Artist Statement

“For me, painting is a way of seeing the world in a new way. I work mostly in the genre of Naturalism, and the subjects I tend to be drawn to are what most would consider ordinary: a bowl of plums, a pair of legs, a quiet corner in a room. I’ve found that when I sit with these subjects for long enough, however, my perspective on them begins to shift. As I come to know the subject I’m working with, my understanding of how best to represent that subject changes as well. Some of my work happens quickly – the way a person might scurry to write down the most lucid elements of a dream Others unfold over many years, a kind of conversation between old and distant friends. My hope is always to leave the viewer with a more complicated understanding of the world, to see the ordinary in a new way. I want my viewers to walk past my work, and then circle back. I want them to slow down, to think about the way the light sits higher up on the face of the girl than they would have expected, to think about the way the plums are, perhaps, not a fruit so much as a juxtaposition. Mostly, though, I want to offer my viewers a sense that the moment they see is one of a great number of other moments, a narrative that extends well before and well after the one I’ve captured.”  

Andrea Kemp is a contemporary painter She was born and raised in the roaring fork valley where she first began her formal art training During her formative years she studied in various institutions and through private mentorship. After completing her training she returned to Colorado and currently resides in Golden CO, with her family.  

Brendan Johnston graduated from McGill University in Montreal before pursuing a career as an artist.  He studied academic drawing, painting, and sculpture at the Harlem Studio of Art and The Grand Central Atelier in New York, from which he graduated in 2012, and where he continues to teach.  He is devoted to representational painting, and has of late concentrated his attention on portraiture, still-life, landscapes and florals.  He has also achieved acclaim for his portrait sculpture in both terra cotta and stone 

In 2019, he was shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award and his submission, Arcus, a portrait of fellow artist Jamaal Clarke, was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, and the Ulster Museum in Belfast.

Collectors are welcome to email him with any questions at [email protected]