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

Angeles Forest Storm Wide

Angeles Forest Storm Wide ©2015 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 8 x 16 inches

There are times when the local landscape is especially inspiring. In this painting it's the mountains and skies of the Angeles National Forest.

In these links you can see the initial sketch and middle painting, and a companion painting.

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.

Animals On My Mind

Animal have had a place in art for as long as there has been art. From the paleolithic artwork of the Caves of Lascaux to contemporary depictions, animals have long been part of human culture, myth, and symbol.

Sojourn Pamela Murphy

What do animals mean to our psyche? Many earth based cultures consider animals as spiritual counterparts, as messengers, and as partners in life on earth. Jung stated that animals were a relevant symbol of our psyche and often  represented the self.

Tiger Tiger Travis Louie

Theriomorphism: the ascription of animal characteristics to humans.

Stilts (Adaptation) Martin Wittfooth

There seems to be a resurgence of animal imagery in contemporary art. One theory for this is that we are compensating through art for a loss. As humans grow more urban our involvement with non human animals becomes increasingly rare. With the exception of those animals doomed to be commodities; as food, as pets, and used for entertainment - which could include animal sanctuaries and parks, as well as zoos - natural encounters with animals, wild or tame, are few and far between. The occasional encounter with deer becomes an almost magical moment, and happening across a coyote, bobcat, or bear, or even a wild turkey or goose, often causes fear or confusion. 

Mixed Metaphor II Robert McCauley

Anthropomorphism: the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

Intermission Theresa Elliott

The questionable practice, in my opinion, of using live animals as art has unfortunately also surged. As I write this, an Ibizan Hound is part of an exhibition at LACMA. This practice to me is an extension of perceiving animals as commodities. None of those images appear here, or of taxidermy based art, as these are simply, to my mind, further forms of animal exploitation. The very same mind set that allows people to feel comfortable with exploiting animals, may also allow them to feel comfortable exploiting people.

Enassamiian Tom Uttech

"There are some who can live without wild things and there are some who cannot." 

 - Aldo Leopold "A Sand County Almanac"

Most Popular Posts 2014

Rainy, cloudy, stormy, snowy, the most visited posts on my blog this year are all on artwork focused on the weather.


#5 Painterly Progression
 "...varied and broken brushstrokes, sketchiness,  impasto..." 

#4 Billowing Clouds Go By and By
Inspired by Scotland, this painting went to Palm Springs, then Monrovia, and then found a new home.

#3 Suburban Murmuration Drawing
An imaginary flock of birds and a suburban home.

#2 Chasing Clouds Another painting that went to Palm Springs, heading soon to Burbank.

#1 A Little Snow On the Marsh The most popular 2014 post from my blog is this simple charcoal sketch.

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.

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.

Hazy Skies With a Touch of Green

Hazy Before Thunder Chatham Beach © 2014 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 12 x 12 inches

This painting is about the feeling of when the beach is the only place to escape the heat and humidity mere minutes before the thunderstorm breaks. 

Have you ever noticed how the sky sometimes takes on a greenish cast right before a storm? People have noted this phenomena for centuries and modern scientists don't deny it, although there is no consensus on what the cause is. It could be the mixing of yellow sunlight scattered by particles in the air that makes the blue sky a greenish color., but who knows?

Tranquil Art, Healing Art

Fog Lifting ©2014 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 30 x 40 inches

This past week I learned that Fog Lifting has been awarded a Featured Artist Award and included as one of 50 artworks in an international juried competition presented by Manhattan Arts International. Celebrate the Healing Power of Art 2014 runs online from May 17 - July 17, 2014.

The guest juror is Lilly Wei, a New York-based art critic, writer and independent curator focusing on contemporary art. She's a contributor to many art publications including Art In America since 1984 and Art News.

I am also included in an article written by  Renée Phillips, an internationally known author and arts writer, published on the Manhattan Arts International blog: Four Artists Who Express Tranquility, which can be read in full here:  http://www.manhattanartsblog.com/artists-express-tranquility/

Night Sky

Plainview Night Sky Study Katherine Kean 2014
oil on linen 6 x 6 inches

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.” - Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

This isn't the first time I've painted this sky, this view, and I suspect I will keep on exploring. I'm amazed by the indescribable hues of this sky at dusk. I'm not talking about the vivid reds and oranges that are also breath-taking, but the other ones, the tarnished gold, the muted plum, the softly tinted grays. I wonder if it's an effect of being midway between an ocean and a desert. In the moments when the sun is all but gone and the darkness hasn't completely taken over I can see with my eye so much space and depth and subtlety of color. One day I hope to get closer with paint to what I sense with my eyes.

Save the Date Upcoming Exhibition: Murmuration

Bird By Bird 6  ©2012 Katherine Kean
oil on linen 8 x 8"

April 24 - May 19, 2012

M U R M U R A T I O N

TAG Gallery, Bergamot Station

2525 Michigan Avenue, Unit D3

Santa Monica, CA 90404

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11am -5pm

Sundays noon - 4pm

An online sneak preview of the exhibition will be available to email subscribers. Sign up is here.

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.

Storm Clouds Over Lava Field

Storm Over Lava Field sketch © 2009 Katherine Kean

I'm just starting on the last large work. The sketch for it is above. This one will be 48 x 60" - a bit larger than the previous painting, but for some reason the dimensions make it look smaller to me.

I'd like to have all of these larger works finished by the end of the summer, or at least well before the days become much shorter. I like working in natural light best, especially on bigger canvases.

The weather has been so beautiful over the past few weeks - I have to keep reminding myself that it is August.

Related Post:

Ash Plume and Lava Field Sketches