(OctoGirls)

For today’s Friday Favorite I am showcasing the soft and sensual brush strokes of artist Audrey Kawasaki. Apart from having one of the most kick-ass names in the artistic community, Ms. Kawasaki creates some of the most uniquely moody art I have ever seen.

(Komorebi)

With Audrey Kawasaki’s art, the cut of wood and its grain are as much a part of the finished piece as the image itself.

(Yume No Ato)

Gleaning information from her website, as well as a fantastic article in the current issue of Hi Fructose magazine (which you should pick up from the newsstand, as several great artists are featured in its pages), I discovered that Ms. Kawasaki achieves the look of her art by building up lighter layers of oil, thus allowing the wood grain to show through in various ways to enhance the look and feel of the painting.

(Fukurou)

I often find myself surprised at the medium and the methods that artists use to create their works, and this is no exception. I would not have initially guessed that this was oil painting. I can only imagine that it is a slow, dedicated process to build up an image this way in order to maintain its translucent quality.

(Hitori)

The first time I saw Audrey Kawasaki’s work I saw influences of the work of Alphonse Mucha. I was thrilled to see that I was not off base in my comparisons as Ms. Kawasaki mentions Mucha as an artist whose work she admires.

(Sukoshi Dake)

There is a smoky, wispy quality to Audrey’s work that oddly enough gives the work substance and depth.

(Nagisa)

I find some of her images hauntingly beautiful and others have a more haunting, slightly eerie quality to them.

(Leah)

Audrey Kawasaki is an artist whose use of negative space is an integral part of the feeling the image evokes. What she doesn’t show is such an important aspect of her creations.

(Hitori)

Some of Audrey’s images, like the one above, have that strong, almost comic-book-quality line work. I love the way the bold line contrasts with the soft, ethereal style of the rest of the image.

(Blue Girl)

If you look at Audrey Kawasaki’s art you can see that so much of it is about lines, about flow. Her images are curves and waves, there is sweeping movement to so many of her pieces. One of the things Audrey mentions in the Hi Fructose article is how important those lines are. In fact perusing her site you will see many images with arms, legs, etc. missing from the image because to include them would have interrupted the flow of the painting.

(Utagai)

Another thing that impresses me about Ms. Kawasaki’s work is her soft, pastel color palate. It is a distinct use of color that gives each piece a mood. I like what her bio on her website has to say about her work:

The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them. These mysterious young women captivate with the direct stare of their bedroom eyes.

(Girls)

It is certainly the melancholy aspect of her work that I picked up on and was drawn to first. There is an obvious, but not overwhelming, sensuality to the images Audrey paints, more so with images you’ll find on her site that I have not featured here.

There is certainly an art nouveau influence in Audrey Kawasaki’s work and looking at many of her images remind me of the flapper girls of the 1920s.

(Setsuna 1)

I marvel at the three dimensional quality that Audrey attains with the faces of her characters while maintaining the two dimensional look achieved by allowing the wood grain to go through.

Audrey Kawasaki is a highly creative and very talented artist. Her website is overflowing with fantastic images. In addition to several paintings, you can peruse her sketchbook which is filled with wonderful drawings and collages. Looking at them you are able to see the creative process at work. In addition the Misc. section contains photographs of the artist at work as well as images taken at one of her art shows. She also sells limited edition prints of some of her works and her interview indicates that postcard sets may be available in the near future and possibly an art book sometime down the road. I hope these come to fruition as I would be interested in purchasing both.

Those of you who have visited Friday Favorites often know that I love seeing artists’ work spaces. These are just a two of the many images Audrey Kawasaki has in the photo section of her site. I love that window into the creative process. I am also really into spaces in general and this is the kind of innocent voyeurism that I have to admit is a guilty pleasure.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Friday Favorite and that you will add her site to your bookmarks. She has a journal as well that features new works and work in progress. Both are worth regular and repeated viewings. And keep your eye on the store for future merchandise.

(Nest hair)

Have a great weekend everyone!