In this episode, artist, podcast host, curator and artist coach Jessica Libor speaks with artist Kathryn Kincaid about her journey as an artist and her upcoming show with Era Contemporary, Every Petal, in June of 2022. Â Attend her show by clicking here.
Kathrine is an artist in the classical realist style based in the Philadelphia, PA area specializing in painting flowers. Â Originally from CA, Kathryn has studied in Paris and many other incredible places to hone her skills. Â In this episode, we discuss being a realist artist in Paris, finding a subject matter that resonates, creating a show, and so much more. Â
For Every Petal, Kathryn writes:
Every petal is from here, each flower grown either in my own garden or my local flower farm, and each is painted in its own season. The hellebore in late winter, the daffodils in spring, the dahlias in fall. It matters that I paint them when its their time.
Every petal is painted individually, one after the other, starting in the center and worked out in a mysterious order. Sometimes I start in the light, other times in the shadows, but always following the movement of the petals.
Every petal is one moment, but when I paint so many of them I get to paint different moments. I watch every flower unfurl, open; the petals grow, change color; the colors are richer, they turn lighter, they soften. It is a portrait of not just one moment, one expression, one flower, but all of them I have had the chance to be with, and all the ones I cannot paint, have never seen.
Every petal is beautiful, by my definition of beauty, which is not absolute but personal to everyone. To me, they are beautiful not just because they look pretty, but because of their strength, their hardness their tight curling and then their slow melting into relaxed openness.
Every petal is a subject, not an object. I try and capture each flower as it shows itself to me, but I donât get to say what a tulip or sweet pea or magnolia is or isnât; they are all different, they are all the same. No matter how many I paint, every flower surprises me.
