Top 5 Posts in 2012

 Of the 42 posts published here in 2012 these are the most searched, visited, and read:

5. Back to Go A painting inspired by El Matador State Beach in Malibu and about the potential California State Park closures that we managed to avert - yay!

4. Creation is Subtraction “Creation is not capricious or random addition; it is intelligent and selective subtraction.” The God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields, and What's Behind It All, Bernard Haisch

3. Can Artwork Make You Cry?  The answer is yes. It can also make you feel angry, seasick, energized, elated, and more.

2. Thinking About the Third Thing D.H. Lawrence's non rhyming quote. What is the 'Third Thing'? I'm still wondering....

1. Art.sy Experience A browsing session on Artsy's enormous art genome website. Have you visited yet?

The Third Space

In addition to Ma, Notan is another design principle to think about. Also a Japanese term, Notan refers to the interplay of dark and light. For artists it is something to bear in mind for composition and value. While considering the layout of a work, Notan is part of the decision to break up the space with interesting shapes, and to balance the darks and lights in a pleasing way - or a disturbing way, if that’s
what you’re after.

 

One way to check a composition is to reverse your image. The inverted values help in seeing in an abstract way if the shapes are interesting and if the darks and lights are balanced.

 
Metaphorically, Notan is a combination of presence and absence. The two, by nature of their dynamic opposition, create tension, and a mysterious, transcendent, ‘third space’ is evoked.

Reserving Space

Sky, Rocks, Beach sketch Katherine Kean
graphite

Have you ever experienced 'the Gap', the space between thoughts when the mind is still?They say that when no thoughts distract you, you can experience present moment awareness, and from cultivating present moment awareness, inner wisdom and joy arise.

Clouds Over Water sketch Katherine Kean
graphite

 There is a Japanese word, "Ma," which translated means "gap", "space", "pause" or "the space between two structural parts" and is experienced through progressive intervals of spatial designation. It is an awareness of place as the simultaneous awareness of form and non-form and happens in the mind of the viewer.

A Painting Moment: Video Interview

A Moment with Katherine Kean from Aaron Landman and Joe Gasparik on Vimeo 

This video interview was shot this summer when friends Aaron Landman and Joe Gasparik came to the studio in the September heat and set up their equipment; fitting camera, lights, and recording gear wherever they could between wet canvases , flat files, and easel. From sketching to painting, peeking over my shoulder and close up on the palette they went about capturing thoughts about my painting process along with a behind the scenes look inside my studio.

Bear was also on hand - mostly sleeping and otherwise on good behavior. You can catch a glimpse of him keeping watch in the background.