My first gilding project was a smashed and rusty steel crate strap I took from the mud of a scrapyard. Intrigued with the process, I tried other surfaces. This is bronze gilt over black acrylic on gessoed canvas. You either know or already googled Clyfford Still. I actually painted this before I knew he’d half a century earlier taken his ragged vertical style to great heights. But this was an experiment anyway. I didn’t like it and kept only because I don’t throw away anything that might be creatively useful later. But, like my drawing City Highlights, when I dug it out nearly two decades later I was startled at the energy I’d abandoned. The thick black paint has faint ridges from the putty knife I spread it with. A few years ago in grad school I rediscovered this technique and took used it on two 4x15 ft sheets of black canvas. That piece, Banners, is on my website at jamesmckennastudio.com.

James Mckenna

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As an undergraduate James McKenna studied metalsmithing. In years after, he worked in a variety of creative fields. In the early 2000s he returned to metal, this time to steel, and his practice evolved into assemblages of steel and other materials. In 2023 he received an MFA from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at University of Cincinnati. These days he is experimenting with materials and processes and looking at his artworks from years past. Returning to 2D work, he is finding ways to extend his rough-edged work in steel, wood, and canvas into flat media. He lives near Cincinnati, Ohio.