Photo Gallery added to Website

Hi Y'all! I added a gallery of a few of my exhibited photographs to my website.

Many of you know my camera goes with me everywhere, because I hate to miss out on any opportunity to increase my reference files. Well, occasionally I'll get lucky (ok, or maybe sometimes it's skill!) to catch a moment which stands on it's own as a photographic work of art.

I've finally started collecting some of these images in a new website gallery; see it HERE!

New Paintings for Rockport - Dead Fish and Waves

I don't do politics, really. I just like painting almost everything.

I saw this poor fish on a beach near Galveston last month and I thought it was cute (Ok, I'm weird. But it IS cute, isn't it?)
I was painting these 2 views of the poor thing, at the NB Art League last Saturday, and several artist friends assumed this was my response to the oil spill.

OK, that works for me.

I just like to paint, and leave the interpretation to my viewers. (Besides, when I look at these, my judgment is clouded by the memory of how difficult those bubbles were!)

These next 4 paintings are my response to several artists telling me that "...beach scenes sell well in Rockport."

I am NOT inspired by beach scenes!
I do, however, tend to become totally and completely hypnotized by the flow of waves upon a beach. I can waste several hundred megabytes of storage space and 2 sets of batteries photographing what seems to be the same wave approaching over and over again. Except that it's NOT the same wave, it's different! ALL of them are different and I still believe I'll be able to capture that most perfect of waves if I just wait and see what the NEXT one will look like.

And so it continues... while the nape of my neck turns red and the clams nibble on my toes.


I threw this one in here to show what my first layer of color looks like (and because I just didn't have time to finish this one yet!) I thought it looked kind of interesting at this point.



These six new paintings (all about 5x5) will be with me next month at the Rockport (TX) Art Fest, July 3 & 4. They are, in order, "Dead Fish 1", "Dead Fish 2", "Wave 1", "Wave 2", "Wave 3" and "Wave 4" (unfinished).
I know, real imaginative titles. But like I say, the viewer can re-name them in their mind...

2 new awards!

Each year, the Texas Arts & Crafts Educational Foundation recognizes the best in each category at it's annual Texas State Arts & Crafts Fair. This year I was honored to receive the Best in Painting award. Here is my impressive booth! (The jeweler in the adjacent booth was accidentally assigned a double space, which she shared with her neighbors on either side... the extra 5 feet of space really improved my display! Thanks Karen!)

The Texas Pastel Society held the reception for their 2cd Annual nation Juried Competition in my home town of New Braunfels on Friday. I received Second Place in the Portrait/Animal category with "Juliet", one of the latest in my Renaissance Portrait series. Here I am with "Juliet" (8x6) and "Number Three" (24x20)

The show continues through June 29 at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery in historic downtown New Braunfels. Check it out!

Marble Falls "Paint The Town" Plein Air event

The 5th Annual "Paint The Town" Plein Air Event in Marble Falls, TX, took place earlier this month, April 16-18. (I'm a little late posting my photos!)
I had planned again to paint a panoramic of Main Street, which seems to be settling in as my tradition, by my 3rd year now. Back at the north end of the street, where I was in 2008, I decided that the vantage point I needed as a change was from the tailgate of my truck!
It worked rather well actually.

Here's the painting after about the first hour.


It threatened a downpour all morning, but luckily all we got was some scattered drizzle.





Here it is almost finished.



"A Rainy Day on Main" (7x17 pastel.) This one didn't win anything this year, but it did go for a good amount in the silent auction, and helped pay for my new V...Vaughan landscape!

"Backbone Creek" (9x9 pastel) I painted on friday afternoon. The actual creek was quite overgrown, with branches sticking out everywhere! I didn't even think of photographing it.
This viewpoint caught me because of the hint of a bright field around the bend. Ms. Vaughan liked it too - she gave it 4th place!


Here was Virginia Vaughan's wall of paintings from her "Last Year on the Farm." It was advertised as 50 paintings, but I counted close to 70!
You can see her paintings in this series here:
http://v-vaughan.com/art/lastyearfarm.htm




Here's V...Vaughan's "July 7, 2006" and the newest gem in MY collection! Isn't it gorgeous? (oil, 6x8)

New Page with InfinityArtGallery

My page at InfinityArtGallery is up! I have some new works that no one has seen yet -- take a look!
www.infinityartgallery.com/portfolios/kirkmanr

Giclees at Grape Juice in Kerrville, TX

4 of my famous cow series giclees will be displayed in a new, hip wine bar called Grape Juice, in downtown Kerrville, Texas.

These will be part of a special "Art of Texas Preview Show" April 14 - May 5 for a few specially juried artists will will be displaying at the Texas Sate Arts & Crafts Fair later in May.

If you happen to be near Kerrville, stop in, sample their great wine, unique beer and simple food, and see the show. All the art will be for sale!

See the grape Juice website HERE! See their Facebook Page HERE!