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Ken Smith/Turnagain Times Bird Creek artist, Ruby Kennell, stands next to her oil painting “Swine.” The painting is part of a collection of her work being shown at Out North through the month of September. |
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
Bird Creek artist Ruby Kennell stood by her painting “Swine” with a smile on her face. It was after all the first painting she sold in her public show at Out North in Anchorage.
Born and raised in Bird, Kennell has been studying art for a mere five years. She will receive a B.A. in Fine Arts in December from the University of Alaska. The show at Out North is a big step for the young artist, who specializes in digital lithographs, with some oil paintings like “Swine” a portrait of two pigs.
“This show is a collection of my work,” said the 23-year-old Kennell.
The lithographs are created first in Photoshop, she said, and then she prints it out with a toner printer. That’s a simplified version of the creative process. The end result is some stunning work, which has incredible depth and complexity for such a youthful artist.
Kennell describes the technique in her artist statement: “The viscosity monotype collages use the viscosity of the inks to repel and attract each other during the printing process. These printed pieces of paper were then cut up into various shapes in order to make a larger version of a drawing I had created in my sketch book. It is a way for me to paint, print and enlarge my work all at once.”
Despite growing up in area surrounded by stunning natural scenery, Kennell chooses to use people as her subjects, focusing largely on self-portraits.
“I find people pretty fascinating,” she said. “The pigs, however, are one of my favorite paintings.”
The portraits are intentionally distorted, she said, a surrealist approach that she feels allows for more expression.
Kennell admits that her art is not highly marketable, but it is what she wants to create. And though making money is important, Kennell is happy to create art first for herself.
Kennell’s father , Ken Kennell, is also an accomplished artist focusing on photo realism and pointillist oil paintings. She said he has had a strong influence on her own artistic pursuits.
“My dad always made us solve our own problems,” she said. “In a lot of ways art is problem solving, just trying to figure things out.”
She also credits her UAA professor, Gary Kaulitz, for teaching her the print making process.
“He was a strong influence, and he’s just a great teacher,” she said. “Also Gary Mealor (UAA professor) teaching me drawing and water colors. He’s a really great drawing teacher.”
Kennell’s mother has also been a strong influence in her life, both morally and financially.
“My mom’s always been a big supporter, and she’s helped me out financially to get through college,” she said. “She also comes to all my shows, and she’s happy that I study art and do shows. She also buys some of my work because she wants to keep it, she doesn’t want me to sell it to anybody else.”
But Kennell has been selling her art, and is hopeful that all the art on display at the Out North show will sell. But she admits her art appeals to a select audience.
“Anchorage is a smaller community,” she said. “People are really interested in landscapes and photographs. I think that the work that I do people enjoy it, and I do think I could make a living off art, but I think I’ll have more success in a larger city.”
This is Kennell’s third public show in her young budding career. After she graduates from UAA, she plans to move to Sarasota, Florida to live with he boyfriend, Danny Jones, who is getting a Master of Fine Arts in acting. Kennell would also like to continue on with her education pursuing a Master’s degree.
In addition to art, Kennell is a dancer with a solo performance entitled “Little White Lie” scheduled for Sept. 5 at the Mountain View Trailer Art Center.
She’s been dancing for four years and would like to incorporate dance, theatre and art.
“Theater, dance, and the arts are pretty collaborative,” she said. “If you are going to be a valuable collaborator, you need to have a lot of skills, and they all open up different creative avenues and different ways of thinking.”
Kennell’s Out North art show will continue through September with the gallery open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and during performances. Out North is located at 3800 Debarr Road. Tel. 279-3800.