Paint Party Friday: Week 3, Year 2 Check-In Featured Artist: Kathy Van Osdale

image courtesy of Kathy Van Osdale

Welcome to Paint Party Friday and the next installment of our Featured Artist Series!  (Would you like to be a PPF Featured Artist?  Click here for details!)  This week, we are featuring an artist who creates bright and colorful paintings that she describes as whimsical folk art.  Many of you know her as KVO, it is our pleasure to introduce you to Kathy Van Osdale!

1) Please tell us a bit about your history with painting.  (When did you start painting? How has your painting evolved since you first started?)

I have been drawing and painting since I was eight years old. My parents got divorced when I was seven and I became very introverted. My mom worked a lot and I was left home alone for many hours. Art was an outlet and a friend to me. I spent hours drawing, coloring, and painting. I took art classes in middle school and high school and majored in Art in college at Florida State University. However, it was not until after my daughter was born that I started painting regularly.

2) What are your favorite techniques, media, and tools to use in creating your paintings?

My favorite mediums are watercolors and acrylics. I have painted in oils, but they take a much longer time to dry and are more expensive. I love to work with bright colors in my pieces. I prefer to work with larger canvases, but I will paint on a smaller scale.

3) What is your favorite thing to paint?  Why?

I really enjoy painting water, buildings, Frida, and images from pop culture and famous art pieces, such as my own version of the Mona Lisa or Botticelli’s Venus. This is my favorite painting that I have painted to date. (“Venus is Born” by KVO (2010))  I love Botticelli and “Birth of Venus” is one of my favorite pieces. I wanted to do my own version of that painting. I painted Venus in watercolors on watercolor paper. Then, I cut her out and attached her to a canvas that I painted in acrylics. I always paint my oceans the same way, which I guess is kind of a signature of mine. I love her hair and how it blends into the water.

4) What is your proudest painting moment and/or greatest painting achievement so far?

My greatest painting achievement so far is a portrait I did of my daughter when she was eleven. It is very abstract and colorful and she has it hanging in her room. All of her friends comment on it and ask her who painted it… I get tickled when she says, “My mom!”

5) What's next in your painting future?

Next for me in my painting future is to learn more…more …more… I love taking online classes, I am disabled so these are ideal for me. There is also a local museum that offers classes and I am hoping to take some very soon. I also want to connect with more artists online, building my folk art community on ning, make more videos, and maybe eventually, teach classes myself.

Thank you, Kathy!

To learn even more about Kathy and see more of her art, please visit her at:

http://www.whimsicalfolkart.com/

**Would you like to be a PPF Featured Artist?  Click here for details!**

And what a great party last week! Here is our check-in for this week's party:

Please make sure to use your post URL address NOT your blog home page URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 Check-Ins.

Have a fabulous time at the party!

*****Notice****

There are problems commenting on many blogs Friday morning. On Blogger Help - Known Issues, it says this - "Creating more than 10 Custom Redirects will currently throw a bX error. Engineers are working on a fix and we'll update this thread as soon as it's resolved." It was error bX-tm5jc4 so that applies - though I have no idea what custom re-directs are...

It is definitely interfering with the party and with visiting.   :(    Hopefully they will fix it soon as I couldn't even comment here. Please try again later if this is affecting you too and hopefully we can get the party rolling again!

xo

EVA (and Kristin)