Kathleen Eaton

Artist Statement:

I have embraced the gift I have been blessed with as a professional fine artist. I'm passionate about painting portraits in a most complimentary light, and see all people as beautiful. I look forward to painting every day and each session is an opportunity to grow as an artist.

I have always worked in a creative field – as a free-lance designer of quilts, crafts, and home textile designs, a published author of several quilt books, and most recently as owner of a graphic design firm. These experiences were important to my growth as an artist, giving me a background as an entrepreneur and businesswoman.

Biography:

Kathleen (Kay) Eaton is a portrait, figurative, landscape, and still life artist, working mainly in oils on linen, canvas, and board. Her work employs a combination of realism and impressionism, and she prefers to work from life whenever possible.

She is a former graphic designer and a published author of quilt books and craft patterns, with national exposure. She is now fulfilling a lifetime dream working as a full-time fine artist.

In recent years Eaton has studied with Daniel Gerhartz, Everett Raymond Kinstler, C.W. Mundy, Nancy Guzik, Rose Frantzen, James Hempel and Andrew Orr. She paints with a group of artists that include Dan Gerhartz, William Schnieder, William Suys, Lori Beringer, and more.

Recent notable portraits include that of U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak, which is on display at the Spies Public Library in Menominee, MI, and the official portrait of The Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample, Bishop of Marquette. The bishop’s portrait currently hangs in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Marquette, and will be later added to the adoration chapel, which houses historical portraits of all the former bishops of the cathedral.

She paints numerous commissions, and has received meritorious recognition in the Richeson 75 International Portrait and Figurative Competition, the Richeson 75 Landscape Competition, and the Richeson Small Works Competition. She was invited to show at the Michigan Portrait Exhibition at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI in 2009. Eaton’s work appears in exhibitions and art fairs throughout the region. Many of her paintings are housed in private and public collections throughout the United States.

Originally from Chicago, Eaton has lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for over 20 years. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, quilting, and searching for landscape inspiration.

2011 Works and Accomplishments

BoldBrush Online Painting Exhibition

Honorable Mention Award, Plymouth Arts Festival, Plymouth, WI

Richeson Portrait and Figurative Competition - Meritorious Achievement

Richeson Small Works Competition - Meritorious Achievement

Richeson Landscape Competition - Meritorious Achievement

Cedarburg Plein Air Festival and Competition

Dockside Quick Paint Event, Door County, WI

Fox Valley Plein Air Painting Competition & Exhibition, Neenah, WI

Milwaukee Domes Art Festival and Plein Air Competition

Weekend With The Masters, Monterey, CA

Exhibition of local works, Spies Public Library, Menominee, MI

Organizations and Membership:

Oil Painters of America

The Portrait Society of America

The American Impressionist Society

Wisconsin Visual Artists

Wisconsin Plein Air Painters

Water’s Edge Artists