Recent Paintings

RECENT PAINTINGS
Kelly McKernan

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I aim to illustrate internal tension and struggle as experienced personally by each of these characters. They are each interacting with symbolic elements that represent their respective opponents. In conjunction with the titles of these paintings, delicate metaphors are created with a purpose to be interpreted on an individual basis by the viewer.

These paintings were created with a highly involved process involving advanced darkroom black & white printing techniques. First, a 35mm negative is chosen from a modeling session. The image is then exposed onto the watercolor paper, which is first tea stained and stretched (like canvas) over a frame and then made light sensitive by an application of liquid silver emulsion.  Finally, painting begins with various water media, including watercolor, gouache, and bleach. Occasionally, string will be stitched into the paintings as well.