife and expanding my colors has brought an exciting dimension to my work. This painting does make me want to reach out to people who have encouraged me along the way. There are so many people that have in large and small ways touched my life and helped me to grow. That includes you. Thank you for reading my blog and sending your kind comments. Until ne...

Stephanie Blank (wife of NFL Atlanta Falcons owner), "In the Huddle" 36" x 48" © Kristye Addison Dudley In 2002, while I was a professional cheerleader with the Atlanta Falcons, I participated in a charity auction. Although I have drawn since I was a child, majored in fine art and received a graduate degree in graphic communications, I still found (find)  myself feeling insecure about my art. I think it's because when I share my work, I am not just sharing an image. I am sharing a part of myself. Exposing those things that most of us write only in our journals. My journals are there for the world to see and built by my own hands. When it's not accepted, it's like being personally rejected.  This was the first painting that I was publicly  displaying and I was pretty terrified about it. First of all, when approached about the painting I said "I don't do Football players", and didn't think that my work would work for this venue...

Figure Study - acrylic on canvas with palette knife © Kristye Addison Dudley A few of our friends were in town last weekend and they were coming over to hang out. So you know what that meant...we had to straighten up around the house. It's so funny how we get in a habit of just moving things around without really getting organized. Then before you know it, everything is a mess a again. Our little toddler, aka "Sticky Fingers Dudley", has a masterful way of getting into EVERYTHING. Sometimes I just sit back and marvel at her cunning and acrobatic feats of strength to get to that one object that is seemingly out of reach. But more times than not, she finds a way. Sometimes I get frustrated with the things that are out of my control, instead of just letting God take charge. I can learn a lot from Sticky Fingers Dudley. I can stay focused on those things that are right there in front of me and challenge myself to make the most of the things that I can control. Like keeping t...

The Dudleys 2010 - Photo © Gene Ho Photography Saturdays at the Dudley home are pretty low key. Mark likes to take KJ for a morning run in the jogging stroller and I get to enjoy a peaceful morning of painting, projects and maybe work out too. I look forward to this little bit of serenity all week. Ginger, our shy tabby cat and trusted art apprentice, keeps me company in between her naps in the sun. Yesterday started out to be another one of those mornings until...we realized we were out of one of KJ's prescriptions that she needed for the weekend. My husband, who is a man of few words, says "Are you coming with us?". The way he said it was innocent and sweet, he was really saying "Don't stay at home and paint alone, spend the day with us!" I immediately felt terrible and told him "Of course, I will come." Mother's guilt is an awful thing, trying to balance precious family time and time to replenish myself seems to be a ball I am cons...

Watercolor and Acrylic, brush and knife © Kristye Addison Dudley 2011 I am sure you have been wondering where the paintings are. Well, I am happy to report, I have been painting! I am currently working on two commissions. One is a wedding gift and the other is a gift from a student to his mentor. Both are figures and feel very blessed to be creating them for my collectors. I really love commissions and the development process between myself and my clients. They provide photos, feelings, quotes or a general concept and I look for inspiration to transform that into a visual medium that can speak volumes to others. While I am working on those I continue to work on smaller pieces too. This magnolia study was really fun (yes my work is fun). Since I am also a graphic designer, I have to sometimes force myself to loosen up and paint "outside" of the lines. I wanted to leave just enough of the form of the flower and the leaves to show the shape without taking away the airiness of t...

More Paintings at KristyeAddison.com Latest Painting from Retreat. Acrylic on canvas, using palette knife.

Hello, I am venturing out into the big world of blogging. I hope this provides and opportunity for you to get to know me and for me to get to know you. I just returned from the most amazing art retreat and workshop at Selah Ranch with Texas Contemporary Artist Laurie Justus Pace . The weekend was more than just about painting, I had a chance to connect with some amazing women at the retreat. I really tried to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. I have always enjoyed acrylic painting, but I tried oils. I love figure painting, so I tried a landscape. I tend to lean toward earth tones, so I painted with bold bright colors. The whole expreience has enriched my life and I look forward to building new relationships with my friends. This was the longest amount of time I have spent away from my 1 year old daughter KJ. She is of course the most beautiful child on the planet in my eyes. When I returned home, my sweetie pie had two new teeth!!! They grow so fast. My husband wa...