Welcome

Hello and welcome to my art blog. This has been a long time coming and finally I have buckled down and put some of my paintings online. As you will see, I follow a Classical Academic Oil Painting approach as taught to me by Frank Covino of the Covino Art Academy.

You may notice that several of these paintings are reproductions of originals. I have been required to learn this technique by copying the Masters, just as one would learn to play the piano (by playing Beethoven and Mozart before ever composing an original). I have fulfilled my requirements and am now doing my own originals.

I must admit, I would rather be painting than updating a blog, but in response to too many inquiries, I will try to keep this as up-to-date as I can. Each painting takes hundreds of hours, so my additions will be occasional at best. Thank you for stopping by!

M. Teresa

M. Teresa
This is a monochromatic painting I did from a black-and-white photograph I found in
Mother Teresa's biography. I originally planned on this being a quick exercise, but I loved the reverent
composition and needed it on my wall!

View of the Rocky Mountains

View of the Rocky Mountains
Reproduction of A. Bierstadt's original

Technique

It is important (to me as an artist) to note that these paintings have been done without the use of modern technological tools. The process is no different than was used in the Renaissance. There is no photography or projection involved. No computers. Everything is done completely by hand.

Behold This Child

Behold This Child
Finished... again

New and Improved

I am so happy with the improvements to this painting. My intent is for this to be a depiction of Joseph as he held the newborn Christ Child. But so many people have commented about the painting of "Jesus and the baby." I'm torn between being true to my inspiration or letting others make their own interpretations. Thoughts?

Cupidon (detail)

Cupidon (detail)
Reproduction of W.A. Bouguereau's original
Below is an example of an underpainting. I begin every painting with a complete value study in paint. This is what the old masters did. So I virtually paint it twice; once in this greenish "verdaccio" then again in color. It ensures an endless lifespan, makes the painting more realistic and increases it's monetary value significantly.

Underpainting

Underpainting

Orville William Matheny

Orville William Matheny
A portrait of my grandfather

The Kiss

The Kiss
Reproduction of a F. Hayez original

"WAY DOWN DEEP" a rhyming exploration of some fascinating deep sea creatures

"WAY DOWN DEEP" a rhyming exploration of some fascinating deep sea creatures
Written by Misty Perkins, illustrated by HJ Kennedy

Illustrating "Way Down Deep"

As indicated above, there is a new children's book in publishing right now with my name on it. I must admit, this was a bit of a stretch from my classical realistic style. But surprisingly it came as an exciting endeavor for me.

These paintings were done in acrylic - another stretch - and I can't say I love this medium, but my kids sure do. And they're the experts.

Written by Misty Perkins, this was an inspired piece of work. I think my ease came largely from her expertise in writing and from the familiarity I've gained with the floods of books spilling out of my children's bookshelves. I thoughroughly enjoyed illustrating this book and have a few more underway. Be sure to check them out soon!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Narrows

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6 comments:

  1. ShapiroApril 18, 2010 at 10:38 PM

    HEATHER!!!!! YOU ARE THE SEGULLAH!
    :) i found you. BEAUTIFUL!!!!
    Can I make a special commission for a painting?
    Call me! your beloved friend and in awe & amazed (but not surprised) fan, Frida McShap

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heather KennedyApril 23, 2010 at 9:08 AM

    Hello my friend! I don't know how to blog, can you tell? I hardly ever check this thing. Should I be getting an email or something when someone says hi to me? I would've missed you!! Glad I caught your message! We were just in AZ and I wanted to call you. Is your # still the 801? I will be down there lots this summer so I WILL call!! Love you and THANKS for the compliments. I will look up "segullah" right away :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. HuntersMay 19, 2010 at 3:31 PM

    I just checked today to see how the contest went. Do you know yet?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Heather KennedyJune 1, 2010 at 7:30 AM

    Sorry, I don't know how to blog - plus I never check this. The contest results were posted a couple weeks ago - I didn't win anything. But thanks for your vote and for checking up!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. FUTURE WORLD!!August 16, 2010 at 11:48 AM

    great

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 21, 2012 at 6:19 AM

    Hi Heather

    I am crossing my fingers and toes here that you may see my message and with a bit of luck be able to reply.
    For starters your work is beautiful! I am an artist from South Africa and am desperately looking for the original image of you Mother Teresa picture. Would you be so kind as to post the reference for the book you refer to?

    May thanks and keep posting, it's lovely!

    Angela

    ReplyDelete

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