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WBM july 2017
symbols, using details freighted with
personal, often cryptic meaning —
complex images that perhaps reflect
the complex circumstances of their
creation. But all suggest a basic and
enduring fascination with a story well
told, with a tale well painted.”
Kennedy’s oeuvre appeals to this
enduring interest in a well-crafted story.
Kennedy is also a photographer. She
takes and keeps thousands of photo-graphs
from streets, parks, and beaches
all over the world. These photographs
become the basis for her paintings.
Though she does occasionally paint
straight from a photograph, the artist
will more frequently combine aspects
of multiple photographs to create a
new image. She will frequently revisit
images that are several years old and
always adds original components to
the painting.
Even though she is also the pho-tographer,
the process of converting
a photo into a painting is closer to
interpretation than reproduction.
Thus, Kennedy’s work enables the
viewer to revisit fond memories, to put
themselves back into those youthful,
carefree moments from their past. And
it is in this way that she appeals to a
universal sense of humanity, narrative
and emotion, tapping into Eldredge’s
notion of a collective human craving
for a story well told.
“A lot of people see themselves
or their children in these paintings,”
Kennedy says. “As time passes, details
and memories can get blurry. People
connect to the imagery in my paintings
beyond ‘That’s a nice painting,’ and it
usually has something to do with ‘My
little girl’ or ‘I remember when I did
that.’ There is a very visceral emotional
connection.”
This impression is evident in
“Soaking it All In,” which shows two
young women at a street-end beach
access, resting on the edge of a bench
in front of a sea oat-covered dune at
Wrightsville Beach. The two figures
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