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.

Paper Blooms

When I originally made Paper Blooms I had the idea to submit it to an art show but I changed my mind. I decided I wanted to release it here instead. Paper Blooms is a whimsical floral that’s cheerful and reminds me of warmer months. I love creating happy art. Art that brightens a day or evokes warmth. There is only one original and it has all the texture, the energy, and my spirit. Because I like to allow for more affordable options, this design is also available as a print in larger formats, as a greeting card, and as a digital download, you can print at your leisure from home or through a print company.

Affordable and Instant Art

I’m super thrilled to announce I am now offering some of my art as a digital download. This is a great way to access smaller works that are easily printed off and added to a frame just like you would your family photos. All downloads will be in JPEG format and there will be multiple size options for framing choices within each listing. For example, you can choose between 4x5, 8x10, 11x14, 12x15 or 16x20 inches.

Most, if not all of the prints offered as a digital download are also available in my print shop in larger formats that can be printed as an art print on paper or canvas etc. Each digital download offers a great option for quick art for example, if you need a housewarming gift, click buy, download and print the art and pop it into a frame. Voliá, instant gift.

Kid’s Room Decor

My art is whimsical, playful, and filled with joy like little kids and it’s why I feel it would be fantastic to be used for decorating a child’s bedroom or play space. From hearts to flowers there is a bit of happiness in it all. My new Torn and Bloomed Series of prints is available in many sizes and formats to suit your decorating needs and each design would be a fun addition to any child’s room.

Love and Valentines

I’ve created a few new love-themed greeting card designs that could be used just because, or for Valentine’s Day which is coming up. These designs are all designed using my collaged heart elements, which I enjoyed creating.

I have a large selection of hearts and love-themed cards available. To check them all out click here.

Gratitude

Many years ago I created and produced my line of gratitude journals. I found it too expensive to continue the production due to constant rising costs and minimum orders. With Fine Art America I can still have my gratitude art represented as a great journal for documenting gratitude.

I had divided the page into three sections but with this notebook, you can fill each page as you would a regular journal. If you’re a writer you’ll have lots of space to write. If you prefer short form, the notebook will simply last you longer.

There is no right or wrong way to express gratitude and that’s something I’m grateful for.

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!

Torn Fragments Of Life

Sometimes, the unexpected happens, and it can be life-altering. Back in the summer, I got a message from Selina Robinson about the book she was writing about her ousting from the BC government and the rise of antisemitism. Full disclosure, Selina is a friend of mine and owns several pieces of my art collected over the years. She told me she wanted to use a piece of my art for the cover. Sitting on her deck at her home that summer afternoon, she told me her ideas of what she’d like for the cover and I then countered with my thoughts and let her know the process of creating a book cover and certain things aesthetically that needed to be considered.

Selina knew how affected I was by what happened on October 7th, 2023 when Hamas invaded the Nova Festival in Israel. We had chatted many times about the attack as well as the rise of antisemitism in Canada and around the world. It baffled me how so many remained silent after such a horrific attack by terrorists. Seeing the silence firsthand made me realize that the stories of several of my Jewish friends about hiding their Jewish identity at times were true. I always thought it was an overreaction but now I understood. I stood with the Jewish people and yearned for the return of the hostages and decided that from that day I would post about the hostages and/or antisemitism daily. I have received some backlash. Some artists were baffled and assumed I must be Jewish. I received a message from a local artist starting with “You must be Jewish”. Nope, no I am not. I had many go from chatting with me often to suddenly becoming mute. I had a prominent voice in BC message me trying to turn me against Selina but also telling me I was wrong and it isn’t antisemitic to call for “intifada” nor was it to say “from the river to the sea”. For any other marginalized community we believe them when they tell us something is racist or hurtful but what I was noticing is when it came to the Jewish community it was different. I stood my ground and the person said to me callously, “All the hostages are likely dead anyway”. I often wonder how this person felt when hostages were released from captivity or rescued or, in the case of the six hostages who were murdered after surviving for 11 months. I simply couldn’t understand and still don’t how people weren’t demanding Hamas release the hostages and surrender. This outcome would have meant less destruction of the land and the Palestinian people.

Originally Selina had two other pieces of my art she was considering for the book cover. When the murder of the six hostages hit the media, I hit my art room and worked through all the feelings I was having, and, as a result, “Torn Fragments of Life” was created. It represents my response to the horrific actions of Hamas and I showed the art to Selina. Below are my words on the anniversary of October 7th posted on my Instagram.

Torn Fragments of Life was created the day 6 hostages who survived for almost 11 months in the most unimaginable of circumstances were found dead. I didn’t know what to do with the thoughts that were swirling around in my head. They survived so long. Their families pain. Their pain. Their horror. So I ripped up my art and created this piece. Each piece of torn paper placed firmly in place. My thoughts kept going back to Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose arm had been blown off and his parents who did everything possible a parent could do to save their child.

One year ago my eyes were opened wide to the horror of watching terrorists attack innocent people in the most barbaric and horrific ways possible. Then, I was blown away by the silence of so many especially in the arts community. How so many people who stood with other minority groups turned their backs on the Jewish community or remained silent and yet, were not silent with other issues like BLM, LGBTQIA, Me Too or those who were saying it was justified. I was blown away at how news organizations, schools, educators all started distorting truth. I saw the propaganda machine of terrorists working and truth being silenced by the masses. The chanting in the streets, the definition of antisemitism being challenged by those who aren’t Jewish, the revisionist history of the Holocaust or the blatant denial. People openly carrying the flags of terrorist organizations in Canadian streets.

Torn fragments of life are the voice memos, text messages, phone calls, DMs I received from my Jewish friends and followers thanking me for standing with them. Thanking me for not being silent. I didn’t understand why I was being thanked because I was just being me. Peace comes when terrorism is equated to evil and evil is destroyed. I have and always will be against hate. I have and always will stand with humanity and that will always include those who are Jewish.

One of the most profound experiences was Selina’s book launch. It was held at a synagogue in Vancouver, the location released that day for security purposes. I brought the original of “Torn Fragments of Life” with me as Selina asked for it to be displayed. I had never been in a synagogue before. I sat in the second row behind Selina’s family and soon the room filled. I do not enjoy all eyes on me and what I didn’t realize was that Selina was going to read my artist statement about the art and introduce me to the audience. I wasn’t prepared for my emotions and the response from those around me.

The one thing that has been consistent from the Jewish community is their gratitude for those who have spoken up and offered compassion for their collective loss on October 7th but also for speaking up against antisemitism. At the book launch an older woman was sitting next to me on my left and another woman to my right who was roughly my age. After my artist statement was read and it became known I was the artist both women turned to me and thanked me. The one on the left told me she was Palestinian and the one on my right was Jewish. The evening was so profound because I had never been in a room with so many Jewish people. Many of them thanked me and many told me their post October 7th experiences and the shift they felt. It was so moving to me. I am someone who does not have to hide who I am because I am not Jewish but many of these people felt they needed to for their safety.

I highly recommend reading Selina’s book. I recently finished it and it not only tells what happened to her in government but provides a great understanding of who she is as a person with some history tossed in there too. What I found informative though were the lessons on what antisemitism is and how we, the allies can stand with the Jewish people. Antisemitism is not just a Jewish issue, it is a Canadian issue and all of us must speak out because what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews. Selina’s book can be purchased from Amazon and, in my opinion, should be taught in any leadership class as it showcases how leaders need courage and integrity.

Every Year The Leaves Fall

Every year the leaves fall and I tell myself I should create some autumn-themed art and this year I managed to get it done. It started with a walk with my dogs. There is a path by my home and it becomes thick with maple leaves under my feet. I decided to collect a couple and bring them home with me. I chose one large leaf and two smaller leaves. Once home, I tore off some parchment paper and covered them with a heavy book. I left them to press for a couple of days to flatten and dry.

They’re dried!

It took a couple of days, but I finally achieved the result I was hoping for: the leaves were flattened and dry. At that point, I wasn’t entirely sure of the composition I had in mind, so I began to roughly trace the outline of the largest leaf. I started with the largest leaf because I knew I wanted to incorporate at least one sizable leaf in the final piece. Once traced it was time to collage it.

OOOH this was fun and finicky!

In preparing for this project I created in advance several colourful hand-painted abstract works on paper so I was able to start the tearing process right away. Tiny pieces of torn paper helped to create the colourful abstract leaf shown here. Once this was created I went through the same process for the smaller leaves.

Allll collaged and ready for placement.

After I had all the leaves collaged and cut out I took some time to play around with the placement. Once I thought I had decided where everything would go I left it overnight to revisit the next day. Turned out another leaf was needed to and so I got busy creating another leaf.

All the leaves in a stack is quite the colourful display.

I’ve never been one that defines a season strictly by colour and since I love bright colours these leaves are just that, colourful. Now that all the leaves have been created and the placement decided I got going on creating the backdrop of torn paper.

Creating this 20-inch collage was a time-consuming process, but the result was absolutely worth it. I love the textured effect, which reminds me of layers of leaves scattered on the ground. The playful, vibrant colors bring a lively energy to any space, especially on dreary days when they can really brighten up a room.

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.