MERRY CHRISTMAS Art!

Christmas Kitty

18" x 24"
2007
Acrylic wash & colored pencilFlying Santa

18" x 24"
Pencil

Santa's Visit

24" x 18"
Pencil

Three Wise Men

18" x 24"
Pencil

The Prophet

18" x 24"
Pencil

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I am always at my most inspired during October and the days leading up to All Hallow's Eve. The days get chillier, the nights longer, the winds rustle the dry leaves and everything becomes a little spookier. Over the years I have created many Halloween-inspired drawings. These are all done in pencil and are all approximately 18" x 24". Enjoy!"Pumpkin Moon"

"Trick Or Treat"

"Fortune Teller"

"Three Witches"

"Skeletons"
This one is a "Day of the Dead" tribute to my grandparents. In this drawing they are surrounded by the things they loved in life: my grandmother by her baking and knitting; my grandfather by his garden and his pipe.

"Ol' Scratch"

"So Bored"

Poor little rich harem girl...so bored!

"So Bored"
2007
24" x 18"
Acrylic wash and colored pencil

"Debutantes"

I love to people watch. Sometimes I get ideas for art that way.
This is a drawing from an actual scene at a lesbian bar in the 80s.

Both girls were high femme and dancing cheek to cheek!
This drawing was used as the cover of a music and arts weekly in SF called SF Weekly.

"Debutantes"
1983
22" x 32"
Pencil

Cinco De Mayo

This is a drawing I did several years ago based on my experiences at a bar in San Francisco called El Rio. Every Sunday afternoon - Spring, Summer and Fall - they have live salsa music on the back patio. Every kind of person dances there: young, old, Black, White, Brown, gay, straight, rich and poor, good dancers and bad! It's one of the great places in SF. Check them out HERE.

"El Rio Dancers"
2001
Pencil

"Crazy Lady in the Purple House"

I knew a woman who lived in a purple house in a bad neighborhood.
Between her work, which kept her home a lot, and the danger of the neighborhood,
she left the house only rarely. One day she said she was afraid her neighbors would
start thinking of her as the "crazy lady who lived in the purple house".
I drew this picture from that image.

"Crazy Lady in the Purple House"
2007
18" x 24"
Acrylic wash and colored pencil

Full Fish Moon

April's Full Moon has three names:

Full Fish Moon, Full Sprouting Grass Moon and Full Egg Moon.
So as part of my ongoing series of Full Moon drawings, I incorporated all three images into this piece.

Full Fish Moon
2008
18" x 24"
Colored pencil and acrylic wash

"Hippie Chick Serenades the Moon"

"Hippie Chick Serenades the Moon" 2008 Colored pencil and acrylic wash 24" x 18"

"Chanteuse"

One of my favorite subjects to draw is the American cabaret singer...this one with the piano accompanist and a lonely, crying saxophone too...

"Chanteuse"
2008
18" x 24"
Pencil

April Fool's Day

The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.

Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them.

Happy Easter

Even though he isn't the Easter Bunny - he's the rabbit from Alice In Wonderland - he's still a rabbit and therefore good enough for this day, I say!

"I'm Late"
18" x 24"
Pencil

Full Crow Moon

A few years ago I learned that Native Americans had a special name for each month's full moon. Ever since then I've had the idea to create a drawing for each one. The names are evocative yet simple. And I love almost all moon imagery anyway. So here is my first entry for March's full moon on the 21st. It's called Full Crow Moon. It is 18" x 24" and is drawn with a simple 6B pencil.

Belly Dancing & The Hoochie Coochie Dance

These are some of my drawings about belly dancing and harem girls. Besides the mystery and historic "color" of this subject, I love the art of belly dancing because I think it shows off the female body in it's fullness and roundness. We Americans aren't comfortable with full, round female bodies - even though that is what we are becoming surrounded by more and more - let alone sexually powerful females!
There was a time when a full figure meant wealth and so full-figured gals were prized. Since food became so plentiful in our country in the mid-twentieth century, thinness and even skinniness became valued more than curves.
There is a movement now to change this attitude, propelled by the pride that African-American women and Latina-Americans have in their curves. And more and more men are coming out to speak their minds on the subject too - they like those curves.
When you see a real belly dancer, she will not be thin! And once you see her dance, you will have a new respect for it as an art form with an athlete's use of muscle and movement.
In America belly dancing has unfortunately become thought of as a form of stripping. This kind of dance was seen for the first time here at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, which was celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus' "discovery" of the New World. Animals and human acts were brought from around the world for the entertainment of the fair-goers. Women from the Middle East in pantaloons and loose blouses dancing to odd never-before-heard music and undulating their abdominal muscles were a scandalous sensation. This was a time when American women didn't dare show an ankle or leave the house without wearing rib-crushing corsets.
Belly dancing became known as "hoochy-coochy" dancing and was incorporated into vaudeville shows and spread across the country, usually as bawdy stripping rather than artistic entertainment.
One of the most historic tales of belly dancing is the story of Salome and John the Baptist in the Bible. The story goes like this: A woman named Herodias had an affair with her uncle, Herod Antipas. They eventually divorced their spouses to marry each other. John the Baptist spoke out against this not only because of the divorce but also because it was an incestuous affair. Herod Antipas put John the Baptist in jail but didn't have him killed because he feared reprisals by the masses who considered him a prophet.
Herodias had a daughter from her first marriage named Salome. At a birthday celebration for Herod, Salome danced for him, his lords and commanders. He was so pleased with her dance that he promised to give her whatever she asked for. She said "bring me the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter". He did so and the rest is history.
Here is a great website to find out more about belly dancing and to hear music, see videos etc. www.shira.net

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I know this is a little early, but once
St. Patrick's Day is here, can Spring be far behind? Celebrate!

This is an original by me, as is most of the art on this blog.
18" x 24" acrylic and colored pencil. The black background is computerization, not the original drawing.

Cowgirls

One of my favorite things in the world is dancing - especially Country Western dancing. If you've never tried it, don't knock it. It is great fun and harder than it looks. I drew these pictures from two of the many scenes at an bar called the Rawhide in San Francisco. It isnt there anymore but it was a blast.

And my favorite country singer is George Strait. So enjoy!

Full Snow Moon

Every month's full moon has a different name. I only recently learned this. February's is the Full Snow Moon or Full Hunger Moon. Either name brings up imagery of the long dark winter...freezing settlers and Native Americans....people who's Fall harvests are starting to run low and for whom the fight to survive until Spring becomes the only focus....
I love moon imagery and folklore. That is one of the reasons I was so attracted to Joseph Cornell's work - he summons up lunar associations with white marbles against the deep blue of a night sky twinkling with glitter - oh, and owls.......the night must have owls and other mysteries! Read on to learn a little more about Joseph Cornell's art.

On the subject of sexy...

Here is an old drawing I found...on the subject of sex...or sexy...or lesbian sex...or whatever!
I think the look of the shapes - the shadows and light - the volume and heft of the bodies - is what makes this so sexy.
You know exactly what they are doing.... and saying...to each other. Don't you?

What is Sexy?

People often tell me my mosaic nudes are sexy. Since they are basically glass and wood, I always wonder what creates that reaction in people...that feeling.
What is sexy? In humans, is it the way a person looks to us physically? Information we take in with our eyes only? The musculature...the eyes.....shoulders....hips...thighs...and, for some people, feet or hair or other things we won't get into here! Or is it the energy that emanates from the person as a whole? Are dangerous people sexier to us than "nice" people? What does "sexy" mean in that instance then? To be able to look but not touch? An object of unrequited desire? I am just ruminating here because I dont know....do YOU?


I love the old pinup girl art from the 30's and 40's. I think they are sexy because of the voluptuous feeling created by the airbrush technique...and the fact that a lot is left to the imagination, I guess. The strange thing is, I even think Jeeps, horses and tugboats are sexy, so go figure!

Happy Valentine's Day

Check out my website
www.kimlarsonart.com
and my Flickr page:
Kim Larson Art
to see more!