http://www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2019 39
StateHouseonConduit
2018, watercolor, 12 x 30in.
Privatecollection
Plein airARTIST’STOOLKIT
Surfaces:AlmostallofKennedy’sworkisdoneon
custom-sizewoodpanelspreparedwithacrylic
gessomadebyGamblinorArtBoards.“Iapply
threecoatsandsandbetween coats with 220-grit
sandpaper,”hesays.
BrushesandTools:TheartistreliesonNo.6 and
No. 10 rounds,a 3/4-or1/2-inchflat,andother
toolsformovingandapplyingwatercolorand
water-basedmedia,includinga paletteknife,crow
quillpen,spraybottle, paper towel (for stamping),
andhisfingers.
Paints:KennedyusesWinsor&Newtonwatercolors
in“alotofbluesandbrowns,andochreyellows.”
Withtheexceptionsofcobaltgreen(“it’spartof
a goodrecipeformixinga colorforoxidizedcop-
per”)anda brighterversionofsienna(“anearthy,
gritty,dirtyorange”),hekeepsnosecondarycolors
onhispalette.Heuseswhiteforhighlightsonly,
neverformixinglightercolors.Earlierthisyearhe
addeda secondmini-paletteof 12 graysbyKramer
Pigments.“Pinkishgrays,bluishgrays—a setof
nicelynuancedneutralsthatarelovely and creamy
straightoffthepalette,”hesays.
Misc.:“Ispentthefirst 15 yearsofmycareersitting
onsidewalks,stonewalls,stepsandoccasionally
atcafetablestopaint,butthesedaysI don’tgo
anywhereunlessI havemyArtComberportable
rollingchair,”saystheartist,“thoughI standup
whenpaintingcertainpassages.”Heusesa French
easelasa tableandmanipulatestheanglewhile
painting(“gravityisa largepartofmywork”),and
healsousestheWatercolorGeartelescopicarm
developedbyMarciaWillmanasanadditional
work surface, palette, and brush holder.CattleBarn,Amana
2018, watercolor, 16 x 20in.
Privatecollection
Pleinair
Animalsandpeopledon’tnormally
appearinKennedy’swork—these
cowsarea rareexception.”They
justwanderedintothesceneasI
waspainting,”hesays.Thisbarnis
locatedinIowa’sAmanaColonies,
a groupofsevenvillagesbuiltand
settledbyGermanPietistsinthe
mid-1800s.“Theyarea fantastic
exampleoftheAmericanim-
migrationstory,”theartistsays.He
regularlyattendsthepleinairevent
hosted there by Catiri’sArtOasis
every fall.TheGristMill,Cedarburg
2017,watercolor, 12 x 12 in.
Collectionthe artist
Pleinair
“TownslikeCedarburgthathostpleinair
eventshavebeenpaintedsomanytimes
andinsomanywaysthatit canbea chal-
lengetofinda newrevelation,”Kennedy
says.“Formethekeywiththismillwasto
trytoexpressitsdominance,itsimportance,
anditsscalebysteppinginandhavingit
loom.Theperspective challenge is not for
the faint of heart.”