Hi folks!
Hope you are all keeping well.
Here's what's new from my studio:
1. I wrote a chapter in an art book!
In 2024, the publisher Roots & Bridge Publishing Inc. reached out to me to write a chapter on my story as a migrant artist in the first publication of their anthology Unframed: Canadian Immigrant Artists Anthology
I'm excited to share that it is now available for pre-order at Indigo!
2. I have a new student
My neighbour's daughter was interested in learning art from me. I now have a new weekly studio mentee!
In the first class, we conducted experiments using colored paper from Joseph Alber's Interactions of Color, and we derived the Law of the Simultaneous Contrast of colors together, the same law that inspired the Impressionists, through experiments and writing down observations.
"In the case where the eye sees at the same time two contiguous colors, they will appear as dissimilar as possible, both in their optical composition [hue] and in the height of their tone [mixture with white or black]."
We also studied Japanese Ukiyo-e prints ("Pictures of the Floating World") and their influence on the Impressionists
Triptych of Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre, c. 1844
Ukiyo-e of yama-uba with blackened teeth and Kintar ō by Utamaro
..and a foundational late-Tang, early-Five Dynasties essay on painting - Bifa ji 筆法記 by Jing Hao 荊浩 (ca. 855–915). Bifa ji was a seminal work in Chinese art history, influencing the later grand style of Northern Song landscape painting. If you're interested, here's the link to the journal article I referenced with notes.
Mount Lu; hanging scroll, ink on silk
Mount Lu; hanging scroll, ink on silk, Jing Hao
If you live near Strathmore, Alberta, and are interested in joining us on Wednesdays at 5 pm for art lessons, give me a shout here!
3. Working on some experiments
And finally, my new series is progressing, and I am currently experimenting with cyanotypes, charcoal, and reduction linocut. Stay tuned...
Until next time,
Keerthana