A friend once told me...
... how lucky I am to be an artist. It's true that an artistic inclination is a blessing, but I think calling it luck understates what it takes to succeed. All the technical skill in the world won't provide success without enthusiasm, commitment, and perseverance — real passion to meet the real demands of artistry.
Inspired by my travels around the world I started experimenting with a variety of media and techniques at a very young age. I sought to depict the objects of my passion with flourishes of form.
After form came colour — initially, in the form of watercolours. The medium's charm is in its transparency and fluidity, presenting a sort of wild temperament that is as rewarding as it is challenging to tame.
However, the boldness, richness, and wonderful texture of acrylics have captured my heart in full. Pure, clean colour laid on white canvas sings out with a sort of vibrating luminosity that only acrylics can faithfully articulate. Likewise, their textures give voice to the stories played out in timeless repetition across our streets, whether steeped in Provencal sunlight or draped in the deep shadows of a familiar Canadian winter night.
I usually paint in series, becoming deeply familiar with a subject and drawing out impressions that can be as surprising as those yielded in the excitement of a new medium or muse. And, in a most classical turn, my recent labours of love have brought me back to my artistic beginnings, pouring my experiences with colour into a renewed, playful pursuit of form.
Although she also paints...
... using oils and watercolours, acrylics are Kathryn's medium of choice. Her portfolio establishes traditional palettes alongside vividly colored, larger-than-life depictions of the rustic beauty of old countryside settings.
Whether she's expressing the romantic play of shadows over bright sunlight or bringing out the subtle patina of weathering laid over a familiar locale or street, she arranges each scene to tell a warm approachable story of intimate history.
Kathryn was an elected member of The Society of Canadian Artists, The Canadian Institute of Portrait Artists, The Federation of Canadian Artists, and The Alberta Society of Artists.
You will find her works in private collections throughout Canada, the US, and Europe.
