Sunday, September 2, 2007

What KT Did Next # 349: The Canvas Wrecking Years

Not content with crafting the Emma Boylan series of novels with consummate ease (the latest, The Cat Trap, is released by Robert Hale on October 30), KT McCaffrey (right, in full-on ‘moody self-portrait’ mode) is something of a dabbler in the dark art of canvas wrecking. His brand spanking new interweb page thingy carries the usual news ‘n’ updates, but also a selection of his visual work. KT? What have the innocent little canvases ever done to you, huh?
“When I write, I try to create images in words, but when I paint I take the more direct route. I find that the two art forms provide me with the perfect combination to stimulate the creative juices – if I need a break from writing, I move to the easel; when the layers of paint need time to dry, I return to the keyboard. My wife Mary has a more profound take on my two disciplines, she says – it keeps me from underneath her feet in the house. Nothing like feeling grounded.”
And there you have it. Check it out, folks – the oil portrait of Ken Bruen as Sam Spade is worth the price of admission alone. Especially as there’s no admission price.

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Declan Burke has published a number of novels, the most recent of which is ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL. As a journalist and critic, he writes and broadcasts on books and film for a variety of media outlets, including the Irish Times, RTE, the Irish Examiner and the Sunday Independent. He has an unfortunate habit of speaking about himself in the third person. All views expressed here are his own and are very likely to be contrary.