Gary J. Kirkpatrick

Category: Art

  • Family portraits

    Portraits of members of my family.

    mom watercolor
    My mother Diana, watercolor

    Her first name was really Sebastiana, an Italian name, but she went by Diana since around 1928. She was born in Brooklyn. Her sister was born in Sicily, probably Partanna where her father, my grandfather, was born.

    dad june 20
    My father Frank, graphite
    matthew final sm
    Mathew (Matteo), digital

    Mathew, as we knew him, was born in Partanna, Sicily. He was our uncle. He came to the US around 1914. His last name differs however. I obtained his birth certificate. Unlike the others, the parents names are not stated. We have no idea who his father was.

    gary peg nut farm final
    Peg and I in Pennsylvania, digital
    caroline peloso
    My brother’s wife, Caroline, who recently passed away
    charles6
    Camillo, my half siblings father , acrylics

    Camillo was born in Marsala, Sicily (yes, home of the famous wine). My brother says his hair was not curly as I have depicted it. He died during WWII while at work at the Brooklyn shipyards. I found his death certificate, upon which my mother’s first names were both used. I needed this to show the Italian consulate that Diana and Sebastiana were the same person. This allowed me to claim Italian citizenship.

    self portrait small
    Self portrait, acrylics

    These next two are my more creative and less realistic portraits of older relatives

    giuseppe
    This is Giuseppe, my mother’s father.
    francesca
    Francesca, my grandmother
    mae water color 1
    My granddaughter Mae, watercolor
    olive water color aug 1
    My granddaugther Olive
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57614912@N08/49303694996/in/dateposted-public/
    With my daughter

  • Banda de Valencia, dynamic woman conducts

    I have never seen a woman conduct a band or orchestra. At the concert on February 4, 2020 we were treated to her skillful conducting and for me her fabulous gestures. Too bad it was too dark to draw. In addition, there were two composers in the audience whose work was performed by the Banda de Valencia, a symphonic band (no violins).

    Beatriz Fernandez Aucejo, charcoal drawing

    Beatriz Fernandez Aucejo trained locally first as a clarinetist and in Murcia to the south of Valencia as a conductor. She’s conducted numerous bands in Spain. She often flashed a great smile at the band as she conducted while she almost danced her intentions to the musicians.

    Santiago Quinto Serna and Vincente Ortiz Gimeno were in the audience. The band performed the former’s Un Deber de Amor . There are numerous performances on youtube. Here’s one

    They performed Serna’s Rapsodia Hernandiana

    These two pieces are representative of modern Spanish composition. Valencia is an internationally recognized center for music composition, especially for symphonic bands. In the province there are about 600 symphonic bands, many of whom annually come to Valencia to compete.

  • Color!

    What is uniquely mine comes from what it means to be me somehow. Sometimes even I can not emulate me, some of the colors I have mixed I can not quite duplicate. These colors are a mixture of what I have learned academically and my flying by the seat of my pants, pure instinct for fuel.

  • Croquis Cafe

    Croquis Cafe is an ode to Edward Hopper’s Sunlight In a Cafeteria. Strong lines are offset by soft figures. Unlike the loneliness of a Hopper scene, here we have activity and movement in an art cafe. “Croquis” is the French for sketch.

    Croquis Cafe
    Croquis Cafe 57 x 76 cm, 22.5 x 30” acrylics on Canson high quality watercolor paper mounted on canvas

  • Into the Night Sky

    Into the Night Sky, acrylics on paper, 30 x 40, 11.25 x 16.5

    From the story of Julio and Alicia in El Gran Hotel. The story takes place in turn of the century Spain. Julio looks for his missing sister at the Hotel, finding work as a waiter. He finds a sympathetic ear in Alicia, who is forced to wed a crooked partner of her parents. In the ethos of the time Alicia must not wed below her status as a well to do heiress. She finds this secret room in the hotel, hidden between two guest suites. Here they meet. I did a version in chiaroscuro here https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/couple-views-eclipse-from-bed-in-chiaroscuro/

  • Dos Amigas

    Peg and Sari: ¡Amigas Para Siempre! acrylics on canvas, 40 x 50 cm, 16 x 20″

    A rendition of Peg with our Spanish friend Sari.

  • Sketches from England

    We stayed at a friend’s house in this small town in England near Cambridge, where they filmed episodes of Inspector Morse, a popular British detective show from the 1980’s or 90’s. It was a farm house converted to a residence, with much charm. It was heated by the huge kitchen stove with water circulating to both floors. Outside a fox would visit, looking for a meal of old cat whom we were there to care for. Our friends were off for a long trip to southeast Asia, gone for the month. We had use of their car, which we used to get to the train for the trip into London, which allowed us to see a few plays and see the museums again.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57614912@N08/49309601846/in/dateposted-public/

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57614912@N08/49309313697/in/dateposted-public/
    House in Flackwell Heath, water color and ink
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57614912@N08/49309312242/in/dateposted-public/
    House in Flackwell Heath, ink
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57614912@N08/49309412262/in/dateposted-public/
    At the British Museum, watercolor and ink
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57614912@N08/49310237322/in/dateposted-public/
    Woman Dances, based on Egyptian statue at British Museum

  • Avec Ma Fille a Paris

    With

    Avec Ma Fille a Paris, With My Daughter in Paris. At Notre Dame

    Avec Ma Fille

  • The Screams- Solitary Confinement in Lithuania

    acrylics on paper, 11.7 x 16.5", A4 30 x 42 cm
    Solitary Confined- The Screams. acrylics on paper, 11.7 x 16.5″, A4 30 x 42 cm

    The Screams- Solitary Confinement in Lithuania was done during our visit to Lithuhania. This scene is from the Gestapo/Soviet detention and torture facility. This nightmare is the solitary confinement chamber just barely bog enough for one person and was probable kept very dark. It’s torture without leaving a mark on your body.

    I write more about it here: https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/the-specter-of-russia/

  • In a van Gogh Field

    This adds to my series of paintings echoing Van Gogh.  The lark makes an appearance in the scrumbly, swilley sky as brightly dressed visitors head for the field.

    In Vincent's Field
    In a Van Gogh Field, acrylics on Arches, 57 x 76 cm, 22.5 x 30”