Francine's Sister

Francine's Sister, 60 x 72 cm., mixed media on board

As promised, more fruit. May I present Francine the Asia Pear's companion, Francine's sister. I wanted to pump out some more fruit pieces in the hope that etsy will serve me as well as it did last spring. Bellow are a few nice close ups were you can see the text contour lines. I actually dyed all of the paper in tea and coffee on our stove.


Unlike most fruit paintings, this one too me quite a while to finish. After I put down the text layer I completed the majority of the painting in a few hours. Something wasn't quite right but I added a few subtle details with pastels that really made the contours stand out.



I am still not completely settled on the back ground. In the spirit of Francine the Asian Pear I left it the natural wood color but in all honesty I may change it. We'll see.


Here is a little glance into the process. I did a quick sketch with a sharpie and then began to lay down the text contour lines. I used a mixture of flour and water. As I typed that I realized that might be why I had to make an emergency trip to the grocery the other day for flour. . . . oops.



I think this book is the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It was a wonderful book but I finished it and it was the only book available.

Francine's Niece, 24 x 33 cm., mixed media on canvas

Finally, I made a baby one. Both are now listed on etsy for purchase!

Stay tuned for a new improv video in the next few days! I finished one over the weekend and I am just finishing up the video editing now!

Happy April!

You Name It VII

You Name It VII, 14 x 21 cm., mixed media on cardboard

Here is a quick collage sketch I did the other day. I miss doing fast little collages, I gathered a lot of imagery from them when I did them in Chicago last year. Finding interesting old books is a challenge in Korea.

The color scheme and emptiness of this sketch remind me of You Name It III. Maybe I will combine the two compositions at some point.

Despite the fact that this doesn't count towards my 16 paintings I have been working and sketching is just as important as coming up with a final product. As vital as sketching is, I tend to be an expert at overlooking it.

Well, enjoy my doodle,

K

Kiwi I

Kiwi Fruit (or Torpedo Fruit Bowl), 60 x 85 cm., mixed media on board

I have made a goal to have 16 paintings done by the end of May - 8 fruit paintings and 8 creative paintings. Despite the fact that I am not feeling incredibly artistically inspired I feel like I need to take the spare time I have and create something. Living in Korea is incredibly distracting (visually the creative juices just aren't at their usual flow) but I want to take advantage of the situation as an artist. I have had two exhibits in Italy, why not add Korea to my international list. If do well here I may be able to get some residencies in China of Japan next year which will be a great way to travel when we are done in Korea!

So, this was a fruit attempt thought I must say it was almost thrown into the "creative" category.

So, this piece went through a lot of unintended layers. I did a few quick sketches before I went to the actual surface. The sketches were done in ink on butcher paper. On the second sketch I did some work with pastels and them painted over the pastels with a mixture of water and flour (mostly to adhere the color). Once I was comfortable with the layout I took a loaded brush (ink) and quickly sketched out the painting. My plan was to use brown paper and collage the shapes of the kiwi in. Sometimes I draw much better with tearing paper than with a pencil or inked brush. Instead I just went right for the pastels. Before I knew it the "painting" was a drawing on board. The final touches were some shadows I drew in with watered down ink and a very small amount of acrylic paint that I used to paint the bottom of the bowl. At the very end I took a small brush and applied some flour/water to some spots on the kiwi. I then beat the lines out to give them a more unified feel (while still being able to see the lines). I need to find some varnish.



The bowl has a funky wood grain that is like pond ripples. I took the pattern up one notch on the exaggeration scale which I ended up really liking.

I think that this image is a nice view of the different techniques used. You can see the ink, pastel, acrylic and the effect of the flour and water.

I haven't quite finished. The bowl is almost to subtle for me. I have thought about making it red. Opinions? I also need to finish the edges, then it will be ready to sell. As soon as I have a few paintings done I'll be re-posting on etsy and I will start looking for galleries.

Happy March!

Marz & Me

Hello,

My sister, Molly, recently graduated high school. As she waits to enter college in the fall she has created a curriculum for herself to learn about different art fields. I am guiding her in learning about art history. While I am desperately trying to find supplies in Korea this is what I have been doing to keep my mind exercised. If you would like to see what Molly and I are doing visit Marz & Me!

Thanks,

Kate

Tea Bag Sketches I

I have no new work to share online. I have been working but I am in the process of resharpening my drawing skills (I hate drawing, I hold pencils like paint brushes). My dear friend Casey gave me a few ideas and one of them was to draw myself. So I have been sketching my face. I decided that by the time I die I want to be able to draw my own face without a mirror. That could be tricky because as much as I don't want to admit it, I may get some wrinkles on the way. Oh, well more of a challenge.


So, tea bags. These sketches are from December 15, 2008. I was sitting at my desk at school and digesting the fact that the teachers were drinking mushroom tea. It smelled horrible. The taste is just earthy. This whole tea thing sent my mind on a tea bag craze.

The first picture above is an idea to design tea bags that describe characteristics that I think are Korean. I then started thinking about North Korea and the differences and similarities, how little time has gone since they became separate. The sketch bellow is what I came up with for that. You can guess which is which.


Other words for South Korea: homogeneous, backwards, naive, beautiful, untouched, unaffected, tradition, whole, value, calm, secret, ritual

I kind of stopped with this project because the last idea is what interests me the most (SK vs. NK) and i feel that I am in no position to make art about the situation. I can't make judgments because I just don't know. What happened here is deeply seeded and silent. I have occasionally tried to ask questions but most people have family who are in North Korea, it is a sensitive subject.

So, this is where the tea bag from the last post got it origin. Maybe I will continue with this idea but in a less blatant way. I loved the cropped photos of the improv tea bag, maybe I'll use those methods to communicate these ideas.

Well, time to stare at myself with a pencil in hand.

One more thing, two good friends of mine have just started new blogs. Zane Davis, a photographer in Chicago is now writing Plane of Focus. Another good friend, Marty Sorge , a wino/foodie, just started a catch-all blog with a food and wine twist, Blue Bottle. Zane and Marty are both very close friends and incredibly talented in their respective fields.

Tea Bag I - Mixed Media Study

I have set a goal for the new year to paint and post more. The last few months all of my creative energy was suddenly consumed by communication and digesting a new culture. Now, after living here almost 6 months I am ready to treat Korea as though it is my home and not let it keep me from doing the things I do at home.

Last weekend I tried to do some drawings from a leg of our trip in Malaysia, Penang has beautiful buildings. On a side note, Penang, was incredible, you can learn more about our trip there when we post about it on Spicy Fishy. If you don't get a chance to check it out on our website, in a nut shell Penang is the melting pot of Asia. It was full of different religions and cultures that live in harmony. Wow. Refreshing. I got the same architectural inspiration I had wandering the streets of Cortona. Anyways, just like myself, I got very frustrated by trying to keep my movement limited to a piece of sketch paper. I promptly decided that an improv painting was in order so I could at least feel creative.

Tea is a very Asian thing (so is instant coffee). I have done some sketches about tea and different kinds of tea bags. I grabbed my sketch as visual reference and went to town.





Music, Kings of Convenience, "Live Long" from Riot on an Empty Street



I enjoy blogging for three main reasons. One, I like to see my progress, its a nice feeling. Two, I think sharing art is more important than making it. Three, it is good to see artwork you create from another prospective. If I am frustrated with a piece I usually look at it with a mirror or upside down or through my digital camera. This third reason helped me feel better about the study I am sharing with you today.

I do not care for the piece as a whole. It looks transparent and incomplete. I really like the cropped in images, maybe I will go somewhere with that in the future.

Chunky Drips! I love them!

I no longer have the humus-looking acrylic medium so I used coffee grounds mixed with tempera!

A final note, this study reminds me of a "Tweaked" Tea Bag.

Alright, I am off to the gym with my fiance! WHOA, yes, we got engaged about two weeks ago! Again, I direct you to SpicyFishy!

Quick Update

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to call your attention to the blog Chad and I will be working on now that we are in Korea. www.spicyfishy.com. The posting process is coming slowly but as soon as we have internet we will be able to post regularly. As soon as I start painting again this blog will be moving again too.

Thank you so much for all of your support!

Kate