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Thursday, January 16, 2020

The Art of Kim Novak

Last Sunday, the CBS Sunday Morning show aired a segment about Kim Novak and her rarely publicized hobby: painting. The beautiful actress - who is best known for her roles in Picnic ( 1955 ) and Vertigo ( 1958 ) - uses art to relax and to express herself. As she writes on her website, “I never dreamed of becoming an actress or a movie star. As a young girl I won two scholarships to the prestigious Chicago Art Institute where I hoped one day to become a great artist."

Ms. Novak left Hollywood in the late 1960s to focus on art and continues painting to this day, at the age of 86. Her work was recently part of a 2019 exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. The exhibit describes her work as "impressionistic and surrealistic, [having] a dynamic effect where surrealism meets traditional realism".

It was an interesting Sunday Morning clip ( you can view it here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-art-of-kim-novak/  ) and after watching it, I wanted to see more of her work. Fortunately, she shares many of her paintings on her website - https://www.kimnovakartist.com/ - along with verses that she wrote to go along with them. 

Her paintings have a Southern Californian air to them and flow in all directions, much like the tide hitting the sand upon a beach. They are bright and colorful and feature a lovely mixture of pastels and watercolor. Ms. Novak is a wonderful example of someone staying true to their first passion and following their dream.

All images were obtained from Kim Novak's website where prints can also be purchased.

The Magic of Music

Finding the Way Back Home
Transformation - Nelson Mandela
Vertigo - Vortex of Delusion
River Dancers
The Tides of Humanity
Self-Portrait

4 comments:

  1. Those are such beautiful pictures! I didn't know that she did this. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Artists impress me, and Kim's art has gone straight to my heart.

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  3. Those are beautiful! I loved seeing her art. I would not mind having one of those landscapes on my wall! Thanks for sharing this.

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  4. I really like some of her painting, especially the self-portrait at the end. It seems like a lot of actors turn to painting or sculpting after they retire.

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