top of page

Katharine Kennie

The Sleeping Waters

The Sleeping Waters

Size: 36x60 Medium: Oil on Wood

The Tones of Unseen Mystery

The Tones of Unseen Mystery

Size: 36x60 Medium: Oil and Beeswax on Wood

Some Strange and Exquisite Desire

Some Strange and Exquisite Desire

Size: 40x40 Medium: Oil on Wood

Ever the Dim Beginning, Ever the Growth

Ever the Dim Beginning, Ever the Growth

Size: 24x30 Medium: Oil on Wood

The Silent Hours

The Silent Hours

Size: 30x30 Medium: Oil and Beeswax on Wood

Of Dreams and Idleness

Of Dreams and Idleness

Size: 24x30 Medium: Oil and Beeswax on Wood

Silver Light, Williams Lake

Silver Light, Williams Lake

Size: 10x30 Medium: Oil and Beeswax on Wood

Slow Motion Glow

Slow Motion Glow

Size: 16x16 Medium: Oil and Beeswax on Wood

Pine Forest

Pine Forest

Size: 16x16 Medium: Oil on Wood

Artist's Biography

Born in 1985, in the City of St. Catharines, Ontario. At an early age, Katharine Kennie developed a fascination with the inner workings of the world, desperate to understand just how everything worked. As an outlet for this curiosity, she turned to drawing, a way of figuring things out for herself. She was later exposed to the history of the Italian Renaissance. The plethora of artists greatly influenced her, particularly the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci. From him, she learned that a vast array of interests could, in a way, augment deeper insight into herself and the world around her.

 

During her teens she was enrolled in the arts program at Eastwood Collegiate Institute in Kitchener. The generous art focus of the school allowed her to explore not only the Visual Arts, but Music, Theatre, and Set Design.

 

After graduating high school, Katharine enrolled at The Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD). During her foundation year, she experienced a variety of mediums outside of her primary area of drawing and painting. Notably she was exposed to numerous printmaking techniques (screen printing, monotype, drypoint, etching, and linocut), but the one area that caught her attention most was the wood fabrication courses.

 

After attending classes at OCAD, Katharine decided to strike out on her own, and continued to paint. All the while having a lingering desire to explore the many facets of woodworking, she began to work in carpentry and cabinetmaking.

 

In 2014, Katharine moved to the Grey County region where she opened her own business within the woodworking industry. There was an aspect of the work that satisfied her need to understand how things work, and taught her many things about running a business. Ultimately these experiences led her back to the expressive potentials of the visual arts.

 

Since moving to Grey County, Katharine has had the opportunity to explore, not only the landscape of Grey County, but other geographies across Canada, Europe and South America. Throughout, Katharine has been compiling a personal library of experiences, moments captured on pieces of paper, in photographs and video footage. These act as intermediaries, allowing Katharine to express messages, a translation of experiences for you to see.

​

​

Artist Statement

My current work engages with the local landscape near my home in rural Grey County, Ontario. While walking in this familiar landscape through the forests, fields and wetlands, I love to make observational drawings in my sketchbook. My attention is often drawn to both trees and the near symmetrical reflections of the landscape in bodies of water. When needed I also take my own photographs and video references to refer to later in the studio.


Each studio painting starts with further exploratory sketches as well as a very intentionally designed colour palette. I want these compositions to be simplified and reduced down to the very essence of what captured my attention in the first place. The colour schemes I choose are often quite limited, giving the paintings a sense of mood and atmosphere.  


In this current body of work, in addition to exploring elements of composition and colour, I have been developing complex layers of surface texture. I'm interested in the evidence of process that becomes visible in small areas of each successive layer as well as the evocative and sensuous qualities of the paint itself. 

Selected Group Exhibitions
2023, Old Oak of Leith, Meaford Hall Art Gallery, Meaford, Canada.
2023, Renewal, Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Canada.
2023, Glenhyrst Biennial Juried Exhibition, Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford, Canada.
2023, Celebrating the Colours Black & White, LE Shore Gallery, Thornbury, Canada.

Art Fairs
2023, Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Canada.
2022 & 2023, Guelph Art in the Street, Quebec Street, Guelph, Canada.

Education and Training
2010-2014: Woodworking Apprenticeship - Conestoga College & Masterpiece
2003-2005: The Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) - multidisciplinary courses in
painting & drawing, fabrication, printmaking & art history.

Relevant Professional Experience & Art-Related Contributions
2022 - 2023, Teacher - Oil painting workshops, Georgian Bay Centre for the Arts, Owen Sound, Canada.
2016 - 2023, Permanant cooperative member, Owen Sound Artists' Co-op, Owen Sound, Canada.
2016 - 2020, Board Member and Treasurer, Owen Sound Artists' Co-op, Owen Sound, Canada.

bottom of page