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
Since my last post I've been continuing the cycle of work started in January. These works are characterized by their technique of ink and watercolour or acrylic ink washes, but also by a spirit of exploration. As I continue with these, I am starting to think about further images and the possibility of a graphic... Continue Reading →
There are 120,000 + species of flies in the world. Flies have many associations, some darker than others. One of the more positive associations is that of persistence, which seems apt in the context of this stippled piece. I started this drawing on November 1, 2025 and expect that it will take much of the... Continue Reading →
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 →
There are some new prints in the studio today! These "Secret Affinities" prints are printed on 12" x 18" sheets. The paper is a heavy stock, with a smooth matte laminated surface. The reproduction matches the original art exactly. The prints, and much more, are available on in my shop. Speaking of shops, in addition... 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 →
For the past few weeks I have been busy in the studio working on some new pieces. The pictures below are my most recent works and both are available in my Big Cartel webstore. Key Bearer, 2024, silverpoint, 12"x9" Key Bearer is a new silverpoint drawing executed on acid free hotpress illustration board. In this... 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 →
The Nameless Flower, 2024, ink on paper, 30” x 22” I posted a detail of this piece a few days ago. Here is the completed drawing! It’s a large one (for me) and took many weeks of on again, off again work—the original graphite underdrawing was done back in August 2023. I posted a few... Continue Reading →
The Stranger Greets the Dawn, 2023, ink on artboard, 10" x 11.5" I finished this drawing on September 10. It started life as an endpaper illustration for a forthcoming book project. In the end we chose another image, so I expanded the this original drawing and rounded out the composition. It is very much in-line... Continue Reading →
Richard A. Kirk | Visual Artist | Author 