Date: Fri 19-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-9

Quick Words:

Kit-Thompson-artist-masks

Full Text:

(feature on artist Kit Thompson, 1/19/96)

Kit Thompson: An Artist Unmasked

(with photos)

By Shannon Hicks

It took Kit Thompson a long time to find his direction in life, but once he

did everything locked into place.

Thompson, a Ridgefield-based artist, is about to be featured in a solo show

that will bring more exposure for his cultural and theatrical mask paintings,

as well as his works with a Southwestern influence that have already created

an enthusiastic following.

"Basically I'm a Southwestern artist," he says. Kit Thompson was the first

artist to be featured at the Santa Fe Room in Kent when it opened in 1994, and

he got his start working at Saga in Brookfield. When he moved back to

Connecticut after spending time on the West Coast for a few years, Kit took a

job at Saga that eventually led to his current occupation as an artist.

His studio is a large side room of his Ridgefield home. The natural light

pouring in from the three walls of windows during the day gives the artist

great light to work with during the day, and there is a lot of space to work

in.

A table facing the back wall is covered with gourds, which he decorates to

look like pieces of pottery following a tradition set by Indians (all his

life, Kit Thompson has been fascinated with and interested in Indian culture);

four slat-back chairs he has painted in a bright, almost tiger-spot pattern in

vibrant yellows and greens, are situated in the middle of a large doorway; and

in the area facing the front windows are the stacks of paintings Kit is

readying for a show he has opening next weekend in New Milford. The show, with

nearly 30 acrylics on canvas depicting cultural and theatrical masks, is

entitled "About Face: The Art of the Mask."

Kit Thompson has always been interested in masks. He uses acrylics on canvas

rather than oil because today's formulas can produce the bright colors that

only working in oil has traditionally been able to achieve. The new acrylics

still dry quickly, as traditional acrylics have, so artists can paint with the

speed they are accustomed to, rather than having to wait for their works to

dry before proceeding with changes as is usually the case with oil painting.

The masks Kit has been working on lately are cultural masks, many with a

Northwestern Kwakiutl - an Alaskan tribe that pre-dates to the Orient -

influence or Bali, Indonesian masks, or spiritual, ceremonial masks or

theatrical masks.

The theatrical masks are mostly based on Oriental tradition, though he also

paints early Grecian, Italian and 17th Century theatre masks.

"[Oriental] theatre goes back more than any theatre in the world, about 20,000

years," the artist says. Kit has also painted masks from ancient Greece, masks

that were made of marble with large hollow mouths and eyes.

"The reason they made them out of marble, for the amphitheatres ... [the

sound] would resonate inside of there, because they had these huge, open air

theatres," he explained. "I was more or less interested in the Indian-type

masks, because that was what I have always done.

"But when we decided to go with the whole world-wide mask theme for this show,

I found out a lot of interesting things," Kit said last week, walking through

his studio and pointing out paintings for the upcoming show.

Even though he has always found the most creative masks in the world to be

those produced by the Northwest Indian tribes of the United States, Kit also

paints contemporary stage masks. He has done a few African masks, as well as

hand-held puppets from the Japanese No period.

To gain access to the original masks, Kit spends a lot of time at museums

taking photographs or drawing sketches. There are also books with depictions

of theatre masks he can work from, and he has spent time working with theatre

groups to sketch their masks.

Two years ago, Kit began working on murals, his latest passion. After getting

a foot-hold with working in restaurants, Kit has created interior murals for

Gabriela's restaurant in New York City and a gym in the Branchville section of

Ridgefield. He has also done full walls for the Mother Earth Gallery in

Brookfield, a store and gallery which houses a "mining shaft" for children.

Kit created a mural to make the entrance look like a desert setting with a

mine entrance.

One of his largest murals, for a tomato factory in New Jersey, was 18 feet

long. Kit works on sections of canvas, painting the mural in pieces, and the

mural can then be unrolled on-site and applied similar to wallpaper.

Working on murals is the direction Kit plans on taking his work "when the snow

melts."

Taking Time To

Find The Right Niche

Born in New York, Kit Thompson then spent nearly 15 years in New Jersey before

moving to Danbury and finishing high school. After graduation, he moved to

California where, he says, he spent his college years and "most of my life."

In 1991, Kit came back to Connecticut for his high school reunion. He never

went back to California, and it was at this point Kit began to find his

artistic niche. He sub-minored in college in art and has been drawing and

painting his entire life, but Kit does not consider himself formally educated

in art. Instead, he has done a lot of research on his own and his techniques

are self-taught.

Kit works in acrylics, sometimes going over works with oil, but, he says, he

is "totally lost in oil... it's like trying to swim in sand sometimes!"

When he moved back to Connecticut, Kit began working at Saga in Brookfield

with Richard Erlanger. He also joined a number of local art leagues and

guilds, not knowing where else to look in order to make contacts in the area,

but has since taken more of an interest in representing himself.

When he saw how huge the demand for Southwestern art is in this area, Kit -

who never stopped painting and drawing on his own - decided that would be his

area to specialize in. He began painting everything from jackets and skirts

and pants with Southwestern designs to paintings of all sizes.

"It was unbelievable," he said. "Here in New England, the demand for

Southwestern art." He starting hanging some of his works on the walls at Saga

and, he says, "they sold like crazy."

Kit is lucky in that most of his works sell almost immediately after they are

put on view. And like most other artists, he does have a dry spell or two in

his past.

About two and a half years ago he stopped painting for nearly four months.

"I just quit," he said. It took a little bit of time before the feeling of

wanting to work came back, but when it did, Kit's inspiration returned just as

quickly as it had left. The resulting paintings, he says, "were probably the

best I've ever done." All of the new works sold within 24 hours of being hung

at Saga.

Happy with the way his paintings come out, Kit does not allow himself to

become emotionally attached to any of them. Rather, he likes the idea of

having his work hanging in other people's homes, so his studio - aside from

the current series of mask works he is preparing for the late-January opening

- is nearly bereft of much of his back catalogue.

Sitting in the living area of his Ridgefield home, an inviting room with a

worn, comfortable sitting area, a carousel horse nearly hidden behind the

couch and a large carved totem pole-style bird near one of the windows, Kit

reflected on his luck in finding his direction.

"Up until about five years ago, I would paint as a side line," he said. "I did

other jobs simply for work, to make a living. Now [art is] my primary work.

Now I paint day and night...

"I've always known, deep down, I would be a writer or an artist."