“I am fascinated with facial expressions and the eyes of the people and animals that I paint,” explains Kathy flood. She works in graphite, watercolor and acrylics in her Briar Chapel studio.
Kathy became an artist in a non-traditional way around 27 years ago. “I was first and foremost a mother, a job I took very seriously,” she notes. “However, I found a way to carve into my busy child rearing life, a little time to make art.” She began with a drawing class at Fayetteville Tech. “When I learned to see as an artist sees, my world changed,” she recalls. “Then the addition of color through watercolor sent me on a path of continuous discoveries of art methods and techniques.” Kathy developed her skills by going to workshops with American watercolorist, Mary Whyte. She studied the works of John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth and Norman Rockwell. Finally, she went back to school earning an Associate in Fine Arts degree from Fayetteville Tech in 2012.
Kathy Flood is now busy primarily painting portraits and teaching students, both children and adults in her Chatham County studio. “My favorite portrait to paint is not a person, even though I do quite a lot of people painting,” she quips. “My favorite is a furry family member… a pet. I try to capture the soul of the animal through head expression and eyes. I feel that is the way they communicate to us. Since a pet’s lifespan is usually a lot smaller than ours, having a portrait is a way to keep our little ones in our everyday spaces to admire and remember long after they are gone.”
She generally starts with the lighting of a scene. “If the light is perfect, I take pictures…many pictures,” she explains. “One or two may become a reference for a drawing and or watercolor painting.” She then lays out a few compositions, one of which is used to produce a detailed value sketch. The next step in her process is to experiment with colors and explore some small studies in her watercolor sketchbook. “Watercolor doesn’t lend itself to many revisions, so I try to have a definite plan on paper and in my head before I begin to make the final painting,” Kathy stresses.
Kathy’s work, classes and camps may be purchased online and viewed on her Chatham Artists Guild gallery page.
Prices run from $50 for small paintings to $1000 for large watercolor portraits. She has recently been creating non-representational art through acrylic pouring. “The results are always unexpected, and the process is just fun,” she exclaims.
The consummate teacher, Kathy says, “For me, the best part about being an artist is sharing my knowledge with others. Students come to my classes to either learn something new, make a good drawing or painting, challenge their brain, or to relax and enjoy the process. Whatever their reason, it is so much fun being their artistic guide and watching their style unfold. Teaching people to see through new eyes is my goal.”
