Painting the landscape in a different way

The importance of an artistic statement to develop new concepts

As we always say during our art workshops in Provence (France) and Italy, we can still paint landscapes and other traditional subjects, but we need to develop new ways of seeing bringing forth new concepts to make them unique.

Last June, Kim Wilkie, an artist from London Ontario (Canada), participated in our painting workshop in Tuscany, Studio Italia. While Kim has been working for a while with acrylic paint and threads to produce abstract paintings, in Italy she used soil and other elements found in nature to depict the Tuscan landscape obtaining very interesting results. Moreover, during Studio Italia, Kim worked on her artist statement which helped her to reflect on the meanings behind her works and to develop new concepts to push them forward. Back in Canada, she linked elements from her past and recent experiences and a started an innovative series of what she calls “Imaginary landscapes”. Below Kim’s creative process in her own words:

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary describes memento as: Something that is kept as a reminder of a person, place or thing. For me, paint and string (threads) are mementoes of my personal, educational and generational familial experiences, which connect me to friends and close family of the past. I can now see why, I am drawn to these materials, again and again, to create works of art. They have become a part of me and my vehicle to expressing my inner and outer life experiences and lead me to unique and diverse series of abstract artworks and abstract intuitive landscape type art.

These intuitive landscapes begin with the materials that I am comfortable with (string and/or textiles and acrylic paint – my mementos) In the past, I covered the entire canvas with string and materials, sometimes with stitching added, a landscape begins to appear in the process of painting. These paintings are more about an imaginary place through my creative process; whereas, the paintings I did during Studio Italia start with the landscape itself, and materials and forms found in that landscape. Paint of course, covers the cotton fibres that I found in Tuscany and build up the forms of the paintings. These paintings represent the place I was actually experiencing, a new memento. The paintings I finished here in Canada are similar to the ones I painted in Italy although the colour tones have changed. In Canada, I used the materials in the landscape as well, such as moss or soil. In a sense, the spacing and forms of the paintings that I did in Italy and now here in Canada have influenced my imaginary landscape paintings because now I seem to be concentrating on land and its relationship to space when I throw the materials onto the support. Further, these imaginary landscape paintings now come closer to my abstract string paintings where the forms of the string take precedence. 

To conclude, if in need to write an artistic statement, an essential part of your production, we at walkthearts have the expertise to bring you forth in this rigorous exercise.

To visit Kim’s website > http://www.kimwilkiefineart.com