FEATURES
Red Mountain art student exhibits wild side
Darlene Swaim, an art professor at the Red Mountain campus, encourages her art students to be individuals.
Kathleen Maley and Catherine Hammond have become more than art students, they have become remarkable artists. “I encourage them to be individuals and to have something to say with their artwork,” Swaim said.
Maley was inspired to pursue art after completing a paint-by-number piece seven years ago. Her hobby has since turned into a passion as she discovered what she loves.
“She has just taken off. She has changed and matured with every piece tremendously,” Swaim revealed.
Recently Maley had a solo art show at Arizona State University titled “Lions and Tigers and Bears Ah-Ah.” This show contained her wildlife portraits. “That was very much an accomplishment for me. I got a lot of emotion from that show,” Maley said.
“Her animal pieces really have a soul. They look back at you. You feel that there is somebody in there behind their faces. She captures the essence and spirit of the critters,” Swaim said.
“I love to paint animals,” Maley said. “When I do my art, I do it from my heart. My emotions doing the piece should create emotion for somebody else.”
“Scottsdale’s Wilde Meyer Gallery is where I would love to get my work in. That was probably the first gallery I walked in and I said I would love to get in here. I feel my art fits in,” Maley said.
Maley’s artwork is to be shown at the Dobson Ranch Recreational Center and Legacy Golf Resort. She has goals of displaying her work in the Phoenix Zoo and Out of Africa.
Swaim has supported Maley and urges her to make herself known.
“She has been a real inspiration for me, getting me to just keep pushing. And she knows how hard I work,” Maley said.
Becoming an artist takes incredible dedication, but believing in the artwork has allowed Maley to blossom.
Catherine Hammond, a published writer and poet, has since broadened her mediums to visual art. She has combined both her writing and creative talents to create watercolor on silk paintings. These pieces are on display at the Shemer Art Center and Museum in Phoenix until Oct. 13.
“Catherine really has something to say with her work,” Swaim said.
“She uses her art forms to display her concerns, her human concerns. She does this strongly She wants us to pay attention,” Swaim explained.
Hammond is to give a lecture on Oct. 3 at the Shemer Art Center and Museum in Phoenix.
Volume 44, Issue 3. Today is
“Her animal pieces really have a soul. They look back at you. She captures the essence and spirit of the critters,” Professor Darlene Swaim said about Kathleen Maley.
Photos by Lee Kauftheil