Inspired by dreams, artist Kim Vergil uses a mixed media technique that combines her own personal photography with acrylic paint. Visit her website to see more of her art.
I paint because I need to. Painting is an extension of communication for me, sharing an inner energy. To paint is to create something that takes on a life of its own and goes out into the world.
It is a wonder, after all these years, that I still get butterflies in my stomach as I go to the studio, not knowing the outcome of any piece before it is created. The piece is finished once I have found the story and dreamscape hidden within each work and brought it into focus.
I have always been fascinated by my world of dreams. I can remember dreams from my childhood, and as I grew up became increasingly aware that something important was going on in dream time. I realized that I was evolving either because of the dreams or the dreams were letting me know I was changing. Now, as the Chair of the Arts Committee and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams for the last ten years, I have a better knowledge of what I understand is happening during our dreams and how we create them.
My creative process is inspired by how I understand we create our night dreams. Dreams are a combination of images stitched together and interwoven with our emotional energy. My mixed media approach is a combination of personal collaged photographs on canvas plus an energetic application of paint as the emotional energy that ties it all together.
This combination is the magic that defines the dream scenes, dreamscapes and dream moods that build themselves into each piece, through me.
Though each piece is seemingly abstract upon first view, it is clear that something is happening and hidden within. To unravel each tableau requires curiosity and a desire to discover its inner story. Each piece is a portal into the imagination left wide open for interpretation just like our dreams as we wake from sleep.
There is a definite element of chaos and chance within the creative process of my work and I also feel that the wonder of each piece is finding the “meaning within the chaos.” My “aha” moments give me the most excitement about the end results and keep me creating and searching for more.
All artwork has its job to perform and mine is to unleash a sense of energy source into the space that surrounds it, making its contribution by engaging human interaction through interpretation.
What fascinates me is how the pieces evolve with us as we are ready and willing to engage with them.
Once something has been discovered and seen, it is impossible to un-see what lies within each art piece. However, it is always possible to see and discover more and more. Like wonderful relationships, not all is revealed at once, but rather over time.
Artist Kim Vergil invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
This is beautiful work. Love it. I love the use of photography yet keeps the integrity of the brush.
I so totally relate to what you were saying about the creative process. I too paint, because I need to. Sometimes I forget that and then my passion subsides. But when I just do it for the creative sake, its wonderful. You ability to express yourself so clearly in words and art is incredible!