Kim McCarty’s watercolor paintings evoke complicated feelings of nostalgia, innocence, and sexuality. With loose brushstrokes and soft colors she relies on chance to create ethereal and sometimes haunting images. I might be a little biased as all of my best memories from a recent vacay to the Mediterranean involve her, but even if I were a stranger, I could stare at her cowboys and girls for hours. I recently caught up with Kim to learn a little more about her method.
Anna Gray: Why is watercolor your preferred medium?
Kim McCarty: Watercolor is such an unexplored medium. I'm intrigued by its transparency, immediacy, and unforgiving qualities and it continually forces me to dig deeper into my subjects. I use a wet-on-wet technique that is impossible to control so I’m continually starting over. By keeping the work fluid, there’s no way to prepare for the resulting image. The work is lost or gained within minutes. Needless to say, it’s a very costly pursuit. I go through reams of paper before I get anything I partially like. Everything goes into the trash.
AG: Are the figures in your paintings friends, family, or figments of your imagination?
KM: I'm always in search of a certain body type, defined features, and skeletal structure. I just came across an amazingly elongated, 6-foot-tall eastern European woman and an almost 7-foot-tall male lifeguard at the beach. Most of the people I’ve approached have enjoyed collaborating on the creative process, be it with friends or strangers. I shoot their portrait and use the photo as a point of departure.
AG: How long have you been painting?
KM: I started painting in watercolor after my house and studio burned down in the Malibu fire of 1993. After losing my studio, I didn't have the space or ventilation to continue painting in oils. By chance, works on paper and watercolor were just becoming accepted modes of art making. It never occurred to me to actually present watercolor as a finished product in a gallery or museum setting. Also, at that time, artists like Mike Kelley were breaking the tough, male concept of bold brushstrokes on canvas: These artists were using knitting and sewing to get their message across. The definition of "macho" art flew out the window.
AG: Which artists influence you?
KM: There are so many artists I admire: Ellen Gallager, George Baselitz, Raymond Pettibon, and Charles Garabedian to name a few. In terms of influence, I am fascinated by Giacometti’s sculptures and paintings and am in awe of his invented vocabulary. He’s a master of the human condition.
AG: You're bicoastal, regularly hopping between New York and Los Angeles. How does this affect your work?
KM: My studio in LA is much larger and up on a hill so my work tends to expand. It's funny but working in LA, within nature, I seem to concentrate more on figures. That's not always the case in New York, where plant life seems to emerge in my work. In LA my work tends to be more liquid and transparent, whereas the pigment in New York dries differently, due to the indoor heat. The application changes and the work tends to become more opaque. It's taken me a while to accept that the process is different in both cities.
AG: You've enjoyed a long career as an artist, how do you navigate the ever-changing landscape of the art world?
KM: You have to remain stubborn with your process. When you're young, it’s easier to be influenced by what is in fashion, which is so unpredictable. It's the other artists and close friendships you make that keep you focused, as do maintaining regular studio practice and staying connected with your
Anna Gray: Why is watercolor your preferred medium?
Kim McCarty: Watercolor is such an unexplored medium. I'm intrigued by its transparency, immediacy, and unforgiving qualities and it continually forces me to dig deeper into my subjects. I use a wet-on-wet technique that is impossible to control so I’m continually starting over. By keeping the work fluid, there’s no way to prepare for the resulting image. The work is lost or gained within minutes. Needless to say, it’s a very costly pursuit. I go through reams of paper before I get anything I partially like. Everything goes into the trash.
AG: Are the figures in your paintings friends, family, or figments of your imagination?
KM: I'm always in search of a certain body type, defined features, and skeletal structure. I just came across an amazingly elongated, 6-foot-tall eastern European woman and an almost 7-foot-tall male lifeguard at the beach. Most of the people I’ve approached have enjoyed collaborating on the creative process, be it with friends or strangers. I shoot their portrait and use the photo as a point of departure.
AG: How long have you been painting?
KM: I started painting in watercolor after my house and studio burned down in the Malibu fire of 1993. After losing my studio, I didn't have the space or ventilation to continue painting in oils. By chance, works on paper and watercolor were just becoming accepted modes of art making. It never occurred to me to actually present watercolor as a finished product in a gallery or museum setting. Also, at that time, artists like Mike Kelley were breaking the tough, male concept of bold brushstrokes on canvas: These artists were using knitting and sewing to get their message across. The definition of "macho" art flew out the window.
AG: Which artists influence you?
KM: There are so many artists I admire: Ellen Gallager, George Baselitz, Raymond Pettibon, and Charles Garabedian to name a few. In terms of influence, I am fascinated by Giacometti’s sculptures and paintings and am in awe of his invented vocabulary. He’s a master of the human condition.
AG: You're bicoastal, regularly hopping between New York and Los Angeles. How does this affect your work?
KM: My studio in LA is much larger and up on a hill so my work tends to expand. It's funny but working in LA, within nature, I seem to concentrate more on figures. That's not always the case in New York, where plant life seems to emerge in my work. In LA my work tends to be more liquid and transparent, whereas the pigment in New York dries differently, due to the indoor heat. The application changes and the work tends to become more opaque. It's taken me a while to accept that the process is different in both cities.
AG: You've enjoyed a long career as an artist, how do you navigate the ever-changing landscape of the art world?
KM: You have to remain stubborn with your process. When you're young, it’s easier to be influenced by what is in fashion, which is so unpredictable. It's the other artists and close friendships you make that keep you focused, as do maintaining regular studio practice and staying connected with your