Woohoo!

I've got several things to update on:

1. I graduate May 14th with my Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kennesaw State University. Win!

2. I will be participating in this summer's Indie Craft Experience and sharing a booth with fellow artist Jenny Birdsong. It's a two-day event taking place on May 30th and 31st. Come visit! I'll be selling prints, originals, and some crafted items inspired by my work.

3. Friday May 1st at Definition Gallery is "The Quantum Exhibition" in Baltimore, Maryland. If you come in contact with the May issue of Juxtapoz Magazine, you'll see this ad:

I have five pieces in this exhibition, including two pieces I haven't shown in this blog yet:


"Vulnerability"
Gouache + silver gelatin print
16"x22" tea stained paper



"Metamorphosis"
Gouache + silver gelatin print
8"x14"



4. Saturday May 2nd at Young Blood Gallery is the 4th biannual SK8 or DIE show. My piece is still in progress, but 105 artists will have skateboard decks up for auction at this event. Please drop by!

5. And finally, I have finalized my bio and statement:

Kelly McKernan
b. 1986

Kelly McKernan is an artist and illustrator from Atlanta, Georgia who has, since her youth, possessed the ambition to be a full time creator. In May 2009, she is receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in drawing and painting. However, her focus has been in mixed media, specifically in combining film photography and advanced darkroom techniques with aqueous media painting. Over the last year, Kelly has received local, national, and international recognition for her unique work, has been printed in a number of major publications, and is currently showing with several notable galleries.

Statement:

“My work is defined by internal struggle in its many forms through personal growth. I illustrate various situations for my female protagonists to interact with through symbolic elements in vague settings. These scenes often comment on the operating consequences of idealism and fantasy due to naivety and youth with two opposing forces at work: natural inclination versus cognitive reasoning. These rival dualities are further represented by stylistic differences and the contrasting mediums of photography and painting. There is deeply personal meaning to be found as the multi-layered struggles depicted in my current body of work reflect my interests and concerns as a growing woman with a penchant for idealism.”

Lemme know what you think!

Tonight!

Happenings.

I've recently received some very exciting news concerning my work, and, while my workload is already keeping me absurdly busy, it's just gotten even crazier! So I'm getting back on top of things and trying to produce a slew of new pieces within the next two months. We're talking at least 10-15 new pieces. Whew!

So, onto my newest piece, "Infatuation":


As per my usual, this is watercolor + gouache + string with a silver gelatin print (darkroom b&w photograph achieved through advanced techniques) on tea stained watercolor paper. It measures 10x24" and is stretched, just like canvas, over a frame.

Here are a couple of closeups:



A special thanks to Ashley, my lively and entertaining roommate from my study abroad in Italy, for modeling. She did an excellent job.

Finally, I have updated my print shop again with one new piece and an older one:

Ciao!

Upcoming Events

Whew, it's been awhile. Apologies.

So! This Friday, March 13th, I am participating in two shows around Atlanta:

and

Also, I was accepted into Yen Magazine's annual all-girl art book, Curvy 6. I was in last year's edition as well, and I'm excited to again be a part of this amazing collection of international female talent. I will also be participating in their exhibition series, beginning in Sydney, Australia on April 2nd alongside the book launch.

New additions to the shop... and a new painting!

First, I want to introduce a few newcomers to the shop (click any of the photos to reach the shop):

The original painting, "Delicacy"...



And prints of...

"Fidelity"



"Stalemate"



"Cuckold"



Secondly, here's a new piece I just finished up yesterday:

"Decomposition"

It's a slightly new direction with my work. It was more of an experiment, actually. This is twice as large as I usually work (it measures at 22"x32"), and is continuing my technique of stretching watercolor paper over frame, just like canvas. The paper is tea stained and the image is painted with watercolor and gouache.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, though!

That's it for now. Soon I'll be writing about the "Details" show at MINT and "Inauguration" at Beep Beep Gallery which I visited last Friday (both were fabulous, of course).

Recent Happenings...

I've not been too good about keeping this updated, so I'm taking the next hour of my economics class to give this thing some TLC. No worries... I made a B on my last test, so I should be in the clear.

So! I want to talk about a few shows I attended, but first, I want to share that I was recently featured on the website of my friend and former classmate, Joie Brown, and I loved her little writeup of my work! She recently bought one of my favorite pieces, "The Sea Witch" and also came out to support my recent show at Aurora Coffee L5P.

Click here to view Joie's writeup, and be sure to check out the rest of her site, as she's beefing it up.

On to the shows...

Oliver and Lucha's "Monsters Need Love Too!" extravaganza at Young Blood Gallery in Atlanta.



The opening was the 6th, so I missed out, but I dropped by Saturday afternoon to pick up my skateboard for their upcoming "SK8 or DIE IV" show in May that I'm participating in (and I'm so seriously excited... I've always wanted to paint on a skateboard!). Anyhow, I really enjoy Oliver and Lucha's combined enthusiasm for the quirky subjects in their work. I especially loved their comfy installation (images borrowed from YBG's blog):

They apparently had a puppet show, which I am sad I missed, but I'll be sure to make it to their future collaborations!

More pictures can be viewed here for this exhibition.

After catching this at YBG's gallery space, I headed over to Decatur to visit Alcove Gallery on the suggestion of fellow Atlanta artist Dosa Kim, who participated in their current show, "Femme Fatale" along with Leslie Ditto, Gilbert Oh, and Patrick Fatica.


Dosa told me enthusiastically that Leslie Ditto's work is insane. "Insane how?" I asked. It was clear from his expression that her work leaves her viewers in awe and bewilderment. Here's one example that I particularly loved:

"Bathing with Broken Butterflies"

Over at Burnaway is an interview with Leslie Ditto. Check that out here.

I was seriously impressed with the gallery space, and even more so with the artists exhibited. I even recognized a few other artists whose work I'd already admired, such as Rudy Fig. I will definitely be returning to Alcove for their upcoming shows, and I highly suggest the same. They clearly very strongly support the Lowbrow and Pop Surrealist style, which I believe is highly underappreciated, so I'm elated to see a gallery devoted to this.

My last stop on Saturday was at Mason Murer Fine Art for the 10th annual Art Papers Auction, a very highly anticipated event that brings over 2,000 supporters! Several of my professors and others at Kennesaw State, including Matt Haffner, his wife, Laura Bell, Robert Sherer, Katherine Taylor, and Alex Kvares, who previously taught at KSU, had work at this auction, as well as over 300 other emerging and established artists.

Here are a few works that I particularly enjoyed:

David Rosetzky's "Worlds Apart #4"

George Long's "8x8"



Jennifer Cawley's "Transformer"



Laura Bell's "Aggregate #2"



Reuben Ochoa's "Photography"

There were at least 30 other artists I wrote down in a frenzy during the hour I spent there (I felt a little claustrophobic after awhile). I sincerely enjoyed the experience, though, and endeavor to continue to attend this annual event.

Class is almost over, so I'll finish up with this: there are two upcoming shows I am excited to attend, and both are on February 13th:

"Details" at MINT Gallery



and

"Inauguration" at Beep Beep Gallery


Also coming up: I've just rewritten my artist statement as I feel my work is taking on a new direction...

The Aurora Coffee L5P Show...

The opening reception was fabulous! I don't think I'd ever seen so many of my friends in one place before, and the support was overwhelming! So, a very sincere thank you to everyone that came out to see my new work! Also huge thanks to the guys behind Beep Beep and Aurora! Please also check out the work of Travis Smith and Meta Gary, who also had work in the show.

Onto pictures and the new pieces!

Stalemate
gouache with string on silver gelatin print
10"x20" stained watercolor paper over frame


Cuckold
gouache and string on silver gelatin print
10"x20" tea stained watercolor paper over frame


Fidelity
watercolor, gouache, and bleach on silver gelatin print
14"x24" tea stained watercolor paper over frame

Cyclical
gouache on silver gelatin print
15"x20" tea stained watercolor paper over frame


Aphrodisiac
gouache on silver gelatin print
15"x24" stained watercolor paper over frame

In a few days, I'll do a post on some of the process on a couple of these pieces.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this series. To me, they all represent feminine figures facing opposition in their relationships, and the images only symbolize the possible catalysts. By looking at the expressions in the faces of the women, you can probably tell whether they'll give in or not.

But that's just my interpretation. :) I'd love to hear feedback on these pieces!