The Magic of Materials
There are a few elements you need for a beautiful piece of art – technique, inspiration, and of course, high-quality materials.
It's taken years for Kristan to find the perfect materials for his work. Now that he has, you can see how they bring out the elements that make his pieces even more special.
Take the sketches, for example. These begin with heavy-bodied paper and Japanese ink, which allows Kristan to quickly sketch a scene and capture the exact moment in time. Next, he'll add alcohol- or water-soluble ink for shading. Most are done in a cool grey tone reminiscent of a newspaper print from the 1890s, chosen to give each piece a timeless, archival quality.
All of this is carried in an artist's travel case that goes with Kristan wherever he goes. Working on location is, for Kristan, non-negotiable. It would of course be faster to sketch from a photograph or an iPad, but something is lost in that translation – the atmosphere of a place, the particular quality of its light, the small details a photograph simply cannot hold. It is, in his words, a deliberate act of resistance against a world increasingly mediated by screens.
There are hundreds of considered choices that go into every painting too. Many visitors to the gallery are surprised to find that Kristan's texture-filled paintings are created with acrylic paints rather than oils, chosen for the unique vibrancy the artist has become known for.
Much of the paint used has a heavy, buttery consistency, applied in places with a palette knife rather than a brush – a technique first discovered by accident and kept ever since for the texture it creates. More recently, Kristan has begun experimenting with a thinner, more liquid paint that can be splashed directly onto the canvas, giving some of his newer work a looser, more expressive quality.
If you're really lucky, an extra-special piece might be on display, highlighting a new technique of Kristan's – that of metallic leaf. Gold, silver, and copper are used sparingly and only where they serve a piece – the top of the Eureka Building, Flinders Street Station, or the Eiffel Tower at night.
Fine materials, decades of hard work, and just a touch of magic – that's what you'll find in every Oud Art piece.
Interested in attending our official gallery opening at the end of August? Send an email to contact@oud.art to find out more.
