KIM-LEE KHO
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Cheap & Cheerful Art Supplies: Stencils

9/5/2020

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Stencils among my favourite things to work with, whether for painting or printmaking, working flat, blended or atmospheric, or creating impasto effects.

Anybody who's taken one of my classes knows that I love – and encourage – making custom stencils, because they are personal and show the hand of the artist.

But that doesn't mean I don't love a good commercial stencil, because I do! If only my wallet were fatter, so would my collection of bought stencils be (maybe you can relate!).

Good commercial stencils have wonderful, sometimes intricate, designs, are sturdy, and can last indefinitely if cared for. They will also be translucent so you position the design exactly where you want it onto a prepared surface for example.

This blog post isn't about those high quality and at least somewhat expensive stencils though!

Instead I'd like to introduce you to the world of dollar store stencils.

Pictured above are collections I have purchased at Dollarama and at Dollar Tree. I didn't buy all of the sets available, but both places offered a few.  (Continued below.)
VIDEO: When I get new stencils, I make reference prints using black ink. I like to use my gel plate so I can pull positive and negative prints, but you can also use a sponge, stomp or stencil brush directly onto paper. Finally I like to try a few simple prints just to get acquainted with the stencils.
The Dollar Tree stencils come one per package, are cleanly and fully punched out, their shapes are good and classic, the plastic is smooth, flexible, transparent but thinner than I'd prefer. 

Dollarama's  come with four designs per package, which are nicely illustrated on the packaging so you can preview your selection, or to help put them back in the correct package after use. They are less well made than Dollar Tree's (I had to finish punching out a number of the shapes myself), but  plastic is thicker and somewhat stiffer, a different kind of plastic that feels more durable. They are also opaque, which makes them less easy to position precisely.

Both are roughly 6" x 6" in size, suitable for small gel plates for example, or used as accents in larger work.

Whatever the drawbacks, the price is hard to beat for someone on a very tight budget, or feeding a stencil habit they need to keep the costs down on! You may also just find the designs useful.

Dollar Tree's are $1 for a single stencil (but always with many variations on an image theme!).
Dollarama's are $1.25 for a 4-pack of various patterns.

If you don't find them at your local store, you may have to try another location. What's available at any given location can vary quite a lot in general I find.

Who doesn't love saving a little money on art or craft supplies? Let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these out. Also what's been your favourite cheap & cheerful art or craft supply?

Prices are in Canadian dollars.
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New Show: 'Heartspace Hotel' at the Gladstone Hotel Jan 25– Mar 5, 2020

1/26/2020

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'Heartspace Hotel' is my surprise solo show for 2020 (I haven't told anyone about it until the last week couple of weeks, because I didn't know about it myself, lol!).

Occupying the third floor of The Gladstone Hotel in downtown Toronto, an amazing boutique art hotel renowned for its high profile art & design events and exhibitions, this multimedia show features a new combination of my heart-based work seen at my 'Heartspace' and 'A Full Heart' solo exhibitions in 2019, some of which have only ever been shown once, and even a couple of pieces I've never shown before.

Artworks include my longest digital print ever at over eight feet long, shown only once before in March 2019 at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre's Studio Gallery. 

Also: many more prints, three of my large scrolls with giant image transfers, fibre-based work, paintings, abstract photography, and two more digital prints I've only exhibited once before.

The opening reception coincides with the one for the second floor exhibition so it's sure to be a happening evening – hope you can make it!
Opening reception:
Friday Jan 31, 7-10pm
​Artist talk: 7:30pm


Kim-Lee Kho: Heartspace Hotel
at The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M6J 1J6

Front Desk: 416.531.4635 x 0
Dinner Reservations: 416.531.4635 x 7130
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Final Week to See Heartspace & Thank You to My Sponsors

11/17/2019

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Heartspace, my debut solo exhibition at The Red Head Gallery, is in its final week this Weds–Sat noon–5pm. I will be there for the final Saturday (Nov 23) all afternoon, or as close to it as I can manage!

After that the work comes down except for some of the small works which will be part of the group show that follows right after mine, #foxypopup.

Heartfelt thanks to my amazing sponsors!

I have thanked my sponsors in print at the show itself, but it's about time I thanked them here on my website.

They took some pressure off, lightening the load on my mind as I headed into, and worked away in, my studio, and they also made some things possible, thereby helping to make this show as interesting and diverse as my ideas called for.

Here are my generous sponsors: 
  • Miriam Snell
  • Josef (Joe) Rich
  • Abigail Johnson
  • Joanna Czub
  • The Conspiracy to Promote Artists
  • Ruth Austin
  • Nancy Moniz
  • Lindsay Isaac
  • Anne Cook
I also owe a very special thanks to Kal Honey, who helps me in every way imaginable. Thanks also to Tim Marshall who along with Kal installed the show so I feel happy every time I look at it!

Installation views of Kim-Lee Kho: Heartspace at The Red Head Gallery through Nov 23, 2019.

My Heartspace solo exhibition is in its final week, continuing through Saturday, November 23 at The Red Head Gallery.

​I'll be there in person on the final day, come and say hi! Open noon–5pm.
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Solo Exhibition: Heartspace Oct 30–Nov 23 at Red Head Gallery

10/10/2019

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You are invited to my first solo show at The Red Head Gallery, where I became a member in 2018.
​
For more information about the content of the show, click here to see the exhibition page.

This show would be less than I’d hoped if not for the generous support of its/my sponsors.
Many thanks to all of the individuals, and one organization, who chose to support this project!

If you are curious about sponsoring new work, in any amount starting at just $10, please visit this page (click here) to find out more.
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My Artist Statement for 'Heartspace'

Heartspaces are not tidy. They are bloody and muscular and visceral. They throb with the rhythm of our life. As their chambers squeeze, then fill, they experience high and low tides in the space of a single beat.

Being human is not tidy. We are born from blood and viscera and the scream that gives us breath, while our deaths set in motion a rapid decay.
From beginning to end there is so much mess, in our lives, our psyches, our hearts, and our flawed selves. And yet there is so much opportunity for beauty, love, and connection.

We are an interconnected web, hidden, like the vast underground network that makes a forest. And like a forest, if we separate into smaller, divided sections, we all do more poorly.

In this show artist Kim-Lee Kho is interested in the visceral and emotional experience of our human hearts, of the life and connections we can find inside, outside and between our heartspaces. 
Heartspace is part of her ongoing exploration of the human heart: as repository for emotions, as metaphor, as physical structure; using it as a gateway to what our hearts mean to us. 

The work began with Kho’s fascination for three-dimensional medical models and antique anatomical illustrations on the one hand, and on the other with a stirring of emotion, which moved her hand to draw as a way of contemplating subject matter.

Heartspace explores these ideas in multiple media: drawing, painting, text, photography, digital, fibre, mixed media, film-based transfer prints, sculpture and the artist’s first zine.
.  .  .  .  .  .  .

BIOGRAPHY
 

Kim-Lee Kho is a self-taught multidisciplinary Canadian artist, and former graphic designer/art director, exploring subjective experience as a gateway to broader human concerns. The daughter of both a scientist and an artist, Kho’s process and interests combine both influences, in sometimes unexpected ways.

Kho has participated nationally in exhibitions, residencies, and mentorships including at Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art (RICA) in Guelph ON, You Me Gallery in Hamilton ON, the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga ON, Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam BC, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby BC, and as part of a two-year travelling exhibition for the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie in Alberta. She is a multiple Ontario Arts Council grant recipient.

A feature artist in both the 2016 and 2018 In Situ multi-arts festivals, Kho developed large-scale installations in multiple media and live drawing performances for both events, held at the Small Arms Inspection Building (SAIB) in Mississauga ON. Her 2015 solo exhibition Chains Unlinked a multi-layered immersive installation exploring internal and external barriers through temporary mural drawing, video, textile, and sculpture, was at the Art Gallery of Mississauga.

In addition to her creative practice, Kho is a popular and knowledgeable arts instructor. She teaches at Fleming College’s Haliburton School of Art + Design, and Neilson Park Creative Centre in Etobicoke. She also teaches workshops, gives talks, live demonstrations, critiques, and juries exhibitions, at the invitation of numerous art groups, centres and galleries in Ontario.

Heartspace is Kim-Lee Kho’s debut solo exhibition as a member of The Red Head Gallery.

October 30 to November 23, 2019
Opening Reception:
Saturday, November 2, 1–4pm
​with artist talk at 2pm

The Red Head Gallery
401 Richmond St. West
Ground floor, Suite 115
Toronto, ON  M5V 3A8

Gallery hours:
​Weds–Sat 12–5pm

Watch for sneak peeks on social media!
Instagram
Facebook

 
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Report: Live Painting Demo at My 'RADIANTS' Exhibition

5/21/2017

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We had an enthusiastic group at Saturday's painting demonstration at Otto Art gallery in Toronto. I showed how I approach painting two series: my 'Aroundeds' and the 'Radiants' series that gave the show its title.  I will continue to work on the 'Radiant' demo painting and post photo updates here when ready.
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Here I am just starting the demo of painting #2 which is part of the Radiants series.
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First stroke is complete and I'm listening to a question from the audience.
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Radiant #12? It will be if my continued work on it turns out all right!

Sandra Otto, the gallerist, shot video of most of the event, which you can watch below in two parts.

As for the 'Arounded' painting, here are progress shots of the drying process so you can see how the painting reveals itself over time as it dries. I will continue to post more until it is pretty much 100% clear.
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Fresh! The wet new 'Arounded' painting.
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Several hours later the thinnest parts are already starting to clarify.
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Two days + some hours later, more drying progress: still plenty of white but it's less opaque than before.
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Four days + some hours after the demo and you can see translucency in all of the gel. The thickest parts will take more time, the thinnest are totally clear and there is lots that's in-between.
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Here is a detail view after four days.
Please check back for even more updates/photos and links!
And if you found this at all interesting, please give this post a like or a tweet – it helps a lot, thanks!
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Watching Paint Dry Is Fun (Really!)

5/16/2017

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Last week I gave a talk with a demonstration component to members of the Oshawa Art Association. My main demo was of the process I use to make my 'Arounded' acrylic paintings. A magical part of the process is watching the painting emerge as the paint dries.

At the talk I promised that I would share photos of the drying process because the changes are so dramatic as the gel portion dries, due to the nature of acrylics: when wet, the gel or mediums are milky white; they dry clear (more or less, depending on medium and other factors).

Spots with the very thickest applications can take a considerable time to dry fully. Extremely thick applications done all at once may never truly clarify.

Although there are small remaining gel "peaks" that are not yet clear, this sequence gives you a good look at the drying effects over time.
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#1: 'Arounded' painting a few hours after the demo on May 10. Virtually all of the acrylic gel is still wet & white.
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#4: 'Arounded' painting on May 14, a further 35 hours after the demo. Only the thickest spots of the gel layer remain white(ish).
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#2: 'Arounded' painting on May 12, more than 18 hours after the demo. All the thinner areas have clarified.
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Detail of #4: 'Arounded' painting May 14.
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#3: 'Arounded' painting on May 13 – an additional 25 hours after the demo. The centre has mostly clarified (dried).
If you'd like to be kept informed of future events like this talk and demo in Oshawa, please subscribe to my email Update newsletter using the form at right or my contact form above, including the word "subscribe" at the top.
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The Magic of Watching a Master Craftsperson

7/24/2016

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It's a magical thing to watch a highly skilled or master craftsperson do their thing.

There is also something inherently magical about any of the spinning crafts, such as a potter's wheel or as in this case a wood lathe.

I came across this video and enjoyed it so much I thought I'd share it with you.

The craftsman is making traditional Japanese Kokeshi dolls, both fashioning the wood (I love how he connects the head to the body!) and painting the dolls with clean, deft strokes.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 
​

If you're wondering why I have fallen behind in my usually weekly blog posts, I have been away, both teaching and learning.

​I'm hard at work on some new blog posts, including a series about stepping outside of your comfort zone, which I hope you will enjoy – please re-visit my blog later this week and check them out!
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Preparations Underway

7/8/2016

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Hope you had a great holiday weekend (if you're in North America at least).

​I'm currently buried deep in preparations for the Acrylics: Explore, Express & Experiment course I teach every summer in Haliburton. So much still to do, not enough time to write a proper post, but I thought I would share a sample panel-in-progress with you (pictured above).

​I will update this post with the finished result... after the pour! Should be fun, fingers crossed :-)
Sample panel-in-progress by Kim Lee Kho 2016.
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Buying (and Selling!) Original Art

4/7/2016

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My recent artwork sales have me thinking about the process of buying and selling art. Funny how when you start thinking about something you stumble across related information and resources suddenly! 

So here (at right) is an article I came across and thought had some good reasons for buying original art instead of reproductions (which they refer to as prints; it is important though to distinguish between original prints and reproductions more explicitly). 

Obviously some original art is expensive but there is plenty out there that is not – for a one-of-a-kind, handmade work requiring specialized skills! An iPad is obsolete after only a few years whereas even artworks that cost less will last you a lifetime.

​If you have any thoughts on this topic, or the article link (above right), please share them in the comments below!
9 Reasons to Buy a Painting
An iPad is obsolete after only a few years whereas even artworks that cost less will last you a lifetime.
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Sold, and Soon Heading to England!

2/25/2016

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'Hearts Are Wild' is still on display at Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art in Guelph, Ontario, but it will soon be joining the substantial art collection of the Morrison family in England, where it will be in the company of Peter Blake, Picasso and countless other wonderful artists' works.

Needless to say I am right chuffed about it!







Acrylic on wood panel, 12' x 12", 2016.
This is the first time I've posted a complete view of the painting online. Click on the image to see a larger view.
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    Kim-Lee Kho

    As 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.

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  • Home
  • Gallery
    • Burnt Offerings (2022) >
      • Sponsors: Thank you
    • My Father's Things (series)
    • Heartspace
    • A Full Heart
    • Subject to Limitation >
      • Boxed In
      • Expanding Media
      • Fences as Barriers
      • Containment
    • Skin
    • Face[t]s
    • [Un]Settled
    • Digital / Photo / Mixed
    • Painting
    • To See More
  • Shop
    • Interior Life series
    • Trees + Hidden Complexity
    • A Full Heart series
  • Courses & Events
    • Current + Upcoming
    • Virtual Studio Parties
    • Gallery Walk & Talks
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
    • News Archive
  • ABOUT
    • Biography
    • Statement
    • CV
    • Publications/Media
  • Contact