Elizabeth Kennen, Moraga Art Gallery’s newest member, is a Bay Area native who currently lives in Pleasant Hill. Her love of local nature and wildlife kindles her work. Encouraged by her parents and art teachers, she pursued her passion for drawing plants and animals and began painting as a young adult. Granville Redmond, whose work she admired at the Crocker Art Museum, is just one of early California artists who inspires her. Spending time at the coast, especially Monterey Bay fuels her creativity. Walking a beautiful trail, appreciating the landscape, and bird watching motivate her. Sometimes her subjects include architecture, perhaps a historical building in a lovely setting. She wants her love of a subject to be communicated to the viewer, so that they might feel invited to the scene.

 

Kennen’s favorite medium is watercolor. She also enjoys colored pencils and often combines the two media. Her essential materials are paints, graphite and colored pencils, small brushes, an eraser, paper towels and 140lb cold press paper. Her process begins when her ‘WOW’ reaction to a place or subject in nature happens. Something amazing and beautiful captures her attention and she takes photographs to use as resources once back in her studio. She studies her photos, decides on a composition and begins sketching. Her process continues by slowly layering colors, concentrating on one section at time and emphasizing detail. Figuring out when a painting is finished takes time, so she lives with it for a while before adding the final details. Like many artists, she has learned to overcome creative blocks by pausing a project and moving on to something else. In order to work she needs time to focus and beautiful music playing.

 

When asked about her connection to the local community she answered, “I believe art is important to help make local communities vibrant and interesting. Seeing the work of local artists in galleries and various venues inspires me. Visual art brings beauty to our environment and sparks interesting conversations. It can lift our spirits. Art makes us more human. Visual art, music, dance, theatre are all important to our community.”

 

To address the challenge of finding a venue to exhibit, she advises emerging artists to join an organization like Lamorinda Arts Alliance. Marketing and networking in the community is important for artists and she’s learning more about that since one of her jobs as a MAG member is Outreach. Sharing artwork and exhibit news online is key along with joining the local Chamber of Commerce.

 

You can find Kennen’s art at Moraga Art Gallery. She also exhibits her work with Lamorinda Arts Alliance (www.laa4art.org), a local nonprofit organization that exhibits in venues around Lamorinda. Visit elizabethkennenart.com to see her portfolio, see exhibit news and find prints and gift items. She’s currently working on more coastal landscapes and birds. Elizabeth is excited to be one of the MAG featured artists for the current exhibit that runs January 7 to March 15, 2026.