Q & A with Artist Kristin McCarthy-Sabatino

Have you seen the new paintings around the Library?  In this Four Season painting series, artist Kristin McCarthy-Sabatino brings her creativity and extensive experience with art, stemming from early childhood.  Read this Q & A session we had with her.

Tell us about yourself – Where you grew up, your art background, and experience.
I grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.  My family settled into Palos Heights where I attended St. Alexander School.  As a child I became fascinated with art and spent most of my free time exploring outdoors and drawing/ painting backdrops and sets for plays and musicals that my sister and our friends would put on for our neighbors.  Later, I studied figure and portrait drawing, oil and watercolor painting at The Art Institute of Chicago and The American Academy of Art where I earned degrees in Fine Art and Illustration.  I have been a freelance artist for over 25 years painting everything from murals for restaurants, boutiques and residential homes to more unique request of painting clothing,  furniture, motorcycle gas tanks and a claw foot bathtub. I have also worked as Teaching Artist for The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Block Museum at Northwestern University and the Elmhurst Art Museum leading tours and programming for school children and families from all over the Chicago-land area.   

We understand that you did research about the area prior to developing the design.  What kind of research did you do and what impressed you the most? 
Before I started the Four Season painting series, I studied the history of Palos Hills and the topography of the land. I wanted to paint landscape scenes that included native plants and animals that would honor the history of the prairie and the unique rolling hills of the town.  I was very impressed with the town’s natural areas, the gentle rise and fall of the land, as well as, the diversity of the plant and animal life that is still the pride of the town’s residents and an important part of the local environment.

Why do you think that public art is important in a library or other public building?
I believe that it is important to include art in our public spaces, environment and every day experiences to make it more accessible to everyone.  Working in museums helped me understand that sometimes the location of a piece artwork can be challenging for people who would otherwise enjoy it in a different setting.   Public art should engage and be playful with the audience. Art should invite you to slow down, make observations and think about the work in front of you. Art in public spaces allows the viewer to see an artist’s handmade work up close and allows the viewer make up their own narrative, what it means to them and how it relates to the space around them.

What do you think of the new paintings?  Let us know in the comments below.