November 1 2020
Kay Stratman is giving away her hand-painted ties!
A Note from Hope, founder, Inkandescent Radio: I had the honor of sitting next to Kay Stratman at a networking event in Washington, DC more than a decade ago. We struck up a conversation about her work as a fine artist who specializes in Asian brush painting. She also was selling garments from her line of hand-painted ties that she crafted with the same grace and savvy that she puts paint to canvas. Kay called her company Tie Tracks, and the cravats that featured paw prints of dogs, wild animals, leaves, and other inspirations found in nature were the talk of the town.
Fast forward to 2020. Today, Kay and her beloved husband Paul are residents of Wyoming. There, Kay shares her work at galleries and community events, streaming the act of painting as she talks to the folks that pass by her booth. It’s a sight to behold, for Kay practices a technique she calls: Controlled Spontaneity. “This dynamic contradiction is what originally drew me to Asian brush painting, an ancient art,” says Kay, noting she has since incorporated this approach into a style all her own, a mix of traditional technique and contemporary aesthetic.
About those ties: As for Tie Tracks, Kay put the collection in a big box that was sitting in her closet — until now. This fall she joined forces with Inkandescent™ Inc.‘s new online store where she is selling the 100 ties that remain. Not only that, but for every tie sold, she’s giving away one to a gentleman in need.
- Check out the Kay Stratman Collection in the InkandescentShop.com.
- Click here to learn why Kay is giving away ties!
- Click here to watch our video interview on Inkandescent.tv.
- Download and listen to our podcast interview now!
More about Fine Artist Kay Stratman: After graduating from college with a BA in Art, Kay spent 14 years at a commercial art studio in Minneapolis, MN but continued to search for her own artistic medium. In 1983, she met a “sumi-e” (Asian ink painting) artist and instantly knew she had found her visual voice. Asian paintings are simple in composition, yet full of harmony, balance and peace, all elements Kay seeks in her own life as well as in her artwork.
Kay’s paintings have since evolved and incorporated those ideas into a much more personal artistic thumbprint. Recent accomplishments are two “Best Wyoming Artist” awards at the annual Watercolor Wyoming national juried exhibit (2015 and 2018), and achieving “Signature Member” status of the Wyoming Watercolor Society, as well as acceptance into Women Artists of the West.
Her focus now is P’o Mo, (translated as “splash ink”), though an ancient Chinese technique, the results look contemporary. Materials used are bamboo-handled brushes, watercolors and gold or silver metallic covered “shikisihi” boards. Thickened watercolor is poured onto the surface and allowed to bleed, blend, then dry. Kay continues the painting by defining areas with brushwork to reveal a more recognizable image. The spontaneous look of P’o Mo disguises the skill required to master the difficult medium and its special tools.
Now, Kay applies a wide range of techniques honed by years of practice and experimentation to the subjects she loves in life: mountainscapes that surround her Wyoming home; cranes sailing across a sunset; a frog bathing in a marbleized pool; wide open wild spaces.
Kay’s paintings most certainly feel simultaneously contemporary yet timeless. Each one is signed with a unique chop, which is her signature and represents the Chinese saying: If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.”
