Process – Page 2 – Richard A. Kirk

Neume

January 25, 2017 richardakirk1 Comment

Last night, I cleaned out my trusty Rotrings so that I could do some pointillism work. I had an idea for a new drawing, a flower creature. This kind of drawing starts off as stream of consciousness, all about the sheer pleasure of line. The finish though will be very controlled and polished, as everything is pulled together into a galaxy tiny dots. What you see here is only the underdrawing. I like the collision of ideas: plant, animal, & sound. This piece is approximately 9″ x 6″ and will be available on my website soon.

. Richard.

Tin Man’s Dream

February 7, 2016 richardakirkLeave a comment

I finally finished rendering The Tin Man’s Dream in pointillism. This drawing was started back in 2014 as a line drawing. It sat for a year, during which time I digitally colored the image. At the end of last year I decided to complete it as a pointillism piece. I’m hanging on to the original, but I will be making a print in February, which will be available on my webstore. You can click on the images below to enlarge the images.

Tin Man’s Dream – digitally coloured

Dawn Botanist – detail

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 richardakirkLeave a comment

Dawn_Botanist_wip2_detail — The Dawn Botanist, Tears of the Poppy – detail

This is a detail of the piece I am working at on this cold, cloudy November day. It’s a small figure but it took 3 hours to ink. The reason being that the brush I was using is superfine, and though the godless jpeg compression would not have you believe it, the gradations are quite subtle. I hope you enjoy this little peek. This morning’s musical selection in the studio was Foals. A really excellent band I was completely unaware of before 9 AM.

Also, a friendly reminder that the Bestowed Upon Us show opens tonight at the Alexi Era Gallery. If you are in the area, please go and check it out. I’ve seen the preview and it is a gorgeous show. Thanks for your support.

Richard.

Bug Things Coming

November 17, 2015 richardakirkLeave a comment

Along with a couple fairly involved ink drawings, I also have several paintings on the go. Everything is in various states, from OMFG why did I start this thing? to hey this is working. So, those of you who paint will know the piece above (put through a render on my “tin type” app) only has a neutral layer of oil. What you see here will vanish pretty quickly. I’ll post updates as I go along. I’m racking up half finished works to get me through the winter, like a squirrel storing nuts, or maybe a nut storing squirrels. Who’s to say?

Today’s musical recommendation is Foam Island by Darkstar. Or anything by Darkstar actually. Music is essential in the studio. If you don’t know them, check out Foam Island, I doubt you will be disappointed.

Richard.

Aviator

November 15, 2015November 15, 2015 richardakirkLeave a comment

This watercolour is a study for a future oil painting. I wanted to give the figure an avian quality, hence the placement of the eye. The whole piece hinges on that pitiless eye! I think it’s also quite funny. I have a series of paintings in mind featuring monsters in remote outdoor settings. I plan on doing these in the coming months, probably spread out over the year. If you’re wondering what that might look like, Tadpole Tales (below) is the kind of thing I am talking about. Each medium has its own qualities to recommend it.

Richard

tadpole_tales_web — Tadpole Tales, 2014, oil, 8″ x 8″

Found Memory

November 14, 2015 richardakirkLeave a comment

lhimby_web — L’Himby, 1996, ink and watercolour. Illustration for Imajica CCG

lhimby_card_web — L’Himby card from the Imajica CCG, published by Harper Collins, 1997

I guess most artists must have a place where old sketches and ideas stratify over the years. Mine is known by the unremarkable designation of “the paper rack,” which is actually an old library atlas stand. It is so overburdened that one day I expect it will fall through the floor into the basement. Yesterday I was rooting through the paper rack looking for something, and I came across 3 rough sketches for a project I did back in the 90s. The project was a collectible card game based on Clive Barker’s Imajica. I did a number of cards, along with a small army of other illustrators. The whole thing was coordinated by Hans Rueffert and Sean Curran.

The top image is the finished artwork – ink and watercolour. Below, is the card as it actually appeared, 2.5″ x 3.5.” Naturally I had to fill it with as much detail as possible. The line graphite drawing was the under-drawing to the painting. The other images you see here were simply my thinking through various problems. It’s hard to believe this was 18 years ago.

Richard.

lhimby_card_sketch_3 — Pencil under-drawing

lhimby_card_sketch_2_web — Concept drawing

The Dawn Botanist – Tears of the Poppy (Detail)

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015 richardakirkLeave a comment

Dawn_Botanist_wip1_detail — The Dawn Botanist – Tears of the Poppy (Detail)
All images © Richard A. Kirk. Any reuse is strictly prohibited without permission of Richard A. Kirk

There is still much to be done on this new drawing, but having finished one fairly defined section I thought I’d share a work in progress (WIP). If you saw my earlier post on this piece, you’ll notice that I have added to the title. “Tears of the Poppy” is a line taken from the text of Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, a book that has been occupying my reading time and weirdly, or perhaps not so weirdly, my dreams for a few weeks now. The phrase fits the theme of this work.

Richard