Give-away winners /  by kimcogan

Thank you to all who replied to my post. I deeply appreciate everyone who wrote in and really am enjoying reading all the stories. We have 3 lucky winners who were the first to respond to my post. They will receive the last of my 2009 catalogs, brochures, and a few promo cards from some past shows. To everyone else who responded today: I appreciate your efforts and you were so close, so I am going to find a little something to send over anyways.

Dee Dee from Oakland, CA -

First I saw your work at John Colins about 5-6 years ago and fell in love. The atmosphere that huge piece created was almost physical, esp. in the dark red brick space of the bar. I asked the barkeep whose work it was and how much he paid for it. (He wouldn't say). One of my art fantasies is to have a giant Cogan cityscape over my couch. It reminds me of those early days after moving to sf, pubcrawling, discovering, thinking, growing up...

Jerarde from Richmond, CA -

My first profound experience as an artist was when I was 15. I interned with Muralist John Wherle to paint a mural. Being a poor kid from the ghetto it was a profound experience. John talked to me like an adult and gave me the confidence to pursue art. We remain friends 15 years later and I am a board member of the Richmond Art Center- the same art center that hooked me up with John and gave me a chance. I now work with the art center to make art accessible to people without the resources.

Michael from Austin, TX -

I will focus on an experience I had with art. It is back in 2006 when I was about to move from San Francisco to Austin, leaving after 10 years with wonderful memories and a ton of good friends. A bunch of us met up at the Jon Collins bar, strangely enough, a bar I had never visited in my 10 years living there. I was having a hard time saying good bye to everyone and the city that I loved. It was then that I saw one of your paintings hanging on the wall. To me it had a dramatic impact because it somehow captured a feeling I had for the city, and it also blew me away from a artistic and technical standpoint. It was a beautiful and captivating view/image of the city that I had never seen before and got me to hunt you down, inquire about the painting and then start to follow your career. I'm amazed by your work and know you will continue to grow and impress.

If you are ever in SF and want to see one of my paintings in person, stop by John Colins.

A Decade: Past To Present /  by kimcogan


2009 Inside Out, Hespe Gallery.

After over 10 years of working as an artist, I've realized times have changed, so I've decided to share briefly some events and thoughts of the development of my career that I deem to be noteworthy -

10 years ago I was freshly finished with school, eager and very hungry to make a living creating art full time. Before the sophistication of the internet, an artist relied upon a solid portfolio of slides of their best artwork. I scraped all my hard earned pennies in order to hire professional photographers to shoot the highest quality images to record all of the artworks I have created. I went to the best in San Francisco, Almac Camera. I can't keep count of the number of slides I have, or remember how many portfolios of these I created, nor can I recall the last time I used such to submit to a gallery. Regardless it has the standard way to submit your artwork for years.

I have always been skeptical about whether or not tiny 35mm slides did any justice to the artwork. What are the chances that you could get your portfolio of slides in the hands of the director, who had to have excellent eye vision, and that he or she would view the image facing correctly forward and right side up, and would actually spend the time of the day to squint and review all the micro sized images? Over and over I submitted my slides for review and would always include a SASE for return. After all these portfolios were time consuming to make, and I made with great care, and they were not at all cheap. So, if not returned, where the hell did my slides end up?



I may never know. Now, the convenience of my website replaces those portfolios of slides. My slide duplicates are kept for my records and are tucked away safely. And as for the rest of them, it remains a mystery. It is sad for me to think there is a whole generation that will never experience slides, cold calls, mailings, fax machines and all the rest of fun grunt work that is involved when you are self employed.





Persistence eventually paid off, as well as making a switch from 35mm to a large format slide. A tattoo parlor expressed interest in my artwork and showcased it. All of my friends and family came out to the opening and I even sold a painting or two which was a sure sign of success, but far from reassuring that I could make a living painting full time. Here is a card from one of my very first shows.



I met an art consultant in 2003. At the time, I was departing from painting a typical genre; landscapes, still lifes, figures, and portraits. Instead, I wanted to paint scenes of the surrounding city, a subject that was personal and meaningful. The art consultant advised me to immediately stop the painting of moody bleak cityscapes which were "unfavorable" and "unmarketable", and to paint happy little still lifes, brightly primary colored baskets of fruit and flowers. If I were to do so in less than a year they promised me a career painting full time. Well, after some thought I quickly realized that I would be miserably slaving away painting lame little still lifes to barely make ends meet, with "happy" the farthest thought from mind. Aw HELL NO!! Needless to say that was the last consulting on art I received from the art consultant.

Many galleries have closed the door when I came around knocking. However in 2005 I was offered an opportunity to show at one of the hottest spots for art in San Francisco, 111 Minna. This show was immensely important for it was a turning point and truly put my artwork and every feat to test if I were to sink or swim. I scraped by and made it happen. The show was a success and opened many doors.



A very big step for me was in 2007 when I began working in Gallery Henoch, NYC. It was very humbling to be included amongst so many great talented artists and to put it simply an employee, Gli157 said to me, "I have made it to the big leagues". Although that statement holds a lot of truth, I never stopped to give it much thought since after all I am still faced with the challenge of creating an image on a blank canvas.

2008 Premiere NYC exhibition, Gallery Henoch.

Since 10 years is so monumental and because I wanted to kick off the holiday season, I have decided to do a give-away. The first 3 people to send an email w/ following information will receive a prize in the mail (Hint: it is in this posting, and is not a painting or a print), from me to you. Send an email and include -

1. your name

2. mailing address

3. a brief statement about one of your first memories or experiences with art and how it influenced or had an impact on you.

Art Calender November 2010 /  by kimcogan





I am featured in Art Calender, November 2010 issue.
This is the 1st time ever my artwork has been featured on the cover, and I am honored they chose to feature my artwork. Pick up a copy at your local news stand or order from the Art Calender website. Since this is a special occasion, I created a slide show of a few old photos from 2008 which show the process of the painting Grocery At Dusk.

Next month - Giveaway ~ stay tuned.

SF Fine Art Fair /  by kimcogan



SF Fine Art Fair
Modern & Contemporary Art.

May 21 - May 23, 2010.

Festival Pavilion
Fort Mason Center
San Francisco, CA

Opening Preview, Thursday, May 20th, 2009.

Until now, it has been almost 10 years since San Francisco has had a major fine art fair. If you love art, now is your chance to see 70+ worldwide renowned galleries showcasing their very best selection of artworks at one location.

I will be participating with Hespe Gallery in San Francisco Fine Art Fair. For more information about the paintings, please contact info@hespe.com.

Hespe Gallery

251 Post Street, Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94108
tel: 415.776.5918
email: info@hespe.com
www.hespe.com


Last Chapter
44" X 50"
oil on canvas

Big deal /  by kimcogan

It is a good idea to build and prepare your own surfaces to ensure quality. Any artwork large scale that does not fit through a door/staircase, it's a given you will have to re stretch a canvas. Here is a brief step by step DIY with basically what is involved stretching or re stretching a canvas.













Some essentials.



When stretching a canvas, I start stretching with this triangular pattern. This method stretches the canvas and distributes the tension evenly, firmly and balanced. The same pattern is repeated gradually working around and out to the corners.

After stretching, if there is any slack in the canvas, I will spray the back lightly with a mist of water and let it dry. If this isn't effective and there are big pockets then I might have to re tighten individual secures.

The excess canvas is secured in the back so that the canvas sits flush on a wall and the corners are tucked and folded and secured like wrapping a gift. All is good to go and ready for hanging.



Art Chicago /  by kimcogan



Art Chicago
International Fair of Contemporary and Modern Art.
The Merchandise Mart, April 30 - May 3rd, 2010.

Opening Preview, Thursday, April 29th.

I will be participating with Hespe Gallery in Art Chicago. For more information about the paintings, please contact info@hespe.com.

Hespe Gallery

251 Post Street, Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94108
tel: 415.776.5918
email: info@hespe.com
www.hespe.com

2nd round /  by kimcogan

These are earlier ocean scenes I painted. I put them aside for a while and later reworked areas. They look much better now than before.



Wave no. 6
24" X 36"
oil on wood panel



Kelly's Cove
30" X 42"
oil on canvas



For those of you who are not familiar with this location, this isn't a snow capped mountain but local spot for seagulls and other marine wildlife.

Waves /  by kimcogan



Wave no.7
16" X 20"
oil on canvas

In between shows, I enjoy taking the freedom and time to explore ideas in paintings and turn to the outside for inspiration. Most recently, waves have been my muse. I have been very captivated by the energy of the ocean, free and wild. How can I capture and convey the hypnotic rhythms of the sea through painting?

It has been very challenging and is a very different approach for me to work with fluid shapes that twist and contort after working with structures for so long, which are angular and rigid. Instead of working with quadrilateral canvases, I have been composing on ovals. It opens the doors for new possibilities and makes me rethink what knowledge and approach I have about composition and technique.

This painting is the 7th wave painting I have worked on and am finally getting some desired results, the previous others have been put to rest. I don't know where this search of subject will lead to, but so far the journey has been refreshing, somewhat like having a cold drink on a hot day.

I've added the process of the painting to my website, last section on the menu.

LA Art Show /  by kimcogan



15th Annual Los Angeles Art Show, LA Convention Center, January 20 – 24, 2010.

A few of my paintings will be shown at the LA Art Show with Sue Greenwood Fine Art (Booth G188). For more information about the artworks, please contact info@suegreenwoodfineart.com.

Sue Greenwood Fine Art
330 North Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949.494.0669
info@suegreenwoodfineart.com
suegreenwoodfineart.com


T.L. Rooftops
24" X 36"
oil on canvas