Sunday, November 11, 2007

Introducing Artist Kristine Schomaker

"Colour is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically."
~Wassily Kandinsky

Kristine Schomaker
Second Life: Gracie Kendal

I have always been in awe of those who are selfless, strong, and authentic, because these are the dimensions of character needed, I believe, to shape our best future. My job as an artist is to express these qualities – things like passion, love, hope, patience, integrity and confidence – in a way that viewers will not just recognize but take in and allow to resonate with their own best selves.

My work is an optimistic reflection of the world, a walk down Main Street, where the viewer, hopefully, is engaged not just by form and color but by energy, fantasy, passion, freedom, hope and, perhaps most of all, friendship.

My art is most inspired by everyday experiences: a sunrise, a story in the news, a strikingly-wrapped gift. A single image can trigger an idea that I expand and develop, whether from a magazine, art history or pop culture. I think this happens because I love what life presents to us. I want people to see and feel, as I do, the aura that emanates from even the simplest things that constitute our experience of the world. I believe that life is too short. There are endless possibilities to what we can do. Expressing my self through art is my small contribution to this wonderful world we live in.

While I am creating, I often have the TV on in the background. Sometimes there are movies playing, sitcoms or the news. I believe the mass media shapes the culture of our time, whether positively or negatively it is not going away. My eclectic views of the world are brought to fruition in my art. Our postmodern era enlivens the eclectic pastiche we live in. I believe in equality around the world and use elements to this effect in my art. You can see the Eiffel tower, art from India and even The Virgin of Guadalupe in one collage. The mixing of the different patterns, designs and color also help enhance my ideas of our multicultural world.


MEDIA

I work in what I call ‘the spontaneous abstract’, principally with two forms: acrylic paint and mixed media collage.

In paint, although I do start with a formal structure in mind, my chief concern is with color: how one pigment interacts with and creates visual tension with another – the hammer on the string that sets the soul vibrating. I either spread the paint directly from the tube, or I thin the paint and pour it onto the canvas.

In collage, I use many different kinds of papers that I find visually interesting. This can be found images, patterns and designs as well as advertisements, popular culture and art history. I don’t start out with a finished piece in mind but start with a central piece and then add layer upon layer in a planned spontaneity.

My physical artworks are subsequently digitized and uploaded into Second Life, the online virtual reality world under the pseudonym Gracie Kendal.
www.secondlife.com In this environment, the emotions are enhanced through my deliberate manipulation of scale in each artwork; they become grandiose and powerful expressions after having been enlarged to sizes greater than life. This venue offers an amazing multicultural platform, in which my art is able to reach people on a creative as well as very emotional level.

I currently live in beautiful Southern California.
I have been creating art since childhood, but the last 10 years I have actually considered myself an artist.
I didn’t want to be a starving artist so I decided to go to school and study art history.
I am currently finishing my Masters Degree and contemplating going on for my PhD in Film and Television.
This gives me a great opportunity of being surrounded by art everyday of my life, what more could one ask for.

Thank you so much to all my friends and family, to whom I owe so much. They have inspired me to be who I am today.

Please also check out my website: www.kristineschomaker.net.



Intoxicating 30x36 $1500