arkansas

My Journey

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My bio provides a high-level view of my background, yet there is much more.  I thought I would share with you, my journey.  My mom would tell me she could sit me down with crayons and a coloring book and I would be entertained for hours.  I remember going through so much tape, glue and paper making 3D farms and homes for my play animals.  I also remember cutting the outfits of her cherished stuffed animals because I needed felt.

During one of my visits with my grandmother, I noticed she was always doodling. I asked her to make a drawing for me (I still have it). I would create copies of that drawing over and over, each time getting a little better.

Through Jr. High and High School, I continued expanding my knowledge of mediums, ink, printmaking, sculpture, and more. However, my favorite thing to do was draw horses.

One day a friend of my mother’s was over, and I was showing her my art. She suggested that I look into Studio in The Woods in Wauconda, IL. Just so happens that school was 10 minutes from my home. At the age of sixteen, I signed up for classes and continued my studies there for eight years. All while going to college at night for my associate degree in Fine Art from the College of Lake County, working full time, and being newly married. I can’t say enough good things about my instructor/mentor at Studio in The Woods, Bonnie Anderson, and the influence she has had on my approach to this day.

After a 20-year break to raise my family, I returned to study art at Mainstreet Art Center in Lake Zurich, IL. To my surprise, Frankie Johnson, former instructor at The Studio in the Woods owned the Center. I was flooded with memories and just stepped right back into my rhythm. Thank you to Jan Bergland, my instructor, during my four years at the studio.

A little over two years ago, we moved to Arkansas, and I built a studio where I now have a dedicated space to spread out and create.

There is still the question, where did the talent come from before me? Where in my blood line? Bless my grandmother who inspired me, however, she is my step grandmother. My father would doodle once and a while. In the last 10 years or so I learned that my grandfather (father’s father) was a painter, as well as many extended family members on my father’s side were artists and art teachers! I’m thankful that my daughter has also inherited this talent and all the opportunities we get to collaborate.

So that is my journey, and it is not over yet. Let me know if you have questions and thank you for coming along with me.

How did the Rusty Vehicle series get started?

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A few years ago, we purchased some additional property that connected to ours. As we hiked the property, we stumbled across two rusty vehicles. A 1951 Mercury Coupe that had been altered with a Chevrolet truck bed and a 1970 Rambler. The Mercury was nestled in the woods with the sunlight filtering through the trees, across the ground, and up the side of the car. I was fascinated by the light, chrome, and rusty colors. Not to mention, I love old cars. I thought to myself, I need to try and paint that. Where do I begin, I’ve never painted a vehicle before. I had to remind myself of the basics of drawing, don’t think of it as a car, but rather shapes, values, and color.

I absolutely fell in love with creating the textures and rich multi-colors of rust and chrome. Now don’t get me wrong, I certainly faced some challenges, like I painted the glass three times before I got it right. I had so much fun, that I’ve been working on a series of rusty vehicles ever since.

A few of the pieces are still available for purchase through my on-line gallery.

Sharing my passion with the littles.

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I had the wonderful opportunity to host four children from the ages of 18months to 7 years old in my studio this week. Their parents and grandmother joined in for the fun. Along with these guests, my daughter and her young son joined in. My daughter is also an accomplished artist, and I was grateful for her extra hands and sharing of knowledge.

We set up stations so the children could try pastels, acrylics, watercolors, markers and create a Christmas Ornament. It was so fun watching them experiment with different papers, textures, and mediums. They created so many wonderful and imaginative pieces over the course of several hours. There could be some promising Picasso’s in the bunch!

A shout out to the families for allowing me to share my passion.

Tis the Holiday Season

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Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and joyous Holiday Season!

During all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to say how much I appreciate you all. Your supportive comments and encouragement throughout the year were much appreciated. Your curiosity in the process is energizing. Thank you for playing a role in my art journey.

Cheers to a blessed, happy, and healthy New Year.

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The “Big Mural”

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Back in September I wrote about “The Opportunity of a Lifetime”. In that post I mentioned a second mural my daughter and I would be working on at the Museum of Automobiles in Morrilton, AR. We finished that mural this weekend. It is now the largest mural we have done at 6′ x 25′. The car is approximately 17′ with Petit Jean Mountain in the background. It was an honor to create this lasting memory mural for the Hoelzeman family.

Here is a little more about the car: 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Hardtop owned by former long time Museum of Automobiles Director Buddy Hoelzeman and his wife Tootsie.  He worked at this Museum for 55 years from 1966 to 2021, being the Director 53 of those years from 1968 until his retirement in 2021.

If you are in the area, stop by and take a tour. The murals are in the lower level of the museum.

Now on to the final mural…stay tuned.

Opportunity of a Lifetime

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I was honored to be asked if I would paint a mural at the Museum of Automobiles in Morrilton, AR. Why is this an opportunity of a lifetime:

  • My art was recognized and made a big enough impression that I was asked by members of Mid-America Old Time Automobile Association (MOTAA) to create their vision.
  • I was able to share this experience with my daughter Evelyn, also an artist.
  • I always hoped someday my work would be in a museum, I’m counting this!
  • The rich history behind this museum. Winthrop Rockefeller founded the Museum of Automobiles, opening on October 18th of 1964, just a few years before he passed away in 1973.
  • The thrill of meeting a member of the Rockefeller family while we were working on the mural at their grandfather’s museum. (Evelyn said she wasn’t going to wash her had after that.)
  • That honor will continue as we’ve been asked to create two more murals of 8′ x 25′ each.

This mural is a 1912 Ford Model T Touring, it is 6′ wide by 8′ high. It is the largest, most complex mural we’ve done to date. It challenged us, we learned a lot, and I could not have done this without my daughter! Art is even more joyful when I can share it with her.

Sometimes it is good to work in other mediums

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I find that it is good to swap mediums once in a while. The painting below is done in oils and is a work in progress. What are the differences between working in oil vs pastel?

1) With oil I need to mix the colors I want vs pulling pastel right from the box with the color, value and intensity work already done. Mixing the colors reinforces the basics of color theory.

2) I need to adjust mark making to create textures and do so from a brush at the end of the stick vs holding the pastel with my fingers.

3) I need to understand how wet medium reacts to the canvas vs dry pastel on papers.

4) The downside of oil painting is waiting for the paint to dry 🤣

5) There is also prep and clean up time I need to build in 30-45min.

As you can see the skills are transferable, it takes patience and practice.

Tom Christopher Workshop

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After several years of following Tom Christopher on Instagram, I had the opportunity to take one of his Workshops. Tom has a unique process for creating texture and movement in his work. He graciously shared his process during a two-day workshop hosted by the Ozark Pastel Society and some members of the Arkansas Pastel Society joined as well. The first morning was spent learning the process Tom uses to create the underpainting. Then he worked his magic during a demo as he shared his thoughts on value’s importance over color, mark making, standing back often, and keeping it simple. Let the human eye knit it together.

The afternoon was our turn to try his process for the underpainting and mesh it in with our developed mark making style. Tom walked the room and provided guidance and praise to each of the artists.

Day 2 was the same flow as Day 1; however, our focus was a snow scene. At the end of Day 2 we came together as a group and Tom critiqued each artist’s piece. It was amazing to see all the wonderful pieces using Tom’s process, yet each artist added their own flair. I was in awe, the work of this group of artists was stellar!

I will definitely be leveraging this process in some future pieces. Thank you Tom!

Welcome to Caprise Studio

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Welcome to Caprise’s Art Studio, where I share news and images of my pastel paintings.  If this is your first visit to my website, I’d like to share a little about myself and my art.  

About Caprise

I work primarily in pastels but also explore oil and pencil. I’ve been passionate about art since a very young age and began collaborating and studying with other artists at the age of sixteen at Studio in The Woods in Wauconda, IL.

I have an Associate’s Degree in Fine Art from the College of Lake County and won several awards throughout my career. After a 20-year break to raise a family, I returned to my practice at Mainstreet Art Center in Lake Zurich, IL.

My new studio is in Arkansas on Petit Jean Mountain, an area adjacent to the Arkansas River between the Ouachita Mountains and Ozark Plateaus. You’ll find much of this area represented in my work.

Lost in the Moment – Petit Jean Mountain

 Thank you! 

To see a full range of my work, please visit my online gallery.