Drawing from Nature // Exploration and Expression

Instructor Name: Kait Lennon

Date: July 23, 2022

Time: 10:00 – 2:00

Location: Art Center Landscape

Ages: 18+

Cost:  $60

Class Cap: 8

Workshop Description

Nature is such an immersive experience for all of our senses. The smell of the thawing earth after winter and breathing in the fresh, clean air can cleanse the soul - each season brings different scents and energy. Feeling the crumple of the leaves beneath your feet, listening to the ocean’s song or watching a radiant sunset shift from lucious pastels to the dark of the night can ignite a memory, inspire, and heal us.

We are living in a world where people are increasingly separate from nature. More often than not, we view our surroundings through a screen instead of being present and seeing the beauty that’s right in front of us. Stepping out of the linear and sterile world of the indoors helps to inspire a depth to a two dimensional work of art.

This workshop will have us reconnecting with nature and ourselves, to slow down, focus and observe. Venturing outside, we’ll pull inspiration from the landscape around us. Whether you feel a strong connection to a particular plant, the dance of the leaves in the breeze or the way the light hits at golden hour. Run with what sparks your interest and start sketching.

We will begin by following our own personal compass as we explore the landscape that surrounds the FPAC. Participants will be asked to pay attention, look around and to notice what they notice. Kait will work with each participant as they take notes on what they are seeing and experiencing. After the initial guided walk, work can be made either inside the Art Center or in its beautiful natural surroundings.

Required Materials

Something to draw with and on, your preference! Maybe a sketchbook to make some thumbnails on our walk

Instructor Bio

Kait Lennon graduated from the Hartford Art School with her BFA in printmaking in 2013 and has been working in the letterpress world since. She is the Master Printer at Masthay Studios,

a Hartford based print shop that blends traditional techniques with a love of music to create reduction block printed gig posters to fine art. She is also the sole artist of Long Legs Lennon, where she creates anything from album art, portraits (both human and pups) and botanical studies.

Kait thrives on detail and creating unique, tactile imagery. Her work creates a deep sense of nostalgia, rooted through her deep love and appreciation for nature, to portray memories and personal narratives. Deeply inspired by her own adventures, Kait’s work morphs with each new perspective, personal growth and her obsessively observant tendencies. Often fixated on colors, textures and repeating patterns found in nature, elements that bring her immense joy and what she consistently feels the most connected too.

She is a self proclaimed “color fanatic” and known for her distinct retro palette and drawdowns (color tests). Her process is of equal importance to her final product, specifically the hand mixing of each color. Drawdowns are a time honored method for sampling ink colors. Historically something considered disposable, Kait celebrates the beauty and utility of this act.