Louisa Pyle Kirk, Mixed Media Studio Artist                                                               By Bethany Hallas

Walking into Louisa Pyle Kirk’s studio space is a large assortment of portraits with large, inquisitive eyes and simplistic faces, a subject of interest to her, that draws the viewer in under the surface of their complex identities. It is these paintings that launched our discussion of art, its influences, and the familiar.
Born and raised in South Carolina, Louisa has seen Greenville’s landscape change from abandoned buildings, to an increasingly popular and thriving area. Her favorite part of this change, however, is the growing art presence taking place.
At an early age, Louisa had an expressed interest in art and loved the freedom she felt creating with her hands. In her youth, she enjoyed crafting with paper cache, and throwing pots, (the latter a venture she hopes to explore again someday). For college, Louisa stayed in her native state of South Carolina, attending the College of Charleston as an art major. However, as she put it, “I lacked the confidence to stick with art” and faced with her families’ concerns the major would leave her a starving artist, Louisa switched majors every year after, finally completing with a degree in economics. Post college, Louisa got into social work, spending the next several years in the corporate world. And while she didn’t find it to be an enjoyable field, she did find it to be rich with influences and experiences that have since contributed to the life and body of her paintings.

–Process deep dive
The first step to each painting is a layer of red paint. It is the signature backdrop to each portrait created and an essential part of the ambience. But prior to this comes a test run, a step Louisa “learned the hard way” to always incorporate of creating a small monochromatic test painting to determine her values and visualize the portraits large-scale potential. Her medium of choice is fluid acrylic, valued for its flexible dry time and smooth application. For curiosity’s sake, tools including painted newspapers, stencil sheets, and on occasion, carved out foam board to create a layered texture to her work are utilized. As Louisa puts it, “you’re not trying to paint the details,” at least not in the traditional sense. There is much for the eye to hone in on; less so with painted flecks of callouses on skin and more on textured layers and the materials at play. 

-Highlight work and significance
While it is difficult for Louisa to pinpoint a favorite painting, one that comes to mind depicts a young girl whose face is prominent in the red, textured painting. It’s back at her apartment, and is a self-portrait, perhaps unintentionally so. She loves painting faces, wanting to capture people in a more abstract medium, an interesting move in leu of her corporate years surrounded by countless faces on a routine basis. Memorizing details to each face is difficult to absorb, the multitude of them blurring together and becoming abstract. In Louisa’s paintings, each portrait often starts out as an enigma, slowly morphing into someone she’s known whether a family member or friend. While the theme of portraits is continuous, each painting takes on a life of its own, each original and distinct. And yet, their meaning is ambiguous, filled in by the perceptions and narratives of the beholder.

-Your favorite color?
“Green.”-Biggest influences?
“Pablo Picasso and abstract expressionist.”

Louisa continues to learn as an artist, pushing the boundaries of her mediums capacities by incorporating new elements, including newspapers, foam board, and stencil sheets, all mixed with fluid acrylic paint to create something new. This creativity is all the more compelling since the loss of her husband, a man whose unexpected passing is keenly felt. Life was taken, and while Louisa works to get back in the swing of her process after taking an extended period off, she has a newfound channel to pump into new portraits.
Over the years that Louisa has known GCCA, the artists present have been key mentors and teachers, supporting her, challenging her, and offering invaluable critique from the classes she has taken. Here at GCCA, Louisa has come to better understand what makes a painting work, and the process behind it.Looking ahead, Louisa would like to take a poetry class as it is a strong area of interest and creative exploration for her.

-A word of advice to aspiring artists?
“Don’t give up, keep trying and know that personal growth helps you use your art.”