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A Smell of Soil at Earth Tone Gallery
“Soil used as a material of art is nothing new. Appearing in old school paintings, this natural medium remains charmful and inspirational for applying this traditional technique atelier to contemporary paintings.”
Soil has been used for creating sculpture and paintings since ancient times. The mural paintings in Bhumin temple in Nan province, Wat Yai Suwannaram in Petchburi province and many others inspired Sompot Kunanukun, a talented artist from Chiangmai and the newcomer of AIR (Artists in Residence) on 3rd floor to promote the concept to Create, Share, Teach, Learn.
His gallery is called Earth Tone with serene atmosphere because of natural pigments and dim light well combined with earth tone paintings. Sompot studied basics of art from Silpakorn University and Chiangmai University, but he started experimenting with soil 6-7 years ago after using soil and coffee grounds. He explained “Soil used as a material of art is nothing new. Appearing in old school paintings, this natural medium remains charmful and inspirational for applying this traditional technique atelier to contemporary paintings.”
From earth to art
His Earth Tone gallery is occupied with paintings created from warm and natural tones such as yellowish brown, greyish brown and indigo which are all made of soil, stones, and plants. This is such a natural wonder created by several factors such as organic elements and level of fertility that form color diversity. Northern Thailand especially Chiangmai is very resourceful for yellow soil.
Supot is a globetrotter who has discovered and recognized differences of soils in many places around the world. Collecting them to study and experimenting with his paintings, he is dedicated to his work philosophy in relating a source to a subject in his works. One of them is about religion and it was painted with the soil from the Four Holy Places of Buddhism in India. The other intriguing story is a wonderful painting of King Rama IX made of the soil from Bhumibol Dam. The beloved king’s name signifies “Power of the Land”. In this gallery, viewers can also peer into some small samples of soil collected in the tubes. This artist really believes that this is a decent way to pay homage to the soils from different lands.
A scent of soil and a peaceful mind
Painting from soils is distinguished from acrylic and oil paint. This natural source helps us get closer to the nature just like when you go far away from the big city and live among the nature. Close your eyes, you can smell a natural scent of earth after rain. This old master’s medium can be philosophical. A painter with soil needs to wait until the color changes. The results might be imperfect and needs correction.
After years of dedication, Sompot has learned a lot with soil. His later works are all about self-discovery, peaceful mind and living for today.
Discover the scent of soil and his art featured in Fresh Air, a group exhibition of AIR (Artists in Residence) at RCB Galleria on 2nd floor which opens until 28 November.
Come experience weekend workshops by staying updated on Facebook: Supot Kunanukun.
