Like mother, like daughter
Keeping it in the family, Kensington mother and daughter create art symbiotically
By Ashley Garman
About 16 stretched canvas panels cover the wall, and Kathy Mitchell looks small in comparison. These canvases are Mitchell’s current project, a set of acrylic paintings titled “Edible Feast.” Mitchell works in a small studio near Point Loma and spends her time with other artists there.
The artist working at the neighboring wall, however, is not your average artist. Zoe Mitchell, her 11-year-old daughter, seems to be following in her mother’s footsteps and has been creating art since she was young.
“I never limited her,” says Mitchell. She describes art as something that comes naturally to both mother and daughter. “It’s like breathing.”
“Automatic,” Zoe chimes in.
Both artists, who live in Kensington, will be showing their work in an upcoming exhibition near Liberty Station. While Mitchell has been featured in galleries and shows before, this will be Zoe’s first. She has already sold some of her pieces, and is currently working on a series of still lifes in charcoal and acrylic paint.
Mitchell also is working with acrylics, and has been painting for about a year and a half. She started as a potter and has worked with multimedia as well.
“I like edgy. Sketchy but not detailed,” says Mitchell of her art style. “I like to leave it to the viewer’s imagination.”
Mitchell and her daughter are members of the Losina Art Center, and both say there is something special about the studio and, specifically, the studio’s curator and instructor, Olya Losina. Losina instills confidence as well as new skills in her students, according to Mitchell.
“She lets each artist go on their own journey,” says Mitchell. “There’s not a formula.”
This type of guidance seems to be working for Mitchell, who embraces making mistakes in the studio. “It’s about the journey, not about a finished painting.”
One of Mitchell’s recent projects is a series called “Heads” that includes many abstract heads painted on large water color paper, sized slightly smaller than two feet by three feet. When starting the project, she used pictures from magazines, clippings of people who seemed physically unique or interesting. She painted each picture about five to six times and each image essentially became a new person.
Mitchell says her work can be a little bit disturbing, and Zoe agrees and even calls it creepy.Despite their occasional stylistic differences, Mitchell says she can imagine them painting together as a team in the future.
Mitchell plans to continue using acrylics and possibly experiment with transparent material and layering techniques.
The exhibition is called “The Mind’s Eye,” and will be running from July 2 to July 25 at the New American’s Museum Gallery at 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 103. The hours will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
