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Karen Fitzgerald says, "I am a mid-career visual artist. I've been painting all my life. My work is fairly traditional in that I apply paint to a substrate that's two-dimensional. For 23 years I've been creating round artwork. In traditional verbiage, tondo work. For the past five-plus years, I've been using gilding as a first layer in the painting process. 23k gold, silver, 12k gold, copper—all produce a luscious surface that is dynamic—paint sits on top in very thin layers. I'm not interested in these surfaces as a decorative twist. I like viewers to hark back to sacred artwork from world religions—gilded Buddhas, golden halos on sacred Christian personalities, gilded sacred objects. The gilding signals a sacred presence in that work and suggests "other worldliness" in my work. I like the word metaphysical—it suggests the arena my work abides in.
"I was born and raised in the garden of Eden—on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin. I left at 18 to study art, but the fields, woods and ticking heart of the natural world stayed with me. That background is the source of my aesthetic. I moved to the thick of things in my mid-20's and have lived in New York City since then. The first and foremost hat on my head has always said "artist," though others have been layered on and off over the years...not many people get along in this profession without a variety of head gear. My husband and I are raising 3 sons, who are each in their own stages of fledgling."
Comments (closed)
Alex Nodopaka
2011-07-17 18:41:17
Karen,
Your rondos are so perfectly round! For variety you might draw a few a bit squished and wobbly to add skewed interest.
Most interesting I've been looking all my life for that darn famous biblical place & look, here you are straight from there! Wow! Does God speak in woolybooly tongues or Straight Pig English?