56
WBM
july 2022
art treatise
ONE intriguing thing about the work of artist
Kevin Bass is that he never sticks to one thing.
Each of Bass’s collections couldn’t be more
different than the next. In his series of textured
abstract landscapes entitled Primal, he uses a
mix of beach sand, mica, pumice and bright colors. In his series
called Obscure, he waters down paint so thin it becomes a stain
that he soaks into a stretched canvas layered with pale hues
using a pouring-paint method. His Journal series is loose and
interpretive on top of old notebook pages shimmering with a
diamond dust overlay. His new series is small paintings of pas-tures
featuring black Angus cattle inspired by a trip to Jackson
Hole, Wyoming.
“My friends are like, ‘OK, so you’re painting cows now, what’s
this?’” laughs Bass. “I just loved everything about Wyoming. I
thought, ‘I’ve got to do something with this.’ I use acrylic paint
mixed with a molding paste so it makes it thick when I apply it,
very tactile, and then I rake it through so all the colors bleed
together. It’s a very different look, a pretty interesting texture.”
imt uixpin g Artist Kevin Bass
explores the space
outside the lines
By Amanda Lisk
Artist Kevin Bass experiments with different media and
techniques in his varied collections. Untitled works from the
Western Wyoming series, above, left to right: 24 x 24 inches,
paint on aluminum cans; 24 x 18 inches, paint on torn paper.
COURTESY OF KEVIN BASS