Born 1956, Berkeley, California
Through the unique usage of color, light and spirit, K.L. McKenna's "New
West" expressionism captures the landscape in a most unexpected way. Her
paintings are not just paintings of landscapes but color harmonies of a very
high and unusual order.
K.L. McKenna's inspiration for the west comes from childhood summers she and
her family spent prospecting for fossils in Wyoming with her paleontologist
father. Her scenes of Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and Montana reflect her
enthusiasm and spiritual connection to the geology of the west, where she
paints on site throughout the year.
K.L. McKenna, a resident of Woodstock, NY and Ward, CO, has had extensive
experience working for museums and top exhibition design firms in New York,
such as Ralph Appelbaum Associates and Albert Woods Design. She worked
throughout the United States and Canada as a graphical user interface
designer for major banking firms such as Citibank, First Boston and Lehman
Brothers. K.L. McKenna was awarded a U.S. Patent for "The Geozoo," an
educational toy design. She studied painting first with Mary Buckley at
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY and later with Nicholas Buhalis at the
Kingston School of Art, Kingston, NY.
K.L. McKenna exhibited 24 of her paintings in the Borderlands Gallery at the
Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA. "Wind River Canyon, WY" was
chosen for the museum's permanent collection. She has participated in the
annual auctions "Expanded Horizons," Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT,
and the "Annual Buffalo Bill Cody Show and Sale," Buffalo Bill Historical
Center, Cody, WY. She is listed on AskArt.com, The American Artists Blue
Book. She has exhibited in a variety of galleries across the United States
and in Germany, and her work is included in many corporate and private
collections.
She is currently on the Board of Trustees at Pratt Institute. She is
currently President of the Arts Society of Kingston (A.S.K.), which she
co founded in 1995, and holds memberships with the Woodstock Artists
Association and the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild.
Additional information is available at 845-246-9590 or by emailing
klmckenna@netstep.net.
The energy that flows through my hands and onto the canvas is something that I describe as my Color, Light and Spirit technique, which has become my signature. My life's work is to illuminate the mind in an exciting new way - not to defy tradition, but to expand assumption.
Through my formal education, I was trained to discover color in shadow and to use many hues and values to create light. The use of line and space in my compositions combine abstract elements with the figurative which are sculpturally fused by bright color.
My paintings of the west begin on site where I've spent my summers for over 40 years. The reds of Wyoming and Arizona - the brilliant yellows and greens of Colorado and Montana are my passion.
My work as a contemporary American artist appeals to a certain kind of collector - one who is spiritually drawn to the uninhibited use of color and light.
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