Liquid Sun Splash

Liquid Sun Splash Sketch Katherine Kean
graphite 8 x 10 inches

“If you don't like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.” - Mark Twain

The weather in Hawaii provides a similar effect, or rather than waiting as it changes, a person can experience radiant sunshine and pouring rain simultaneously.

Liquid Sun Splash wip Katherine Kean
oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

This provides a new challenge for me when it comes to windshield weather paintings. Instead of a soft, misty background as a backdrop for well defined rain drops, the background is bright in places, and parts of the road are sharp along with some of the water edges. 

Connect the Drops Katherine Kean
oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

Between the Drops Katherine Kean
oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

Counting Raindrops Katherine Kean
oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

It's less about a foreground veil for gazing out from a separate interior world and more about the sudden encounter and the dynamic patterns made.

Liquid Sun Splash wip ©2016 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

I've let the brushstrokes remain painterly, brushy, a little bit textured and slightly raised, particularly for the drops. It's almost there, I think, just a few more touches.

A busy year

Volcano Night ©2016 Katherine Kean

oil on linen 8 x 16 inches

Some years seem to go by with nary a milestone. That doesn't mean that nothing is happening, just that much of it might be confined to the studio, or even residing quietly in the imagination waiting to be born. For me, 2015 was not one of those years. How or why, I can't say. It has been a year of exhibitions and journeys.

Here are some highlights. 

 National Weather Center Biennale 

Wilderness Mind, Activating Wonder 

TRAC 2015 (Thank you, Shanna)

 A visit to Cape Cod - and a quick trip to the Yale Gallery of Art

Hawaii - Magic Island  

Exhibitions, group, local, pop up, and open studio...

click on the image for a corresponding post.

Here's to 2015 and looking forward to a wonderful 2016. Wishing you all the best. 

Happy New Year!


All images ©2015 Katherine Kean

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

Sheltering Cloud, Restless Land, Desolate Tree

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

Driving the Chain of Craters Road, that starts at the volcano and ends at the ocean (for now) is one of my favorite drives of all time. I find it as amazing as driving on Highway 1 heading to Big Sur, but far less crowded.

As you descend you follow the trajectory of past lava flows, and as you go the weather changes. On this trip it was cool and misty at the top, then rainy, then partly cloudy, then sunny and hot and windy, and back to warm and mild.

There are many places along the way to turn off and follow trails, see vistas, explore lava tubes. I love that there are no services of any kind until you go the 18 miles to the bottom. You're on your own here. Just you and the wild.

On the Easel

Here are some process shots of work in progress. Above, a storm in the Angeles Forest underpainting.

The storm painting with descriptive color layers. It's coming together fairly quickly. Another refining layer or two might finish it.

The first color layers of clouds over the Chain of Craters Road and a detail of the turbulence below.

Chain of Craters clouds painting further along. These clouds are complex. I suspect it will take some time to untangle all the shapes. 

  

And finally, a small volcano painting in the underpainting stage.

Spectrum-Gestalt 2

Vent   Katherine Kean
oil on linen   10 x 10 inches

The painting above will part of a group exhibition at BG Gallery opening this weekend. This exhibition's theme is popular with interior designers.

"Part curatorial, part installation Spectrum-Gestalt brings together artists’ works from a wide variety of genres and mediums, grouping them into an expansive spectrum of color. Spectrum-Gestalt is part of an ongoing series of installation/curatorials exploring gestalt principles by Australian artist/curator, Airom."

Date: August 8th – August 16th

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 8th 6-9pm

bG Gallery Bergamot Station

2525 Michigan Avenue
Space G8A
Santa Monica, CA 90404
map
T: 310-906-4211
info@bgartdealings.com

Tuesday-Saturday 11:30am-6pm
Call gallery for Sunday hours
Closed Mondays
Outside hours by appointment

Sketches: El Niños and Other Atmospheric Conditions

Angeles Forest Storm Square Sketch
©2015 Katherine Kean
graphite 8 x 8 inches

Conditions are good for more storm cloud artwork. It looks - and feels - like an El Niño year and my favorite weather blog confirms it. El Niño is already here and is expected to be one of the largest, in fact, "a majority of the global atmosphere ocean models are currently suggesting the potential for an event rivaling the strongest event in the historical record." Even though El Niño doesn't guarantee rain, it does draw the probability closer. And even though it won't solve our drought, it can't hurt.

Chain of Craters Clouds Sketch
©2015 Katherine Kean
graphite 8 x 8 inches

 The sketch above is from Hawaii, along the Chain of Craters Road. Storm clouds are much more dependable there. They also have a different look. I'd say the clouds are taller - loftier - and brighter.

Volcano Fumes at Night Sketch
©2015 Katherine Kean
graphite 6 x 10 inches

This last sketch, also from Hawaii, is of the atmospheric conditions over the volcano. It wasn't easily apparent to me whether the clouds were from weather or from the volcanic fumes, or a mix of both.

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Magic Island

I'm back from visiting the Big Island Hawaii. I travelled first to the Kona side, to the beautiful Mauna Lani Bay. The air was soft and warm, and not too hot. On the way there I could see the summit of Mauna Kea covered with snow.

A couple of days later, rested and refreshed, I drove north and then east and then south past Hilo to Pahoa. 

Along the way I found waterfalls and tropical gardens. In Pahoa I went to a Robert Moss dream workshop: The Temple of Dream Healing, which was like a journey - or series of journeys within a journey.

After the workshop disbanded I went to the Volcano and stayed on the crater. At night, and at dawn and dusk, I drew, painted and photographed the glow from within the crater. I got a couple of lucky shots of  nēnē flying over the crater.

In the daytime I explored the area around the volcano and drove the Chain of Craters road, tracing the history of the lava flows all the way down to the ocean and back again.

These 3 x 5 and 4 x 6 inch studies are reminders, that I'll use along with memories and reference photos to paint by.

Traveling Art Returns

Vent ©2012 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 10 x 10 inches

Maine Tides and Rocks  ©2012 Katherine Kean
oil on linen   8 x 10 inches

Rapidly Changing Conditions  ©2012 Katherine Kean
oil on linen   20 x 30 inches.

These three paintings recently returned from exhibiting with Paint America. As part of their Paint the Parks exhibition they went to the Jefferson National Expansion Monument, a 91 acre memorial that is part of the National Park System and receives approximately 2,500,000 visitors annually.

For the exhibition the paintings hung in the Old Courthouse, afterward traveling to the Coutts Museum before returning home.

All of the paintings in this exhibition depict one of our nation's 390 areas supervised by the National Park Service. Rapidly Changing Conditions and Vent are portrayals of Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, and Maine: Tides, Rocks represents Acadia National Park.

All three paintings returned unscathed, safe and secure, each in it's individual strong box and in probably the most pristine condition I've ever received work back in, no doubt owing to the expertise and professionaliam of the National Park and the Museum staff.

Getting Back to Work

"Try to end a day's work on a picture knowing how to proceed the next day." Irwin Greenberg

Marsh House ©2013 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 6x6 inches

As much as I like the idea of having all things complete and squared away before a break, it seems there is wisdom in coming back to work on something already in progress, especially if it’s something that you know exactly how to proceed with. Then it’s as simple as picking up right where you left off without fuss or hesitation or over-thinking. It’s a way to keep the flow going between starts and stops. I find this helpful on a day to day basis as well as for longer breaks.

Sky, Rocks, Beach work in progress ©2013 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 30x40 inches

 
 Before I leave the studio for the day I know what I’m going to start on the next day, whether it’s new drawings, a fresh under-painting, additional glazes - or sanding down and re-painting.

The paintings above are at a mid point. I can see where they're going, yet they will still have surprises along the way.

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" 

Marine Oil Paintings Blog

Gathering Point ©2011 Katherine Kean

24 x 30" oil on linen

I am pleased and honored to be included in the Marine Oil Painting Blog this week. The Marine Oil Painting Blog is a frequently updated collection of seascapes, coastal scenes and marine artwork from both the contemporary and historical domains. Including, but not limited to Homer, Waugh, Aivazovsky, Friedrich and many artists who are new to me; I find it a wonderful growing reference resource for artists and for art lovers.

Changing Conditions

Rapidly Changing Conditions oil on linen 20 x 30"
©2010 Katherine Kean

Although I am technically finished painting for my show, new images continue to come to mind. The painting above shows the Kilauea fumerole as the wind shifts direction scattering the ash and steam emanations. I love the shapes and patterns that the wind makes.

I've heard that the lava is flowing again and I hope to get a chance to go see sometime in the next few months. In the meantime I've been keeping up to date through the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory page.

Here at home our amazing weather has shifted from a pattern of late season marine layers and cooler than normal temperatures to warmer, yet still nice, conditions. Maybe now the summer vegetables will make some more progress! In the meantime, I've been enjoying grapes, beans, greens, and an artichoke.