Katherine Kean

Foothill Storm Cloud alla prima landscape painting

2019

Interesting phenomena affect the look of the landscape, whether it is the light effects caused by the reflective particles thrown into the air by a volcano, or the strange twilight caused by a storm suddenly and dramatically changing the angle of the sun’s rays and for a moment, relighting the landscape. In this painting it is a thunderhead cloud forming suddenly above the mountains. This small alla-prima painting is created directly in a single session, on gallery wrapped linen, with 1 1/2 inch deep stretchers. The edges are hand painted, providing a finished look, suitable for framing, or beautiful left as is. Katherine Kean has exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States, and has been acquired by many private and corporate collections. She has been honored to have her work selected for Bloomingdales in Santa Monica, California, Schiffer's 100 Artists of the West Coast II, Paint America's Paint the Parks, Manhattan Arts Healing Arts International...

Inspired by always moving, always changing, epic blue and cloudy skies that bring "billows upon billows upon billows" of clouds. Katherine Kean seeks moments of breath-taking transition in nature; a gathering of clouds or changing tides; times when the elements of the landscape combine with the alchemy of imagination to illuminate the world of heightened mood and sensation. Katherine paintings aim to capture these fleeting moments in time and reveal the serene center that can arise in the midst of natures turbulence. A childhood of moving and traveling around the United States has shaped Katherine Kean's vision, as have journeys to eastern Africa, Mexico, Scotland, France and painting jaunts all over Kean's now native California. Born in West Virginia, moving later to Ohio and New Jersey, but growing up mainly in Massachusetts, she attended Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a BFA in Film, Video and Animation. Long fascinated by the intersection of order and chaos in the natural world, Katherine Kean skillfully uses observation, memory, and interpretation to translate her love of natures kinetic phenomena into paintings that capture the often turbulent emotions within light, weather, and landscapes. Her work has exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States, including the LACMA Art Rental and Sales Gallery and the Brand Library Art Gallery in Los Angeles...

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