(Image: "Window on the Sea" by Kathleen Noyes)

Kathleen Noyes was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been living in Maine for the past 18 years. She studied art at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California and received her MA in Creative Arts Therapy from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco. In addition to being a painter and mixed media artist, Kathleen has been a graphic designer for over 30 years.

Kathleen states: “Art has always been my greatest passion. For as long as I can remember, I have needed to express my inner world through the visual. When I became an art therapist, I began to understand how nonverbal communication could bring out the richness, feelings and mysteries of the unconscious. I realized that the art experience was a tangible expression, not only of individual psychology, but also of universal human truths. The journey of making art begins as an internal one for me. Generally, when I begin a piece, I have no idea where it will take me or how it will reveal its final form. It is through my joy in the creative process that I hope to instill meaning; to offer a glimpse of our shared humanity through my work.”

When did you first realize that you were going to be an artist and when did you first start making art?
When I was 5 years old in kindergarten I can remember wanting to do nothing but paint.

Who or what inspires you?
My internal emotional and spiritual life, water, people. Artists who inspire me are many, for example: Susan Rothenberg, Peter Doig, Harold Garde, Richard Brown Lethem, Magdelena Abakanowicz, Dennis Pinnette, Lisa Becu, Ragna Bruno, Elizabeth Cashin McMillan, Sandro Chia.

(Image: "Horizon" by Kathleen Noyes)

Is (was) anyone else in your family in the arts?
All of my 4 sisters are involved in making art or craft.

Are you self-trained or did you go to art school?
I went to California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland California.

Is the process of creating your art long or short?
Hmmm...depends on the media. I can work on a painting for a few days or a week and collage takes a bit longer.

Tell us something about your work.
The genesis of any piece comes through me and is inspired by my imagination. Human and animal figures are my main subjects.

(Painting by Kathleen Noyes)

Do you have a subject matter that defines you as an artist?
Figures. Figures in motion; reaching, soaring, swimming. Right now I am fascinated with bodies of water, what is revealed below the surface and above. Many pieces now involve swimming, floating or standing figures in water. Also, the mystery of the clown and the circus. Clowns and acrobats. My sister-in-law is a trapeze artist in Paris.

What makes you stay with a particular subject matter? Why are you drawn to it?
I follow my impetus, inspiration and imagination. I think I am drawn to the subject of water which can reveal forms coming out of it but at the same time cover, in a translucent veil, some other forms. That same idea of revealing and covering is represented in the subject of clowns or performers while in costume, hiding identities and/or revealing them. There is a veil in each case.

How do you stay motivated?
I don't need to stay motivated. I just feel compelled to make art.

What have you been working on lately? Are you experimenting with anything new?
Every piece feels like an experiment and new to me!

Has your medium changed from when you first became an artist?
When I began I made charcoal drawings and now work in acrylics and collage media.

(Image: "Trapeze" by Kathleen Noyes)

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
Do what YOU want to do. Do what YOU feel compelled to do. Love your own unique process.

What kind of comment do you despise the most when overheard at one of your openings?
The panning of any piece that isn't pretty or "realistic". An attempt by the viewer to "figure it out", which gets in the way of just experiencing the work.

What kind of comment pleases you the most when overheard at one of your openings?
The work is "expressive and powerful" (moving in some way). The artist has "something to say".

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?
I am just getting involved in that aspect of the world of art.

Do you have any outside interests other than art?
Being outside in nature walking or hiking, boating on Maine waters, cooking, eating great food(!), family and friends.

Are you disciplined about your creative process (in other words, do you treat the process like a job, where you keep particular hours in the studio), or are you more spontaneous?
Sometimes I am in a regularly scheduled mode and sometimes I go to the studio when I feel like it. I like to work in the afternoon.

(Image: "Bridge" by Kathleen Noyes)

How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to create art?
It would require a huge adjustment. I feel deeply that this is what I am meant to do in this life.

What's the best part of being a full time, working artist?
Making my own world—feeling FREE!

What's the worst part of being a full time, working artist?
The issue of putting the reactions of the viewer to my work in perspective—how important is sharing the work with others as opposed to just doing it—doing it for myself.

Do you have any upcoming shows?
I plan on having some!

Where can we find your work?
At kathleennoyes.com and at Chapter Two Gallery in Corea, Maine

- Brenda Bonneville, editor

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