Elaine Kehew News

Flowers and Finding my Floral Self

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 08:39:54 CDT

A slight digression from both sugar canes and Nairobi prostitutes, I had to dive deep into the garden to get inspiration for this latest batch of paintings. I am fascinated with the color and shape of Kenyan flowers- some are like typical American blooms, and others have a ruggedness and wildness that is all Africa. Bold rude colors, unapologetic. Fairy light purples. Yellow so jaundiced it will cut your teeth with lemon like sharpness. I am really loving it, and finding it to be a stepping stone to other work. Helen Frankenthaler, one of my favorite painters, said that she had to start from tiny watercolor florals, painted carefully and realistically, before she could get into the studio and "let her rip" with her color field staining. (from Painters Painting, an which I recommend with both thumbs covered in cobalt blue.) Okay, I say, bring on the posies!

The First of the Nocturnal Nairobi Explorations

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:55:04 CDT

It's only 11 pm but I have just come back from two hours of cruising the dark streets of Nairobi looking for sex workers in the act of soliciting clients. Fortunately, my experienced driver Pius Kitonga knew exactly where to go.

The ladies, all shapes and sizes and ages, some in clusters and some going it solo, work the downtown streets just off of the big Colonial hotels (The Norfolk, the Stanley Sarova). I tried to use a good camera (a Minolta automatic with telescoping lens), but it was too hard to get the images in the dark, and ended up using my cell phone camera, pretending to be looking for parking. I have a classical female curvy figure and long blonde hair, so went incognito with black slacks and shirt, a denim jacket and my hair stuffed into a blue ball-cap.

We got close to getting exactly what I wanted to get, but the quality is poor. Poor reference photos often make the most interesting paintings though, so I am hopeful. We cruised around in a white Toyota Sunny. After a time, the girls were on to us and some shouted at us, others made as though to throw things at the car, and one bold beauty approached with the intent of soliciting the man in the back. When she found out I was a lady, she didn't miss more than a quarter beat and asked what I wanted. I became a quickly facile liar and said, with Pius's assistance, that i was looking for a man. For verity I added that he must be a very young man, that's what I wanted. She said to go to "Simmers" - that's where the male sex workers hang out. We did get a good cruise by Simmers and found four gay prostitutes cruising in their own fey way. Later, I regretted not pretending that I was looking for a girl to bring back to my husband, and could I get a quick photo of her. The regret of the staircase!

The ladies were dressed in an array of provocative clothing, and used the gear to highlight their best assets. Some were stunning beauties, and others were making the most of what they have to offer.

I am looking forward to uploading the photos and seeing what we got. Hopefully enough images to start on this series, even if in pastiche. It was exciting- certainly the biggest joy ride I have had in Nairobi and in many years....

Anticipation

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:54:29 CDT

Research for the 2011 Series- Loneliness and Sex Work in Kenya

Tonight I am becoming increasingly nervous- I have decided to go to Koinange (pronounced koh-i-nan-gay) Street to photograph prostitutes at work. This is the raw material that I will use to create the series of paintings for The Lonely Whore series. It is a bit frightening. For one reason, I almost never go out past 9 pm in Nairobi. I lead a very settled life, and roaming the streets at night in search of good images is not something I have done until now.I will be using a camera that I rented with a long telephoto lens. First I am going to return to the Village Market to see if I can capture some ladies on camera there. I have it in mind to do a nice painting of three sex workers, all prepared for the evening, sitting and sipping Fanta and Coke. Big glossy lips, hair newly braided. I sense that Koinange Street is a slightly downmarket venue. In fact, I heard today that in the slums the sex workers receive as little as 20 bob for servicing a client (about one quarter dollar in US currency). More frequently it is 50 bob (about 65 cents). Wish me luck- I am excited and a bit off-center....Elaine

Classical Still Life Workshop

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 07:16:41 CST

If you are an occasional painter, or an artist longing to return to painting, or have never painted but would really like to try, join me for a three-session workshop on Classical Still Life (Nature Morte).

You can paint in acrylics or oils. The canvas and easel will be supplied. We will paint with a limited palette and a supply list will be provided before the first meeting. At the end of the three sessions you will have a finished, frame-able canvas that you can keep or give as a gift.

The still life is a basic building block for painters. The course will cover composition, notan, block-in, color and finishing. The workshop will be held at my spacious home studio, 129 Farasi Close, off Lower Kabete Road in Spring Valley.

The fee for the full workshop instruction is KSh 5,500 including paint and canvas. You will provide your own brushes and palette. Space is limited; call 0717 917 972 to reserve a seat today. For more information, email mail@elainekehew.com

The Sugar Canes- Sweet Ruminations

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:53:49 CST

Pretty happy that quite a few local venues picked up the one-sheet about the show that is running this month at Le Rustique. Here it is, in all its glory....

Elaine Kehew- The Sugar Canes (Sweet Ruminations). Opening January 23 at Le Rustique. 1-4 pmIn this most recent body of work, the artist has explored the possibilities of the sugar cane from classical nature-morte to contemporary grids of linoleum stamping. Elaine was initially drawn to the canes for their formal properties: the cylindrical shape and the way the sun illuminated their segmented forms. Further observation, however, revealed a spectrum of color from crimson to chartreuse and a rich ochre in the afternoon light. The cane ends, when chopped, are circles that swirl into spirals and reveal another mystery.Elaine Kehew lives in Nairobi with her husband and daughter. Born in upstate NY, she received a bachelors degree from the University of New York at Geneseo and studied painting at the Corcoran School in Washington DC, and with CM Dupre at the Art League in Alexandria, VA. She has exhibited several times in the USA. This is her first exhibition in Nairobi.