Kayleen West Art Studio

03/09/2026

Day 3 challenge. Check out the weirdest thing in the last video. That is what happens when the eggs are so old I guess!

This nest has been sitting patiently waiting to be painted for way too long. What a joy to finally tick this study off my long “wanna do” list.

STRADA.Easel

02/09/2026

Day 2 challenge. Already cramming the challenge after a busy day but managed to do something fun in gouache in my sketchbook during a bit of TV downtime. One of my whimsical vases with some dried natives from the garden.
Give me a shout if you’re doing the challenge too!

01/09/2026

I’m not sure if there is places left in the workshop but sharing just in case! It will be a valuable time learning how to break down complex subjects to paint them with harmony and confidence.

This two-morning workshop is for artists who want to create stronger, more dramatic landscape paintings by learning how to simplify their subject matter with clarity & confidence.
Via guided demonstrations, structured exercises, & step-by-step instructions, participants will discover how to reduce visual clutter, strengthen composition, & make bold decisions that enhance mood and impact.
Artists may work in oil or acrylic. Suitable for all levels.
To book email Kelly: [email protected]
Bookings are essential as places are limited.
In your email please include your name, contact details, payment method and preferred medium (oil or acrylic) so the appropriate materials list can be emailed to you. Materials list will be sent when you book.
Course payment can be made by EFT: BSB: 063 888 A/C No.: 10134434 Name of Account: Whitehorse Arts Association Inc. (Remember to put your name on the transfer reference!)
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to learn from one of the best!

01/09/2026

Day 1 September Challenge

I am hoping to complete this challenge of painting from life daily, but have done it before (successfully) and know how tricky it is to fit in without missing a day. The next couple of months are pretty full on for me; workshops, art committee responsibilities including an AGM and art shows. I always question, my sanity doing this particular challenge, but it’s the only way I have a chance of getting my hands on one of those easels! Anyway, I am always thrilled with the result and satisfaction of refusing not to quit at the end.

Some participants uniformly prepare substrates with nicely stamped, labelled or branded and numbered backs, working in one medium for a uniform gallery at the end. In the past I have used the challenge to get going in a medium I haven’t used for a while. It works! This time my approach is a bit different. I’m working toward a few goals and series apart from this challenge, so will likely utilise it in various ways and in several mediums. There is a good reason but it a bit of a secret. You’ll have to stick around to find out what that is. In the meantime— see you all daily for a post, working from life.

Day 1: En Plein air with friends on a sunny day with freakish winds! I ended up painting in the car while my friends braved the waves of dust storms. I worked in oil, experimenting with a stylised impression utilising a small pallet knife. There was a bright glare from what I first thought was a dam but actually acres of solar panels. Quite a disrupter in the landscape so I chose to think of them as water. I had fun, completed today’s challenge and finished with a coffee and chat. THAT my friends is a good morning. 🙌

The image with a lovely lady at the easel is my friends Pamela Pretty with her gorgeous pastel… and possibly dust 😂

30/08/2026

A few favourites at the Affordable Art Fair in Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building today. Always interesting seeing the variety of work, what people buy, how the work is displayed and chat to gallery owners and artists. Great day out with a good friend.

28/08/2026

3 of 6, ten minute gouache sketches for our this week. Sit In Turn is where artists from all over the world sit for each other on zoom to practice and experiment with 10 minute portrait poses. It certainly is a challenge but so fun. More artists are welcome. The more who join, the more variety of faces and poses to work from. It is on weekly 8PM Thursdays (Melbourne time) A small annual fee to organiser Yuji Sakuma who shows up every week and organises special sitters now and then.

My gouache pallet had dried out so it was tricky mixing enough paint on the fly but fun. It was more like watercolour than gouache last night. I spent time today rehydrating the paint in preparation for a “working from life” challenge coming up.

27/08/2026

A bit more time on the portrait study from yesterday’s life portrait session, softening edges and making refinements. Leaving it as this stage now as a study, pushing colour as hard as I could. I felt it really needed to be colourful, as is the position a president of an art society is. 🤭💐 🎨