Clara Kim’s colorful animals are drawn from childhood grief

Ottawa artist Clara Kim was born and raised in South Korea, where the loss of her mother at the age of 8 left her reeling. She lost her voice for 8 months. That time was when animals blunted her grief and became her closest friends, she says.

“My Dad helped me in a beautiful way by teaching me about animals and how to play with them and build friendships with them,” she said in an interview with Ottawa Life. Now, her paintings interpret animals of every type.

Her works are done by knife rather than a brush, drawing heavily on the oriental style, but creating a unique style unlike any other. She leverages a “scratching” technique on the paint, emulating the texture of ramie and hemp cloth, which Korean ancestors wore as summer clothes.

Clara Kim’s website, here

Her Instagram, here.

Image at top of post: The Most Important Thing, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48″ via Westland Gallery, here.

Image in the header: The World as You See it via Clara Kim’s website.