Technologi

Kathy Durst artist is an American art teacher from Redwing, Minnesota. Growing up in Rockford, Illinois, she earned a teaching certificate in Visual Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Austin campus of the University of Texas. Retired from teaching, it was not long before she was invited to participate in her first solo showing of her ark-full of paper painted collage animals in 2014 at the Ross Gallery.

With 25 years of experience adding beauty to the world, the artist has used almost every medium and technique imaginable. The work that is available online is mostly produced using paper painting collage. "Roseate Spoonbill" is an example of the level of detail and range of colors and textures that can be achieved using this technique.

"Lammie" and "Yulka" illustrate what can be achieved by creatively employing paint and carefully selected scraps of paper. In "Yulka, " we see an empty soft drink bottle showing through a floral patterned swimsuit for flotation. This is a very deft application of the collage painting technique.

The beauty of this technique is that the materials are cheaply and readily available and the method can be taught to the under-fives. Ms Durst, with a level of maturity and experience that comes with retirement age, is a virtuoso. View some tutorials of paint collage on the Internet and you will be more able to fully appreciate what the artist is about.

The artist appears to be going through an animalistic phase in terms of her chosen subject matter. This may be the result of her forthcoming show at the Ross Gallery. In "Take Me Along, " we see a couple of scuba divers breezing their way through a sea of cuttings from at atlas. They are apparently swimming to music, because they are also awash in a sprinkling of musical notes. This imagery is difficult to achieve with a simple paintbrush and paper.

View this artist's work at your own peril and be prepared to spend time and money experimenting with your own painted paper collage artistry. It is positively inspiring. Seriously, just watching someone do it on YouTube is entrancing.

Her "Rose, " is a different kettle of fish. Apart from being a departure from animals, it may or may not be another example of the painted paper collage technique. It could be. She is that good. The blossom is in shades of flamingo and coral, with little splashes of the main hues dotted around in the surrounding foliage.

Kathy Durst artist uses textured papers and stencils in her work to give it character and depth. As beginners, the best we can hope for is a lovingly-produced Sunday School project. Find the date of her next showing and track down her work. You will be hooked.