Art Loft host Kalyn Chapman James at Colin Goldberg: Techspressionism Exhibition at The Studios of Key West – Photo: Bree Anne Buckley – WATCH VIDEO
I have almost reached the end of my month-long residency at The Studios of Key West (TSKW); it has been an amazing experience, and I am glad to have had the honor to participate in this program.
I started my time off in Key West hanging a solo exhibition of works on paper on the third floor of the new TSKW building on Eaton Street which was the inaugural show for the upstairs gallery space.
The opening was well-attended, and opening night sales covered the costs of my flight, which was a great start to the trip.
Photo: Kim Raff
Later on in my stay, the PBS station from Miami was at the Studios shooting, and they interviewed me at my show for their series ArtLoft – you can watch the video here (The episode aired to the Miami/South Florida market in June.)
Since I do not have access to a large-format printer here, I decided to shift gears and focus on hand work, which has forced me to slow down and spend more time drawing. During my time here, I have been developing a series of works on paper, using pen and ink with gouache; one is pictured towards the end of this post, and I will post some finished images on my return to NY.
And of course, simply being in Key West has been amazing; I am writing this post at Fort Zachary Tayor beach, where the air temperature is 85 and the water temperature is 87! This beach has a special place in my heart – it is the location that my wife Donna & I got married almost two years ago when we ended up in Key West through a house swap with our landlord at the time.
In addition to having the time to develop some new artistic ideas, it has been a lot of fun getting to know the other resident artists; they are an eclectic bunch. My residency compatriots include Kim Raff, a photojournalist based in Salt Lake City, Wendy DesChene and Jeff Schmuki of Plantbot Genetics, and Megan Roberts and Raymond Ghirardo, installation artists whose work incorporates video and other media.
All in all it has been an incredibly positive experience, and I would recommend it to any artists or writers who would like to spend some time in a beautiful and inspiring environment.
Work in progress – Ashe Street Composition #3, 2015. Pen & ink with gouache, 30 x 22 inches.
Techspressionism: Works on Paper – Solo exhibition at The Studios of Key West