Citrus Painting

BIO: The ocean has always played a distinct role in Kathleen Kaller’s world. As a child, the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts provided creative ground where Kathleen wed her inner artist with her love of the ocean. She continued to develop her artistic prowess and instincts by examining ocean life, the formation and effect of tides and the certain light that exists only seaside. Later, Kathleen’s formal studies led her to earning a degree in film studies and art history from Emerson College and studying painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, both in Boston. Kathleen honed her voice and her eye while living in the Netherlands and traveling throughout Europe. Now it is the west coast she paints voraciously and with an innocent abandon. Naming Pablo Picasso and Sam Francis as two major shapers of her work, the influences are clear: the childlike geometries and emotive coloration are a nod to Picasso, while the unbridled color and wild expressiveness lean toward Francis’ work. But her language is uniquely her own. She explores art-making as a tool for self-discovery and harnesses the healing powers of nature for her subject. Believing wholeheartedly in the therapeutic power of art, Kathleen includes teaching as part of her artistry. Emphasizing the creative process over the final outcome, Kathleen guides her students to expand and trust their intuition. She has taught art in elementary schools working with the C.R.E.S.T. enrichment program, and has mentored at Free Arts, a Los Angeles-based, non-profit organization providing art programs for at risk-children. She has also worked at LACMA, assisting the education department with classes and workshops. Currently she teaches private lessons and from her Mar Vista studio. ARTIST STATEMENT: As a child, the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts provided a sacred environment where I first discovered the organic, shifting beauty and guileless movement of the natural world. An endless reservoir of invigorating and healing power, the seaside grounds me with its reliable tides and constant song of crashing surf, and at the same time, frees me like a child with its sheer vastness. I spent a lot of time being immersed in oceanic life, taking in countless sunsets, noticing low tides leaving sand formations on the bayside, and then being swallowed up by the ocean at high tide. I dripped wet sand into castles, collected driftwood, and sea glass the ocean had formed into soft gems.