KATHARINE KENNIE
"My work is very driven by materials and the expressive possibilities of colour. I love making my own paint or mediums and learning about the chemistry and history of pigments. Taking time to play with materials and experiment with new processes is a huge part of my studio practice. I make a lot of work that never gets shown to anyone, but these "failures" are the seeds of future work."
Biography
Katharine Kennie is an oil painter living and working in Grey County, ON. Born and raised in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, she studied visual art and music in Eastwood Collegiate's high school arts program and continued on to study visual art at the Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto. Studies in OCAD's painting, printmaking, and fabrication departments enhanced Katharine's interest in the qualities of handmade objects. While maintaining a part time drawing and painting practice throughout her 20's, Katharine perfected a new range of skills in a cabinetmaking apprenticeship and made her living in the woodworking industry. Past work has included building furniture and smaller wood projects, sculpture, stained glass, printmaking and digital illustration. This cross disciplinary work has heavily influenced the way Katharine makes her paintings with an eye toward simplicity, quality materials and workmanship. After moving to rural Ontario in 2014, Katharine has maintained a full time studio art practice with a focus on observational work from daily life and deeply exploring the local landscape she lives in.
Artist Statement
The drawings and paintings I make are reflections on the landscape near my rural home, small moments in daily life, and experiences that I've had while travelling. I'm interested in capturing life's slow and quiet moments. Making the work is my way of being fully present and engaged, and drawing is the foundational practice that all of my work is built upon. I love the directness of drawing- the simplicity and sensitivity that develops from paying attention in this focused way. It sharpens and focuses my perception of form and space, and it is a simple way to refine compositional ideas. For me, a painting is an object that is intentionally designed and constructed. It's built up from the foundation of a drawing, the materials and how they're applied, the expressive mark making and texture in the paint layers and my choice of colour palette. I'm endlessly fascinated by colour theory and the emotionally expressive possibilities of limited colour palettes. Drawing gives me the structural framework to build the painting on, and colour is the mysterious special sauce that gives that structure vitality.
