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 …
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.
Blooming Free - A Comission
I don’t do very many commissions because sometimes I find they take away the creativity and require far too much structure. Commissions can often be someone else’s idea of what they want to see, and since we all see things differently, the extra pressure to see what’s inside someone’s mind can zap all creativity from my soul. This commission, however, was different! My client came to me after seeing one of my sold works and asked if I could create a similar one. All the living hostages were now home, and she wanted to celebrate that and commemorate this time in history.
“Blooming Free” was created with the joy of each exuberant release, their families and the hope for a bright and better future. It was such a beautiful piece to create. The darkness blooming colour and the freedom of design and movement.
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.
Just Some Whimsy
I often photograph my art before sealing it to avoid any glare. I am told that when someone sees my work in real life, the colours appear much brighter and the texture is more pronounced. It’s hard to capture it all in a photograph. While I was sealing Wildflower Whimsy, I was reminded of how many times I had painted different flowers to get just the right ones I wanted to express with this piece. I was reminded that painting larger flowers for larger pieces is harder for me than when I am creating for smaller works, and I was reminded of how I wanted to convey the joy I was feeling in that moment.
This piece in real life is so darn cheerful, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I can see it in many different styles of rooms, from an office space, perhaps a counseling office, or in an entryway. I could also look wonderful in a living room or even a child’s bedroom. SO many options to choose from.
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.
Our True North Strong & Free
O’Canada, we have sung it since we were kids, but now is the time to show our Canadian pride. With this beautiful, colourful art print, you can always have a little piece of what being Canadian is all about in your home.
This print is available as a digital download, meaning you can download the image and print it off at any place that prints photos. It can also be purchased on various surfaces, like canvas, in a wide variety of sizes, through my Fine Art America site. All print art from Fine Art America is printed in their manufacturing site located in Ontario.
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
The Trees Never Tell Your Secrets
Several times a week, I walk in our local park, a forest with trails running through it. The trees are thick and encompassing. Sometimes, you feel you are the only person in that part, but in all the years I have walked or run along the trails, I have always seen other people at some point. The beauty of this park is the ability to feel all by yourself and process whatever you need to. I’ve cried among the trees, and I’ve whispered my thoughts a ridiculous number of times. I received a call from a friend once; he was crying and upset, and he told me he was in the park. He apologized for crying, and I said, “Let it all out; the trees never tell your secrets.”
This print is available as a digital download, but it is also available in larger sizes and in a variety of formats in my print shop.
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.
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.
Behind The Tropical Oasis Art
My newest art, Tropical Oasis, started because my daughter had decided to create art for her new home. She had mixed up some colours to make this tropical green colour that reminded me of the waters in a tropical location. She had created too much of this particular colour and asked me if I could use it. Of course, I could and not only did I use her remaining paint but I created some more, resulting in two dreamy abstracts on paper. I couldn’t wait to tear these up to create on my brand new blank 24 x 24 inch wood panel staring at me.
With each tear of these two pieces, I was thinking of tropical waters and the warmth compared to the Pacific Ocean. There is something about stepping into tropical waters. Mixing white watercolour paper with the torn abstracts on paper is a way to create more texture as the watercolour paper is thicker and, depending on the side of the paper I used one has a visible texture to it while the other is smooth.
The following images are the final abstract paintings I created before I tore them up.
This next photo is just after I started and I noticed my brush matched my palette.
The one thing I don’t talk about too often is just how much I love creating textures for the corners of my art. Oh, how I love it!! Building those corners is my favourite and fills me with such joy! I start each piece I create on a corner and once I start, I lose myself in the process.
Below is a close-up view of the bottom corner before I finished this piece by painting all the edges black and wiring it up!
To see the listing for this artwork, it can be found here: https://www.kathleentennant.com/original-mixed-media-collage-artwork-kathleen-tennant/p/tropical-oasis-original-mixed-media-collage-abstract-painting
Behind The Torn Edges
This is a space where I go behind the torn edges, but some may wonder what the “torn edges” represent.
For me, the torn edges represent life.
The frayed edges reflect the delicate fragility of life itself. Their unevenness mirrors our paths, which are rarely smooth and often unpredictable.
For me, tearing paper is not about destruction but more about creation. We can create beauty from broken things.
As much as I find joy in creating my abstract works on paper I find great joy in tearing them up to create larger, more playful, and colourful works to live on the walls in people's homes.