Shorter, Warmer Days

Passing Through - in progress ©2011 Katherine Kean
24 x 36" oil on linen on panel

Besides working in the studio, the past week has found me picking work up from various summer shows. Easy enough, yet time consuming - balancing the galleries' hours with traffic. Picking up from Shoshana Wayne was a snap - no traffic, plenty of parking, no line, no problem with paperwork, no problem all around. Nothing at all like the installation day.

I'm very aware that the days have started getting shorter. Because of my travel plans, and knowing that seeing new places can change the direction I've been working in,  I'm attempting to finish everything that I started during the past two months. The one above is almost there (you can see it's beginnings here) , a large landscape is more than halfway, but an even larger triptych  - 10 1/2 feet wide - is barely started with just a graduated color ground applied. But, we have our summer heat now, so the garden and the hills are not the tempting distractions they were a few days ago, and everything will dry quickly.

Mid-Summer

Connect the Drops -SOLD ©2011 Katherine Kean 
oil on linen 12 x 16"

I'm balancing enjoying summer "leisure" - and nearly perfect weather - with painting and getting ready for fall. I'm preparing for a trip to Scotland for a painting workshop. So far, I've equipped myself with a lightweight tripod and pochade box. The pochade box holds paint, palette, and brushes, has slots to hold small panels and fits in my suitcase. The tripod works well with the box and my camera. Because airlines charge so much now for baggage or extra weight this works out economically. My old French Easel, though beautiful, is heavy, and setting it up sometimes feels like teaching a new born giraffe to stand for the first time.

In the garden the grapes have come early and I've managed to save some from the wildlife to eat myself. I found some reusable nylon shopping bags that I slip over the bunches and tie. The mesh is fine enough to keep out the animals, but still allows light and air in. I also have squash, lettuce, chard, asparagus, arugula, and artichokes this year. I cannot grow beans - literally, not metaphorically - which is puzzling because they used to be the easiest for me to grow. I'm surprised to still have lettuce so late in the season, but I'm not complaining at all!

I delivered El Matador: Silhouette, Shadow, Reflection to TAG Gallery. The painting above, Connect the Drops, sold there last weekend. This week I"ll be in the studio making new work.

In the Top 100: Paint the Parks 2011

Rapidly Changing Conditions  © 2010 Katherine Kean 

oil on linen 20 x 30"

Three of my paintings have been chosen to be included in the Top 100 picks of Paint America's 2011 Paint the Parks competition. Rapidly Changing Conditions, above is included in the Top 100 main category and the two paintings below, Maine: Tides, Rocks and Vent are both in the Top 100 mini category for paintings that are 180 square inches or less.

PaintAmerica’s “Paint the Parks” is an open international artists’ juried competition with proceeds to help fund the PaintAmerica mission of supporting the visual arts and artists across the country. A portion of proceeds from “Paint the Parks” will be contributed to the National Parks Foundation and the PaintAmerica Scholarship Fund.


Paintings in this competition must depict one of our nation's 390 areas supervised by the National Park Service.Rapidly Changing Conditions and Vent portray Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, while Maine: Tides, Rocks represents Acadia National Park.

Maine: Tides, Rocks   © 2010 Katherine Kean 

oil on linen 8 x 10"

Vent  © 2010 Katherine Kean 

oil on linen 10 x 10" 

El Matador: Silhouette, Shadow, Reflection

 El Matador: Silhouette, Shadow, Reflection  ©2011 Katherine Kean

oil on linen 8 x 10"

I worked hard to keep this simple, if that makes any sense. What I mean is it would have been easy for me to become obsessed with defining the many fascinating intricacies of the craggy boulder and overlapping wave forms. However, I resisted, instead mostly allowing the main silhouettes and shadow shapes and the strong blood orange color to carry the mood. Could I go further with the simplification? Probably, yes. Next time.

Now, as August and the summer heat arrives,  would be an excellent time to visit this beach.