May the Force Be With You

'We Are Stardust' Assemblage with Acrylic paint

©robin r kent

Even though this holiday season isn't going the way I expected, I still feel its unassuming, familiar spirit this time of year. Maybe it's the early darkness that gives focus to the bigger picture, or maybe it's the stillness that accompanies it. Whichever, it dwarfs my energy with its magnitude, and I like that.
A similar judgement is used when choosing subjects for my next piece. I consider different traits: some grandiose, some meek. I had done a few pieces - assemblage and paintings - of a mystical nature a while ago and it was surprisingly rewarding. Might be time to revisit that, especially this season.
Will try to put it on my 'to do' list. Before the springtime comes.

Folk Art Diary: Pillow and Art Questions to Sleep On

'Sunday Morning' assemblage  Acrylic on plaque

@robin r kent

Continuing notes from my 'Artist as Nurse' series (see two previous posts.)

My pillow is my most important sleep partner. Soft, hard, chubby or extra long, its position is key to comfort. Each person has his/her own preference. But trying to help another with subtle position changes is no small thing. After a while I began to 'read' what might help: pull a pillow here, loosen a blanket there.

It's the same when painting or creating assemblages. A slight change in color or proportion can make a piece sing, or, will stop and shift focus to the 'uncomfortable' part of the work. Is it an organic sense we feel when interpreting artwork? How do we know such things intuitively?

Lowly Thoughts Far From the Studio

mermaid

©robin r kent

Even though I'm away from the shop, (see previous post) I can still go to it mentally and float through the process I use when creating a new piece. We can dream, can't we?
Mentally I stroke the grains on my antique boards. Always love the feel and texture of aged wood. Its pedigree used to mean the most to me. The most valuable wood I have are the boards from former barns. Even though they are not large enough for other uses now, the full dimension, hand sawn, vintage pieces add depth to my work, and are an art form in itself.
But I have a new love also. Its name is plywood. I love plywood because it allows my drawings to become art. Because its grain goes in both directions, I can cut circles and waves without worry of them breaking along the grain. Like a permissive parent, it lets me venture into the unknown to find my own (or its) limitations. I keep threatening to jump to the good ship 'Polymer', but plywood brings me back to the woodlands. I am now a former plywood snob.
The other unsung hero I find all around me whether in the studio or at the kitchen sink is the lowly rag, Like the barn boards, I always acknowledge its former life first. Some used to be my pajamas. Others were favorite beach towels. Recalling happy times as it scours the sink, cleans brushes. A useful second life in its retirement. We all should be so lucky.

No Pot Roast Around Thanksgiving

Woman at Rest Box

©robin r kent

Well, Thanksgiving didn't turn out as planned. While taking a pot roast out of the freezer, my mother was subject to the laws of gravity and keeled over backwards. The pot roast was for the next night's dinner and needed time to thaw. As my sister-in-law stated, 'They say red meat can be harmful to your health.'
Will be back in touch as soon as I change from nursing cap to blogger/artist apron. Here's wishing a Merry holiday season and better New Year to you all, spoken a might early.

Two Ways of Looking at Art

'When Spike Met Spot'
Acrylic on Antique Barn Board

©robin r kent

I recently read in an art magazine a comment on how any original creative work is always the interpretation of the artist. The gist was even photo realism artists looking at the same subject will paint it differently. A good observation I thought.

Thinking it out a little further, the same holds true at the other end - with the observer. Some art I think mundane, while other viewers go gaga; naive, contemporary folk art connects with me, others think unfinished or childish. Go figure. Something for everyone.

I suppose it’s best to start with a healthy appreciation of the basics and to master them: drawing, composition, and color theory are the ones I notice. Every work needs to have a proficiency of one or some of them to be successful. But after that, what?

It’s taken me years to loosen up and find my style. I’m willing to keep the parts I like and expand on the rest. Loose rules. That’s the nice thing about art. Whatever works goes. Or, go with whatever works.

How many Robin Kents are there?

Vanity Box
Mixed Media

©robin r kent

I know I have a common name. But I feel connected to it since I've had it for soooooo long.
And feel like I own it. All mine. But after looking into my blog neighbors (last post), now I'm wondering how many other Robin Kents are there?

I know there is an artist in Washington D.C. http://photographybykent.com  Fabulous in his own medium. And Robin Kent, a marketing and advertising professional in New York City is probably located the closest to me. Another Robin Kent is a British Architecture and Conversationist, now located in Scotland. http://www.robinkent.com Then there's Dr. Robin Kent. A consultant in the plastics industry. I think most Robin Kents are men.

I wonder what else we have in common. I wonder if they see things the way I do. I wonder if they'd like my art.

Surfing My Blogspot Neighbors

Neighbors
Mixed Media

©robin r kent

Babies, quilters, musicians, knitters, photographers, and someone who had been removed. Wonder what for? What kind of blog was that about?!!
I'm curious how the blog powers decide to group us. Is it by chronological order when we first started our blog? I know it's not by subject matter. Not in any kind of order that I can tell.  And does it shuffle around every time you sign on, like a deck of cards? I have a hard enough time keeping my own papers in order. Must be something only the Giant Cyberspace Pumpkin knows.
I always have to search for the artists. Never can see enough art.
Artist connections through the blog have been deeply humbling. I have found truly gifted artists I would never have met any other way. Their art is fantastic and their writings and/or literary knowledge enlightening. Check out some of my kindred colleagues on my 'follow' list. Some are contemporary folk, naive, outsider artists in the same category as my work. Others are artists whose media or word style I'd like to experiment with someday.
I appreciate our friendship. They add a richness to my quiet life in the shop.