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
A few years ago, I had to give up painting in oil because the paints triggered ocular migraines. Every painting session ended with me lying on the couch feeling like I was on a bad acid trip. Not fun. Then I learned about M. Graham odourless paints. These paints are a game changer for me... Continue Reading →
My Workspace For my first post of 2023 (March, I know) I thought I would show you where I spend most of my time. Since the autumn of 2020 I’ve been working to complete a number of projects that will be announced over the coming weeks or months. I completed 3 large drawings for one... Continue Reading →
Under drawing for We Shall be Near You Today I am sharing the graphite under-drawing for a new piece called We Shall be Near You. I borrowed the title from a poem by Yeats. In the context of this piece, the words refer to the idea of friendship and loyalty, the nearness of others. I’m... 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 →
Over the past few years I’ve been pecking away at a series of works I’m collectively calling The Devil Tree. Some of these might be familiar—at least two have been offered as prints, and another was reproduced in my Darkling Lands 1 booklet. The picture below is a collection of these works. All of them... Continue Reading →
This past week was filled with drawing, writing, reading, torrential rain, flooded libraries—not mine—and patches of sun. Some of these things are related. I’m calling this post Little Summer, because so many small wonders seem to come our way during Ontario’s short pause in what can seem like an endless winter. Here’s one. A tiny... Continue Reading →
Another busy week in another weird summer. My new novel finally reached the point where the main character is calling the shots. If you write fiction, you know that this is the magical moment. It's certainly the point I wait for with great anticipation, when I start keeping a Moleskine near the shower and fill... Continue Reading →
Among other things, I've been working away at a new fantasy novel. Looking back, it appears I started it in 2018. Lately I've taken it up in a more focused way. The first draft is now sitting at about 30 thousand words, which means I have quite a bit more bridge to build. With this... Continue Reading →
Over the weekend, I created a new series of miniatures. They were created on acid free art board with ink and brush and then tinted with watercolour. This grouping is the first six of twelve. All six of these pieces are available on in my webstore. Android, 2021, ink, 5" x 5"Bark & Bone, 2021,... Continue Reading →
Tailor of Echoes Title Page Art © Richard A. Kirk 2021 I posted this image on my social media accounts to tease my forthcoming illustrated novel Tailor of Echoes (PS Publications, 2021). It was created for the title page. The original drawing is graphite. Since this blog is a defacto record of my studio activities... Continue Reading →
Richard A. Kirk | Visual Artist | Author 