Colorful Contemporary Paintings
Artist's Bio: An Artistic Journey
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area Kathleen felt compelled to create from an early age. She discovered the joys of drawing with charcoal and graphite in her early teens. Her parents encouraged her interest in art by gifting paints and other materials which she experimented with throughout high school, college and while raising her family of three children. During those years she attended classes and workshops to develop her artistic skills. In recent years she completed the Creative Visionary Program with noted artist Nicholas Wilton and graduated from the Milan Art Institute Mastery Program. She also participates in and has won honors in a variety of regional art shows.
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Kathleen’s colorful work often employs abstract realism to highlight the less noticed or hidden nuances of nature. Animals, plants and flowers interact to offer a combined secret mystery and beauty that is soothing to the soul.
She uses color, shape and line to create imaginative abstracted scenes that she hopes will bring viewers a sense of tranquility and the joy of possibility.
Artist's Statement: My Work & Process
My work explores the mysteries of nature through the lens of abstract realism. By combining a variety of natural and abstracted elements I invite viewers to consider more deeply the unseen aspects of nature and the possibilities that might exist there, or perhaps only in the imagination.
Abstract realism offers an opportunity for personal expression while paying homage to the beauty of our world. My aim is to inspire a discovery of fleeting moments that might reveal a coexistence of usual and unusual, a mysterious world within the obvious one. The contemplation of such mysteries can be a welcome escape to anyone who is feeling stress or overwhelm.​​
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I often begin with acrylic inks and soft pastels and occasionally special collage papers, followed by layers of acrylic and oil paints, then finishing some details with oil pastels. This layering process adds a richness of depth that the depicted subjects deserve.
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