Kim Gulino
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By the time I was 18, I lived in 5 different homes in Connecticut (birthplace), Rhode Island, and North Carolina. After attending a small Ohio college, I transferred to Syracuse University in New York, graduating with a BFA in Illustration from their College of Visual and Performing Arts. My next home was New Jersey, where I worked in New York City, and began painting and dreaming of New Mexico. But those dreams waited through 2 more homes in Massachusetts as I raised my kid. Now finally, after retirement and all this rootlessness, I’m at the last stop. And out of steam…
Is it odd to be in this beautiful state and choose NOT to paint landscapes? I assume I couldn’t “capture it” in all its real life glory so instead…I’ll continue to paint figures. But maybe that’s not surprising considering my longstanding curiosity about our culture and collective behavior. Every painting begins with an idea and then a gathering of “visual clutter,” from all kinds of sources, for inspiration/references. While keeping aware of the landmines of appropriation, I’ll stylize images with a Pop Art “vibe,” which to me means…incorporating humor, texture, outlining, graphics, or odd juxtapositions similar to collage.