Ready to Hang

Before I head out of the door to go hang our show, I thought I'd share some last minute processes.

I ended up not having to go to my web design class yesterday, so I decided to make one more painting - which I documented so I could share my process for anyone who is interested.

First I start by sketching out what I want to paint on the blank canvas. (I bought pre-gessoed canvas' because I don't have access to the materials needed to build my own - if I had, I would've needed to gesso the canvas first to act as a primer so that your paint doesn't just get absorbed.)





After I had the drawing they way I wanted, I mixed up enough paint to cover the entire background and also to have some left over so that I could go back into it if I needed. The color ended up looking almost the same as my table.



Then, I painted the face and hair..



Followed by the cape - which consists of various shades of green and a few pops of pink. This was a vary tedious process, but I'm happy with how it turned out.



I then went back into the hair and face and added more detail, as well as finishing the mask... and tada..! Done.



Once everything was painted and dry, we needed to put a coating of clear coat over the work. This helps to make the colors pop, giving it more a sheen/wet look. It also helps to protect the paint, making it less likely to fade overtime or scratch off. Typically, you would want to spray this outside because it has a very strong odor and cause serious bodily harm if breathed in too much, (not to mention give you a gnarly head-ache) but as it is about 6 degrees outside, we sprayed the paintings in the basement wearing protective face masks.





I also sprayed my drawings with fixative, which ensures the graphite will not smudge over time, as well as protects it from UV light.

Once everything was dry, we had to screw in eyelets to the back of the paintings and frames and attach wire so that they are ready to hang - speaking of which, I better get going to do just that!

Identity Crisis

I think this my new fav. (Sorry for the crappy photo..) Come to the opening Friday and buy it from me!


-K

Working

Still working hard on the show.. only 4 days left! Yikes! However, I figured I could take a break and share a few more photos of the work we've been doing.

Hope to see you on Friday at the Rogue Buddha!

Statement

For the record, I hate writing artist statements. However, I had to put something together for the show next week, and this is what I came up with.


"Inspiration comes from everywhere. The town you grew up in, an expedition abroad, from friends and loved ones, even the subconscious. I have always been very interested in dreams, dream analysis and remembering bizarre events from adventures had inside the mind.

Not only am I interested in the scenes my own mind creates each night, I love hearing other people's dreams as well. Recently, a friend of mine told me he dreamt we were at a costume party together. He was dressed as a lion, but he couldn't remember what I went as.

From his short story, I imagined what this costume party could've looked like, and my work quickly evolved into depicting images of people in masks. I have been using the underlining plot in his dream as my canvas to expand upon, embellishing it with experiences and dreams of my own."

- Karen O'Bryan

Till Death Do Us Part

Lately I have been working on painting again. I haven't painted with acrylics in... 3 years? It's been a really long time, mainly due to times, mess and money. Now I'm delving back into the tube and canvas. It has been challenging, but quite enjoyable. I thought I'd share some of the process photos I took while making the first painting I've done in several years. I'm actually not quite finished with this one because I'm not sure if this is going to end up being a finished piece, or just a technical experiment.









Why am I doing this, you may ask. Well friends, I am going to be a show at the Rogue Buddha Gallery with my bf, Mr. RM Hanson. The show has a short run (2 weeks) as a pre-curser to Valentines Day.

The show is Feb. 5th - 14th, so come check it out if you can!





You know Valentines Day sucks, and you're not likely to get dinner reservations anyway... so join us for the closing reception party, support local artists and drink cheap booze! We're most likely going to be selling inexpensive prints as well, so if you can't afford an original, perhaps you can still get a little ditty to take home and put up, or give to a loved one.

Hope to see you there!

-K

Update

Oh blog, sorry you've fallen to the wayside these past couple of weeks. I have been keeping myself busy with a variety of fun activities including my first ever time snowmobiling in the northern woods as well as attending my first ever class at MCTC.

More exciting news, however, comes in the form of printed work in a magazine. More specifically, my work in Creative Quarterly issue 17!







Also, a shout out to Miss Jordan Kay (a fellow MCAD alumni,) whose lovely piece is also featured. Congrats!
The entire issue is pretty amazing, so if you have a chance, go pick one up! They're available at most Barnes and Nobles and Boarders.

I've also started working as a gallery assistant at the Rouge Buddha Gallery with my friend/colleague, Nick (who just so happens to own the place.) There will be more on that subject later.

Apart from the gallery, I've also started working on some freelance for a design company. I can't really go into much more detail than that however.. so if I ever do have permission to post what I'm working on I shall, but I must admit, that seems unlikely.

And lastly, I've signed myself up for some web design classes at MCTC, which I'm very excited about. My first official class is next week. I'm just tired of always having to turn jobs down because I don't know anything about web design outside of posting pictures and some basic html. Also, really, I just enjoy being in school and miss it. So I'm sure over the next couple of months you'll be seeing some web related activities from me.

So yeah, I've been keeping busy, and have more exciting things in the works which I'll post about soon when the time is right.

Until then,
Ciao!

Art//Money

Thanks Peekasso, you hit it right on.