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Painting Environment The Kimberley has long drawn artists to its rugged, unique landscape. However very few artists stay more than a week let alone during the build up of the wet season and the monsoonal downpours which follow. Kimberley Kohan is one of the few non-indigenous professional artists fortunate enough to live in the Kimberley and work within these harsh and sometimes unforgiving elements.
The physical environment of the Kimberley has meant that the majority of the fieldwork is confined to sketching, photographing, observing and drinking in the essence of the area. The temperatures often reach in excess of 45 degrees during the build up. The wet season challenges the use of any watercolours in the field. As the rough dirt tracks play havoc with any partially or completed oil or pastel work, Kimberley uses her purpose built studio to produce her high quality work. Painting Mediums Kimberley enjoys working and alternating between the three mediums - oil, pastel and gouache. Each medium allows various aspects of the landscape to be explored. Pastels The rich buttery textures of pastels are applied to the pre coloured Australian produced papers, which contain a light sandpaper finish. This paper provides sufficient tooth for Kimberley to apply her pastels generously and achieve a wonderful glow. Kimberley avoids the use of a fixative as this tends to flatten the minute participles which capture the light. Using pastels Kimberley usually depicts the subject matter in a representational almost photographic manner. Occasionally the subject matter is depicted in a more contemporary style usually found with her oils and gouache paintings. Each year Kimberley is invited by the Kimberley School of Art to demonstrate her application of this wonderful medium.
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