Emerging Artists | Kathryn Alexander

The art of experimentation

This story was featured in the February 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

A DASH OF fiery red here, a stroke of cerulean blue there: In a signature painting by Kathryn Alexander, it’s nearly impossible not to feel a burst of energy as you soak in the bright, jewellike colors that fill her canvas. Alexander’s wildlife subjects themselves—from grizzlies to deer to buffalo—often display glorious streaks of color in their fur. “Animals are my way of expressing the importance of our connection to the earth and what a precious resource it is,” explains the Santa Fe, NM, artist. “Hence, in my work, the animals are always integrated into their environments. Sometimes the background colors come through the animals, or the animals become part of the background in their natural habitat.”

As a child growing up in New York, Alexander was an accomplished classical pianist, and she also displayed a talent for the visual arts. Her mother is a painter and a woodcarver, so the artistic process was always nurtured in her family. “We used to make art out of everything,” Alexander recalls, chuckling. “My mother was the rare mom who encouraged us to play with our food at the dinner table.”

Not surprisingly, Alexander’s creative process today involves a liberal dose of play and experimentation, especially when it comes to creating intriguing surface textures. About 10 years ago, as a studio-art major at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, she tried mixing molding paste into her paint at the suggestion of a professor. “My painting got pretty fantastic after that,” she says. “It had a sculptural quality to it. I started experimenting with gel mediums of different thicknesses, gloss and matte mediums, fiber paste, tar gel—really seeing what I could achieve with these translucent and opaque surfaces.”

Acrylic, watercolor, and oil are Alexander’s principal media, and sometimes she combines them together in a single work. In addition to vivid colors, the artist gravitates toward a blend of crisp, clean lines and spontaneous mark-making, and she has been known to reach for both traditional and nontraditional tools to get the job done. “I will use anything that gives me a mark, pattern, or texture I find pleasing,” she says. “It’s very important to me to not be a formulaic painter. That destroys the whole process for me. I really enjoy the surprises.” —Kim Agricola

representation
Eye on the Mountain Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; www.kathrynalexanderart.com.

This story was featured in the February 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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