The Integrated Art Collection

This exclusive collection of eight Firepaintings represents four of the styles manifest through Kephart’s proprietary technique. Each was chosen for notable qualities like size, format, career relevance and timeline, scope of exposure and exhibit relevance, publication, and rarity. This collection has increased significantly in value, will continue to appreciate indefinitely, and the whole is more highly valued than the sum of its parts. It is a collection integrated into a residence as unique as it is. These artworks were born here, they live here, and they will convey with an appropriate offer on the property. And they represent a stage in Kephart’s career that has come to an end. No Firepaintings will ever be made here again and that fact alone makes these paintings highly desirable.

In order of appearance, they are:

1. Abstract Natural #2

Just the second painting in the second series of Firepaintings, this piece glows with warm, earthy tones. Fluid, free, and radiant, it features the early introduction of watercolor. Created in 2005 only one year after the invention of Kephart’s technique, it is a very early example of allowing nature to exert its influence over a painting’s outcome with the artist acting as the spiritual medium or the conduit. Painted with water, watercolor, and wheat paste, untouched after the burn. Mentioned in a favorable Washington Post review by critic/commentator Mark Jenkins. Exhibited twice and thereafter displayed in the artist’s studio. Measures 22 x 30 inches, 30 x 38 framed.
2. Beyond the Burning Land

This energetic Firepainting shows the artist’s creative enthusiasm at its highest level. Uninhibited confidence and excitement are on full display as the artist demonstrates his unbridled competence through a technique still in its infancy. An unusual named abstraction, it was painted with water, wheat paste, potassium nitrate, gunpowder, and charcoal, circa 2006-2007. Mentioned in a favorable Washington Post review by critic/commentator Mark Jenkins. Exhibited three times and thereafter displayed in the artist’s studio. Measures 22 x 30 inches, 30 x 38 framed.
3. A Lawnmower Path to Paradise

This piece said landscape right off of the fire. Luminous and vibrant, the colors are clean and pure. Heavily reworked post-burn with pastel, the horizontal center is barely retouched. The forms suggesting landscape (trees, hills, clouds) were already there when this painting was rescued from the blaze and have been accented through painterly means. An excellent example of a Firepainting re-worked in the studio. Painted with water, watercolor, tempera, wheat paste, and finished with pastel, it was published in full color in a favorable Washington Post review by critic/commentator Mark Jenkins. Exhibited three times and thereafter displayed in the artist’s home. Circa 2012, measuring 30 x 40 inches, 40 x 50 framed.
4. A New Day

“Wow! You painted cloud shadows! Nobody does that!” This was the response from a viewer in Miami seeing this painting for the first time. As with the previous piece and most Firepaintings, the image was there when the painting came from the fire. The components have been augmented in the studio. Retouched sparingly with pastel, this is an excellent example of how combining fire and water on paper produces exceptional luminosity, the internal glow so common in this technique and unachievable through any other means. Painted with only water and fire and finished with pastel, its uncommon narrow, vertical format measures 17 x 40 inches, 27 x 48 framed. Exhibited once. Circa 2013.
5. Abstract Natural #8

Another fluid, gestural piece, this painting is alive with motion, vitality, and subtlety and mirrors the artist’s default condition, all subtlety aside. Painted with earth, water, watercolor, inks, and wheat paste, it remains untouched post-burn and came from the fire exactly as shown. Measuring 30 x 40 inches, 40 x 50 framed. Circa 2014. Exhibited three times.
6. Dominican Sunset #17

An example of the first Firepainting series which was inspired by a visit to the Dominican Republic, this piece exemplifies the artist’s experience of the oppressive heat so common in that country. That heat can be seen in this painting which was created with just fire and water. The blaze was hottest in the lower left corner but the heat overall was sufficiently consistent to enable the emergence of the full intended image. One of only four Firepaintings ever successfully produced at this large scale, it measures 40 x 60 inches, 50 x 70 framed. A difficult-to-create, very rare work in the body of hundreds of Firepaintings produced. Appropriately, exhibited once in Miami, FL, thereafter in the artist’s studio. Circa 2016.
7. Abstract Natural #15

A truly stunning example of a painting off the fire exactly as shown, this large piece remains untouched post-burn. A powerful abstraction on a large scale that is very difficult to produce, this is a museum-quality Firepainting that clearly demonstrates the artist’s command of this most challenging technique. His role as spiritual medium or conduit between nature’s forces and the paper’s surface is most evident in this captivating work. Painted with earth, water, watercolor, inks, wheat paste, and overlaid with a leaf as a resist to the fire (upper left), AN #15 commands attention and is displayed prominently on one of the largest walls in the home. It defies being ignored and will draw you back to it incessantly. Measuring 40 x 60 inches, 50 x 70 framed. Exhibited once in Miami, thereafter in the artist’s studio because it’s always been a keeper.
8. Abstract Natural #20

The smallest of all works in this collection, this piece packs a disproportionate punch. Well balanced, colorful, clear, vibrant and energetic, this is another great example of the artist’s command over nature’s creative forces. In this work, everything was just right, all variables were aligned, and the artist’s channeling of nature’s spirit was indelibly defined. Baked medium to medium rare. Unusually captivating for such a small painting, it measures 15 x 22 inches, 25 x 32 framed. It has never been shown publicly and is one of the last Firepaintings ever created on this property. Circa 2017.