Happy June!

Happy June, everybody, I hope everyone's summer is off to a great start! Paintings are in full progress as I near the finish line for my next show, opening this August at RJD Fine Arts Gallery (details to follow). Excited to unveil new stuff in the coming weeks!

Amazing that June is already here. All is well here inside the AK studio, despite a few brief experiences of artist's 'block' since my last post on here, which, consequently, left me in a bit of a depressed state for awhile. For the first time in almost three years, I felt myself at a crossroads in my creative process, where I began questioning everything from concept to technique, and how to take it all to the next level; the struggle to maintain the all-important, but ever so fragile 'flow' that has carried my work to where it presently is, in the quest to reach that ultimate satisfaction and level of perfection that I aspire to achieve in my work. These blocks happen, and when they happen, they're not fun, as I'm sure many of you great fellow painters know, especially when there are important deadlines looming on the horizon. It becomes a frenzied push-pull between the need to step back and the need to push through, resulting in one frustrated, exhausted artist standing in its wake.

I'm happy to say that I feel I'm off that rollercoaster at the moment, as the two works currently underway are steadily progressing and the familiar excitement I used to feel in the core of my being is BACK. The road to this particular show has been quite the little journey to say the least, but I have never been more excited, and am looking forward to sharing it and seeing you all out East at the opening very soon.

That said, I am a bit late in posting several exciting announcements I've been meaning to share, so bear with me as I catch up. For those of you who didn't catch the news via my Facebook page back in March, the outcome of my participation in SCOPE NYC's Artists Wanted: Year in Review competition resulted in being named one of the world's Top 100 emerging artists. Thank you again to all the jurors for the great honor.

Check out all the winners here: Selected Artists of "Year In Review" 2011

Also be sure to check out my March feature about SCOPE in Hamptons Art Hub, as well as get a peek at the new diptych that will be included in my upcoming show:

Hamptons Art Hub // Andrea Kowch SCOPE Art Fair Winner

VOTE! "Year in Review" People's Choice

My work is currently in the running for Year in Review People's Choice! Artists Wanted: A Year In Review is an "international, all-medium-encompassing open call for art with the mission of presenting a range of technique, style and narrative that captures the best emerging artists of the year". I would appreciate your votes! To participate, just follow the link, and get your vote in by Noon EST this Tuesday, February 7th. Thank you all in advance!

VOTE: http://akowch.artistswanted.org/yr2011

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! As we ring in the new year, I wanted to take this time to thank you all for helping make 2011 an incredible year filled with many special moments. Your constant loyal friendship and support goes a long way, and I wish you and yours all the joys of the holidays. I am excited for the future and look forward to continue sharing my artistic journey with all of you. Thank you. May you all experience a joyful and prosperous 2012! Cheers to the beginning of another fabulous year ahead of us!

New work featured in "American Art Collector" Issue #75 - Out Now!

I am delighted to be featured in the January 2012 issue of American Art Collector. The issue is out now wherever books and magazines are sold, so be sure to grab a copy and check out the ad and article discussing my latest happenings and work, including my recently released set of Limited Edition prints and information regarding my upcoming solo exhibition!

Please visit American Art Collector online, http://www.americanartcollector.com/
to browse and order the current issue, and visit RJD Fine Arts Gallery to view available prints.

"Crow's Song"

48" x 36"
acrylic on canvas



Hello dear blogging world, it’s been a while, but I felt it’s time to take a quick break to revisit and reflect on where things have been and where things are now as the year winds down and we prepare to ring in the new. It’s always an exciting time, though it’s hard to believe we are already here again!

Amidst the shuffle, I’ve been longing to post more personal tidbits about all my recent work from this year. While being “too busy” would indeed be a valid excuse, excuses don’t exist in my world, so I’ll admit that it has been the result of putting off discussing myself – the mood has to strike, and even then, I still like to have the work speak for itself.

Many of you have checked out the current 2011 volume of Direct Art 18 of which I was the cover feature, and where many of the latest works from this year’s show are published along with my own personal writings behind each piece. For those of you who have yet to see it, you may still order a copy online, http://slowart.com/subscribe.htm, and stay tuned as I re-post most of it here on the blog.

One work that I have not yet touched on anywhere, and one that has gotten several mixed and interesting reactions is Crow’s Song, so I figured it would be a good place to start. Another more personal statement about my own life and the “journey” I feel that I’m on, this painting serves, in some ways, as a sequel to No Turning Back, once again reflecting the whole “triumph of courage over fear” dynamic, but executed in lieu of a MUCH different, happier, more enlightened and fulfilled "me" than at the time its predecessor was created. All my paintings are essentially “portraits” of my inner self, expressed through my characters, landscapes, and use of color. As someone who feels I’m always in a strange state of inner transformation, Crow’s Song is a tribute to recognizing and embracing that very aspect of the self, and celebrates one of the most beautiful and misunderstood of creatures that is of deep significance to me: the crow.

Inspired by a deep-rooted fascination with Native American culture, legends, and spirituality, and memories of the bird’s odd and steady presence in my life during a time when I searched desperately to “find myself”, crows have revealed themselves to accompany nothing but positive forces from beneath their dark disguise. Over the years, this astonishing bird has come to symbolize, for me, everything BUT the “darkness” they are typically associated with – the complete opposite, in fact. For me, they symbolize the beauty of new beginnings after the end of a dark struggle; spiritual awakening after a period of soul-searching, and having the courage to face the unknown and to recognize it’s all up to us to make what we want of life. As a result, I always feel a sense of comfort when I hear their distant call, as it causes me to take a moment to reflect on my life, the lessons I’ve learned, and the path I’m on. That’s the beauty of nature to me; by just taking the time to listen and observe, one can learn many things. It reminds me that everything works in its own way in its own time.

A crow’s intriguing presence and shape against the starkness of a rural landscape, for me, personifies all the transformative power, mystery, and beauty of the unknown, intuitive side of nature; a supernatural phenomena all its own that parallels the feeling of being in tune and at one with your soul and all that is around you. Crow’s Song speaks to that moment of clarity, when that inner power we all possess enables us to transform and emerge anew. Symbolized here through the figure enveloped in the protection of the flock’s embrace (the shape and color of her robe evoking that of a crow itself), it’s about moving forward with bravery, determination, and faith in one’s self and one’s own life purpose, and pays homage to that internal power that a crow’s presence always reminds me exists deep within. Crow’s Song is about hearing the wake-up call to come back to life and embrace and cultivate your own true spirit. Here’s to always looking and moving onward and upward.

Signed Limited Edition Giclee Prints now available!

Over the past few months, my gallery and I have been in the process of producing the first series of art reproductions for 6 of my paintings. It's been a very exciting process, and I'm happy to announce that they are now officially available in time for the holidays!

Each of the six come archivally framed in two sizes (large and small), in a series of 20 and 25, respectively, and are signed and numbered by yours truly. Big thanks to the printers at Omega Co., NY for doing such a phenomenal job replicating every detail. The final results look amazing, and I'm so pleased they are now available to those of you who have inquired about prints in the past.

Click here to view the selected editions and their specific sizes, and contact art@rjdgallery.com with any inquiries.

For those who wish to view the framed giclees in person, they will be on display at RJD Fine Arts Gallery in Sag Harbor (90 Main Street) beginning November 8th, with an opening reception on November 19th, 6-8pm.

In other news, new work is on the easel, and I'm looking forward to sharing it here very soon!

"Sojourn" featured on Cover of "Direct Art" Vol. 18 - Out Now!

Get your copy! I am incredibly honored to have had my work selected for the Cover feature of this year's volume of Direct Art Magazine. A leading alternative fine art magazine published annually by SlowArt Productions, featured artists are selected through an international talent search, and offer their own commentaries directly to the public through its pages. It's a very cool publication born out of the concept of connecting artists with readers one-on-one (learn more here).

Pick up a copy at your local magazine or bookstore, or visit Direct Art online to order, and check out the mag's main feature where I share many of my latest insights and inspiration behind my newest works.

Southwest Art Magazine's "21 Under 31"

For those who may have not yet heard the news nor seen this month's September Issue of Southwest Art, be sure to check it out, on newsstands now! I am honored to be among the 21 selected artists featured in this year's annual emerging artist spotlight. I always read these issues back when I was a student. Surreal! Congrats to all my fellow honorees!

Visit Southwest Art Magazine online for a sneak peek to learn more, and your local bookstore where magazines are sold.

Southwest Art // 21 Under 31 Winners

A Big "Thank You" to All

Another solo show has come and gone, and I wanted to give my overdue heartfelt thanks and appreciation to everyone who attended and were involved with my opening this past July. I loved meeting each and every one of you and couldn't have asked for a better show! It was magical. HUGE thanks once again to everyone at my gallery, RJD Fine Arts, Richard Demato and Harriet Sawyer for their amazing hospitality, support, and guidance, and my collectors and supporters. You all help keep me going in so many ways, words cannot describe. Thank YOU!

Last but not least, those near and dear to me: my parents, brother, close friends, and models/muses, Jennifer and Natalia -- for being the ones who ultimately understand and accept me and my long, broody disappearances into the studio. Thank you from the bottom of my soul.

Alas, after a short break back in July, things have been alive and well again in the studio these past several weeks, hence my absence from the virtual world, and I'm looking forward to sharing more cool news and the next series of paintings that are currently coming into progress! Autumn is in the air, and never ceases to inspire!

For those who missed it, photos from the exhibition can be viewed on Flickr: Andrea Kowch 2011 Solo Exhibition

Stay tuned, everybody :)

-AK

"The Feast" Wins 2011 Art Kudos International!

I'm extremely excited and pleased to announce that The Feast was selected as this year's top winner, Best of Show, in the 2011 Art Kudos International Juried Exhibition!

The online exhibition, unveiled on August 15th, will be on view at the Art Kudos website year-long. Please visit http://www.artkudos.com/ to take a look at this year's stunning array of works, juried by Holly Koons McCullough, former Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, GA. The show presents 157 artists from 23 countries. I am humbled and beyond honored!

Two additional works, Sojourn and Whirlwind, have also been selected for inclusion. Be sure to check out the whole show!