International Association for the Study of Dreams - Dream Art Exhibition

Red Horse Katherine Kean
oil on linen 20 x 30 inches

Two of my dream paintings will be part of an upcoming exhibition at the International Association for the Study of Dreams Annual Dream Conference. The conference will be in Anaheim this year, on June 16 - 20, 2017 at the Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove in Anaheim, California.

The exhibition is open to the public, and you are not required to register for the conference to attend. A meet the artists event takes place on Sunday, June 18th at 7:30pm and an artists reception follows from 8:30 - 10:00pm.

Multiplicity: the Eye of the Artists at Izen Miller Gallery

Scattered Glow Katherine Kean
oil on linen on panel 42 x 52 inches

I'm excited to be in this group exhibition at Izen Miller Gallery's new location on El Paseo in Palm Desert.

Artists include Carole Beauvais, Carol Bishop, Ilana Bloch, Catherine Bohrman, Philippe Chambon, Michael Davis, Downs, Vivian & Ed Flynn, Ruth Gonzales, Marcy Gregory, Katherine Kean, Masha Keating, John Luebtow, and Barry Orleans.

 
Opening Reception: 

Saturday February 18th, 6:00 - 8:00 pm 

For more information, please contact Deanna Miller: 760.898.0223
deanna@izenmillergallery.com  or visit IzenMillerGallery.com. 

Izen Miller Gallery

73-740 El Paseo
Palm Desert, CA 92260

ECO ART an exhibition January 10 - February 15, 2017

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

I'll be exhibiting two paintings in this group exhibition. It opens next week.

ECO ART an exhibition 

January 10 - February 15, 2017  

Opening Reception Thursday, January 12  6:00 - 8:00 p.m. 

GWC Community Art Gallery

Fine Arts Building, Rm 108 

15751 Gothard Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Free Admission 

Open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

Special viewing appointments may be made by calling the Foundation Office:
(714) 895-8316

Click here to download digital postcard with 

Free Parking Pass for January 12 6 - 8 p.m.

Izen Miller Gallery at The River - Exhibition continues through November 13

Marsh Glow Katherine Kean
oil on linen 30 x 30 inches

I'm exhibiting nine atmospheric paintings at Izen Miller Gallery's inaugural exhibition at a new space. It is located at The River, Suite B113 - directly across from the Theater at 71-800 CA-111 in Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. 

Also exhibiting are Carol Beauvais, Philippe Chambon, John Luebtow, and Barry Orleans.

This is a really nice time of year to visit the desert. The gallery hours are Friday and Saturday 1;00 pm until 8:00 pm and Sundays from 11;00am until 6:00 pm. Private viewings are available by appointment.  

There will be a closing reception on Saturday, November 12 from 5;00 pm until 8:00 pm. It would be lovely to see you there.

Planning, Intuition, Imagination

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success." - Picasso

Cloudburst Over Marsh work in progress
©2016  Katherine Kean
oil on linen 40 x 40 inches

Do your paintings talk back to you as you paint them?

During Anselm Kiefer’s talk at the Getty last week, he mentioned that he starts a piece with an idea in mind, but during the process the artwork will often transform into something else.

Usually I begin a painting with what I think is a clear intention of what the painting is about; the content, the subject, the mood and also the scale, the palette, and to what extent it will be painterly and textured.

Cloudburst Over Marsh sketch 
©2016 Katherine Kean
graphite 8 x 10 inches

I almost always go to Nature as the source of inspiration. I also make use of the many intellectual rules of composition. You know them: the Golden Ratio, the Fibonacci Spiral, the Rule of Thirds, etc. With these ideas in the back of my mind I rearrange the elements of the landscape to align to the framework of the canvas. Clouds up and to the left, tree down and to the right, the curve of a road from here to there, and so on.

Cloudburst Over Marsh study 
©2016 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 6 x 6 inches

Most of the time everything proceeds as imagined, and I’ll think I know when and how the painting will arrive.

Cloudburst Over Marsh work in progress 
©2016 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 40 x 40 inches

“An idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate it, it becomes transformed by thought." - Picasso

Cloudburst Over Marsh work in progress 
©2016 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 40 x 40 inches

Lately I find that as I approach this anticipated completion, I’ll begin to see something else and if I slow down and let it happen the painting seems to suggest a direction it would like to go – which may or may not be what I’d originally intended. 

Cloudburst Over Marsh detail 
©2016 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 40 x 40 inches

Often the shift is subtle, a part I wasn’t too concerned about starts to become more of a focus point. A section of sky asks to be darkened, a carefully painted cloud all but disappears. A faintly suggested tree demands attention and detail. Other times it might as well be a completely different painting. If I take the hint and follow up, the results often make sense and I wonder why it wasn’t part of my “original plan” – or was it? It’s hard for me to tell where imagination ends and intuition begins.

And yet, I’m starting to like this way of working.

“Picasso was writing about this subject when he said: “I consider a work of art as the product of calculations, but calculations which are frequently unknown to the author himself. It is exactly like the carrier pigeon calculating his return to the loft. But the calculation that turns out to be correct is unknown to him; it is a calculation that precedes intelligence.” - Keeper of the Flame, An essay on Max Shertz and his Art of the Unconscious. By Daniel Kaufman, Artist and Writer

Did you hear that?

It’s not very loud. Just a faint scratch on paper, or a soft blerp or splat or splosh or slosh of paint, and perhaps an occasional sigh. The sounds of the art studio and work being made with pencil and paint.*

First the thumbnail sketches...

 Then the studies.

Eventually underpainting begins.

And at last the first color layer.

That's not the end of it. There is more to come, so stay tuned.

"Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks". Plutarch

*onomatopeia - a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing.

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

Happy Holidays and a Cumulus Christmas

Billowing Katherine Kean ©2015
oil on linen 30 x 30 inches

Warm wishes to all for a beautiful holiday season!

A Collection of Clouds for Holiday Cards and Gifts

I've added Billowing Clouds to a Zazzle line of Holiday Greeting Cards. The inside message is "Happy Holidays". This card is fully customizable, allowing you to make the message your own and comes in three sizes, including a jumbo size. This link will take you straight to the card: Billowing Clouds Go By and By Greeting Card.

Cloud Chasing ©2015 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 30 x 40 inches

Cloud Chasing is now available from Saatchi Art as a 12 x 16 inch gallery wrapped reproduction, printed on a UV protected, museum grade, poly/cotton blend. You can choose either black or white for the 1 1/4 inch gallery wrapped sides. Here is the link to take you there: Cloud Chasing reproduction.

Gathering Point ©2015 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 24 x 30 inches

Gathering Point is available in an 8 x 10 or 11 x 14 inch reproduction on fine art paper. Framing is also available in either black or white. Here's the link: Gathering Point reproduction.

Billowing Clouds Go By and By
 ©2015 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 16 x 20 inches

Billowing Clouds Go By and By as also now available as an 8 x 10 or 11 x 14 inch reproduction on fine art paper. Available at Saatchi Art: Billowing Clouds Go By and By reproduction.

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

Storm, Eucalyptus Tree Sketch

Storm, Eucalyptus Tree ©2015 Katherine Kean

graphite 10 x 12 inches

I'd like to make this a larger painting. I've been working on small and medium size work the past three months. I work in the smaller space under my house in the summer. It's much cooler! Now that the days are getting shorter and aren't as hot, I've moved back into the larger space, allowing me to scale up. 

 I was pretty happy with this sketch until I decided that the tree is just too static. Considering the wind that's pushing all the clouds around it ought to be moving, or bending. I'm looking at these Burchfield and Hopper paintings for inspiration. I'd be happier if I can get the tree to have the same feeling of wind and energy that I get from these paintings.

 March Winds  Charles Burchfield

Windy Day Edward Hopper

And then, just about the time I was wondering where to turn for inspiration, I got lucky.

The Santa Anas came. Above, a quick video of a neighbor's enormous Eucalyptus in the wind.

And last, a revised windy tree.

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.