Kate McGee
www.khmland.com
Each of my pastel paintings is an experiment.They are painted, alla prima, all at once, and many do not succeed. I am not patient but I am persistent.
I often paint landscapes plein air, outside, in the southern Willamette Valley. My large blocky pastels don't lend themselves to fine detail which suits me fine. Pastels don't need to dry so color is at my fingertips and on the paper as ideas come to me. I am capturing energy and light, not only trying to make a faithful representation of just what I see.
I often paint landscapes plein air, outside, in the southern Willamette Valley. My large blocky pastels don't lend themselves to fine detail which suits me fine. Pastels don't need to dry so color is at my fingertips and on the paper as ideas come to me. I am capturing energy and light, not only trying to make a faithful representation of just what I see.
I have always drawn and painted. I chose a landscape architecture career that honed my designer's eye and drawing skills. Those years of creating three dimensional spaces, designing with shadow, sunlight, color and texture, naturally inspired my passion for painting landscapes and flowers.
When I turned 50, my children grown, I decided to focus on pastel painting. Now, many years later, I've participated in many juried shows, solo shows and group shows and have even been published in a national magazine. I quit my day job and became a full time artist when I fell in love and moved to the King's Valley area of Oregon.
When I turned 50, my children grown, I decided to focus on pastel painting. Now, many years later, I've participated in many juried shows, solo shows and group shows and have even been published in a national magazine. I quit my day job and became a full time artist when I fell in love and moved to the King's Valley area of Oregon.
In 2016, I had the opportunity to collaborate with my sister, Laura Kvasnosky, on a children’s book. My main contribution was coloring the images using Photoshop and oh, how fun that was! Signed copies of the book will be available during the tour.
Video Produced by Bryan Cargill, Fahmo Mohammed, and Stephanie Lambirth, University of Oregon JAM 2014
