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Kirk's Fine Art Gallery

Welcome to my art gallery. I hope you'll enjoy viewing my artwork. The style I paint in combines the use of form, color, and line to express action and abstract expressionist concepts. Sometimes I paint in a representational style but generally I prefer to paint abstraction. When I start on a piece I just have a vague idea that I want to visually represent. As it progresses I may abandon the original idea to follow the painting and listen to what it's telling me as every action, line, or color inspires a new reaction. Eventually I distill it down to the most basic elements leaving in the "mistakes" and accidents that I like while removing the "noise". At some point ( and this is the hardest part for me) I have to know when to step away from it. I continue that process until the whole piece feels " natural" to me. Then it's done. I stop.... Hopefully!

Painting is a unique art form different from other art forms because it's a "forward only" process. Unlike a studio musician there is no way to return back to a previously recorded track or to mix multiple sessions to make a final cut. In painting there is only you, the scary blank canvass, and the paint. Every brush stroke, line, color spatter, and negative area must be evaluated for it's effect to the whole and weighted for it's value. You can scrape it off but the painting has changed and can never be the same again. Although the scraping itself is part of the process. You must not fall in love with an image too early, you need to be free and able to wipe it out, scrape it off and let it go to where ever it wants to go.

For a long time now I've been trying to understand " what is good art "? After looking at hundreds of artists and thousands of paintings past and present I've realized that I can only say that if you enjoy looking at a work of art, look at it... If not... don't... Because nobody except you knows what makes " Good Art" ! ... In other words beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder... For some people that is an 8 foot blank white canvass with nothing but "you are here" written backwards in 1/4 inch letters at the very center. For others good art is a violent representation of a piece of meat ( Chaim Soutine ). For others a nice pastural chester county scene with cows and barns on a wintry night ( Wyeth ). Or you may like super hyper realistic images that look like they were taken with a fisheye camera tripping on steroids ( Chuck Close ). And of course there's the classical art of the centuries past which is also very beautiful but it is too steeped in formal tradition for me ( I've Been to the Louvre and I hate it..Musee D'Orsay is far better ). In my art I've tried to combine the effects of the artists that I like the most to formulate my own style. These include Abstract Expressionists and Action Artists like Willem De Kooning, Franz Kline, Pierre Soulage, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Sam Francis, Richard Diebenkorn, Jackson Pollock, I also like the quiet meditative works of color field painter Marc Rothko as well as Post Impressionists like Van Gogh, and always the Impressionists Childe Hassam, Claude Monet, Johan Barthold Jongkind, Renior, Cezanne, Manet, and Joaquin Sorolla. Finally there are lots of other artists that I have looked at and admired many of their pieces. Those include Robert Motherwell, Edvard Munch, Zao Wou-Ki , Pablo Picasso...Alexander Rodchenko (Who's "Expressive Rythm" series I believe was the inspiration behind Pollocks Drip paintings), Frank Stella, Elizabeth Murray, Norman Lewis, Edward Hopper, Egon Schiele, Emil Nolde, Friedel Dzubas, George Alfred Stockburger (Unknown German surgeon during WWII made sketches of his impressions of the war on the eastern front ) , Gustav Klimt, Honore Daumier, Joan Miro, John Singer Sargent, Kazimir Malevich ( whose "Black Square" is the only painting in all of history to achieve the goal of painting absolutely nothing - think about that one for a moment and let it sink in ) , Marilyn Minter, Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck, Modigliani, Nikolai Feshin, Paul Klee, Roberto Ferri, Shi Lu, William Baziotes, Winslow Homer, Zao Wou Ki, Artemisia Gentileschi - 1614 ( Judith Slaying Holofernes ) , Laurent Jimenez-Balaguer, Morris Louis ; George Condo : Giorgio Morandi ; Antoni Tapies ; Wu Guanzhong; Pierre Soulage

Primary Influences: American Abstract Expressionism and European Informalism ( Art Informel )

plan to review ; Informalism, Suprematism, color-field painting, minimalism, post-minimalism, Italian Arte Povera, Japanese Mono-ha, process art, modified action painting, all gesturing toward guys like Polke, Richter, Warhol, Wool, Prince, Kippenberger, Albert Oehlen, Wade Guyton, Rudolf Stingel, Sergej Jensen, and Michael Krebber. Alexej Von Jawlensky ( young Girl in a Flowered Hat ); William Baziotes ( heavy picasso influenced ) ; Friedel Dzubas ; Marilyn Minter ( photographs&art); Jeff Koons ( After reading about how he uses advanced technology to make his pieces I definitely have a new perspective on this guy , check out the engineering behind his play doe and balloon sculptures and reproduction of liberty bell ) : Purvis Young ( Black American Artist self taught ); impressionist Eugene Galien Laloue; Nicolai Fechin ; Yayoi Kusama ; Andre Brasilier; Judith Slaying Holofernes -Artemisia Gentileschi ; JANET SOBEL and Alfaro Siqueiros ( the originator of drip painting ) ; John Hoyland ; Howard Hodgkin ; Norman Bluhme ; Ed Moses ; Keith Haring, Saudi artist Abdullah Qandeel ( just a colorful doodelist but his pieces sell ! - good marketeer ) : Joseph Beuys ( ww2 german vet turned controversial artist ) : Léo Marie Gausson ( many of his are similar to Van Gogh; Pisarro and Gaugan ) ; Tom Thompson - Canadian Impressionist ; Wilhelm Gallhof ( Died in WW1 ) Similar portrait artist as was J. Singer Sargent

Most of the pieces you see below are available in print form. I can provide professional quality GiClee prints on either canvas or acid free water color paper. these are identical reproductions of the originals that are shown..

All image copyrights belong to the artist.

Flowers 2 24" X 24" Oil and Acrylic on Wood panal

Forward Momentum 24" X 24" Oil and Acrylic on Wood

Flowers in Blue 24" X 24" Oil and Acrylic on Wood

Hell On Wheels 24" X 24" Oil and Acrylic on wood

"Don't Pass Me By" Oil on Board

"LOVE" Oil on Board 2014

"The Bolt" Digital image from water board painting 2014

Don Quixote Print on wood board

Don Quixote Digital effect

"Autumn Flight 1" Oil on Board

"Autumn Flight 2" Oil on Board

"AUTUMN LEAVES" SILKSCREEN 14"X17" 175.00 SOLD

Untitled Oil 24" X 24" $350.00

Study For Midnight Love ( Mix Media )

MidNight Love Oil 12" X 12" $300.00

Dont Pass Me By #2 Oil 24" X 24" $400.00

Dont Pass Me By #1 Oil 24" X 24" NFS

SunFlowers Pastel 20" X 20" $300.00

Untitled 1

Mixed media on 140 lb cotton paper

12" X 16" $250.00

SunFlowers in A Blue Vase #3

( Oil Enamel on Board ) 18" X !8"

$300.00

SunFlowers with Blue Vase #2

Pastel 19.5" x 25.5"

$300.00

SunFlowers with Blue Vase #1

Pastel 14" x 18"

$250.00

Pie Eyed On Champaign NFS

Mother Thru The Onion Ring - Pencil NFS

Coming Up ( Like a Flower ) Oil 24"X30" $350.00

I submitted this painting to the Paul McCartney Art Contest 2011. The idea was to

create a piece using Paul's "Maybe I'm Amazed" & "Coming Up" songs as inspiration. If you like my painting please

go to http://www.talenthouse.com/a00c6095c97d6cbf967e8451b3307cc3 and support me

by clicking on the I Support icon.

Ancient Portal #2 OIL

Size: 12 Inch X 12 Inch ( plus frame )

$250.00

Ancient Portal #3 OIL

Size: 12 Inch X 12 Inch ( plus frame )

$250.00

Ancient Portal #4 OIL

Size: 12 Inch X 12 Inch ( plus frame )

$250.00

Cross Country Run-Kristy ( Linoleum cut block print on rice paper)

Pencil Drawing - mother

Flying One #1

Size: 27 Inch X 27 Inch ( plus frame ) - Oil on Wood Board

$350.00

THE BLUE WINDOW ( oil on wood board )

Size : 24 x 24 inch

$350.00

Man In Search Of A Dream ( Linoleum cut block print on rice paper)

FIRE CHIEF ( Oil On Canvas )

Size : 31 x 37 inch

$400.00

SUNFLOWER DAY (Oil)

Size 21" X 24"

$ 300.00

Three Pink Noses (oil) NFS

Prints available $225.00

Three Pink Noses #2 OIL $300.00

18" X 36"

HayRoll (water color) 11x14 $250.00

Iris's 12"x25" ( Oil On Board )

$300.00

REFLECTIONS 1 ( Oil on Board )

Size: 24 X 24 Inch

$450.00

Orange on Blues 14.5x14.5 $300.00

Winter Bridge in Central Park (watercolor) 17.5"x36" $475.00 SOLD

Jaded Chair ( oil on canvas ) 16"x20" $250.00 SOLD

Blue Bowl and Bottle (oil on board) 12x16 $250.00

HayRoll2 250.00 (water color ) SOLD

Vase and Sunflowers ( oil on Canvas )

$250.00

StillLife with Yellow Pitcher ( oil on canvas )

$250.00 SOLD

Doggie Hi ( Lucky ) (oil on board)

$175.00 SOLD

"Number One" ( oil on board ) 13 x 18" $275.00

Bench at Winterthur (oil on canvas) 16x20"

$300.00 SOLD

Oranges ( oil on board ) 21x21

$300.00

Sunrise 24 x 36" (oil on canvas)

$375.00 SOLD

Autumn Tree by the Sea ( oil on canvas )16x20"

$250.00 SOLD

The Artist's Easel #9 (oil on board)

$250.00

Parania 12x14" oil

$175.00

Man Reading The Paper 16x24 oil

$185.00 SOLD

Sliding Coke ( oil on wood )

$375.00 SOLD

Blue Angel (oil on canvas)

$125.00

Lemons in a Basket (oil)

$150.00

Mrs Rodebaugh's House at Welkenwier (oil) NFS

Watermelon (oil on board)

$175.00

StillLife2 (watercolor)

$150.00

Paranya (Ceramic) NFS

Tiny Dancer (oil on ricepaper) NFS

Alligators at New Orleans Zoo ( watercolor )

$125.00

Angel ( pastel on canvas ) NFS

Barn Window 10"x11" ( water color )

$175.00

Dont Pass Me by (intaglio print) 175.00

Don't Pass me By 2 ( intaglio with watercolor )NFS

The Green Lantern (oil)

$175.00

Oranges in a bowl (oil on board)

$125.00

Orchid (oil on board)

SOLD

Pencil Study "Treefort "

October Graphic

October 2 Graphic

Still Life with Chair Graphic

Geometric 1

Pencil Study " Witch's & Pumpkins "

The Fish (Oil on canvas)

$240.00

Fish Out of Water (BlockPrint on Rice paper)

$125.00

Butterfly 1 Graphic

Butterfly 2 Graphic

Butterfly 3 Graphic

Ceramic Train NFS

FireWorks on the Thames River ( study ) NFS

Faces and Ravens (Oil on canvas) NFS

Kabooki Dancer NFS

Snowman StillLife (watercolor) 11x15

$125.00

Salt and Pepper shaker

$20.00/pair

( These make a great gift. I have Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring themes ! )

Boats at Marsh Harbour ( gouche on paper )

$150.00

My version of Claude Monet's Saint Lazaire Train Station ( oil on wood ) NFS

My version of Renoir's Seine at Asnieres (oil on canvas) NFS

My version of Albrect Durer's "Rabbit" (oil) NFS

My Version of Cup Race ( Oil on Canvass ) NFS

Copper Heron NFS

Mrs Rodebaugh's Springhouse (oil) NFS

Face and Hands (digital Image)

Face and Hands 2 (oil on board)

$200.00

Blizzard1 (pastel on paper)

$200.00

Blizzard2 (water color )

$200.00

Jackson ( Oil Enamel on board ) 18" X 18 "

$200.00

Rat Art 24" X 24" Oil on Board ( foam frame )

$200.00

Below are some of the original images where I have added digital effects and other digital art that I created in Photoshop. I plan to use these as takeoffs for an oil painting.