"Art is longing.
You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will." – Anselm Kiefer (contemporary German artist)
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Under Pressure (left middle) and Turbulence (top centre) | Turbulence is made up of 5 custom wood panels made to display the image at an angle since it was being mounted on the mezzanine balcony but viewed from below. Designing the panels so they could break down but be assembled to form a single unit and considering how to hang them securely from the balcony (can't have these falling on people's heads!) were the main details that took some thought and recruiting the expertise of the Phil, who was in charge of fabricating the panels. I didn't even know if I would have help installing them but thankfully I did!
If you missed an earlier post about this installation, just click on one listed below: 'Chains Unlinked' Mural Part Three: It All Starts Coming Together! 'Chains Unlinked' Mural: New Face & Hand & Adding Darks 'Chains Unlinked' Mural: From Diagram to Drawing, Part One 'Chains Unlinked' Day 5: the Installation is Done! 'Chains Unlinked' Day 4: Drawing Complete, Installation Begins Chains Unlinked' Day 3: Drawing Almost Done! Day 2: Wall Drawing for 'Chains Unlinked' Exhibition (updated) 'Chains Unlinked' Installation Day One Complete! Anybody who's taken an experimental course with me (or my daily practice workshop) will be familiar with the fact that I liken myself to a “mad scientist” in my studio. It's a fun way of encapsulating the playful but serious work of trying, experimenting, finding out what doesn't work in order to find out what does.
My studio is generally full of experiments in various stages of development and observation. In the photo above are three of the ingredients I am working with for some art-chemistry experiments. The chalk and the gum arabic I just purchased this weekend and can't wait to get mixing with, but first I have to re-prime part of the wall in my stairwell (see previous post on that by clicking this text). I will keep you posted! By-the-way, if experimenting like a “mad scientist” sounds like fun, it is, and if you're not doing enough of it yourself, why don't you set aside some playtime in your “laboratory”?
This weekend I had a great, challenging and tiring time being a student again. One of my first teachers when I got back into visual art in 2003 was John Leonard. I took a number of painting and figure-based classes (working from a model) with him, ending with his Wednesday Workshop, a by-invitation-only group of experienced and professional artists. I began as the least experienced member of that high performance group, which was a little stressful, but that served to help me up my game. This weekend I was back with John Leonard and many of my favourite people (with a few notable exceptions). And I was back to painting from the model… for the first time in at least 5 years! Since my painting has been focused almost exclusively on non-objective work for a few years, it took a while for me to work my way back to the figure in an easily-discernable way. The photos below are in the proper sequence, showing how abstracted I began and how I did find the figure again. Drawing was a little easier because of the prep and demo’ing I do for my 'Figurative Art' classes at Neilson Park. Make no mistake though, prep and demos are not the same as mindfully drawing from a figure with no other intent.
I always loved the challenges John threw at us and he didn’t disappoint (it felt like home!). If you click here, you will go to the first drawing of the group I’ve uploaded to Flickr. There I have captioned the photos with a list of approaches required for the exercise, in their proper sequence, for anyone who’s interested. Just click the right arrow on the page to view the next drawing. I was nervous heading into the workshop after so long away, but after a brief adjustment period, the experience was joyful and the challenge has really refreshed me. Even for someone like me who is always inventing and trying new things, periodic challenges like this are invigorating and good for my creativity. Here are links to a few of my skilled and talented artist friends who were in the workshop with me:
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Kim-Lee KhoAs a visual artist I like nothing more than getting up to my elbows in paint or little plastic toys, or wading in at the deep end in pursuit of an idea. When I am not teaching others in a similar vein, you can find me researching, writing and noodling around in my studio, seeing where my latest lines of inquiry lead me. Archives
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All images and content on this website © Kim-Lee Kho 2005–2018 except as indicated. All rights reserved. No reproduction without express, written permission.
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