 |
| Hydrangea Study |
Greetings!
Today's features goes to Susan Kennedy and her beautiful paintings.
Kennedy's loosely representational style is, "largely self-taught, stemming from her childhood fascination with painting nature in painstaking detail." Her work is clearly influenced by the natural world and the unique way she sees it. Inspiration comes to her from the mountains, marshes, and shores of her native Georgia and beloved Edisto Island.
Kennedy specializes in traditional, as well as abstracted landscapes, working in oil, watercolor, and mixed media. She has sold commissioned paintings for many years, to both private and corporate collectors. She has received local and national awards such as the Rocky Mountain National watercolor competition. Her work has also been shown in the National Watercolor Society's member show.
 |
| Deep in its Roots |
Kennedy is also a member of the Miniature Art Society of Florida and paints, "miniatures in transparent watercolor which combine the fine detail of traditional miniatures with a painterly approach which preserves the spontaneity of classic watercolor. (Her) goal in all of these subjects is to capture the incredibly beautiful design of creation."
Kennedy is supremely diligent about capturing light in just the right way on her flower paintings. For example, her painting Deep in its Roots (shown left) shows how delicately light on a flower's petal can rest; as though they were laying on a soft bed and might roll off at any moment. The senses become engaged the longer one looks at the flower. First the eyes, engaged by contrasts and composition. Then there's almost the hint of a scent, carried gently on a quiet breeze your ears can almost hear and skin feels. The fingers itch to feel the flower, its silky petals, rough leaves. But only the eyes get the full benefit of this captured moment. This is what Kennedy has to say about her painting:
 |
| Dreamy Sunset |
What a delight to paint them (flowers), and this one is a close up of one of Mom's rhodies. Times seems to stand still when you stick your face into some blooms and breathe, and I hope this painting hints at that feeling. It's titled "Deep in its Roots" as a tribute to the poet Theodore Roethke..."Deep in Their Roots, all flowers keep the light."...what beautiful language!
Kennedy also experiments in fantasy and mixed media drawings. For the image Dreamy Sunset (right) Kennedy started with crayon scribbles, then moved to markers. A good deal of the black lines follow the crayon swirls, and the tree grew from there; organically and free-flowing. All together, the image carries the feeling of a Japanese print with jagged lines and colors to swoon over. It is a wonderful example of how different mediums can strengthen each other and work together to make something new. Crayon can't be as bold as marker, but markers can be as carefree as crayons. Together, they make a bold and powerful, yet carefree and fun image.
From simple and carefree, to highly realistic landscapes, Kennedy shares it all. To learn more about Kennedy's work, visit her website at:
www.SusanKennedy.com
Visit her Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/shop/SusanKennedy
Follow her on Twitter:
twitter.com/#!/SusanKennedy
Like her on Facebook:
And get paintings tutorials on her YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/user/susankennedyart
Be Creative today!
~Squirrel Creek Creations
Our Etsy store: www.squirrelcrkcreations.etsy.com
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/squirrelcreek
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/SquirrelsCreek
 |
| Sunset at the Fish Cannery |
No comments:
Post a Comment