Taunzer McKim is inspired by movement.
Movement has defined Taunzer McKim’s life as well as her art.
A painter who dances to find visual inspiration, a dancer who works sinuous swirls into her three-dimensional canvases, a latter-day liveaboard relocated from Colorado, McKim hangs “Dancing Winds Portals,” her first major Northwest exhibit, at Winslow Way Cafe through April.
“’Portal’ is windows in my life,” she said. “It’s a window reflecting what I’m going through spiritually, moving from one space into another space.”
McKim, who earned a bachelor of fine arts from Southern Oregon State College in 1988, moved to Colorado and became known there for her realistic renderings from photographs. While the work was well-received, she became dissatisfied.
“People were used to seeing my pastel portraits that were very photographic,” she said. “Painting started to become meaningless. I realized I needed a reason for what I was doing other than trying to duplicate a photograph.”
Classes in collage pointed McKim toward canvases with three-dimensional elements. She began to build up forms using thick gesso, the medium painters usually use in thin coats to prime a canvas. She began to add objects to the picture plane.
The first image that would become the Portal series featured a free interpretation of a self-portrait, “Dancing Girl.”
“I decided she had this energy and there was something more,” she said. “She’s like my inner spirit dancing freely. I realized the importance of dance for me, and that it could be healing in a larger sense.”
The painting of a girl dancing with other species as equals was not, she says, appreciated in Colorado. At the same time, a friend from Bainbridge who was a liveaboard suggested that she ought to return to the Northwest and drop anchor here.
Portal II, “Releasing the Bird of Paradise on a Wing and a Prayer,” reflects her decision to leave Colorado and chronicles a real-life event.
A bird McKim had rescued from a farm cat flew from her cupped hands – straight into the white canvas waiting for paint, and then out the door. The three-dimensional painting features a female figure, a stand-in for the artist dancing with a larger-than-life-size bird.
In late 2005, McKim bought a sailboat and anchored in Eagle Harbor. Although coming here alone was daunting, McKim was soon exploring island trails and beaches with her dog.
Her more recent Portals have featured fish, crabs, whales and seals. As she has advanced to “Portal V” and “Portal VI,” her work process has become more assured.
Before painting, McKim says, she looks to the blank canvas to see what wants to emerge. She may dance, because that movement opens the door to creativity, and “dancing is what brings out more of a connection spiritually.”
McKim lays the backing for the painting flat on the floor to pour down gallons of gesso, which takes several weeks to dry. She shapes the thick medium with a variety of tools and adds objects as varied as crab claws and peacock feathers to enhance the menagerie, which, in “Portal IV” featured birds and in “Portal V” showcased underwater life.
“I’m happy with these,” McKim said. “I’m excited about starting ‘Portal VI.’ It’s something I want to continue, the message about how important the circle of life is. We need to be conscious of all life around us and dance with the circle of life in a conscious way, to heal and protect all.” For more information on her work visit: www.bainbridgeisland.org/dancingwinds
