I
remember, in art history class we
looked at a lot of his paintings and how
he would use a triangular method to
create balance and flow. And colors. He
would use a certain color, say red, in
three different areas in a painting just to
create balance. He also created balance
by having people connected in his
paintings. One person would be looking
at another, that person would be pointing
at something, and that was another
triangular connection.
I also remember going to the IMAX
theatre years ago and seeing a film
about the parachute Da Vinci invented.
Someone actually created it with wood
and canvas and dropped it from a
helicopter. He was so beyond his time;
his dreams and visions really interest
me because I don’t know many people
who dream in that way. I think dreams
can teach and inspire us. I think they are
underrated.
What about Frida?
Katrina: Frida was an example of how
we can use our pain and personal chaos
to create something raw, deep and
beautiful. She was very open about how
her pain affected her. I’ve used her work
as an example when teaching children
in the art docent program and have seen
some incredible insight demonstrated by
the kids in their own self-portraits.
I think a lot of artists use pain to create.
Katrina: Yes. I’ve used Frida as an
example when teaching kids about self-
portraits. She painted herself over and
over, hundreds of times. Sometimes she
would paint herself with barbed wire
around her neck, but she also had birds
and nature and the things she loved
surrounding her. So when we learned
how to place features on the face, and in
correct proportions, I said to them,
“This is you. Who are you? What is
it about your life that you want to
portray?” The self-portraits the kids
made were incredible.
There was one little girl who drew a
picture of herself and wrote “Lonely
me” across her shirt. She was expressing
herself so openly. It was really amazing
to see the kids utilize what was going on
in their lives to create their self-portraits.
So where can we find your artistic
expressions?
Katrina: Currently people can find my
art on my website, artbykbrennan.com
which I try to update with upcoming
shows.
Thank you, Katrina.
Folks, if you’d like to help local kids express
themselves, or maybe fulfill their dreams, please
consider donating to the Northeast Youth Center.
March | April 2019
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