Interview with Rita Kirkman, Artist of the Month September 2014
Rita is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, a daily painter and blogger. She is well known for her portraits of Renaissance characters, her caricatures and quick sketches, and elevating the status of beautiful Texas cattle through her vivid portraits of them! View her outstanding figurative work and website.
PSST Why are you
an artist or how did you choose to become an artist?
RK I’ve been an artist my entire life. Of all of my childhood dreams of what to be when I grew up, being an artist was the only thing that “stuck.” PSST Where do you paint? Home, studio, corner of a room? How is it set up? RK I have a 19x18’ room in the corner of the outbuilding on our lot, with windows facing northeast and lots of shelving near the ceiling where I keep smaller frames. Large frames and old works are piled up around the room along with other miscellaneous junk. My easel and worktables are in the northeast corner, with just enough room to back up and take a longer look. It’s been messy since I moved in, but I try to ignore that and just paint. See photos on my Art Journal Blog: http://ritakirkmanjournal.blogspot.com/2013/05/studio-then-and-now.html (It’s a lot messier now…) PSST What is your subject matter and how do you choose it? RK I’m lucky in that I like to paint almost anything. The cows and ranch animals developed from a few good sales, and the business person in me keeps painting them. The artist in me hasn’t gotten sick of them yet, since for me, it’s not so much about the animals, as about the light. In addition, I have a hard drive full of more than 200GB of photo files that I’m constantly adding to. I do most of my paintings from my most recent photos of wherever: a zoo or farm, a road trip, a renaissance festival. But if I happen to get bored, I just sit at the computer and browse. In no time I’m sliding some pics into Photoshop to crop and edit. PSST What is your art background? Academic, self-taught, workshops? RK Art classes all through grades 1-12 (back when there was still art taught in schools!) BFA from U. of Dayton 1988. Since 2002, art classes and workshops with renowned pastelists (and a couple of oil painters) at least once or twice a year. Also, I devour the pictures in every issue of the Pastel Journal, and sometimes will even read the articles. PSST How do you describe your painting style and color choices? RK I describe my work, for the sake of business cards, as "Contemporary Realism," which is vague enough to be flexibly interpreted, but I really don't like slotted definitions. I consider light and composition to be the two most important elements in a strong work of art. Within my current chosen subject matter I try to master both of those elements to the best of my ability. PSST If you paint from life (plein air or a model), describe an interesting or funny experience. RK While sketching in amusement parks, we used to keep lists of the 'stupid questions and statements' received from the guests (great for stress relief!). Here are a handful of the best ones from the Bush Gardens 1991 list of the top 100 (these are verbatim as heard from guests): "Are you a real artist?" "How much for the self-portraits?" "Do you do front profiles?" Artist: Would you like a portrait? Guest: "No thanks, I don't know how to draw." "Hello. I'd like to get a sculpture of myself." "You mean, you only do SIDE profiles?" "Can you put the picture in a keychain or something?" "Do you have to be 18 to get a caricature?" "Do the frame come with it?" and my favorite: "Are you gonna' be an artist someday?" PSST What do you consider your best painting ever and why? RK About every 10th painting is the best one I’ve ever done, because my skills improve the more I paint. The gap between gets smaller as the years go by, so I keep painting to see what will happen. PSST What art events do you have scheduled? RK Bayou City Art Fest Downtown Houston, Oct 11-12, 2014. Some workshops, see my page: http://ritakirkman.com/other2 PSST How do you sell/show your work? Galleries, online, home studio tour, open house? RK Great blog post here for selling and marketing: http://ritakirkmanjournal.blogspot.com/2014/08/ren-faire-portraits-and-how-i-find.html PSST What is your price range? RK Currently, my 5x7’s and 6x6’s retail for $245. I might have a leftover 3x5 here and there for $125. My largest (36x36) just sold for $4950 last spring. |
PSST Do you have any marketing or exhibiting tips that you would like to share? RK
RK (My posting ritual…)
PSST What are your goals as an artist? RK Major long-term goals are difficult to conceive and follow through, since one never knows what might happen from one year to the next. When I was younger I used to want to own a gallery and art supply store. Now I think – overhead and taxes! No, thank you! And I never imagined even 3 years ago that being a ‘daily painter’ would become so primary in my life, but now it’s so addictive it’s like coffee! I tend to live life day to day, week to week, and when necessary, some months out (like when applying to art fairs.) With two high-school kids, some days I literally live hour to hour and minute by minute! But I always remain open to opportunities, and can trace most of the major blessings in my life to moments that were quick decisions that just seemed ‘right,’ or to a connection that was made months or years before. I like the quote “Life is a journey, not a destination.” That said, I would like to imagine myself in the future, with a dozen magazine features and covers, work in 5 major global galleries, and enough income that will support giving and taking workshops in exotic locations of the world. Every now and then I take another little step that might lead in that direction. But really, as long as I have a comfortable place to live and paint and my kids still talk to me, I’ll be happy. PSST What do you hope people gain from viewing your work? RK Right now, it's all about the light. A favorite quote: "And what, sir, is the subject matter of that painting?" (Critic) "The subject matter, my dear good fellow, is the light." (Claude Monet) Meaning especially that for me, I could be just as happy painting fruit, or grain silos, or old shoes. As long as I can see and catch the effects of the light, shadows and reflected light on the subject and surroundings. But another message that has developed out of my efforts with the small daily paintings and necessarily working in series for that, is the realization that other animals (besides humans) each have their own individuality and uniqueness of self which is just as strikingly obvious as it is in people. Before I latched onto cows as a major and repeated subject, I really did see them only in the 'herd' identity, and would have thought one Hereford looked much like another of the same breed. Now I take some pleasure in the subtle irony of illustrating what really amounts to a human food source as unique individuals with a depth of personality. |