30 http://www.artistsmagazine.com
OVER 60 ART COMPETITION
Karen Kinder
Age 65 • Brookings, South Dakota • karenkinderart.com
I studied art at Northern State University, 40
miles from home in Aberdeen, S.D. I was afraid
I’d be behind, having no artistic background,
but found that many students from small towns
also had no art training. I loved all my art
classes, but painting became my focus. I taught
art for 31 years between two school districts,
but started what I call my “real” art career
25-plus years ago when I had my i rst solo exhibition. I was deter-
mined to continue painting when I returned to teaching after a short
break to take care of my children. Now I have taken early retirement
to focus on my painting.
I work from dark to light, working in layers and painting fat
over lean. For Prairie Hills, I worked out the design, then drew it
full size and transferred it to the canvas. I love contrast, so I did a
thin underpainting with very dark green to
dei ne the hills and the tree-covered areas. I
used a purple, made by mixing ultramarine with
alizarin, as an underpainting on the shadows
on the hay bales and worked from dark to light
with a bit of purple and ultramarine for the
sky. I strived to dei ne dif erent passages in the
hills with highlights and shadows of greens and
yellow ochre. h e road seemed to need some
purple and blue to tie in with the sky, though
I’m not sure that was a conscious decision.
When I entered this contest, I didn’t think
I had a chance of winning, but since I’d retired,
I decided it was time to be bold and take a shot
at it, and also to admit how old I am. M.W.