Playful In The Garden of Whimsy Finds A New Home
Playing In The Garden Of Whimsy
One of my favourite pieces is off to a new home! Sometimes I create something that is very much me. I just loved this original, so I am sad it will leave my art studio, but I am happy it will bring joy to someone else.
If you’re looking to add some whimsical art to your home or office or want to give the gift of art, look no further; just click here.
Reminder of Love
Heart shapes remind us love.
Imagine this colourful heart collage on your wall. Every time you walk past it, you wish someone you love a good thought. When you see it, you feel immense love for the life you have. Original art holds the texture and energy. This heart invites you to touch it, to feel its energy, the texture, the life.
To add this piece to your home or office, click …
Valentine’s Day is Coming…
Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it!!
It seems like the year just started, which it did, but have you ever noticed how quickly Valentine’s Day arrives?.
It’s crazy how fast time flies now that I’m getting older. I remember being told this as a kid, but you really don’t understand just how fast that is until you hit middle age. I’m not overly keen on Valentine’s Day personally, but that doesn’t stop me from creating new Valentine’s Day cards every year.
I actually have quite an extensive collection of Valentine’s Day cards available in the pre-printed form. All of these cards can have a message added to them and sent directly to the recipient. To view this collection, click HERE.
Still, It Blooms…
Still, It Blooms reminds me that even through the harshest of winters flowers still bloom in spring.
I love how all the pencil markings are still visible in this torn flower. I enjoyed created the abstract design on paper and really didn’t think it was going to end up being a flower, but here we are and I love how it turned out.
The panel is as whimsical as the art on it because it isn’t a perfect gallery style panel. It has rough edges and pieced together sides. It won’t fall apart though, that I assure you.
Behind Floral Chorus
Floral Chorus came to life in the making of this video, created by Louanne Midgley of Tell Your Story Videos. She came over to my studio several times to record footage of my creative process from start to finish and to record in my own words, my story. This was such a great experience, and I love how Louanne pieced together the video footage and my words telling my story. Have a watch below. To view the finished piece, you can click here.
Off To A New Home
Off it goes…
It’s one thing to buy articles of clothing online or to buy your favourite perfume, but it’s a whole other thing when looking at artwork, especially one-of-a-kind original art. Knowing my work connects with someone who hasn’t seen it in person is such a wonderful feeling, especially in such times where so many people are struggling. I am truly grateful.
Tis The Season
Now and again, I like to offer a small sale on my original art. In the art world, they say you shouldn’t offer sales, but I am in my own world, and in this world, this world is costly! So, with that said, use code TISTHESEASON to save 20% on orders over $100.
Playful Whimsy
Add Some Whimsy…
When life is overwhelming and the news often grim, I am so grateful to have space in my home to disappear into a land of whimsy as I create layers of joy to (hopefully) live in homes of my collectors.
Fun Flowers Are Cheery
Ahhh, the joy of having flowers you don’t need to water, and they will remain beautiful all year round. You may need to dust the top of the art now and again, but it will continue to bring joy to the room in which it hangs.
I created this series from flowers I painted, tore out, and collaged in a whimsical way to showcase joyfulness and a playful spirit.
These three small works are great all together or on their own. Each can stand in a bookcase or be hung on a wall. Adding to or creating a gallery wall with this collection would be such a fun display of beauty.
Artists in Canada Interview
This interview was so great! I loved discussing all things art with Paul Constable from Artists in Canada. Paul also gave one of the best introductions too:
“In this inspiring episode of Canadian Art Today, host Paul Constable sits down with acclaimed Canadian artist Kathleen Tennant, whose creative journey is as textured and layered as her stunning collage work. From a late start in the art world to becoming an internationally recognized mixed-media artist, Kathleen shares how her love for torn paper evolved into a powerful and deeply personal art form.
💬 “As we go through life, we grow and transform – my art has grown right alongside me,” says Kathleen, reflecting on a career that spans from handmade cards to gallery-worthy abstracts and florals.
Learn how she turned crafting into a calling, hear about her success in the global stationery market, and explore how she creates rich, tactile surfaces that let imagination run wild. Her unique technique of layering torn paper has become a signature of her artistic voice—and this interview dives into the heart of it all.”
Check out this fun interview below.
Easter is Coming
This year I decided to create a few collaged cross-themed art prints and make them available. These turned out great! I printed a couple off at my local London Drugs to see how they looked on bamboo fine art paper. I loved them!! The colours are wonderfully bright and the textures of the torn paper show through. These prints will be fabulous for adding some art to a faith-based home or celebrating what Easter is all about.
These designs are available in different sizes and formats HERE
Digital downloads of these designs can be found HERE
Textured Blooms Original Art
This pretty floral collage was a lot of fun to create. I love it when I get to tear up abstract work on paper and turn it into playful flowers. I love them as they come to life and their character shows through. Creating the character to bring each flower alive and how they are assembled creates even more whimsy.
As the flower was drying I saw the curl of the petals and decided not to stick it down fully because I loved how the curl gave it a bit more depth. The background is all made of torn paper, with a torn-up piece of painted canvas and drywall tape for texture.
This beautiful original 8x8 inch floral can stand on its own, much like in the photo or it can be hung on the wall. To purchase this original piece you can click here.
Whispers Of Spring
When you start noticing the buds on the trees and the bulbs you planted in the fall are poking through the dirt, these are the whispers of spring. I love this time of year. Signs of new life, warmer weather, and more sunshine will soon be here and I can’t wait. Along with the sunshine comes the flowers and the smells of summer. Ahhh I love living in a place where all four seasons are so distinct.
Whispers of Spring is a new 8x8 inch floral collage created by a fun and colourful abstract design I created on paper and tore up into this beautiful floral original.
For those looking for a more affordable option or a larger version, I have prints available in sizes varying from 8x8 to 40x40 inches as well as digital downloads available in smaller sizes up to 12x12 inches.
Apology Collection of Greetings
I have created many greeting card designs over the last 16 years and I had to think about what new collection I could make. I realized I had been neglecting this area of my business, and so this apology collection popped into my head as somewhat of an apology to myself.
This is the only card in the series that drops the f-bomb but you and I both know that sometimes it’s the only word that describes something perfectly - especially when we screw up!
Behind Torn Garden Of Colour
I started and finished this painting in 2022, at least that’s what I thought. Several months ago, I decided to rework it and make it more cohesive with my current work using my hand-painted papers and collaging the flowers. Oh my goodness was this a project! It took a lot longer than I expected but it was super cool to see how the textures formed and how more depth was created.
Before the flowers appeared, I painted a brightly coloured abstract painting. The flowers were sketched out and the remaining background was painted with a wash of black so you can see glimpses of the under painting.
So, I got busy and painted several abstract works on paper and started tearing them up and adding the torn papers to each flower. I soon realized I needed more hand-painted papers to create the flowers and started painting more.
This image shows how it’s starting to transform. The bottom half was finished and I still had to tackle the top.
Just look at the texture
I love how each flower has transformed with texture and colours with all the layers of paper.
And… it’s finished! It took much longer than I thought it would but I finally got each flower collaged with layers of torn bits of hand-painted papers creating this playful and fun floral piece. I added bits of torn paper to the edges of this painting and a few more scratches into the black and I’ve declared it finished and ready to live on the walls in someone else’s home.
