In the Studio: September 27, 2016

Here are some of the works in progress today.
Top left, 4' x 5'
Bottom left 30" x 60"
Center 48" x 48"
Right 30"x 48"

Some of these oils are further along than others but big changes are still possible. Since this photo was taken, I've added improvements to the center and right oils.

The studio is the place where art is created but also the place and mind set where numerous works that are 'good enough' go through days or weeks of polishing - making the small improvements that can make all the difference.

It's very rare that I have worked an oil straight through and that's why I have so many in progress. I enjoy looking for the large or small things that can really improve the art.

The studio is full of puzzles to solve and blank canvases were anything can happen. There is a real tension in the air from all of the unknowns, but it is never boring!

Grateful Notices: Descending Tree Line, pastel

Descending Tree Line, pastel on sanded paper, 9 x 18

I just conducted a Making it Fine Art Workshop for the Pikes Peak Pastel Society last weekend.  We had a very successful weekend with a number of breakthroughs, new experiences, great starts and a number of very  good artworks works emerged. 

More workshops are scheduled for October 2016 - 2017 in the Denver Metro and MA  in 2017.  Complete info

Descending Tree Lines is one of the pastel demonstrations I did at the workshop. It is on the theme of taking a common subject and progressing it through a number of different looks but still ending with something that is fresh and interesting.

Many thanks to the person that purchased this pastel their collection that day.

At the Workshop

Here we are on the first day of the workshop. We had a lot of work going on with new ideas and breakthroughs. 

Thank you Bonnie, for the recommendation:

"Thanks for the wonderful workshop! You are a fountain of information and are so giving of your time and knowledge. We all had fun and enjoyed your sense of humor. It's so refreshing to let go of rules and loosen up with color."

Just fun: Thousands of Plastic Figures Hold Up the Floor by artist Do Ho Suh Floor, 1997-2000

This is us.
There are a number of ways to consider this allegory but the meanings are brought to our attention through art. Looking at the figures close up, the care and effort is apparent. The figures come to life because we can identify with them tasking together and it doesn't look easy. They have our sympathy.

The installation is meant to walked on, not just observed. I suspect something emotional, perhaps  surprising feelings well up from standing on so many human figures, plastic or not. Just imagine yourself standing there - you may feel something.

The installation photo is compelling and one that stays in the mind. It can take on a number of meanings, but whatever the idea, the visual stays with us.

Great art lasts and that is the high bar for us as artists.
We have the ability to create something that is Forever.


Here is the text from the Lehmann Maupin Gallery website:

Thousands of Plastic Figures Hold Up the Floor

One of the most exciting contemporary artists of our time, Korean Do Ho Suh, created this large sculptural installation that doesn't look like much until you come closer. Glass plates rest on thousands of multicolored miniature plastic figures who are crowded together with their heads and arms turned skyward. Together, they are holding the weight of the individual visitor who steps onto the floor.

Currently showing at Lehmann Maupin's pop-up gallery at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI), Floor is one of those installations that's wonderfully thought-provoking. The figures represent the diverse and anonymous masses of people who support and/or resist the symbolic floor.

This installation can be seen, alongside works by artists Teresita Fernández, Ashley Bickerton, and Lee Bui, from now till February 11, 2012.

DO HO SUH
Floor, 1997-2000

Installation at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York
PVC Figures, Glass Plates, Phenolic Sheets, Polyurethane Resin

40 parts each:
39.37 x 39.37 x 3.15 inches, 100 x 100 x 8 cm

Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York

Exhibition: The Artful Pour Charity Event, October 20, 2016

Note: This date has been changed form Oct 13 to Oct Thursday, October 20.
All the other information remains the same.
See you there!
Ken

I'll be exhibiting works at this charity benefit in Denver, Oct 13, 2016

I will be there along with the Brushstrokes Gallery Artists:

Kelly Berger, John K. Harrell, Kit Hevron Mahoney, Anita Mosher

The Foundation provides grants to a large number of arts organizations in the Denver metro.

2016 Grant Recipients

$65 per person

More details to follow

Brushstrokes Studio-Gallery

1487 S. Broadway, Denver, CO 80210   map

Don't miss this great event to enjoy local artists & live music

in support of art organizations across Colorado!

Check out our new website:

TheFineArtsFoundation.org