October 08, 2004
paintings in process
i'm up earlier than i want to be this morning. my step-dad keith recently caught on to a trick to waking me up despite myself in the morning (not that i sleep very late). if he plays my music downstairs, my unconscious mind rips me out of sleep to listen, and i am left more than awake. old crow medicine show is doing the trick these days (thanks beth).
today i'm tired because my sister lica flew in last night and we talked until my eyes couldn't stay open and she took the hint. it wasn't meant as a hint but she took it. today my sister amy drives over with her husband joseph and their three kids. tomorrow michelle flies in, and so does katie with her son mason. monday jamie drives over from raleigh. later in the week grant comes. our house has three bedrooms. i believe we will be stacking. and gladly.
here are paintings in process. i love when people tell me things they don't like or would change. it helps. these paintings may very well look entirely different tomorrow, or whenever this house unpacks itself and i am painting again. amy has a painting she wants me to do while she is here. i will try, but sometimes it's hard for me to work with people around that i would rather be spending time with. maybe if someone reads to me...
i'm enjoying working on this piece the most. i think it is partly because it's larger than i usually work, so when i tire of one section i just move over to another. and i like that it is stories. it still needs a lot of help, but it's better than the first time i posted it. i took a piece of wood, covered it with drawings i had made, and now i'm painting and trying to pull it together. suggestions?
details:
Sounds like you're in for a wonderful family time. Enjoy every minute of it. I wish I had suggestions for you regarding the paintings. All I can say is...I love them! I know I've said it before but I MUST say it again, you are VERY, VERY talented.
Posted by: Deb at October 8, 2004 09:08 AMYou seem to do much of your work in vertical lines. Is there a particular reason for the long strokes? I like the way you stretch things, but I was just wondering if there is a particular reason for the emphasis.
I particularly enjoy the red one. I like it's simplicity. The things I've seen of yours are typically busier and more detailed. The red one seems more like you put some paint down and left it alone.
One of my painting teachers expressed the importance of leaving things alone. He said that there are many things that just need to be put on the canvas, and left alone, not overworked. I always liked that philosophy because I have never liked going back into a painting. If I were trying to correct a particular area, I always ended up re-painting the entire canvas and it just got worse.
Posted by: Rachel at October 8, 2004 11:32 AMThat last one is finished, though I'd be tempted to glaze it and scumble thin washes of color in a few areas... It's wonderful.
Posted by: hugo at October 8, 2004 12:38 PMsuggestions...yes...i have one:
send it to me promptly
=D
it's beautiful
Posted by: gwen at October 8, 2004 01:15 PMkelly - chip walked in when i had this page up and said "oooh - she does such cool art" about the last picture.
is it still up for adoption?
Posted by: amy at October 8, 2004 02:20 PMdeb. thank you. you are always so encouraging.
rachel. i am just drawn to vertical lines...in architecture and nature--trees, columns, windows. it helps me keep things somewhat contained in my chaos. i seem to always think in terms of cities and forests. and your right, i have a hard time letting things remain simple and open. i try to remember to create spaces to breath, but i usually end up packing things in.
hugo. thank you. that's actually my plan. some of the areas of blue especially are still too much the same tone, too straight out of the tube color-wise.
gwen. thanks. we should make some sort of little art trade.
amy. it is up for adoption. i could write your name on it. if you look in the right hand bottom corner, there is a key. the third detail shows it a little better.
Posted by: kelly at October 8, 2004 04:46 PMhow big is it exactly?
kelly - please do. i'd be honored. and i love knowing it has a key.
over dinner chip told me again how cool your art was and i went ahead and told him that i had asked about this picture back when it was a sketch because i thought he would like it.
his response was "would you really get something that wonderful for me?"
Posted by: amy at October 8, 2004 08:10 PMkelly your work is so refreshing! I spent a good two hours of my life at a ridiculous neighborhood art show where the same woman won the the second time in a row. Why do I bother with shows in my neck of the woods?
Anyway, I love your work's complexity, and I along with others would love to have it hanging in my house. It has a Guarnica(sp?) feel to it, but not in a grotesque sort of way. Just the layering, and countor figures, the lines of the faces are a bit like Picasso. But the colors are rich and the details are addictive. Thanks for giving me something GOOD to look at tonight. Continue, Kelly, to make great art. We should mail art to each other, that'd be fun!
Posted by: katiek at October 8, 2004 09:28 PMgwen. i'm not near it at the moment, but i think around 2ft by 5ft...
amy. thanks. it is sweet to hear. and an honor for me. i'll work on it with you guys in mind.
kt. thanks much. it would definitely be fun to mail little art. i would love even a sketch of yours.
Posted by: kelly at October 8, 2004 09:49 PMawesome.
it's absolutely beautiful...i love the way you draw your figures..the line is so clean and has so much movement!
kelly - He amazes me through you.
and unfinished white. i like very much.
i see doors, and a road, and a field, and time.
is there a name on that one yet?
(and there is so much detail in amy and chip's painting, i would have to sit and watch it for a week.)
Posted by: stephanie at October 9, 2004 12:40 PMWow. Those are magnificent.
The larger collage piece is pure goodness.
Rust and blues.