we interpret the world through the lens of memory
Welcome!
I’m so glad you’re here.
This is where I share my creative process, the inspirations that shape my art, and the ideas that resonate most deeply with me.
A theme that consistently threads through my work is the nature of memory - how moments that are often fleeting can transform and gain new depth when revisited. Marcel Proust captured this beautifully in one of my favorite quotes:
"The quality of a direct experience always eludes one, and that only in recollection could we grasp its real flavor."
Memory serves as a material in my work, guiding me to explore what lingers and how it evolves over time.
As a viewer, you bring your own memories and understanding, adding layers of meaning to the work. Together, we create an ongoing dialogue that deepens the art itself.
It truly doesn’t get any better than that.
Warmly,
Kathleen
“Memory is the diary we all carry about with us.”
Art is an ongoing voyage—one of discovery, growth, and evolution—a journey that never truly ends.
Mine took a meaningful turn when I moved from the bustling landscapes of Southern California to the quiet beauty of the Central Coast. Here, nestled beside an oak grove and a wildlife preserve, inspiration found me in new forms. California oak trees, rolling hills, and the rhythms of the natural world - day and night - began to shape my work in ways I couldn’t have imagined before the move.
A significant moment came when a large beehive fell from an oak tree in our backyard. At first, the bees swarmed in chaos, needing time to process the collapse. Over the following weeks, their frantic activity softened, and eventually the hive stood silent. I was captivated by the stillness - until, weeks later, wax moths emerged from the seemingly empty structure.
The experience became an unexpected teacher. It spoke of resilience, of adaptation, and of the quiet, ongoing cycles of transformation. It reminded me that what appears still is often alive with unseen change.
Inspiration, I’ve found, is all around us - waiting in the everyday, in nature’s rhythms, and in the spaces we least expect.
This attentiveness to the unseen - what lingers beneath the surface - has become central to my painting practice. I paint from memory, not to recreate the past, but to explore the emotional residue it leaves behind. Faces and figures appear not as portraits, but as impressions - echoes of moments, shaped by the interplay of experience and time.
Process & Statement
Process Video
Artist Statement – Gestures of Seated Figures and Head Studies
The body and face speak in a quiet language. A tilt of the head, the placement of a hand, the curve of the spine - postures that reflect moments of contemplation, the in-between states we recognize in waking, drifting, or losing ourselves in thought. I am drawn to what they hold in silence, or in an active silence - a quiet that carries its own voice.
I paint from memory, not to record what is seen, but to reach what lies beneath it - where mood, memory, and presence intertwine. The seated figure and head studies are vessels for this exploration, carrying echoes of experience that feel both known and unknown.
While painting, the figure often leads the way - asking for a shift, a dissolution, or something to be brought forward. In that unfolding, I am not chasing representation but reaching for a moment: a mood held in gesture, something that lives between recognition and mystery.
Full Bio - click HERE
“When I saw this painting, I knew I wanted it immediately. It spoke to me - the face is half in shadow and half in light, representing the face we show to the world, and the hidden part of us that no one can see. Brilliant ! I am a big fan of her work.”