PleinAir Magazine – August 2019

38 August-September 2019 / http://www.outdoorpainter.com

In1995,hemovedwithhiswifeandchildrento
Chicago,whereheteacheswatercolorat theAmer-
icanAcademyof Art.Healsoleadsillustration
classestherefromtimeto timeandis developinga
newcourseonthebusinessof beinganartist.

WORKINGLOOSE,THENPRECISE
Kennedyhasneverconsideredhimselfa purist.
“I’malwaysexperimentinginthestudio,”he
says.“Myworkis unmistakablywatercolor,but
I’vespentyearstryingtoescapetheflatnessof
thepagebyaddingnon-water-solubleelements,
thickeningagents,andcollage,applyingpaint
straightfromthetubewithmyfingersand
paletteknives,andrubbingit awaywithshirt
sleevesandpapertowels.”
Heevensprinkledhandfulsof dirtintohis
firstwashesforsomehistoricmuseumpieces
hemaderecentlyat theOlmstedPleinAir
InvitationalinAtlanta.“Itcreatedtextureand
broughtauthenticityof place,”Kennedysays.
“Therearelotsof thingsthatI tryinthestudio
thatfail,buteverysuccessgetsadded to my tool
belt and expands my vocabulary.”

BuildingtexturethewayKennedydoes

requireslongperiodsof dryingtime,which

oftenallowhimtoproducetwopaintingsat

once.“Usuallythereis anattentiontosurface

detailthatjusttakeslayeringandmorelayering

andcannotberushed,”hesays.“Theattention

todetailinthecontextof a looseandvibrant

overallimageis oneof thethingsthatI think

peoplecanrecognizeinmywork.”

Hebuildsthemajormassesquickly,butthen

areas of focus and precise detail require a slow

andsequentialbuildingof layersandspecifics.

“Theloosenesskeepsthepaintingfrombecoming

clinical,”Kennedysays.“Thetightnesslendsthe

paintinganexactnessandspecificity that can only

comefromcarefulobservation.”

REFLECTIONSOFWHOWEARE

Hison-locationapproachhasevolvedfrom

primarilyresearch-gatheringforstudiopaintings

intomakingfinishedartonsite.Kennedyreal-

izes his methods put him on the slow end of the

ABetterAlley

2017,watercolor, 12 x 16 in.

Privatecollection

Pleinair

“ViewsofTelluridehavethisincrediblepresenceof

majormassesandmountainskies,”Kennedysaysof

theColoradotown.“Thealleysarea greatcombina-

tionoftheextraordinarygrandeurofthelocaleand

thesimplevernacularoftheearlysettlementofa

miningtown.”AsKennedypaintedthisscene,a local

sharedbottlesofwaterandinsightsintorecent

effortstodemolishoneofthesebarns.“Iusually

learna lotaboutthe history of a place as I paint it,”

says the artist.

BarnonSaukTrailRoad,WI

2017,watercolor, 16 x 20in.

Collectiontheartist

Pleinair

“There’sa storyhererevealedinthearrangement

ofmaterialsandcolor,whichI exploreinflattened

space,compositionaldesign,andvernacular

architecturallanguage,”saysKennedy.“Thisismein

myelement,findingsomethingunself-consciously

beautiful,striking,andspecific,knowingthatprob-

ably no one has ever really seenandcelebratedit

with a painting.”