with KATHY FEHN
Briefly tell us about yourself: your family, education, work background, etc.
I'm mostly a self taught artist. I did have a concentration of art in high school and I majored in art my freshman year at Ball State University, but then changed my major (to many things!). I've tried to stay creative while raising my family any way I can. I've painted murals in their play room, gone a little nuts with birthday party invitations and I even sold hand painted pet food mats at one point. As my oldest grew into this amazing artist herself, I realized how much I missed developing myself as an artist and decided to devote more time to it. In June of last year, I decided to give it go full time. And I haven't regretted it once. I actually look forward to Mondays when I can pick up my brush again!
As for my family, I've been married to my husband, Keith, for 24 years, and we have 3 kids - Paige (20), Gretchen (18) & Evan (16). With one in college, one leaving for college, and one getting ready to start driving...life is not dull!
Aside from art, what other kinds of things do you enjoy doing?
At the risk of sounding totally lazy and self-indulgent, my favorite thing to do is lay in the sun and read! I'm addicted to all things summer & basically live on our back patio June-August! The other 9 months of the year, you'll still find me in the middle of a great book, both fiction & non, playing cards with my family and I also love hitting up a good thrift shop & finding hidden treasures.
Who are some of your favorite artists you go to for inspiration (past or living)?
I really admire Heather Ward Miles, a local Indy abstract artist. I appreciate her color combinations and layouts. I also adore Lisa Congdon. I went to her studio in Portland, OR last year and got to spend some time talking to her. She was the just the nicest and so informative, having taught herself everything she knows about art and the business of selling your art. I learned a ton from her and highly recommend reading her books if anyone needs help in getting started. And lastly, I REALLY love Fairfield Porter. He was an artist in the 50's & 60's, who's work mostly dealt with the domesticity of life. I love his soft color palettes and the way he painted. He's definitely a favorite.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Greece or the Maldives
Do you have any secret talents you’d like to share? Or maybe an interesting fact about you that not many people know about?
I can't think of any secret talents, but one little fun fact about me is I love earrings love other women love shoes. I have so many and seriously don't think there's such a thing as too many. I really think I have a problem!
What are some of your biggest accomplishments (art or life)?
Well, my children, hands down. I am so proud of them. Parenting is truly the hardest thing in the world. But I'm also really proud of myself for attempting this life as an artist and promoting myself. This has been a VERY big hurdle for me to overcome. I've done a lot of work on myself to build up the courage to share my artwork with others.
Do you have any favorite pieces of artwork of your own? If so, would you mind sharing which ones and why they are your favorite?
The piece I'm sharing is one I did the day our son (also our youngest) went to kindergarten. I knew it was going to be an emotional day, so I made sure I had an activity planned. I bought a canvas and drug my paints out & completed this painting in 4 hours. It took up the whole time he was away at 1/2 day kindergarten. To this day, I still love it. It's called Missing Evan (not very creatively titled at all!) and it hangs in the landing of our staircase.
See more about Kathy by clicking here.
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