Kathleen Willer

I work with acrylic paint on canvas. My ideas come mostly from my imagination, either a visual flash that I can’t sketch out quickly enough, or an emotion that takes a little longer to process out of my head and onto the canvas. More recently, it’s a combination of both. Each painting is a story within a story. I begin by sketching the main image for each painting upside down, with my non-dominant hand. After turning the sketch upright, I have the uncontrolled line and naive effect I desire. More recently, I’ve begun to re-create my initial sketch on the canvas using a monotype technique with acrylic paint. This, like all changes in my work, developed out of a feeling of boredom with my process, therefore experimentation in the studio. I love the texture and chance the monotype brings to the lines of the main images in my work. In the background, I tell a story, usually random, not limiting myself by over-thinking. Using a sgraffito technique, I fill the space with texture, tiny sketches, figures and dialogue, exposing the underpainting. Some detail is rendered in pencil over the top layer of paint. I like that people are intrigued by the originality of my work, yet feel a familiarity in its sophisticated naivety.