I recently became very busy during my travels. From Guatemala to Costa Rica I was touring around, backpacking, and checking out the sites. In San Jose, Costa Rica, however, I bunch of opportunities to paint came my way and I jumped on it. Here are some shots of the works I did throughout San Jose. I also decided to open a new section on my site, dedicated to murals. More info on these pieces can be found there.. and more works to come!
My latest painting. This one is done with acrylic wall paint, about 7×7 feet and done on a metal door of El Buho Vegetariano restaurant in San Jose, Costa Rica.
I´m hoping to find some more walls to paint on my travels in Central America this Winter and Spring. If you are interested in having a mural done for a residence, business or institution, hit me up at kevin(at)kevinledo.com
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Last Fall I was fortunate enough to be part of En Masse’s biggest project yet! 30 artists got together to take over one whole room at the Museum of Fine Art of Montreal! It was a huge success and loads of fun. Check out this sweet video that Fred Caron from put together.
I’m having my next exhibition on April 6th, 2012 at Ayden Gallery in Vancouver, titled Awakening the Fire.
I’ll also be showing along side Jose Rivas, an awesome artist from Vancouver, as well as Lawrence Nerbonne, another great artist from Montreal.
I’ll be featuring 14 new works that range in size from 12″ x 18″ to 4′ x 5.’ I will be presenting, for the first time, my latest mixed media works on wood. I’m feeling good about the work in this exhibit and I hope you get the chance to check it out.
Here are a couple of t-shirt designs that I created for VirginX Industries clothing line. They have been kicking around for quite some time now, though I’m not sure if they have ever been printed or whether they ever will. Either way, I think they are pretty dope and wanted to share.
The line between ‘fine’ art and commercial art is beginning to blur, more and more. This is in fact the mission of some curators and art galleries including Artifact Gallery in San Francisco.
Featured here is Jeff Simpson, a Montreal based illustrator, concept artist and colourist. Simpson’s paintings are digital, which you may find hard to believe. While some of his work is obviously more geared towards the gaming and comic world, the works featured here are more on the painterly, textured and contemplative side. I really enjoy Simpson’s work, and I’m drawn to the mystic female imagery in his paintings, the dramatic lighting and the subdued colour palettes with accents of bright colour.
While there is, for the most part, quite the resistance to blend fine art and commercial art worlds, I’m in support of the integration. There is a resurgence and demand for talent and technique in visual arts, and artists who work in illustration and design are more than qualified. If artists, no matter which angle they are coming from, can present something worthwhile and meaningful, I say let’s be open to what can be achieved.
Check out Simpsons full range on his website, Surreal Sushi.
This is my latest painting which remains untitled. It runs along the same lines of my previous painting, but was initially thought out a little more than the last one.
I had set out to paint the figure in dark, natural flesh tones, but just as I was about to start applying the paint, the painting caught the eye of one of my studio mates. At that point the skin was just the colour of the underpainting, which is red. She loved how it resembled a two tone screen print or poster.. and that got me thinking. I started considering a red skin tone and how that could change the painting’s impact.
This painting draws influence from religious paintings. I love the power of religious iconography, and this painting uses the languages of Tibetian thangka paintings, and Christian icon paintings.
This painting is 36″ x 24,” and is oil and bronze leaf on wood panel.
Here is my latest piece. This painting comes from a really loose sketch that I did a couple of months ago. It was a bit of a painful project to carry out in the sense that it didn’t feel as though it was coming together very well as the painting progressed. It also left me in a bit of an existential place, wondering what it is I am trying to achieve, not only in this work, but in my recent direction artistically. I had decided to finish it none the less as I felt the responsibility to the initial idea. I’m still slightly baffled by it and what it could mean, but perhaps there is some power to this ambiguity. So with great hesitation, I present my latest painting, “Don’t trust the Angels, they may be Devils in Disguise.”