Megan Kennedy, Artist: Portraits, Paintings & Drawings
I am a visual artist specializing in portrait painting in oils and drawing of the human figure. I studied at the Gage Academy of Art (previously the Academy of Realist Art) in Seattle, and completed the atelier program at the Ryder Studio School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, under the master realist portrait painter, Anthony J. Ryder. My studio is located in Bainbridge Island, Washington, a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle.
The greatest obstacle in realistic portrait painting is clearing the mind of preconceptions of the human face. Each painting is a journey of discovery. I see each person as a living being generating light. The marriage of light and shadow creates form. When painting a portrait, I engage in the process of bare perception, using my eyes as light meters, and assessing the speed of each curve and each subtle change in color, value, and chromatic intensity. No facial feature is painted according to stereotype, but each is seen as a unique combination of light, shadow and color; the result is a portrait that conveys not only the likeness but the spirit of a person.
I began learning the process of dropping preconceptions in 2004, when I began studying Buddhism and became a long-term meditator. According to Buddha: “However we perceive a fact, the truth is other than this.” The Buddhist principle of freeing the self of the constraining ego and the “monkey mind” is consistent with my approach in painting and drawing, of truly “seeing” the individual without superimposing stereotypical images.
“I approach each new drawing or painting with a fresh eye, excited to discover visual clues that will, in the end, make the final piece accurate, meaningful, and integrated. The process uses both the left and right brains, being both analytical and creative. I work from the general to the specific, and from the shadow to the light. Visual art is about developing one’s visual awareness, and choosing from innumerable possibilities for color, value, and chromatic intensity. The foundation, however, is precise and accurate drawing, which precedes every painting. I delight in discovering that the end product is a true rendering of a unique face or form.”