HOT OFF THE SCREEN! Kathleen Zimmerman’s latest serigraph Farm Series - Horse Barn Hill is shown below. It uses four colors to create this symbolic and surrealistic vision. Like all of Kathleen’s serigraphs, it is hand printed on Coventry Rag 290 gram paper using archival serigraphic inks in limited editions of 24 with 2 artist proofs and 3 printers proofs signed by the artist. The printing process was a little more complex than her previous silkscreens due to the use of four colored inks so precise alinement of the multiple screens was critical. Each color has meaning is relation to the subject matter as before and placed so they do not take away from the beauty of the drawn forms.
Farm Series - Horse Barn Hill, serigraphic print, copyrighted by Kathleen Zimmerman
Child-like yet sophisticated - While at first the imagery may seem almost child-like, it is quite complicated in many ways. Kathleen drew an oversized foreshortened horse balanced upon the barn steeple while it is holding the undersized chicken barn like a grain bucket in her mouth. Then she drew Chagall-like yinyang cows, a formal abstract round hill and the simplified profiles of yinyang chickens, a fence and her dog to complete her surreal take on this place. This composition creates both a sense of space yet is flattened creating a balance between the real and the abstract worlds. Vibrant sunny yellow, barn red and spring green enhance this playful vision.
Horse Barn Hill - The original graphite drawing of Farm Series - Horse Barn Hill was inspired by an actual place. It is one of Kathleen’s favorite places to walk her dog because of the farm animals and the views overlooking the beautiful campus of the University of Connecticut from this grassy rolling hill. In fact it is part of the campus in Storrs, Connecticut used by the animal science department. Horse, cattle and chicken barns surround a raised open field that is used by the University for grazing cows and growing hay. The locals and the students use it for walking their dogs, jogging or just enjoying being in this ideal farm setting. Kathleen does not usually create a work of art about a particular place but the local term for the place, Horse Barn Hill, was a surrealist dream come true.
Spirit Guide - The only other time she used an actual place in this manner is for her Xtrasensory Series - Spirit Guide which is shown below. In this work her dog Izzy again makes her appearence. Make of that what you will, maybe Izzy helps Kathleen see the magic that exists in the real world as well as in her imagination. More information on Spirit Guide can be found in one of our previous posts on this page titled Landscape.
Zimmerman Fine Art Studio