Meatloaf and Her Shadow. Kathleen Turczyn, artist
When a gallery greets visitors with a handmade dog bowl filled with water at its front door, you know there are animal lovers inside. Mica Gallery, in Bakersville, is one such space. The artists who own and manage the gallery cherish pets and welcome works that reflect that sentiment.
New to Mica is Kathleen Turczyn who was adopted by a wild, aging kitty three years ago. Turczyn promptly began painting her. “Once feral, Meatloaf almost exclusively lives indoors now,” says Turczyn. “She is a very remarkable cat, as they all are. I have photographed her many times and have made three portraits of her so far.” Turczyn has owned nine cats in her life, calling them her “love angels.”
Turczyn also creates animal portraits on commission. “I usually start with the eyes, where I can find a special connection, and then I work on the head and body, all the while communicating subliminally with my subject through the eyes,” she says. “And, I fall in love with every animal I paint. No exceptions.”
Turczyn, who lives in Celo, is mostly self-taught as an artist after a 40-year career as a statistical analyst in the Washington, D.C. area. Her focus on plein-air landscapes and portraits evolved in retirement through workshops and classes with a number of notable artists. In addition to animal portraits, Turczyn’s subjects include landscapes, cloudscapes, human portraits and fantasies. She uses oil paint, sometimes mixed with cold wax to help give texture and looseness to her work.
“I often combine my knowledge of the technicalities of oil painting with a little courage and intuition, and just let go and play,” she says. “My goal is to share a joyfulness and reverence for life in all that I paint, whether landscape, human, animal or abstract. I want my paintings to vibrate with love and beauty.”
Visit Mica Gallery to see Turczyn’s paintings, as well as works by 40 other artists in Western North Carolina. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon-5 p.m.
Mica is located at 37 North Mitchell Avenue, in Bakersville. Learn more at MicaGalleryNC.com, or follow on social media.
