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June 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 13, 2004 Kirk captures new interpretations of old genre By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Nudes and portraits are two of the most overdone genres in the art world. But James Kirk, a World War II veteran whose artistic career spans half a century, shows there is still something new to be done in those areas. His exhibit of large-scale watercolor paintings of women's faces and figures runs through the month at Hanson Howard Gallery, 82 N. Main St., Ashland. "The challenge is to come up with something contemporary," Kirk said. Unlike women subjects in many traditional paintings who cast their eyes demurely to the side, Kirk's subjects stare boldly out at the viewer, revealing strength and confidence. Even a nude woman who is lying flat - in what normally would come across as a passive pose - looks directly outward. But in his modern portrayal of women, Kirk is keeping alive an old tradition. "When you see great portraiture throughout time, and it was usually of kings and dukes, in all those paintings their eyes follow you around the room," he said. Many of his subjects are people with whom he works, while others are virtual strangers. "Three or four are of college profs I work with, along with neighbors and friends and people I stop on the street and say, 'Will you model for me?'" explained Kirk, who taught watercolor, life drawing, photography, art history and art education for 25 years at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Kirk said he is drawn toward painting women. "I love women. I have all daughters, and most of my students are women. Way back when I was going to art school, there were no women. Then all of a sudden, women got into art," he recalled. Kirk's wife and two of his three daughters are also teachers. Although he is no longer teaching at the university, he still provides individual instruction in his studio. Much of his work is devoted to keeping traditions alive, but with a contemporary spin. He noted that many art schools, especially at prestigious universities, are no longer teaching watercolor because of its low-brow association as a medium for amateur painters. "All the old dogs like me are leaving and the new professors are not teaching it," he said. To lend added weight to his work in an art world that equates big with important, Kirk stretches giant sheets of paper across wood frames to create "canvases" for his watercolors. The effect is striking, as the figures become almost life-sized and the portraits of faces become larger than life, with room to show the dapples of light and shade on a pupil or highlights on individual strands of hair. The large scale also allows space for the masterly abstract bleeding and pooling of the peach, rose, apricot, magenta and midnight blue colors that suffuse the works. The rich colors are offset with cream and white as Kirk captures highlights from the natural light that plays across his subjects. He frequently positions his models near windows, and like Monet with his haystack series, makes studies of the different effects of light through the day or from different exposures. "A couple of the nudes I put right in front of a window that goes all the way down to the floor. The northern light is soft, and makes a nice blue light. Light is an extremely important focus for me," he said. While Kirk strives for a contemporary look while painting in traditions that are hundreds of years old, he has resisted such advances as e-mail and decries the use of artificial lighting, flash photography - which frequently obliterates colors and flattens volumes - and digital cameras. "So many people have a computer and a digital camera and they call themselves photographers. Everything is enhanced, but they know nothing about design and color," he said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams