PSA 90th Annual at Whites Gallery

Sheltering Cloud, Restless Land, Desolate Tree
©2015 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 16 x 16 inches

I am honored and pleased to have two paintings accepted into Pasadena Society of Artists' 90th Annual Exhibition, juried by Scott Ward, Executive Director of the Armory Center for the Arts. The exhibition opens to the public this weekend at Whites Gallery in Montrose.

PSA 90th Annual Juried Exhibition 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - Wednesday, December 30, 2015 

Opening Reception: 
 Saturday, December 5, 2015 2pm to 5pm 

Whites Art, Framing & Restoration 

2414 Honolulu Avenue

Montrose, CA 91020 

Juror: Scott Ward, Executive Director Armory Center for the Arts 

Scott Ward has been the executive director of the Armory Center for the Arts since 2001. Prior to coming to the Armory, he was the executive director of the Palos Verdes Art Center from 1997 to 2001, and executive director of the Downey Museum of Art from 1987-1996. He has spearheaded a dramatic expansion of the Armory’s exhibition and education programs in the underserved neighborhoods of Northwest Pasadena. Ward also has extensive experience as an administrator, educator, curator, lecturer, panelist, executive coach, and artist. He has served as a speaker and panelist for National Guild of Community Schools of Art, The Wallace Foundation, and the City of Denver. As a grants panelist, he has served multiple times for the National Endowment for the Arts, The California Arts Council, and Los Angeles Metro. He taught Fine Art Photography at Loyola Marymount and was the University Art Gallery Director at CSUSB. He received his B.A. from the University of California in aesthetic studies, and earned his M.F.A. in photography from California Institute of the Arts.

Whites Art, Framing & Restoration
2414 Honolulu Montrose, CA 91020
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 9am to 5pm
(818) 957-4071
www.whitesfineart.com

McGroarty Art Center's Inaugural Artist Studios Tour

I'm participating in McGroarty Art Center's Inaugural Artist Studios Tour. The day long event is Saturday, June 27, from 10am to 4pm. 

Visitors will be able to browse sketchbooks, works in progress, plus a selection of finished artwork, or stroll about the garden. I'll have a painting in progress and be available to answer questions about my process for the curious.

Joining me for the day will be a special guest artist and fabulous painter, Rosanna Norton. 

Additional information and Ticket sales can be found here: McGroarty Arts Center Inaugural Artist Studios Tour.  All ticket sales benefit McGroarty Arts Center.

"Little Gems"

Girl With a Red Hat Vermeer 1665-66
oil on panel 9.1 x 7.1 inches

I can’t tell you who coined the term “Little Gems” when referring to artwork. I first heard it from a professor during an outdoor watercolor class. “We call those little gems.” he tossed the words back, over his shoulder, while sauntering off down the trail. I was working on an 8 x 10 page torn from my Aquabee sketchbook.

After the Rain Private Collection Katherine Kean
watercolor on cotton rag paper 4 x 7 inches

The term goes back at least to the 19th century. James Jackson Jarves, a newspaper editor and art critic, describing Fra Bartoleomo’s works:

     "In his earlier works, which approach miniature painting in fineness and delicacy, as for instance those little gems, the “Birth” and “Circumcision” of Christ, in the Uffizi, the composition is noble and beautiful, and the finish Leonardesque. Yet they have the force of large paintings.”

 Circumcision and Nativity Fra Bartolomeo circa 1500

tempera on wood 7.7 x 3.5 inches

For artists, working on small surfaces are an opportunity to try out new ideas, colors and composition, the small size means less cost for materials and less time committed. Plus they travel well and are easy to pack and store.

Willows at Sunset Vincent van Gogh
oil on cardboard 12 1/2 x 131/2 inches

Red Poppy Georgia O'Keeffe

Although Georgia O'Keeffe became known for her large flower paintings, her earlier flower paintings were enchantingly small. She began enlarging them to attract the attention of busy New Yorkers, however small works have also been known to draw focus. Crowds lined up in New York to view Carel Fabritius's The Goldfinch.

The Goldfinch Carel Fabritius
oil on panel 13 x 9 inches

There are advantages to the collector of small works as well. The small scale is ideal for those with limited space. They are easy to install – they work well in groupings, or in those niches in home or office. Really, you can put little gems of art anywhere; on a table, a shelf, or a tiny spot on the wall or they can be displayed on a tabletop easel. They are easy to store, easy to pack, easy to ship. They are very affordable for collecting and gift giving, and there just seems to be something inherently fascinating about miniaturization.

Angeles Forest Circling Storm 

Private Collection 

Katherine Kean

oil on linen 

6 x 6 inches

View or shop from a selection of little gems here: Little Gems Collection .

Deck the Walls at Segil Fine Art

Bird in Brush Katherine Kean
oil on linen 8 x 8 inches

I will be taking part in Laura Segil Fine Art's Annual Holiday Small Works, Deck the Walls! Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, December 6 from 5 -8pm.

Deck the Walls

Holiday Small Works

Saturday, December 6 - Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Opening Reception

Saturday, December 6, 5-8pm

Segil Fine Art Gallery

110 West Lime Avenue

Monrovia, CA 91016

626-358-5563

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 1-6pm

Palm Springs Fine Art Fair: Part 3, Fun Moments

Cara Barer Lilac 7/9

Looking up and down the aisles at all the booths this image caught my eye. From a distance I thought this might be an abstracted flower. Close up I realized it's a book.

Can you read it? I think it says, "something off down the hall through the cracked door" and then, "I think I already tried the obvious response".  Could it be Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace?

Above, that's not a sculpture, it's an actual person. This helicopter installation, called Ride-em-Copter by California Artist Steve Maloney, quiet through most of the weekend, made one or two, odd and yet loud, trumpeting blasts on the last day. Someone quipped, "Something must have sold!"

Many dogs came by. I thought this one matched Susie McKay Krieser's outfit, so I took their picture. She is a therapy dog and her name is Kaper.

In case you're wondering, she's a long haired whippet.

Susie returned the favor and managed to take a shot with both of us looking at the camera.

I took some time out to run over to the Palm Springs Art Museum and see the Diebenkorn exhibition. It was a nice perk they gave that allowed me to flash my exhibitor's pass and get in free. I thought it might be quieter there than the fair, and it was, but it was almost as crowded, which is to be expected on the last weekend of such a stellar exhibition.

Back at the Fair it was wonderful to visit with friends that came by, including Kathryn Hansen. Her boyfriend took one of my favorite photos - you can see it on Kathryn's blog here.

And then, it's a wrap! Within an hour of the closing time, most of the walls were bare and much of it already loaded up and on the way out of town.

Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2014: Part 2, Home Tour

The day after delivery and installation of the artwork we were treated to home tours, visiting the homes to see the collections of Donna MacMillan and Justin Baldwin. 

If I had to summarize the collection of art at the MacMillan residence with two words I'd say it was whimsical and full of light. 

The house contained the largest collection of Dale Chihuly glass work I've ever seen together at one time. 

   

Everywhere I looked there was something witty or intriguing. 

The home of Justin Baldwin also filled to the brim with art, had a different feeling. Much of the interior felt solid and grounded, balanced by the airy and spacious views.

The view from the back can be seen through floor to ceiling windows. Sculptures reflect on each side of the pool. 

Part three and final installment of images from the 2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair will follow soon.

Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2014 Photos: Setting Up and Reception

This past weekend was the 2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair and below are images of some of the fun as it unfolded.

Wednesday's hustle and bustle below, as artwork is arriving and finding it's place along the walls. This view is looking across the aisle at Gerald Peters Gallery (Santa Fe). Some pieces are already up, the Cynthia Corbett Gallery (London) next door unpacking, the Chopper in the center still wrapped and veiled.

The helpful art fair staff coming with a ladder for some last minute lighting adjustments.

Our booth - Izen Miller Gallery, Palm Desert - with the artwork installed. I felt very pleased and honored to be showing with such high caliber artists as Susie McKay Krieser, Harry James Moody, and works by Sam Francis, Andy Warhol, Jean Tinguely, and Carlos Almaraz.

I had to laugh when I saw the Marc Sijan sculpture below - akin to the one last year that I said good morning to each day. This one too is impervious to pleasantries; nevertheless he provided a sense of "security."

As the reception is just beginning, an obligatory before the artwork pose. Glad we remembered to shoot one this year. 

The opening reception in full swing. This photo is borrowed from the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair Facebook page. I added a red arrow pointing to our booth.

More images and moments from the 2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair to follow soon.

Can Artwork Keep You Awake at Night?

When I first heard the quote by Donald Hess, "I only buy paintings that keep me awake at night." I wondered, what does he mean by that? My inner class clown quipped, (inwardly) "Does he own a collection of James Turrell or Dan Flavin light paintings?" While it is true that there are many Turrell's in the Hess Collection, the paintings that Hess is referring to are the ones he has seen and then after seeing them is woken up in the middle of the night able to "clearly see the piece of art in front of my eyes" To me this suggests a strong sense of connection.

What in a painting would wake you up in the middle of the night?

Robert Motherwell Elegy to the Spanish Republic

Diane Marsh Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Would it be bold shapes, contrast or color, a composition loaded with internal tension? A compelling or inspiring message?

Or maybe, a painting that needs solving? As an artist these do keep me awake at night, but that's a different subject. In this case I'm thinking of paintings that seem to contain riddles or point to something...other, beyond language, and that perhaps the clues are contained in the artwork if only one could decode them.

Anselm Kiefer Am Anfang, 2002

The other kind of painting that I imagine keeps one awake is one that is very beautiful. Those that make me want to get up and turn on the light and see it again. To sit before it, maybe with a glass of something, while I stay awake and look.

What about you? Has an artwork ever kept you awake at night?

More Fun From the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair

I made a couple of stops at the booth featuring "After van Eyck," 2006, by Devorah Sperber. The first thing I saw walking by are the 5,024 spools of thread, supported by stainless steel ball chain. To the naked eye the blurry pattern of an upside down face is apparent, but not clear, however when you look through the clear acrylic viewing sphere supported on a metal stand, which acts as your eye, the image is upside right and picture perfect. A very fun experience. Also featured was After Warhol - you can see that at this link to her website.

I Stop for Drops  ©2012 Katherine Kean

oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

Someone from the George Billis Gallery walked by our booth and when he saw I Stop For Drops he came over and asked if it was a Karen Woods. If you take a look at her website you can see why he'd think so.

One of my favorite things about this event was the chance to meet and talk with other artists. One came by a couple of times and then mentioned that he liked skies and that he was a painter also. When he introduced himself and handed me his card I was delighted that I recognized his name, George Peebles, whose work I've admired for many years.

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Fun Moments at the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair

Lots of photos were taken of the art. I loved this couple posing for photos in front of Spooky Action at a Distance - Left.

This little guy was so tired he refused to take another step - that is until he saw the car in Peter Kempson's Roadside Attractions painting - not unlike his own car.

Peter's paintings were crowd pleasers for all ages.

I said good morning to this guy every day. Although I thought he was a rather quiet, and his uniform didn't match the other security, it wasn't until the last day that it dawned on me that he was a sculpture by Mark Sijan.

More to follow next week.