This is the first time I have posted on my blog for quite awhile, but I moved into my new studio last week and I felt that it was time to start writing again. It has been exactly a year since we started digging the foundation. After working underground for a year and a half I now feel like I am in heaven, reveling in the natural light and high ceiling. I can actually work without any electric lights on- this is a first for me as no matter how bright the day was- in my former studios I always had to supplement with electric lights. Natural light is amazing!
Hunting Season oil on linen, 20" x 24"
My relationship to the natural world has really deepened with my move to this beautiful part of the country. The Berkshires have a gentle beauty that is lovely to live within and the scale of everything feels right. The mountains are not overbearing, the rivers not to wide, the forests not too dense. The wildlife is abundant and literally right on our doorstep. It snowed recently and the array of paw prints in the fresh powder was fascinating. It is inspiring and makes me want to live here as an observer- to watch the world around me and coexist with it without imprinting on it- to sort of let it wash over me and feel one with it.
"Stories for Foxes", oil on linen, 24" x 30"
I have been working on a series of paintings titled Sanctuaries which hark back to a few paintings from my work in the past but has a fresh meaning, at least to me, in my new life. Some of the paintings are about coexisting with nature, some about nature inspired dreams and some about protecting the natural world and the vulnerable creatures within it. This series may be ongoing for a long time. I think that my intention will be clearer as each painting evolves.
"The Baker and the Bear" , oil on linen, 30" x 36"
While construction is continuing on my new studio in the Massachusetts Berkshires I have found myself working in various spots in the house from the cold basement all winter to the kitchen table, where I find myself now. The new big window in the kitchen gives me a wonderful view of the garden as tiny ephemerals and bulbs of all kinds are emerging from the soil. It is truly magical and inspiring me to once again work on my paintings which I call Gardeners' Dreams. My kitchen table is not very big so I decided to work in gouache and watercolor on a tiny scale. Here are the six I have done so far and each of them is accompanied by an equally tiny gardener's dream scenario. Each one is about 7" x 5".
She dreamt of pole beans so vigorous that she was tempted to climb up and look for Jack.
When she planted the milkweed the most extraordinary Monarch appeared.
She dreamt of an asparagus bed with ferns so soft and airy she could float on it like a cloud.
It was amazing the difference a few days of sun could make.
She dreamt that one tomato grew so large she could sit on it like a pouf.
On the third year her asparagus was so prolific she could walk between the spears like a forest.
She dreamt she had to play tug of war with that damn crow to save her corn.
In her dream she pulled back the curtain and tulips rode in on a spring breeze.
“Food is Love” is a narrative portrait about one person’s journey through a new chapter in her life. After a successful career in the corporate world she went through a process of self discovery and came to the conclusion that her passion was the soil, growing vegetables and gathering people together to share in the meals that were the product of hard work. She bought some land and along with her son began to farm it. The painting depicts moments and objects that have special meaning to her on this journey, from the goats, pigs and chickens that were part of her day-to-day existence to the produce they grew, and the dishes she made for the people she gathered around her table.
My wish, and I assume everyone else's, is that the day we reach the other side, all the dogs we have loved in our lifetime will be there waiting to greet us.
This painting is the greeting line up of all the wonderful dogs that belonged to an individual in Bethesda, Maryland. She loved her dogs intensely and with all her heart and when she saw another "lifetime of dogs" painting that I did she knew she wanted a painting of her own. She is an amazing person and besides loving her own dogs, she loves all animals and was very involved with the Washington Animal Rescue Alliance for years.
When she started sending me photos of her dogs I fell in love with them as well. They were all so different and unique. There is Kiki, the black lab who was wonderful with children, and Senta the beautiful German Shepherd mix with the most soulful eyes. And Daisy the yellow lab who loved the water so much -- she was wading in every photo. And tiny Moose, (perfect name) the cheerful Yorkie, who could hold his own with the big dogs. Then Laila the white and caramel terrier mix who looks tough until she rolls over and her tongue flops out to show she is a total love. And the amazing and much loved Mango who has both incredibly expressive ears and a way of sitting on one hip that is totally endearing. And finally Wolf the big, beautiful Husky with a smile so wide you can't not smile back.
These dogs were so special on their own I decided to let them have center stage, sitting or standing in an open landscape with water and a big blue sky. I wanted their surroundings to feel like what a dog might imagine as heaven. Their owner has a house on an island in New England so she had the perfect setting for this. And just to add a little movement and color there are seven sailboats for the seven dogs, sailing behind them -- a touch of existentialism to symbolize that they live forever in their mom's heart.
I have a close friend who is naturally elegant. She is tall and graceful and has lovely refined features. She also has a beautiful and elegant Weimaraner named Greta. Whenever I see them out walking together I have a strong urge to paint them in a double portrait. But I had not figured out how to do it and elevate it beyond being a pedestrian likeness. Also my friend is modest and I couldn't imagine that she would enjoy the process of having her portrait painted. One day I was perusing a gorgeous book on John Singer Sargent with full color plates and I was mesmerized by the studies for and the the final painting titled "Madame X" which Sargent painted in 1883 of the young socialite Virginia Amelie Avegno Gautreau, the wife of the French Banker Pierre Gautreau. It is a stunning and mysterious painting. As I was studying it the subject Madame Gautreau suddenly brought the image of my friend and her dog Greta to mind. There was something so familiar. So after doing a few sketches I decided to paint Greta and have Madame Gautreau stand in for my elegant friend. I composed the painting so that Greta's stance and profile mirror Madame X's, and in a setting that echoes the late 1800 period. The breeze lifting the sheer curtain and what the subjects are gazing at beyond the window- remain a mystery.
Here is more about the original Madame X, which caused quite a bit of controversy in its time.
Late summer and early fall of this year brought me two more commissions that involved painting the dogs from someone's lifetime. In my mind I equate this to painting a glimpse into what someone's heaven might be, because for me I would like to see the menagerie from my entire lifetime waiting at the gates for me to arrive. We would pick up just where we left off and they would all get along beautifully. Of course my vision would include cats and a few horses, and maybe a couple guinea pigs.
The painting I finished in August was for a gentleman on his 80th birthday. I was asked to paint it by his family and they gave it to him as a surprise. They wanted him present in the painting, quietly sitting in his yard enjoying the company of his current dog as well as the dogs from his past. He often had two at a time of a certain type- all beautiful. The family provided me with whatever photos they could come up with as well as descriptions of a few when a photo couldn't be found.
"Dogs of a Lifetime", oil on linen, 24" x 30"
The second painting was for a friend who was the owner of an architectural salvage shop in DC. She is a collector herself and has a beautiful home filled with interesting and exquisite objects. She also has a wonderful sense of color and has had a fantastic collection of dogs over her lifetime as well. She is a delightful individual and has a special charm and glow. Even though she didn't want to be present in the painting I wanted the painting to "feel" like her in spirit and mood. As we chatted about the painting she told me about each individual dog, how they came to be with her, and their unique personality and disposition. I got very attached to them as I painted them and wanted to do each one justice. On the day I delivered the painting, I finally got to meet the beautiful Tessa in person and I got the feeling she was quite content with her likeness...or it might have been the treats.
I started this painting as a tiny gouache sketch sometime last summer. It was inspired by the goats we see every morning on our early morning walks up Hayes Hill Road in Mill River, Massachusetts. At the top of the hill there is a farm. A young farmer lives there with his family and every time I pass I wish I could tell him how much I admire him. Farming is hard there is no doubt about that. I always hope that the beautiful view from his hill makes up for his early and late hours, the search for enough land, hauling food and water for all the creatures he is raising... and never mind the weather being temperamental and uncertain. And then there are the goats. I really hope that their crazy antics and funny voices bring the young farmer some joy and that he is not too overwhelmed by the weight of his responsibilities to enjoy them. I started thinking that maybe I should add some goats to our menagerie of cats and dogs, but then I thought again about the reality of that... and did this painting instead.
Kathryn Freeman is a narrative painter who combines classical composition with magic realism. Freeman’s paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Europe and across the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Washington, and Baltimore. Her paintings are in numerous private and public collections and she has completed several large-scale public mural commissions including two, three-story murals for a new public library in Jacksonville, Florida, that opened in November 2005. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Arts Magazine, Art Forum, American Artist and numerous other publications. She currently exhibits her work at Jane Haslem Gallery, Washington DC, Dog & Horse Fine Art Charleston, SC, and Gallery on the Green, Pawling, NY.
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