birds

Card Drawings

art for sale, ink, ink drawing, Stippling, webstore, Works for Sale

I love drawing on cards and other scraps of paper. Here are 4 new ones that I quite like. They are all available in my shop.

Twilight Hunter, 2022, ink on cardstock, 5″ x 7″
Woodland Enchantress, 2022, ink on cardstock, 5″ x 7″
Listener, 2022, ink on cardstock, 5″ x 7″
Daydreamer, 2022, ink on cardstock, 5″ x 7″

Lander 1

Cross Hatching, Details, Drawings, ink, Natural History, Stippling, Works for Sale
Lander 1, 2021, ink on 140lb Arches hotpress, 18 x 24 inches
Lander 1 detail

Lander 1 detail

The inspiration for Lander 1—and yes, expect a Lander 2 and 3—came from watching the Perseverance rover descend on Mars in February. I started thinking about humans being sole explorers/ representatives from earth. This piece imagines a true lander, with organic rather than mechanical senses, a spirit of earth lander, if you will.

I wish there was some way to better embed the music I was listening to when I was working on this piece, Coil’s Time Machines and Soliloquy for Lilith by Nurse with a Wound. These seem like the perfect soundtracks to meditate on the idea of vast unknown spaces.

Richard.

Shop Update

oil painting, Painting, webstore, Works for Sale
Witch of the Wormwood, 2020, oil on panel with handmade stained pine frame.
Solitudes, 2020 oil on panel with handmade stained pine frame

I took some time today to update my webstore on Big Cartel. I added a stippled ink drawing called Scout (not shown) and two small oils completed at the end of 2020. The sharp eyed among you may also notice I changed the theme of this blog. What do you think of the new look?

Richard

3 Windows

Cross Hatching, ink, Natural History, Process, Technique, Work in Progress, Works for Sale

One might be forgiven for thinking this piece a surrealist response to Aubrey Beardsley’s illustration, The Examination of the Herald from Lysistrata, but it is in fact a meditation on vision (see previous posts). I hope you have enjoyed watching this process. This work is available for purchase. Please message me with any questions.

  • Richard
3 Windows, 2020, ink on paper, 12 x 8″

Three Windows

Drawings, Process, Work in Progress

I started working on this new piece today on a block of 140lb Arches hotpress. Tomorrow I’ll start the real work of rendering the image using diluted inks to model the forms. As I go along, I’ll post some progress shots here on the blog. Although I did many works with this technique in the past, its been a few months, so I’m looking forward to it.

Atropa

Details, Drawings, Natural History, Stippling, Works for Sale

atropa_web

Atropa, 2020, ink on 140lb Arches hotpress paper, 14″ x 10″

I took advantage of a very rainy May weekend to finish this new piece called Atropa. It was done with .13 & .18 Rotring Rapidograph pens. I hope you enjoy it. The work is available. If you are interested, drop me a line.

– Richard

atropa_web_detail_1

Atropa – Detail 1

atropa_web_detail_2

Atropa – Detail 2

atropa_web_detail_3

Atropa – Detail 3

atropa_web_detail_4

Atropa – Detail 4

Wedding of the Earth and Sky

Details, Drawings, Works for Sale

For some reason, I neglected to post the completed image of this piece. Here you go, along with a few details. This will be part of the Fiends of the Dark online exhibition by WOW X WOW. Stay tuned for details!

  • Richard

wedding of the Earth and Sky_web

Wedding of the Earth and Sky, 2020, ink on archival art board, 20 x 16 inches

wedding of the Earth and Sky_web_detail_1

Detail 1

wedding of the Earth and Sky_web_detail_2

Detail 2

wedding of the Earth and Sky_web_detail_3

Detail 3

wedding of the Earth and Sky_web_detail_4

Detail 4

Aviator

Natural History, Painting, Process, Work in Progress

Aviator_web

Aviator, 2015, watercolour, 11″ x 7.5″
All images © Richard A. Kirk. Any reuse is strictly prohibited without permission of Richard A. Kirk

Aviator_web_detail

Aviator – detail

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″

The Dark Bead Finished

Drawings, Natural History, Process

dark_bead_final_web

The Dark Bead
2015
12″ x 8″
ink on 140lb Arches hotpress paper
All images © Richard A. Kirk. Any reuse is strictly prohibited without permission of Richard A. Kirk

dark_bead_final_web_detail_1

Detail 1

dark_bead_final_web_detail_2

Detail 2

dark_bead_final_web_detail_3

Detail 3

The Dark Bead is finally finished!

This image shows the completed drawing, The Dark Bead. You can see details and work in progress images in previous posts. The Dark Bead is an ink pointillism drawing done primarily with a Rotring .13 technical pen, and a Koh I Noor .18 for the outlines. As is typical for pointillism, this drawing took many hours of work. I chose this style for its soft gradations and ability to deliver fine detail.

A theme of impenetrable mystery is at the heart of The Black Bead. The narrative revolves around the nature of the bead and its import to the creatures. The bead represents any kind of mystery and proposes that any mystery can seem magical until it is understood. The drawing also raises questions about the cottage in the distance, the identity of the creatures and the setting. It is deliberately non-committal about the time period, suggesting an otherworld scenario; a liminal place of change.

Up next is a larger piece for a show coming up at Copro Gallery later in the fall. Stay tuned.

  • Richard.