"PALO ALTO"- Local landmarks on display at St. Michael's Alley art show

by Katy Chase

Sean Kirkpatrick holds fond memories of Palo Alto, where as a 9-year-old
he took drum lessons at Drapers Music on California Avenue.

"Palo Alto was funky -- a satellite of San Francisco," the 37-year-old recalls.
"There were lots of punk shows and music at New Varsity (Theater). Old
hippies mixed in with the alternative scene. It was not what it is now. Silicon
Valley, man."

That nostalgia for a bygone era is evident at St. Michael's Alley, where 12 of
Kirkpatrick's works are currently on display. Running through Aug. 31, the
show pays tribute to local landmarks using pastels, a medium Kirkpatrick
said goes beyond the connotations usually associated with them.

"Everyone thinks pastels are muted and kind of wimpy," Kirkpatrick said by
phone from his home in Santa Barbara. "I just fell in love with them and the
mood they create."

Muted is the last word, though, that comes to mind while taking in one of
Kirkpatrick's vivid works.

"I really grind the color in there," he said, adding that he aims to capture
mood and energy in his work.

Although he used to prefer oil paintings, the immediacy of pastels
them his medium of choice today.

"You can manipulate them constantly, and you can take them with you
anywhere and do them on the spot."

In his piece "Hoover Tower," light works in strange ways, illuminating
pathways among green trees tinged with red, glowing from the majestic
structure itself. Faint green clouds and a blue crescent moon bring a touch of
light to a sky vibrant with reds, purples and blues.

"Under the moonlight, this could be the calling of prayer," Kirkpatrick wrote
in an aside.

"Stanford Theatre" presents the Palo Alto landmark in the nighttime glow of
a yellow street lamp. The classy marquee hails the showing of "Casablanca."
The theater entrance emits orange light. Purple, red and yellow crowd the
sky in another use of exaggerated lighting. Kirkpatrick said he began the
painting at about 4 p.m., standing in front of a nearby Burger King. But as
night fell and the accompanying crowds set in, he elected to take a
photograph and finish the work at home, embellishing the night detail.
Through his outlandish interpretations, Kirkpatrick captures the essence of
these places.

"It's sad to me to see how the Bay Area has changed," he said.
"Development is inevitable."

In his still-life pieces, Kirkpatrick infuses familiar objects with an energy
that in a hurried would go undiscovered.

In "Valentine's Day," a pair of unstrapped high heels radiate swirls of cool
tantalizing green, fiery red and luminescent purple-blue. The swirls fade into
black. An aside reads, "A day, and night, to share whatever comes up."

The natural beauty and quaint charm of Santa Barbara, where Kirkpatrick
now resides, is also celebrated in the show.

"I just love it here," he said. "The mountains and the oceans, the quaint
small-town feeling. And there's an energy here. Even the Dalai Lama says
it's one of the most spiritual places on Earth. The lighting is really great too
-- really drastic shadows, golden light. It's inspiring. It's a hard place to
forget."

Commenting that "even the rich need to pray sometimes," Kirkpatrick
presents "Our Lady of Carmel -- Montecito." The saturated pinks, peaches
and blues of the sky seem to bounce off the simple, serene face of the
chapel, with its arched entry and small cut-out windows.

Born in Burbank, Kirkpatrick and his family moved to Redwood City when
he was one. He then lived in Portola Valley, Menlo Park and Mountain
View, where he went to high school. Kirkpatrick hoped to stretch his love
for art into a practical career as a graphic designer.

"Growing up I would always tinker around, doodle and sketch. I thought I
wanted to be a graphic designer; I knew how hard it was to be a fine artist."

Kirkpatrick later transferred to San Jose State University from Foothill
College, studying graphic design and fine art at both until the travel bug hit.
He lived in the Basque Country of northern Spain for a year, teaching
English and surfing until a friend came to visit in 1988. After the pair
watched alternative pioneers the Pixies play to a passionate crowd in a tiny
village, Kirkpatrick once again altered his plans.

"I was just blown away," he said. "We just looked at each other and said,
'Let's make a record.'"

Kirkpatrick, who had played the drums since his father gave him a set at age
8, returned to San Francisco for the summer so their newly formed band,
Swell, could record an album. He returned to Spain for a year, but came
back and dropped out of school when the band started gaining recognition,
especially in Europe.

After getting signed to Warner Bros./American, Swell did numerous
European tours and lived and played in Paris, Brussels and London. Since
they had pushed for complete artistic control, Kirkpatrick took the
opportunity to further his art as well. Album covers, promotional pieces and
music videos allowed Kirkpatrick to develop his style and gain exposure.

For the cover of the band's 1997 album "Too Many Days Without Thinking"
-- the last on which Kirkpatrick played -- he used pastels, which he was first
exposed to while taking art classes at San Jose State. He used the medium to
create a scene for each song, falling in love with pastels in the process.

After leaving the band, Kirkpatrick worked as an art director at Sessions, a
Santa Cruz-based skateboard and snowboard retailer. But he quit two years
ago and moved back to Santa Barbara for the third time in his life to become
a full-time fine artist.

"I'd had enough of the Bay Area," he said.

Jenny Youll, co-owner of St. Michael's Alley, knew his pastels would look
at home in her restaurant, where they glow with energy on its creamy walls.

"I really like the colors," she said, commenting on the texture and the mood
they create. "I thought his work went well in the restaurant and I'm happy to
promote him."

Many restaurant patrons have so far taken Kirkpatrick's business card, Youll
said, adding that she bought a piece herself. She said many people are
interested in buying the Stanford paintings, especially following graduation.
Most of the works sell for between $300 and $900, with many typically
going to first-time art buyers.

"About two-thirds of the people say, 'This is the first piece I ever bought,'
Kirkpatrick said.

With previous shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco and London,
Kirkpatrick is looking forward to two new exhibits in Santa Barbara.

But the travel bug is hard to shake. Kirkpatrick and his girlfriend, Tracy, are
toying with the idea of moving to the south of France or back to Spain. And
after creating his Web site last year, Kirkpatrick has realized that Internet
sales have made the artist's physical location less important. Have pastels,
will travel.

Reviews | Home | Contact 4hourworld