Soirsce Kastner

New Blog (Again)

2010-10-07T01:50:00.002+08:00

For those that missed this: I have a new blog, please visit http://soirsce.com/blog/

New Door County Design Studio

2009-05-31T11:56:00.003+08:00

Me and Ping are starting Ping Design, as local Door County web design studio, Graphic Design, and Photography.

Wu Zheng Ping is a qualified web designer and holds an Advertising and Commercial Design Degree from Shanghai University, his schooling also included radio and film advertisement directing.

He has more than six years of graphic and web design experience in E-marketing solutions and has received training in search engine optimization. His professional background includes work in one of the leading web design companies in Shanghai, China, "Protime Consulting," which services top-500 enterprises, such as Clinique, Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder, Sony and the like. He later started his own web design studio, "SGC Solutions," which serviced companies such as Shanghai Mitsubishi, China in Law, and Totole. Wu Zheng Ping's varied background in graphic design, photography and Adobe Photoshop provides the perfect foundation for web design.

Oh no...

2009-05-16T20:05:00.002+08:00

Looks like I may not be able to post for a while... China has blocked Blogger.com. (I'm using a proxy.)

*edit* OK, I have a new blog I can post on with out using a proxy! http://soirsce.com/blog/ go take a look!

Sad But True...

2009-05-11T13:13:00.005+08:00

My brother sent me this a few days ago, haha:

(in case those words are too small to read)

"I feel like I'm wasting all my life on the internet. Lets take a walk around the world."-guy #1

"Sounds good."-guy#2

"And yet all I can think is, 'This will make for a great *blogger* entry.'"-guy #1

Hangzhou 杭州

2009-04-17T12:45:00.011+08:00

(Photo: Xihu Lake)

I just got back from Hangzhou. Between the two of us I think we have over 3ooo photos... at least. Therefore it took me awhile to edit and re-size the choice ones! It was really fun even though we didn't get to go to all the places we wanted to. I had really wanted to go to the art academy in Hangzhou, oh well, next time!

We ended up going to Xihu lake (of course,) The Bamboo Hallway, Dragonwell and Green Tea fields and the Hu Xueyan Residence (which I found online, it was an awesome place! 胡雪岩, 上城区元宝街18号) The air was much more fresh than that of Shanghai, it was also gorgeous (65-75 degrees F) and sunny every day we were there which everyone says is very rare, Hangzhou is famous for its misty lake and mountains, which inspired many ancient Chinese poets and artists.

The food was also amazing, everything was cheap, very fresh and well cooked, Hangzhou's food is famous for being made with very few added spices so the natural flavors can really come through.

In the Bamboo Hallway we ended up climbing the mountain by accident, the signs in the Bamboo Hallway were not quite accurate, The sign said the "Temple of the God of Wealth" was up ahead. We kept going up and up and up for about an hour when we then saw a couple coming down the mountain and asked them "how much farther to the temple?" (in Chinese) they said "the stairs keep going up for about 2 more hours.... we give up" we gave up too...

The Bamboo Hallway.

Little did we know this was only the first bit of stairs...

The Bamboo Hallway entrance.

Green tea fields.

A peony in the park just off of Xihu lake.

Koi in the pound at the hu xueyan residence.

One of the gardens in the hu xueyan residence.

If you still want to see more of my Hangzhou pictures you can take a look at my flickr photo account, here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27292029@N02/sets/72157616738679172/

XinTianDi Again and Cats...

2009-03-11T14:21:00.010+08:00

新天地 (xīn tiān dì) is a very short walk from my apartment to if I just feel like taking a break and getting some exercise I love going there, its really pretty and even more so at night. As I have mentioned before it is a restored part of old Shanghai (link,) it is clean, beautifully lit, has a very pretty park and is full of police.

The other day we are walking through the park which is just starting to bloom with lots of cheery and magnolia blossoms, when Ping notices a cat... a very dirty but very cute white cat.

One thing I have learned about Wu Zheng Ping is that he really likes cats, especially cute fluffy white cats, which is exactly what this little kitty looked like. "Can we take him to my mom's house? He is way cuter than my cat aww" :D ... He really wanted to take it home, "If you take him home your mom is going to kill you O_o ... look at him he's fat, I'm sure he gets enough food and he is in the nicest part of the city" Oh well.... (No, we did not take it home,) I already have a bunny to deal with...

"Hey, look a cat... awww"

"mimi~ come here...

This was not a dumb cat, he knows exactly where he's going to get food (and he's adorable.) This park is full of cats. They hid in the bushes, and like to walk out over a small (closed off) bridge onto the island in the middle of the man-made-lake at the center of the park. Its actually very funny because on a sunny day you can see at least 20 cats sunbathing very comfortably knowing no human can get into the island.

"Can we take him home pleaseee? he's so cute~" oh no, dont touch it...

"Oh look..." oh no, here comes another one!

Future travel Plans: Hangzhou

2009-02-22T17:07:00.007+08:00

Not much to write except that I'm doing fine.

I wish it would warm up, its cold here and it rains a lot this time of year so the natural light is really horrible for painting or drawing, being right next to the sea will do that though...

My plans for next month is to spend some time in 杭州 (HangZhou), possibly the month after, it depends on the weather.

I've always wanted to go there! Its supposed to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, I hope it lives up to all the hype, everyone that has been there raves about it. Either way the pictures are amazing! Hangzhou is famous for many arts related things (including one of China's best art schools) and its longjin (dragon well) tea.

View Larger Map

I will post my own pictures on the bolg later.

Mmm... was that really a good idea?

2009-01-22T00:43:00.007+08:00

So I bought a bunny....

"Bobo" is a 30kuai mini-bunny I bought on the street in Shanghai. The guy that sold him(her) to me insisted it was a "special high price bunny" because it was very smart, I didn't believe him.... plus it was so small I could fit its whole body in the palm of my hand. It was extremely cute though...

Bobo has the magic ability to "escape" from any cage I try to put it in so I just let him(her?) run around my apartment most of the time.

This last one is the "full grown" version... those are apples in the bag for size reference.

20

2008-12-30T15:33:00.007+08:00

I just turned 20 on Dec. 28! Wu ZhengPing and his mom got me a Birthday cake. We stayed home and watched movies almost all day, I was sick...

(bleh) I look sick... so I am only putting up one picture.

Xīn tiān dì: "New Heaven and Earth"

2008-12-21T15:32:00.010+08:00

These are my photos of a recent walk around 新天地 (xīn tiān dì) a beautiful section of Shanghai, with many renovated 石库门 (shí kù mén) buildings.

Shí kù mén literally means "stone gate." They are a blend of traditional Chinese and old western style architecture. They can be found all over Shanghai as most of Shanghai's population lived in them during the early twentieth century.

Xīn tiān dì just has some particularly nice ones. It manly consists of book stores and shopping areas , cafes, restaurants, and Bars.

Xīn tiān dì is quite reminiscent of the atmosphere of old Shanghai.

Xintiandi literally means "New Heaven and Earth."

Xīn tiān dì has lots of narrow alley ways, all warmly light just like this one.

The main cafe, restaurant and Bar area.

Xi'tang

2008-11-23T22:13:00.017+08:00

Our trip to a small-ish town called Xi'tang.

The Shanghai Train Station at 9AM, which means we had to be awake by 7AM out of the house by 8AM. ugg.

Train cleaners.

And arriving in Jia'shan about 1 hour later.

After leaving the station we took a local "taxi", which means one of the many waiting cars, bikes, trucks, vans, real taxis and these weird half car things, they look like a normal car but only have 3 wheels. As soon as you some out they descend of you, everyone trying to get you to take their vehicle as the price drops lower and lower. We ended up going in the more expensive (25 Yuan = $3.50) from a nicer looking girl driver. The guys are more aggressive about getting you to take whatever they are driving and will actually follow you all the way to another car still trying to bargain. The trip was about 15min to Xi'tang from the train station in Jia'shan.

Xi'tang!

I did not know this is where they filmed a "Mission Impossible 3" scene. All the shop keepers got pictures with Tom Cruise, which they display in their shops.

We ate lunch at that corner restaurant.

Little old lady selling stinky tofu (yes, they call it that because it smells bad until cooked), she posed for us, really cute. I would not eat out of the container she cooked it in though....

Lunch.

Old couple that played an Er'hu and sang for us while we ate. They walk around and ask people for a few dollars to play, we gave them extra.

MIMI!~! there are at least 400 in this city I am sure...

I wanted to take them all home (all 400 of them?) but Wu Zheng Ping said no... (kidding, but they are cute!) Also all cats in China are named "Mimi", just thought you should know.

me.

Bunny in a very tiny cage hanging from a bike O_O I wanted to buy it...

One of the rivers that runs through Xi'tang.

These are everywhere.

Long one person hallway.

Can you tell I love these red lanterns?

At night we took a 25min ride on one of these.

Hand painted fan, we got to watch him start.

Wu Zheng Ping on the "Sun Bridge".

I thought it was pretty in the daylight, at night its even more beautiful! The red lanterns are all over lighting up the water.

We bought paper flowers to float down the River, they were only 1 or 2 yuan each.

Xi'tang at night.

The next day we walked down an old allyway, very pretty.

Great old Chinese house, we could have stayed here, (I wanted to.)

Bridge on the way in/out of Xi'tang.

Garden in Xi'tang.

When he took this off, his head stayed all wrinkled up, I am not kidding.

Subway on the way home. Its always like this.

Funny Chinglish sign close to the apartment.

Photos!

2008-11-09T22:45:00.003+08:00

Believe it or not, I never did this before!

Shanghai

2008-11-06T23:23:00.011+08:00

I love this city. There are so many interesting things to do and see, you could spend a lifetime here and not see everything.
So far I've gone to the Shanghai Museum, Small Animal Market, the Bund, XinTianDi, tried to find the Shanghai Flower Market (could not find it, apparently they move around frequently.)

I have managed to find everything I need for painting, the only thing I cant find is Gamblin oil paint, and if you know me thats the only kind I like to use. I am lucky enough have great north light to paint with, the only bad thing is it rains so much here its a little dark sometimes.
I have finished one portrait, and I am working on more. This one is of Wu ZhengPing.

I just got two beautiful Art books by contemporary Chinese oil painters. I looked all over the web and cant find anything about them but they are amazing, Liu Yuan Shou and Shen Sheng Qiu. Also not expensive at all, only 45RMB each (about $6.65.)

Next weekend me and Wu ZhengPing are going to a town called "Xi'tang." Its built above water, you either need to find a boat or a bridge to get around the city, its supposed to be absolutely gorgeous! At night they have little colored lanterns all over, hanging above the water. I will definitely take some pictures and put them up here.

Airports are hell

2008-10-21T13:46:00.012+08:00

I left the house at 1:30AM, my mom and grandma drove me to the Appleton airport to board the plane at 5:30AM, apparently you need to check-in 3 hours early for an international flight.
I almost missed my second flight because the first plane was a little late taking off and we ended up waiting (flying in circles) for another plane to land before us. The sunrise was beautiful though.
Atlanta airport was hellishly huge. I got lucky and noticed a subway type thing that just happened to be going to my gate, yes, the airport is actually so big they need a train(subway?) to get you from one end to the other fast enough. By some insane chance, the gate I landed at was at one end of the airport and the gate I needed to get to was completely at the opposite end of the airport and... only 20min to check-in to my flight.

However I did check-in with about 5min left. I was next to the-guy-that-talks-to-much and the crying baby but almost everyone was speaking Chinese so I was still happy.
14 hours on a plane didn't sound so bad somehow when I read it, now I never want to get on a plane again.
It wasn't even the sheer boredom, so much as the fact that I think I started to lose feeling in my legs after about 8 hours, and the fact that I still had 6 more hours to go made me want to cry (I didn't.)
I tried to sleep but only succeeded in actually falling asleep for about a total of 2 hours and only about 30min each time. Next time I'll bring more of my own food, I had changed my meals to vegetarian which ended up being totally ridiculous because all they did was take out the meat, no protein added. No wonder I was so tired!

Finally we landed. Pu Dong airport was surprisingly easy to get though even though it was mostly in Chinese, it was also beautiful, they had hanging plants all over. My luggage was the very last to come out.

I got out of the airport and it was very hot and humid, but at the end of the exit line was Wu Zheng Ping waiting and smiling.

*picture* Pudong airport, which is gorgeous.

Chicago

2008-10-02T11:28:00.011+08:00

I went to Chicago to get my Chinese visa, which was a lot of waiting but actually very simple.

*the Chinese consulate building through a rainy car window*

The next day I got to spend a few hours at the Art Institute of Chicago. I eventually made my way to the John S. Sargent paintings and got stuck, spending at least 20min at each one.

I was also shocked and amazed to learn that they allow cameras in the museum.

This is the sculpture gallery. It is amazing. I could spend all day in just these two galleries. However I did get to all the galleries that were open (some areas are under construction.)

And this is a Sargent painting. very different from anything I've seen in a book. I forgot the title, some kind of flower.

Poster

2008-09-26T08:49:00.002+08:00

The poster for the upcoming show:

2 weeks

2008-09-24T07:49:00.021+08:00

Well, I cant wait to get out of here. Only two weeks left and I'm just waiting on my visa. Why does everything to do with government take so long?

Anyway, now on to the better news.

I'm going early in order to attend the wedding of my boyfriend's cousin. And....

we found a GREAT apartment in Shanghai. Its a five minuet walk to Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, The People's Square and Shanghai Grand theatre and that is just whats within walking distance. Also the apartment is not horribly small, 2 rooms + kitchen, bath and a front hall.

One more thing that makes me happpy is that close by there is a street where every shop exclusively sells art supplies.

PAINTINGS NEXT AT UU GALLERY

2008-09-19T03:59:00.003+08:00

Soirsce Kastner – (Painting)

PORTRAITS, LIVING ART AND MYTHOLOGICAL PAINTINGS NEXT AT UU GALLERY (October 5-31)

EPHRAIM, WI - A youthful and inquisitively talented artist, Soirsce Moriarty Kastner credits Carol Sills for awakening her to reflective painting through "story telling." At the age of eleven she enrolled in a Sills class at the Peninsula Art School. The assignment was to "hear a folk story and then paint an artistic impression." From this early introduction to the concept of narrative painting, Soirsce continued to advance her knowledge and experience, taking adult-level painting and drawing classes there for several years.

As a home-schooled student, she had the early-on opportunity to pursue and complete three years of formal, studio training at the Kewaunee Academy of Fine Art beginning in 2005. Over the course of her study she eventually lived and worked in Kewaunee as a full time art student, focusing on representational painting under the direction of her well-known and accomplished mentor, Door County artist, Craig Blietz.

"I've always enjoyed drawing people and figures," she explains, "especially in capturing their emotional energy." She uses oils exclusively and paints in a style she describes as "impressionistic realism," confirming that she "has been highly influenced by several Russian and Chinese figurative painters, as well as by the works of J.W. Waterhouse, John Singer-Sargent and my mentor, Craig Blietz."

Recently, she added the Scandinavian mythological goddess, Idunn, to her canvas iconography and plans to include specific paintings of her in an upcoming October solo exhibition of her works at the Unitarian Universalist Gallery in Ephraim.

Soirsce's award-winning paintings and drawings have been displayed at the Miller Art Museum's annual High School Salon of Art where she won top honors all four years she exhibited. Her masterful life drawings led the way for high school student artists to display unclothed figure studies in this annual exhibition. Traditional figurative work has been included from that time forward.

Soirsce has shown and sold her representational art works in the Annual Guenzel Gallery, New Year's Gala. In June, 2008, she won a Juror's Award at the Francis Hardy Center for the Arts. Her work has also been featured at Barnsite Gallery in Kewaunee, at the Academy Gallery in Fish Creek and in the recent Kewaunee Academy of Fine Art Show at the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay.

She lives and paints at her studio in Fish Creek. Her name, Gaelic in origin, means "spiritual freedom" and currently reflects her plans to spend this winter living and painting in her studio in Shanghai, China. She speaks Mandarin and intends to pursue further studies of traditional Russian-influenced Chinese painting methods in China.

The public is invited to see an extensive collection of her work and attend an opening reception on Sunday, October 5 at the UU Gallery following services from 11 AM - 12:30 AM. You can also find out more and see her portfolio on-line at: Soirsce.com. The Gallery is open Mondays from 1 - 3 PM and on Sundays during and after services, located at 10341 Hwy. 42, in Ephraim. For more information about the UU Fellowship visit UUFDC.org. To learn more about upcoming shows or exhibiting art work, please call 920.839.2606.

Opening at the UU Gallery

2008-09-09T09:40:00.002+08:00

My show at the UU gallery will be hung on September 30th and the public is invited to an opening reception, with refreshments, on October 5. The reception will follow services at 11-12:30 a.m. Additional Gallery hours are on Mondays, 1-3 p.m., at 10341, Hwy. 42, Ephraim. For more information call 839-2606.

My Website

2008-09-08T09:17:00.003+08:00

I now have my official website up! (almost.)
Actually all I have at the moment is my main page, bio and awards sections finished, the rest will be up shortly.
Here is a link to the site http://soirsce.com/

PAS opening

2008-08-24T11:15:00.007+08:00

The opening at PAS went very well!
I am not completely sure how many people came but the turn out was great. Thanks to everyone that was able to come!
A majority of the artists came to help set up the show.
We spent three days "transforming" the youth barn (where they hold the children's classes,) into a presentable gallery space.
Here are the pictures I took after the opening ended.

Liang Zhu

2008-08-19T08:52:00.008+08:00

Here is something I sketched after hearing a great piece of classical music, which I liked enough to find more about it.

I wanted to know more about the composer so I looked online and I found a really great old Chinese story (of course) which is what inspired the music I liked so much. I swear nothing ever happens at random.
Its the story of Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai, or "the butterfly lovers". If you want to read the story here is a link to the wikipedia page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_Lovers
Maybe a painting next?

"12 Under 30"

2008-08-16T05:26:00.006+08:00

Opening reception August 22, 5-7:30PM @ the Peninsula Art School (youth barn)

	3900 County Rd F
	Fish Creek, WI.

I will have a number of paintings in the show along with 11 other artists.
There is also an article in the Friday edition of the Peninsula Pulse about the show. You can read this online at the Peninsula Pulse website: http://www.ppulse.com/Articles-c-2008-08-12-79227.113117_12_Artists_Under_30_on_Exhibit_at_Peninsula_School_of_Art.html

I have no idea what to name this..

2008-07-25T08:53:00.004+08:00

My newest painting.

I now know that the opening for the show at the Peninsula Art School is on August 22 at 5PM.

Demo

2008-07-23T11:16:00.010+08:00

I decided to do a demo of my latest painting, so I took pictures at random intervals while painting. Far too many people have asked me to do this, so here it is.

(click the image to see a larger version)

This is really rough, normally I don't think so much about the actual process I just start doing what I always do, which would be...

1. Start with a SIMPLE drawing (no eye balls, nostrils, fingers, toes, etc, etc.) and block in your darks. The darks should be done first so they are thiner and have a more transparent quality. (They will also be less muddy this way.) I don't ever use white in the darks, you end up with non-transparent darks and mud.

2. With a large brush add some of the back round mainly around the figure so it ends up thicker than the rest of the back round, that adds interest to the area you want people to look at most (in this case the girls face) Don't blend! ever!

3. Add the middle tones and more of the back round. Keep it simple and blocky, don't blend at all, just keep the values close and its will look softer. The middle tones will almost always have more color in them than any other place, because the lights are bleached and the darks absorb light (no light, no color.)

4. Work on the edges and lighter middle tones. You should always be working on edges but its easier after you have more paint on the canvas. Keep it simple, don't blend!!! You should still have blocky obvious transitions at this point.

5. I have added some lighter tones to make sure my values are correct, not every one will tell you to do this mainly because your more likely to get muddy lights areas. I also added the few "pure" black spots. More back round work, edges. At this point you can start to use smaller brushes, keep its big as long as possible, its easier to make corrections and see mistakes.

6. The rest of the middle tones, edges, back round, the middle tones of areas like the eyes and under the nose.

7. Finally, add the last touches like the darks around and in the eyes, more middle finishing tones, and unresolved edges. This is also when I normally add any sharp edges around the main area of interest.

(If you still want to see a bigger version I can email you the original photo, but be warned its huge and may take a while to download depending on the speed of your internet.)
My email is Soirsce@gmail.com

old painting

2008-07-21T05:19:00.006+08:00

I just found a painting I did when I was either 13 or 14 in a class with Craig Blietz.
I thought I would share it.

update

2008-07-20T12:33:00.006+08:00

I added a sideshow to the blog! (obviously.)
And in other news the show at the Unitarian church will not be until October. However I will probably have have a few paintings in a show at the Peninsula Art School in August (I'll give more details later. I don't even know myself yet)

Roses

2008-07-16T12:11:00.008+08:00

I'm on a roll with the flower studies I think. Here is my newest, Roses.

My show at the Unitarian church is apparently set for September.

Flowers

2008-07-14T12:13:00.004+08:00

I just finished a one day study of lilies, and I am working on another painting with my little brother Simon as the model.

Dragonfly

2008-06-16T07:48:00.005+08:00

This is a thumbnail of my dragonfly painting. I might work some more on it... maybe. (The quality of the photo is not that great) >_<

Art show at PAS?

2008-06-14T07:29:00.007+08:00

My studio at my dad's house is all set up and running!

I'm starting the first "serious" painting of the summer (of a dragonfly.)
I'm also working with Julia B. on getting a show in the Unitarian church gallery, no solid dates yet, (October or November?) Hopefully I'll still be here when it opens (as opposed to in China.)

I'm studying Chinese as much as I can (after work, before work, my days off while painting.) Some good news is I took a test the other day (Chinese language) and I scored as "intermediate", I've been stuck on "elementary" for way too long.

Zaijian~

Hardy Gallery's 46th Annual Juried Exhibit

2008-06-13T05:19:00.007+08:00

The painting I submitted to the Hardy Gallery's 46th Annual Juried Exhibit was not only juried into the show but also won a Jurors award!

First post!

2008-06-01T06:00:00.006+08:00

I started this blog so my friends and family can keep up with my activities this summer and when I'm in China this Fall.

So far this summer I have had my painting accepted into the Hardy gallery show this spring/summer.
I have been wanting/trying to get something into that show for a few years but always seem to miss the deadline or don't have anything ready.
This year I painted something two days before the deadline. It was still wet in the thicker parts (oops)