Where Art Blooms

Featured Artist – Kathy Drago

Kathy studied at the MFAH Glassell Studio School and was selected for the Glassell Studio School Block XX, a program for emerging artists with independent practices. Kathy paints figurative oil portraits of “old-old” women as well as abstract paintings referencing maps, migration, and visual plans. She was a 2017 Lawndale Big Show award winner and in 2022 had a solo show, LATE, at Art League Houston. She has a studio in The Silos at Sawyer Yards near downtown Houston.

I paint old-old women that I construct by combining images I collect from iPhone snapshots, social media posts, or grainy obituary photos. Sometimes the final painting resembles the person from one particular image, but more often, when I incorporate different faces, bodies, clothing, and backgrounds, an imaginary person emerges. While painting, I think about each woman’s life story. I draw on my background in theater arts and make these paintings the way an actor builds a character, using the outer physicality to reveal inner emotions and motivations. I deeply feel that the accumulation of years tells a compelling story and has a beauty all its own.

I also paint colorful abstracts. In my recent abstract work, the overarching theme that emerges is Finding a Path. Each new painting is telling me I want a map, a plan, perhaps a survival guide. I paint my concerns about climate, migration, health, and social divisiveness using bright, joyous colors because I am an optimist. I believe that people really care about each other and want to find common bonds and seek solutions together.

Website – kathydragoart.com
Instagram – kathydragoart
Email – kathydragoart@gmail.com