Tonal Drawings

Paul Klee once said, “A line is a dot out for a walk.” If this is the case then my lines are out for a meander - they are circling about gathering information in search of something not yet determined. The lines, which convey didactic characteristics, concentrate on the journey and less with the destination. Beginning within strict guidelines, this order, or structure, slowly gives way to freeform linear thinking. The result is subjective and expressive. These patterns, which take their cues from nature, are images of order, not chaos; of calm, not tension; and of good, not evil. My objective is to show what I am looking for, not what I have found.

Short Stories

The short story series began with joining different colored panels to create a mood. By neighboring these colors, either subtle or contrast, the dialogue begins. It is this dialogue, or narrative, that resonates, projects, pushes, pulls, and flows within a densely woven pattern that embodies the surface plane. The characters are the elements - color, line, texture, and shape; the story is in the syntax. The images are a deliberate and conscious association with structure and order, a counterpoint between form and color. The work suggests the natural world, it is not definitive, it is the essence rather than the objects that hold me.

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1960, Kotara first studied architecture, and then changed his focus to graphic design. He completed both his BFA and MFA at. Louisiana Tech University with a concentration in drawing and painting.

Kotara has been in over fifty group and solo exhibitions. His work is in numerous collections including the Asheville Art Museum, Louisiana State Museum, Wachovia Bank, and the Park Hyatt Hotel.

He currently resides in Asheville, NC and is a professor of art at A-B Tech Community College.