Despite the hectic onset, summer has settled in rather quietly. There is a relaxed routine at the house, and I've been able to tuck into the studio nearly every day for at least a little bit of work. Painting is my mental health check, and it always makes me feel lighter in spirit when a regular creation schedule gives me the opportunity to process life and world happenings.
My work is evolving, which is a natural progression of a regular painting practice. With the studio move back home last fall, I began to look inwards, seeking a deeper understanding of myself. A lifetime companion at the easel and in my heart, equines returned to my paintings with a force. They were an allegory of sorts as I mused about my connection with their spirit and what the animal itself represented to my past and my future.
The Echo series of paintingsevolved, of which the Medicine Hats were a subset, where I painted the imprint of a horse, typically working mostly from memory and my gut (rabbits and wolves snuck in as well).
Part of this exploration involved experimental works done on paper or at a much smaller scale than usual, where I laid down an abstract ground and built marks in response to pattern and value. Stylized horses emerged intuitively. Horses are always around my periphery. They always have been.
From those paintings grew what I think is a new series.
Daydreams. That point where lucidity fades and our imagination begins to bloom. There's 5 paintings in this series to date (2 of which are currently unfinished). I'm still playing with this idea and asking all sorts of questions, so I expect to see a variety of visuals in the grouping as the pieces show up. How literal do certain components need to be? what is the symbolic nature of my colors and shapes? how can I improve the gestural quality of my marks to better tell my story, but still keep things vague enough that others can weave their own tales from the design?
And of course, horses are here, on the fringe of the daydreams or parked smack in the middle. And if you don't see them, that's entirely ok. All that matters is that I do - I see and acknowledge and allow them to become whatever the viewer needs to see and acknowledge in their own life.
So that's what has been playing out at the easel.
If you are interested in seeing the
Echos (Medicine Hats too) and
Daydreams,
my website got an overhaul. Some of these paintings have already traveled out into the world (thank you so much to my beautiful family of collectors), and some of them are here, waiting, ready to go. If you see something you love,
please reach out to me. I will work with you to make your purchase delightful and simple (and yes, I do payment plans so let's talk!).
(Side note, if the purchase of original art does not fit in your budget, consider a reproduction.
FineArtAmerica offers artist quality prints and other items featuring my artwork. After the original sells, I make reproductions available via
my FAA storefront. I will be uploading recently sold Echo paintings later this week.)
And a reminder that, as part of my
online classroom, additional video, text and other materials are all available online for students' perusal at their convenience. $5/month grants access to this exclusive content, which this month focused on idea germination. The classroom community is growing, and I'd love to see you
join us and contribute to the conversations happening.
And let me know what you think. I'm always listening. Feel free to respond to this newsletter,
shoot me an email, comment on
the blog (I've been actively blogging since 2007, and it's all there!), or interact via
Facebook or
Instagram. Locals can join
my journaling group that meets monthly.
I'll be teaching in Saginaw Michigan this fall, and also offer
online one on one mentoring and critiques via Facetime. There's all sorts of ways for us to connect!
Thanks, as always, for following along with my art and musings,
Warmly, Kim
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