Art & Life with Kate Pendleton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Pendleton.

Kate, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My current painting career took a few twists and turns from the time I started painting and drawing as a little girl. My original dream was to become what we used to call a “commercial’ artist, move to NY City and illustrate articles for a literary magazine.

However, as I was finishing my college degree in graphic design at UGA, I discovered weaving and decided that’s what I wanted to do instead. So I finished and set out to teach myself to weave. A few years later, a friend arranged for me to do an apprenticeship with a successful weaver in Atlanta, who was weaving large wall pieces for architects and designers. Not only did I really learn to weave, but also to work with the design industry, which has served me well for years.

I continued to weave wearables and wall pieces for about 15 years, then switched to making felt, also making wearables and wall pieces. Felt making is very labor intensive and took its toll on my back, so I switched to dyeing, marbleizing and painting on silk.

It finally occurred to me that I had come full circle and was painting again!

So, in the early nineties, I returned to drawing and painting full time – mostly landscape and still life. Since then I have studied with several well-known plein air painters in Arizona, New York, North Carolina, Maine and Italy, as well as several highly respected painters in the Atlanta area. Painting allowed me to respond to and interpret places and situations more immediately than working with fabric.

In the past several years, I have started painting abstractly.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My landscapes were/are my interpretation of what I see. My current abstracts are my interpretation of what I feel. I am trying to show my experiences and what is in my heart. The “subject” may be different from my landscapes, but the style probably feels similar to people who know my work. The paintings are still about color, shape and texture, now with an emphasis on negative space and interaction of line and shape.

Each painting usually begins with gesture drawings and then reactions to those gestures carry the painting to its end. I don’t always know where that end is, so it may ramble along in different directions until it feels like a stopping point.

The paintings are either oil or acrylic and sometimes a combination of both, with oil stick and other mixed media. The majority of the pieces are 40×40 or larger.

Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
I wish that someone had told me earlier that you have to keep plodding along even when you do what you think is “bad” work that no one seems to like. They can’t all be masterpieces. Your “bad” or “ugly” work is a necessary step towards the good stuff!!!

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work can be seen at my studio at Urban Art Collective (5655 Peachtree Rd., Chamblee) it’s a good idea to call first. 404-590-8689

I also currently have paintings at Frameworks Gallery in Marietta and I.D.E.A. Gallery in Chamblee.

Or check out my website: KatePendleton.com, Kate Pendleton Art & on Facebook, and kpendleton2 on Instagram

Contact Info:

• Address: 5655 Peachtree Rd.
  Chamblee, GA 30341
• Website: Katependleton.com
• Phone: 404-580-8689
• Email: kate@katependleton.com
• Instagram: kpendleton2 Instagram
• Facebook: Kate Pendleton Art Facebook
• Twitter: @Pendletonart Twitter

Image Credit:
Kate Pendleton

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