Richard A. Kirk | Visual Artist | Author
"there is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion" Sir Frances Bacon, Of Beauty, Essays" 1625
October has finally arrived and I have been in the studio working on a number of new pieces for upcoming shows and book projects. My most recent work is called For I Would Ride with You Upon the Wind. The piece is now available in an online show presented by Inverarity Gallery called “Monochrome: Goddess.”... Continue Reading →
To Wander Where I Will, 2025, ink on paper, 24" x 18" Lately, I've become fascinated by fragmentary Greek masks such as the one above. I need to do more research on them, but on an emotional level, I truly love their mysterious, incomplete quality. This sensibility was the inspiration for my latest piece, a... Continue Reading →
"Secret Affinities" is my first completed drawing of 2025. It tips the hat to a couple of my favourite artists—can you identify them? The idea for this picture came from a small sketch of a witch that I did a few years ago. In this image, I drew her with her with a prominent left... Continue Reading →
This is the third winter for the cardinal nest in the bush outside my studio window. It has remained intact through many storms and has at various times been a hang for chipmunks and mice. Earlier today I saw 3 bald eagles flying over the river near my house through the snow and mist. Birds... Continue Reading →
No matter how surreal or fantastic my pieces finish up, they nearly always start with natural forms. No matter how surreal or fantastic my pieces finish up, they nearly always start with natural forms. The shapes of insects, plants, bones, fossils etc. are all building blocks I use to create composition and meaning in my... Continue Reading →
The title of my new piece was taken from Mary Shelley's introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein. I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some terrible engine, show signs... Continue Reading →
There’s an old T.Rex song called Summer Deep. The first verse goes like this… Summer deep is in the hills againHis lady is a lionessWinds of birds blow through the fields againInvaders from the true worlds Summer ends on September 22, so I suppose we are in Summer Deep now. I spent most of this... Continue Reading →
The Plague Tree, 2020, ink on paper, 27 x 19 inches Back in March, when Covid 19 started to seriously impact our lives, I knew I wanted to do a piece of art as a way of processing what was happening. I had a large sheet of watercolour paper mounted on an archival board that... Continue Reading →
Twist, 2020, ink on paper, 9" x 9" This piece is called Twist. It was drawn for my other blog, And Ink in Unfailing Supplies, where I do a monthly drawing challenge with another artist based on a prompt phrase. For the rendering, I used a pen & nib, something I've been going back to... Continue Reading →
I thought I'd share some photos from last night's opening of the latest exhibition by the Shadowood Collective. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance take as many picture as I would have liked, but these shots should give you an idea of the event. Co-curators Sarah LeGault and Vincent Marcone (My Pet Skeleton) brought together... Continue Reading →
Richard A. Kirk | Visual Artist | Author 