About the Artist:
Kathy Bonnema Leslie, a Colorado native, makes her permanent home in Montana where she has maintained a studio since 1994. Her work has been exhibited in numerous one woman and group shows across the country. Selected juried exhibits include: The San Diego Watercolor Society International Exhibition, The Taos National Exhibit of American Watercolor, The Midwest Watercolor Society National Exhibition and Watercolor West National Exhibition. Select publications include 102 Artists of the Rocky Mountain West, and Painters of the Tetons. Ms. Leslie was awarded the University of Northern Colorado Visual Art Scholarship where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Other honors include selection for presentation to the Governor of Colorado, finalist selected for exhibition by Artist Magazine, experimental category, and selected exhibitor with the Smithsonian ARTrain. Notable collectors include the State of Colorado, Colorado State University and Marin Community Medical Center, San Francisco.
Artist Statement:
As a painter and printmaker, my work is the visual language in which I see the world. I have always been greatly affected by my natural surroundings and I am intrigued by the power they have over feelings and our sense of place. I gravitate to patterns and color relationships in nature, and my compositions initially unfold based on those elements. I strive to generate the striking color harmonies that I see, and the three dimensional light that plays over the surface of the landscape. I feel it is important to not only paint the subject, but the air between myself and the subject, creating a sense of atmosphere, space and feel. Regardless of medium, I favor a glazing or layering technique, which produces rich vibrant color. I prefer to work in a “series” as it allows me to explore ideas more fully. My goal is to create something contemplative, reflective and celebratory for the viewer. Something as simply beautiful as the world I see around me.
About Serigraphs:
An original hand pulled serigraph is not a reproduction of a painting, but an original piece of art created in a small series of prints. The serigraphs available on this site were created entirely by hand, by the artist. Each color requires a separate screen and each screen is hand drawn. Paint is transferred through a fine mesh fabric onto paper. The areas that are not to be printed are blocked with an impermeable substance and the ink is forced through the remaining “open areas.” The printing is done with acrylic paint, and a fluid printmaking medium that allows the paint to flow evenly through the screen onto the paper. All printing is done on museum quality 100% cotton rag paper. With each individual print, there are 15-35 hand applied colors. One edition can take from two weeks to a month to complete, and when finished, the image can never be repeated.
*Photos Courtesy of P. Susanne Hopkins