The Weight of Air

The Weight of Air Katherine Kean
oil on linen   48 x 48 inches

A combination of a Cape Cod marsh and imaginary - and much hoped for - rain clouds, this painting has fun details that are hard to see here. The foreground grasses are slightly impasto brushstrokes, as are some of the wind tossed 'debris' in the air.

As I was settling on a title, I looked up many weather terms: downdraft, microburst, wind shear, outflow front, to mention just a few. I finally went with the title that's been in my mind since I started.

Painterly Progress Continues

Raindrops and Twinkle Lights work in progress Katherine Kean
oil   18 x 24 inches

Another installment, shall we say, of the Raindrops with Holiday Lights painting showing about three more layers to establish the background as a bright, yet blurry structure of shapes with the colors streaking and flowing into each other. After drying thoroughly, I'll go back in with a series of glazes before applying the final raindrop layers.

"A painting is a combination of opposites with unity and variety; thick and thin; opaque and transparent; bold and delicate. Artists must use as many devices as they can to hold the viewer's attention. Impasto strokes alongside thin passages enhance the painting surface and create the illusion of volume and depth."  Kevin Macpherson, Landscape Painting Inside and Out

Suburban Murmuration Drawing

Suburban Murmuration Sketch Katherine Kean
graphite 8 x 10 inches

I made this drawing in preparation for a painting. It's an imaginary landscape, although I am using local homes as the basis and making a few changes. The swirling flock of birds is entirely made up.

Cape Cod Travels

After a hot, humid, and hectic beginning of summer, it was nice to spend a week traveling to Cape Cod to visit family, check up on the marsh, chase a few clouds, and look at a few art galleries. I was surprised, and delighted, to find the weather there less humid than Southern California, and cool, and green. Very, very green.

One of the galleries that I visited was Tree's Place, and I was fortunate to see a two person show of Karen Hollingsworth's and James Neil Hollingsworth's paintings. It was a gorgeous exhibition. Their work hung well together, and interacted, with some elements shared and differences that added to the interest.

Back home everything is as busy as usual. I'm having some work done on my yard and one of the crew is rehoming a stray female husky. I ended up inviting her inside to stay on two separate days. I was pondering adopting her - she's sweet, smart, graceful, and beautiful. My cat Zabrina loves dogs and wanted to meet her, but that didn't go very well. It seems the husky viewed her mostly as prey. However, there are many other interested parties, so I doubt she'll have any trouble finding a great home.

And lastly, when is a hole in the roof a good thing? For me, it's when it's getting ready for a skylight to be installed. I've been making changes to my garage so that it can double as a studio space when I need it. It's getting there...