In the previous episode, we met Shen Ramu who spoke with us about how she continues to refine and redefine her style, how she keeps herself inspired and the tools she uses to create her work. She also reminded us about the need for boundaries and today’s guest agrees.
Allow me to officially introduce you to today’s guest: Keight MacLean.
Keight MacLean is a Toronto-based painter. Her paintings combine the old with the new, reproducing historical portraits by hand before applying contemporary and experimental methods. With a love for European History, MacLean's focus on women was born after years of reading male driven histories. Her work now seeks to celebrate the many women in historical portraits, giving a voice to the silenced.
In our conversation, Keight and I discuss the ways in which she fell into her work by accident and through lots of experimentation, the ways living abroad immersed in art for a year continues to impact her professional work, as well as how and why she never experiences creative block.
Key Ideas Discussed:
Studied illustration at OCAD
By happenstance she fell into painting and drawing as a minor
She studied in Florence Italy for a year - impacted every part of her life
She considers herself a history nerd
All of her portraits are based on old master's paintings, with a focus on women and how they've been portrayed throughout history + introduce modern and contemporary elements
Loves having fun with the work and marrying old and new
She never starts a painting from a blank white canvas; instead she primes the canvases with black primer
If you're working up from dark, it's different than working from down from light - approaching a painting in a different way; subtractive art, "carving away"; a black background is also easier to start with because it looks a lot more finished
Time in Florence was transformative
Spending time with masters paintings in the museums
The masters paintings feel so familiar to her
Copying the old masters as an exercise is really good practice
There's one class that kickstarted her work now - playing with different materials/surface each week
If you 'mess up' a small painting the cost and time commitment of failing is small; good way to experiment; less afraid of messing up; experimentation; have fun - as soon as she figured this out it was huge
Smaller paintings are a jumping off point from an experimentation
Everyone has room for a little 6x6 painting!
Process is labour-intensive
Very particular about her painting surfaces: wood panels, 20 thin layers of gesso - white and black to get a medium grey + so that the wood grain doesn't show through, sanding between layers, 2-3 layers of thinned out black gesso (she does them in batches of 20 at a time), paint marker sketch (compositions ahead of time on her computer), several layers of canvas (beige) coloured gesso, switch to acrylic paint, one final layer in slow drying acrylic (gives her time to blend), final finishes are different on each painting (spray paint, gold leaf, etc.)
If she needs a break from painting she'll stand up and work on canvas prep
She paints in bulk (orders 70 panels at the time)
She has lots of 90% done paintings (portraiture is done) - hanging on the wall staring down at her and when she knows what the final process will be, Keight takes them down and finishes the painting
Workflow and option in bouncing around to different tasks and processes; she feels its a good balance for her and she's never bored in her work
It takes her approximately 1.5 months to complete a batch of 20 finished paintings
She really likes boundaries and is always getting better at it
Having a studio outside of a house is much easier for her - 9-5 Tues-Sat
Painting as a profession has and hasn't changed her work - it's encouraged her to paint more, which she loves
She doesn't get creative block - regimented process and having lots of the on at the same time helps with this
Never falling out of practice because working on painting full time
Spray paint, drippy paint markers, gold leaf are some of her favourite modern materials to use - she has accepted that she can't control them so she sees them as 'collaborators' in the process and even when she doesn't agree, but she likes the chaos that brings into her art (contemporary finishes); the switch off between super meticulous traditional paintings meets contemporary and chaotic finishes (letting go)
Sells directly to clients most of the time - it takes away the preciousness (in a good way) - you have to let other people see beauty in your own flaws
She loves having her own studio space now
Among many insights gained, Keight reminds us about how to integrate the past with the present. In the next episode we meet Sana, a bridal henna artist who shares Keight’s feelings about how she uses her artistic practice to interweave traditional and modern ideologies, techniques and stories.
Stay tuned…
About Our Guest:
Keight MacLean is a Toronto-based painter. Her paintings combine the old with the new, reproducing historical portraits by hand before applying contemporary and experimental methods. With a love for European History, MacLean's focus on women was born after years of reading male driven histories. Her work now seeks to celebrate the many women in historical portraits, giving a voice to the silenced.
Music (public domain via Free Music Archive): Chad Crouch - Rainbow
Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle
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