Transformation





 

In the middle of March of this year, my work changed again. Working small has always been a challenge to me, so I made a small (I think it's about 4 x 5") book  and started working with acrylics again. (I've worked off and on with acrylics the last few years. I started with acrylics 18 years ago and my work then is very different than the way that I work now.) The above journal became known as my, "Visual Poetry" book. I've offered copies of it for sale every now and then (I am keeping a list of folks who are interested in obtaining a copy next time I have them reprinted.)

I wanted to see if I could combine my collage work with paint where it didn't look like the images were just sitting on top of a painted page.

 

I'm still playing with that process in my most recent journals. Pushing. Pulling. As artists, it's what we do.

Art Propelled is one of my favorite blogs and they posted this lovely Van Gogh quote here. It sums up my feelings perfectly. Ah, Van Gogh...

"I am an artist… It’s self-evident that what that word implies is looking for something all the time without ever finding it in full. It is the opposite of saying, ‘I know all about it. I’ve already found it.’ As far as I’m concerned, the word means, ‘I am looking. I am hunting for it. I am deeply involved"
- Vincent van Gogh

Comments

ginigin said…
I hope you will have an online class that reflects this focus. I'm also drawn to mix collage and acrylics.
Aimeslee Winans said…
Hi Kelly. Gorgeous pages. You've achieved almost an encaustic-coated look. Gesso? Glaze? I'm still wishing to know how you arrived at all the different paint color combos we used in the page a day online class promtps wayback then, lol.

Van Gogh - do you know if he was the one who would begin every painting with a cadmium red basecoat? Did I read this from you? I'm thinking I did and then I did something really dumb...I forgot parts of it! hahaha Not on purpose!

Would you consider confessing the paint color combo secret, please? It has always made me wonder about it, like...why were we doing those at that order (other than forcing us to get more comfortable with combining colors, which was very good to teach). Thanks, Aimeslee xoxo
Kelly Kilmer said…
Hi Aimeslee,

Thanks for the kind words.

Van Gogh didn't start his work with a cadmium red base coat but he was a very big fan of red lead and that's causing the reds in his paintings to turn to white.

Thanks for the kind words about the work. No gesso or glaze was used on my pages (I haven't used either in eons.) It's a combination of acrylics, paint markers, pencils and more.

There's no secret. I teach my students the painting prompts in that way to get folks out of their box. Many folks I've taught are used to slapping down one, two or three colors and that's it. It's all about the layering. Every color you put down (even colors you don't normally use or gravitate towards) will make you think about your work in a different direction. I had one student say she felt like a robot. Unfortunately, she didn't understand the exercises and that the possibilities of layering are truly endless and open. They lead you to new discoveries if you a/ do the work and b/ keep your mind open c/ don't judge when you're doing the work but instead, go back and ask questions (to yourself) later on (See what you like and don't like. Note how you could do things differently for next time.) I find color combination ideas in my own work, on the street, in stores, in books, etc... I have emphasized over the years to my students that the best way to learn is to do and to keep your eyes open. There are ideas all around us. :)

Hope this helps!
Best,
Kelly
Love the Van Gogh quote and enjoyed browsing your blog.
I recently took a workshop with Karen Arp -Sandel and she shared your link.
Kelly Kilmer said…
Thanks for the kind words and thanks to Karen, as well!

I just popped in to look at some of your blogs. Wow. Love your use of colors and imagery. Thanks for posting as well!

Best,
Kelly

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