February 2012

thalo feb 2012February Cover ArtistCover Artist: Ian Kirkpatrick thalo thalo thalo 

 

Ian was born February 2nd, 1982 on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Oahu. There his father, Fergus Kirkpatrick, inspired and tutored him in the visual arts. He grew up fascinated with stories of mythology and fantasy. Tales of daring heroism and damsels in distress spurred imagination. He started using that imagination to create fantastical worlds and creatures. He continued to draw and paint in the years to come under the guidance of his father. Art school had always played into his dreams and ambitions. In the year 2000 his father died suddenly from a heart attack. Ian vowed to pursue the dream they both had by taking a journey up to San Francisco and attended the Academy of Art University. Ian obtained his bachelor's degree in 2008. He is now living in Southern California enjoying teaching art to children and exploring further creative adventures.

thalo: Your piece, All the King's Men, depicts a triumphant, bloodied Humpty Dumpty on a pile of bodies. How did you conceive of the idea to turn that nursery rhyme around?

Ian Kirpatrick: I really wanted a unique way to depict a character that is known as initially fragile but make him a real tough, "don't mess with me" type of guy. The original idea was inspired by the movie "300" when the Spartans built a wall of Persian bodies. I thought it would be cool if I made the Humpty Dumpty rhyme very ironic and funny where the wall he is sitting on is made up of all the king's horses and king's men that couldn't put him back together again.

th: Many of your pieces are done on wood instead of canvas. What do you find are the advantages of using wood as a surface?

IK: : I like using wood because I can get more texture out of my paint. Because the surface is smooth I can just lay a big fat glob of paint on it and let the texture really show 

th: You have experience both with traditional oils and digital mediums. What do you like and dislike about these mediums? Do you find it difficult to switch between one and the other?

IK: I like doing traditional oils because I like the tangible, chaotic quality to painting with them. I like how I can feel it after the physical painting is done and how I can see all the conscious brush strokes I made. I also like the work area environment that goes with painting traditionally, the messy studio, the paint smell, blank boards lying around etc. I don't like how long oil paint dries, but I do find that an advantage some times. I like painting digitally when I'm doing commercial art because the client wants it done fast, and it's a lot faster with digital art. What I don't like about digital art is that it's not really tangible until it's reproduced, and that there's no real original. The one thing I find that's difficult switching between the two mediums is figuring out the time it would take me to do a project based on if I do it digitally or traditionally.  

th: Many of your pieces have a dark or muted background, but vibrant and colorful foregrounds. How do you blend these two extremes to make a cohesive piece? 

IK: Well I feel that having the two extremes makes the focal point very apparent, which is the point. I want people to notice the main subject first, and then go up to it and explore the background where they may find more details that lend itself to the story of the painting. I also don't want to make an equal amount of muted colors and vibrant colors, I always try to make one-third vibrant or muted, and the rest of the painting the opposite.  

th: Art teachers today face a lot of obstacles, primarily regarding budget restriction. What do you find is the most difficult aspect of teaching kids today?

IK:  The most difficult thing I find when teaching kids is getting them into the habit of thinking that it's all supposed to be fun, and practice . . . A LOT! A lot of kids think that their piece should be perfect all the time, when it's not. I encourage all of my students to just keep on doing it, even if it doesn't come out the way they want it to the first time

To see more of Ian's work visit www.iankirkpatrickart.com.



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