Kathleen Ballard, September 2012 Featured Artist

Being a Southern California native, I have resided in this area all my life.  I have been painting in watercolor since the mid 1980's and attended many workshop with well known watercolorists whom I admired.  In the summer of 2005, I left my position at Paramount Pictures to concentrate on painting full time after working in the Motion Picture Studios for twenty years as a signwriter and previously as a partner with my husband in our own Pasadena based sign company for twelve years.  I am now able to paint nearly every day and pursue my career as an artist which is a wonderful dream come true.

My paintings are done in a realist and traditional style of transparent watercolor leaving the paper for the whites.  Painting in series is a great way for me to explore a subject in depth.  In my still life paintings, "Wrapper Series" and the "Foil Series", I find the reflective and transparent surfaces of the objects compelling as in my " Pond Reflection" series.  I also can't resist floral subjects, especially cactus flowers in their contrast of beauty and severity. 

As an artist who loves the beauty of nature, I feel fortunate to have beautiful botanical gardens close by in my area such as The Huntington Library, Descanso Gardens and The Los Angeles County Arboretum for inspiration and to use as wonderful subject matter for many of my paintings which depict nature.