Off..

... to Rosemary Beach, FL for my show and workshop with Carole. Back late on Monday. Will have new work and fun stuff to show sooooooooooooooon!

Be well, all!
Claire

What, for YOUR special Valentine?!

Give your man a gift he'll never forget!  He will LOVE having a book of images of you to cherish for a lifetime.  Here's the deal:

Boudoir Package

100 images

private online gallery

coffee table book of 50 images

$595

Schedule now up until Feb. 7 to get your book in time for Valentine's Day!

LET'S LIVE HIS DREAM!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!
(painting I did for my husband 5 years ago!)

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Gay Belkin! Gay just started painting with me this fall and is doing wonderfully. She is tackling a pretty tricky image to paint that is this swimmer as she just dove into the water, so there are bubble effects in the water, various amounts of light, various colors of blues and greens in the water.... She has really done a super job! I love her contrast of light and darks portrayed - such richness she has achieved with those colors. She has also stayed quite loose in her brushstrokes, too. Great job, Gay!

Be the First!

... to get your cool C and C Workshop t-shirt! They are now on order and will be ready and available at our Rosemary Beach Workshop Feb. 1. Reserve your size by emailing Claire (claire@clairekayser.com). The shirts are super cute and simple with our slogan "tap your creativity, feed your soul...") on the front, and our green block logo on the upper back. Shirts are "girly cut," meaning fitted, and come in S, M, L and XL. 100% cotton! Cost is only $20 - $18 for workshop students! Limited number available!

CAROLEANDCLAIRE.COM is live!

Check it out!

Jori!

I had a shoot with a beautiful, smart, sweet young woman - Jori! She's the daughter of one of my painting students, and I had the opportunity to shoot her today before she goes back to Hamilton in NY! Today was about 5 degrees outside where we first shot some pics. Gorgeous blue sky - we've had lots of cloudy days lately. Winter and snow can be a fun time to shoot! Then we shot inside their beautiful home. I loved the more relaxed images of her in the kitchen. Thanks, Jori! You were so much fun to work with!

Become a FOLLOWER!

Hey All!

Just wanted to alert you to something you could do if you're interested. That is to become a follower of my blogs. All you need to do is to scroll down and look on the right side column and go the follower section. Click that and just follow the link. Hopefully, you will think my blogs are cool and something you want to see with some frequency. I don't know - maybe not. I would love to know who looks at my blogs anyway. I have the "follower" link on both this blog and my painting one. It won't send you any unsolicited emails or anything like that. If YOU have a blog, you can put this feature on your blog for others, too, as it's great for networking among bloggers and sites. Let's trade followership!!!!

Thanks!
Claire

Happy Birthday, David!

Today is my other brother David's 45th birthday - same age as Tom! I wish him many more happy years and wish I could hug him and hear him say,"I'm glad you got to see me!" David always was "mean" to Carole and me growing up, and he still has his ways!!! ;))) As years have gone by, I've realized how much like my Dad David really is in personality and character. He shows his love by picking on you! Go figure! Took me about 30 years to realize he really loved me instead of hated me. He's a great big brother!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
He'll never see this post as I'm sure he's never even visited a blog before. He's probably out in the woods somewhere hunting or perhaps on the golf course as the weather in Athens, AL has been quite balmy for January (70s!).

NEW LOOK!

I've been making changes to my site lately, first going with a black background last month. This morning, I've been trying to have my site's splash page reflect what I do - both painting and photography - by having those 3 blocks look nice, classy, cool - all at once! Take a look, and tell me what you think! Better yet, click to it!

NEW SITE MUSIC!

It was hard not putting Michael Buble's "Everything" back after the Christmas music as the main song on my website, but I feel like I need to put something new just in time with the new year. I've discovered a new artist that I've really liked so far - Paolo Nutini! I found his song on Blu Domain's site as a sample. I'm really excited to have found more contemporary music as I tend to be stuck in the 70s sometimes. I love my 70s stuff tho! My site's first 2 songs are Paolo's. Check it out!

NEW DAY FOR PAINTING WORKSHOP!

I have decided to do a Thursday morning painting workshop along with my Tuesday morning one in order to accommodate more great students! Here's the schedule:

WINTER PAINTING WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Tuesdays and Thursdays
10am-12pm
Tues. Jan. 8 - Feb. 12, Thur. Jan. 10 - Feb. 14
Bring supplies
I'll have coffee and snack
FUN!!!!
$295

Please let me know asap if interested in the Thursday morning class. Tuesday is FULL.
Email me!

Thanks!
Claire

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hope everyone rang in the new year with lots of joy and happiness! My twin sister Carole and her daughter Sarah were still in town to celebrate with us along with our friends the Lynchs, Peter, Tracy, Matt, and Erin. Tom made a wonderful meal for us all - gumbo, smoked brisket, pulled pork, the Lynchs brought Lisa's yummy salad and Tim's delicious chocolate cheesecake and raspberry sauce. Yummy!!! Here's a pic of the adults.

I wish everyone a very happy, prosperous 2008, and hope to see you soon!
Claire

SPOTLIGHT ON...

... Julia Singer!

I'm still spotlighting one of my painting student's art work at least periodically. I'm late in getting Julia Singer's work up and meant to spotlight it weeks ago! My apologies! Anyway, Julia first and foremost is a creative writer and author, and she started painting with me a year ago and had never really painted before. Recently, I taught a class on using a palette knife, and Julia has really gone town with it! She hasn't used a brush since. I loved the graphic quality to this painting and how she really made great use of her undertoning colors (such as the turquoise color around the bull), and all of her scumbling effects! LOVE IT!!! Way to go, Julia!



Please read more below on Julia's credentials and what she submitted to me!

Julia Klatt Singer just finished writing her novel, Timothy Burning, this
fall. A fictional story set in southern Wisconsin that chronicles the lives
of the St. James family, whose mother leaves them in 1969 to be a nurse in
Vietnam. Set in two Octobers, the smell of timothy grass burning carries
with it, for Tara St. James, memories of her mother, of loss, of a world she
can no longer be a part of. The novel explores what happens, when one woman
walks away from her life, to the people who love her and the stangers she
meets.

Julia Klatt Singer writes fiction and poetry. She received a master degree
in Creative Writing from Hamline University. Ms. Singer has participated in
the Loft Mentor Series in Non-fiction and Poetry. She works as a visiting
writer to the school through COMPAS. She is one of four writers who
collaboratively wrote "12 Branches" published April 2003 by Coffee House
Press, which was nominated for the Minnesota Book Award. Her stories and
poems have appeared in over three dozen journals. Ms. Singer lives in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Check out her wonderful work!

Looking forward to January's class, Julia!

Christensen Shoot!

I was so lucky to have a photo session last week with a new client the Christensens - all of them! They came to me from a referral, so I obliged them with a photo session after my deadline for the year. I'm so thrilled that I did because like so many of my clients, they are wonderful people! The 3 children were so much fun and have great personalities and senses of humor as you will see from the images. I thought they were all so photogenic. These images are just some of the many great ones we got. Thanks, Christensens for a fun session together!!!

Happy Birthday, Carl!

Today is my older brother Carl's birthday! I shot this of him when we were in Alabama at his wonderful home sitting around the pool. I'm so proud of my brother and the man and father he is! He has such a beautiful wife and 2 beautiful daughters. He's a cyclist of recent years and enjoys photography, too! What a great big brother he is!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARL! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Claire

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Yesterday, was my Dad's birthday, and today is Tom's! Carole shot this of us the same day as Dad's picture below when we were sitting around my brother's pool. I'm so proud of Tom and the husband and father he is! We are so incredibly blessed with our 3 healthy, happy children and wonderful relationships in our lives. I wish for many more happy years ahead!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Claire

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Yesterday was my Dad's 73rd birthday! I always feel a bit sad because I can't be with him to celebrate in Alabama, but I celebrate with him on the phone and in spirit the rest of the day. This picture is from last summer when we were all gathered at my brother's house. We were all visiting out on the back porch - something my Dad loves to do. Me, too! I'm so proud of the man he is and the father he has been to me all my life. I couldn't have asked for a better father to me, and by anyone's standards, he is a model father! He's been a great business man the last 45 years, and in the last few years, he has pursued his passion in writing his first book a couple of years ago called "The Last Witness from a Dirt Road" and now his second one is upcoming. Check it all out here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Claire

My Girls!

It's been a while since my girls have let me shoot them in studio. Fun! Thanks, girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrls!!!

Thanks to Matt Antonio for his great tutorial on photo framing made easy!

GUARANTEED LAUGH THERAPY!

My twin, one of my best friends Diane (and Grace's godmother), and I this summer in Alabama being, well, our silly selves for a minute. Shot by my seven-year-old Grace!
Check it out!