Homage to Yayoi Kusama

Homage 2
Acrylic and Gouache on paper
9" x 12"
$85.

With this painting I’m continuing the series that I started at the Everson 60/60.….so I suppose I should explain a little where the ideas came from :)

It all started with my friend Richard Castellane. In the early 60’s he bought a few pieces in the net series from a struggling young artist in his gallery named Yayoi Kusama. One of the pieces hung over his sofa and as I would speak to Richard, my eyes would always stray to it. I realized how fond I had become of it when he sold it and I wasn’t able to visit it any more.

Kusama was interested in the spots; they create an interesting and vibrant image. Personally I liked the spaces around the spots,; they seem to suggest the movement of some of my favorite Op Artists, specifically Victor Vasarely, and Bridget Riley. Vasereli’s art gives the illusion of being 3-d on the canvas and Riley’s line paintings appear to move. In painting my homage, I tried to incorporate a little of all of the above :)

Everson 60/60

Will the young man in the fedora please contact me at kathysgallery@yahoo.com? I have something that belongs to you :)

Ok, now to the blog post.

My work usually sells by word of mouth, at MadArt Gallery or at art shows. I don’t do art fairs so I really look forward to events like the 60/60 when I’m able to meet artists and art lovers (fellow art nerds) I loved seeing the other artists at work and having such knowledgeable input!

I participate in the 60/60 and a few other events like it because they are fund raisers for the arts. This event directly benefits the Everson Museum of Art which is a wonderful resource right in the center of New York State. As an artist, I donated an hour of painting and then the resulting piece to the Museum. They provided refreshments and a whole crew of volunteers to ensure that everything went smoothly and that everyone had a wonderful time. The resulting pieces were raffled off with the proceeds going to Museum expenses. It’s quite an honor to be invited to join such talented artists in supporting this cause. My piece was won by fellow artist, Janet George Johnson. Congratulations Janet! Your kind words (and excellent taste) are greatly appreciated!

Plein Air Painting in Hamilton Park

Another Plein Air painting! This time it's a bit smaller, only 9" x 12" and done in monochromatic goache. The scene is in the park in Hamilton, New York at dusk.

Plein Air painting part 2

The previous post on my plein air painting poses a really interesting problem with computer technology. Seen from the point of view of the large screen on my home computer and in real life from the point of view of approximately 5 - 10 feet away, it's a rather abstract scene, but on my web book and from a much further distance it looks almost photographic. Not a terrible thing I suppose but I like it far better with the more impressionistic feel of the closer viewpoint.

This is a point that has been brought up in art classes, I have often reminded students that no one will probably ever look as up-close at their work as they are. They need to step away at a comfortable viewing distance occasionally to see what their audience will see. It's tempting to ignore that the same rule is true when it comes to computer technology, that what you see from the original at a comfortable viewing distance will translate much the same online. When the original image is small, there won't be much distortion, but as you start getting into images that are much larger than the screen, the distortion caused by shrinking can change the entire feel of the piece.