Girl with the Bright Orange Skirt, 36 x 20 inches, oil on canvas.
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“It’s always been my favorite
beach,” she says. “I’ve been to
so many other beaches and
I can’t say any of them beat
Wrightsville. It’s so fun and
energetic. You really get to see
people living in the moment,
and you get to see spontane-ous
moments of pure joy.”
Kennedy began her art
career as a commercial artist
and art director in New York
City ad agencies. Before that,
she studied at the Parsons
School of Design and School
of Visual Arts. While develop-ing
storyboards and directing
television commercials, she
developed an eye for narrative
in short form.
“Most of my painting comes
right out of my ad work,” she
says. “My pieces are like freeze
frames of a film, with little sto-ries
going on. My storyboards
completely influence my
paintings.”
Growing up in New York and
Connecticut in the restaurant
world, Kennedy cultivated a
keen interest in people from
an early age.
“I grew up in restaurants so I
grew up around people, watch-ing
people,” she says.
That insightful interest in
observing the daily lives of
others is carried over into her
painting.
In the prologue to his
book, “Tales from the Easel:
American Narrative Paintings
from Southeastern Museums,
circa 1800–1950,” Dr. Charles
Eldredge states, “Some of
the stories told in paint are
rather straightforward, easily
read by most viewers: simple
pictures. Others convey con-tent
through more obscure