KAWA, Kick Ass Women Artists

Fine Art By Becky Joy

Recently, I came home from a week of painting around Jackson, Wyoming with several women artists. The group is called KAWA which stands for Kick Ass Women Artists. We all met on Facebook, although I knew about a third of the artists previously. We all rented two homes together and painted together. It was a great opportunity to get to know the other women. We had a great time and hope to do it again next year.

Instead of going home from the Grand Canyon Plein Air, I drove up to Jackson, WY. I had two days in between, so I thought I might as well go from there. I saved me 5 hours driving each way. I figured if I went home, I would be turning around immediately and be on the road again. A few of the women got to Jackson early so we stayed in a condo together. As soon as I got there, I unloaded my suitcase and headed out to paint one quick one before nightfall which is posted below. 

When I got back to our condo, some of the artists started showing up. The next day four of us went out to paint, myself, Janet Anderson, Gina Strumpf, and Anne Nelson Sweat (who organized the retreat).  We found a forest service road that had enough variety for all of us to paint. Two went down to the creek, one at the end of the road and I was at the beginning of the road.

“Road to Autumn” 10″x8″ oil

All the KAWA members started arriving in the next couple of days. We rented two large homes to house all of us. Each day we went out to paint and look at the sights. Several artists were in Jackson for the Visions Miniature Show at the Wildlife Museum. I ran into Bill Davidson, Cindy Baron, Liz Robbins and John DeMott. Lorna Allan (a New Zealand artist) and I painted with them for two days. We painted along String Lake in the Tetons, which had hundreds of paintings along the shore. It was beautiful despite the smoke from a nearby forest fire. The colors of the autumn foliage were spectacular.

“String Lake Shore” 10″x8″ oil

“Shadows” 8″x16″ oil

I wasn’t able to finish this on location because everyone was off to a different location and I was hitching a ride. I put enough color notes in it to finish the painting in the studio.  The featured painting “Lake Shadows” 8″x8″ is another that I painted at this location.

I had such a great time painting at this location that I came back with Lori Feldspausch. We hurried out of the house in the morning to get a painting in before hitting the museum. By the time we set up, we had about a half hour to paint. I painted a simple composition and again got enough information to paint a larger piece in the studio.

“Reflections” 10″x8″ oil

Even though this painting is unfinished by what I would normally paint. I liked it well enough to leave it “as is.” I’m keeping this painting as a reference in the studio. I painted a larger painting from this one.

I spent some time painting with my friend Deb Groesser a couple of days too. Following is a painting along a creek where we painted. I have no idea where I was.

“Fall Colors” 11″x14″ oil

The next day we went to Oxbow Bend on the Snake River. I stayed at the same spot all day painting. There was no need to drive any where else. There were views in every direction.

8″x8″ a quick color study

“Oxbow Bend” 8″x16″ oil

8×8 study

Several of us went on a horseback ride one day. The group I was with went to the top of a mountain with a spectacular view of the valley. Of course with the smoke it wasn’t as clear as it could have been. I also find that scenes like that don’t necessarily make a great painting. I like some foreground. So, I turned in another direction and painted the aspen trees.

“Aspen Dance” 8″x10″ oil

Overall, I was very pleased with what I came home with. I’ve since painted two studio pieces from my studies. I also was able to use some of these paintings to send to my gallery, Vertical Peaks, in Jackson. I’m framing several and sending them off this week. I would like to paint a larger painting of the aspen trees above. I love all the color and movement in this one.

Here is a group shot of most of the KAWA members. Fun times!

Hope we can all get together again next year.

Happy painting, Becky