Category: Exhibitions

Garden of the Moon

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Garden of the Moon, 2019, ink on paper, 27″ x 19″

It’s been a busy summer so I haven’t had the chance to update my blog. With fall approaching I can get back to posting on a regular schedule.

So, first up is this piece, Garden of the Moon, which I just finished on Wednesday. It took two months to complete, in sessions of 2 – 5 hours. So lots of hours, but lots of fun too, working with small brushes and carbon black acrylic ink. The brush and ink allow a fluidity that is more difficult to achieve with stippling, my usual technique. The crazy level of detail is intended to invite exploration within the piece. I am much more interested in that aspect than how it looks from across the room – which is kind of cool too though, right? Really, I’d just like the viewer to read the piece as if they were immersing themselves in a tangled and mysterious fairy-tale.

Garden of the Moon will be on show at the La Lune II show in the Haven Gallery later this month.

  • Richard

Wandering Star

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I spent much of yesterday finishing this drawing, which has been in my studio for a while. It was originally conceived for a Lovecraft themed show at Copro Gallery a couple of years ago (curated by Cris Velasco). Unfortunately, my workload at the time was very heavy and in the end I went with a smaller piece. Anyway, it was great to finally get this piece finished. Love this medium, and I will definitely be starting another carbon pencil piece right away. Hopefully it won’t take two years to finish!

– Richard.

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Wandering Star, 2018, carbon pencil, 22″ x 16″

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The Hollowing & The Candidate

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The Hollowing, 2018, ink on paper, 20″ x 16″

These are two recent drawings done more or less back to back. If you look closely, you can see that they have similar compositional bones, despite the difference in technique. The Hollowing was created for a WOW X WOW show called Monochromagic coming up in September. The Candidate was created for an August show called The Thin Black Line, at Ars Memoria Gallery. Click on the images to open larger versions in a separate window.

  • Richard
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The Candidate, 2018, ink on paper, 8″ x 12″

Update

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This is an oil I’m working on. I set up a mini-studio on my porch for better ventilation.

I’ve been balancing my production between personal work for upcoming group shows, illustration and fiction writing. Balance is hard to achieve, especially when you get seduced by one particular project. This week is was short stories. I finished two that were, sort of, almost there. I might drop one here, to celebrate the first anniversary of my novel, Necessary Monsters. Like my art, my fiction isn’t intended for everyone. It’s my statement, my aesthetic. I love it when readers respond. It’s so gratifying when people “get it.”

Now that the two stories are finished, this weekend I am returning to the final illustrations for my collection of short stories (Magpie’s Ladder, PS Publishing, later this year). Work on my next novel is progressing, but it’s the kind of thing that has to slow cook.

Booking group shows into 2019. Very excited by projects coming down the line. Thanks for your interest and support.

– Richard

The Hidden Exhibition

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I had a few free hours today so I finished my drawing “The Hidden Exhibition.” Ink on 140lb Arches hotpress paper, 12″ x 16.″ The work will be shown for the first time at the Roadside Attractions III show at Copro Gallery (curated by Cris Velasco). Inquiries can be made by contacting the gallery through their website. The show opens May 12. If you’ve been following my work in progress shots on this piece, thanks for checking it out.

Here are some detail shots.

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– Richard.

Mid March Update

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Interior Illustration by Richard A. Kirk

I am showing you an illustration I did for the forthcoming Houses Under the Sea by Caitlin R. Kiernan (the image is shown as a crop in the link). This is the first time I have illustrated a book using carbon pencil instead of ink. It was an interesting process as the medium took the drawings in a different direction. I will definitely play with this in future projects.

I’m still working on illustrations for my own book, Magpie’s Ladder,  which will be published later in the year.

In May, I will have work in a show at Copro Gallery in California. The show is Roadside Attractions III, curated by Cris Velasco.

Lots more to come.

  • Richard.

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