Alchemy Restaurant & Bar in San Diego

A San Diego native, Amy Paul studied at the University of San Diego, receiving a degree in humanities and later her MA in Art History.  In addition to owning Pigment, an innovative gallery in North Park, she continues to teach at both Mesa and Southwestern Colleges where she nurtures her love of art and art history.  After four years on Ray St., Paul grew from her studio in the back of the San Diego Art Department and expanded to, Pigment, a location on neighboring 30th Street. Through her participation in the Ray @ Night and North Park Nights events she has become a staple in the North Park art scene.  She is emblematic of the many artists in the community that are dedicated to fostering a creative renaissance in San Diego.   

                                                   ARTIST STATEMENT

                                                        Kimo Easterwood

         The Random elements project started about 3 years ago when my traditional photography style of landscape and fashion started to wane from a series of bland jobs and boring clients.This had sparked me do change things up a bit.

         I set out one gloomy day to shoot some moody black and white images of  things that I thought were interesting in my immediate neighborhood with no concept or real idea as to what I wanted to capture,just walk outside and start shooting.

         I photographed all kinds of things from man hole covers to cracks in the sidewalk and even a few trees.I only shot 2 rolls of film and went back home.I developed the film the following day and fell in love with the results.

         I started to scan the film the next day and play around with the images on my computer.As a total fluke,I layered one of the images on top of another and realized that I had discovered and stepped into a whole other type of image style that would go beyond standard photographic collage.

         Building upon this style for the next few months I had vowed early on that I would photograph or scan everything in the pieces  without ever needing to use the computer for pre-made sources,fonts or imagery. All the text in my pieces was to be found or from vintage publications and everything from the tiniest speck of dirt would need to be seeked out and photographed.

         I then ventured out into the world and started to gather my "Random Elements" that I would use to start to build my style as well as my portfolio.

         After a year or so I really started to hone down the look I wanted and the feeling I wanted to convey, lost vintage poster art from days gone by.I absolutely love this style of art and is the style I will stay with for awhile.

        Many miles have to be walked and hours have to be driven to find these random elements.It's a process that takes weeks if not months just to gather the elements.Hundreds of photos need to be sorted through ranging from graffiti to plant life to shadows and shapes.Then another few weeks for compositing and finalization.

        When complete,every piece is stretched onto a frame and then hand embellished with paint and texture.Editions are kept to 50 only. Sizes are chosen by client except for gallery showings.

         In these pieces I try to capture the feeling and mood of a poster or hand-bill that one would see walking down the street in Paris in 1936 or Milan in the 40's.These are posters from movies,plays or maybe a magazine cover.They are opened for interpretation and although have their own story,the feeling one gets from looking at them is the real story.

         This is Nouveau Montage,the next step in photographic collage.

                                                                                                                         -K.E