Karin Olah
On the Water
solo show
May 2 - 31, 2016
Corrigan Gallery
62 Queen Street Charleston SC
This show was a joy to paint.
I can easily say that about every collection I make.
What makes it so much fun for me? The research. I spend time on the beach, on the water, on the marsh, and on piers gathering the imagery for these paintings.
Making a painting is a many-step process. First, I hand-dye fabric - usually a new batch for a new series. I like to use natural fabrics - cotton, linen, and silk. "On the Water" series is lots of my favorite blues (that's me doing an Indigo dye bath), creamy and straw-colored neutrals, burlap-y linens, mossy/marshy greens and golds. And then the yummy new pink, apricot, peach, marmalade sunset shades you'll see in the Marsh Kiss series.
All that and I haven't even dipped brush in paint yet. I use gouache (an opaque watercolor), acrylic paints and mediums, pastel, aqua-cartons, and pencils to sketch, invent, and bring a scene to life.I paint a layer, then choose/cut/place/re-arrange fabric in a layer. I adhere it to the canvas or birch panel with an archival rice starch. Then I paint more, And arrange fabric more. This can go on for days (sometimes weeks!).
