A Portrait of the Artist: Kathy Bush

Recently elected President of the Gaithersburg Fine Arts Association (GFAA), Kathy Bush has been spending a good deal of time getting to know the organization and figuring out how it's run. Between interviewing board members and planning shows for the upcoming year, she has also managed to keep painting.

"The GFAA is a nice group of accomplished and new artists. A wealth of knowledge comes with it. Besides our monthly guest speakers, we have 80 members and eight shows planned for next year, which is a lot considering the dwindling number of venues for artists," said Bush who is replacing Sandra Fritter as GFAA President.

"I spent the last year painting my heart out," said Bush who made a radical decision to stop working outside the home one year ago. She was determined to devote herself exclusively to making art.

For 25 years, Bush painted only watercolors. She started exploring acrylics and oils five years ago. Recently she has begun using a palette knife for some of her paintings as well.

"I always like to switch up something to keep things motivated," said the artist who has also been developing a studio art portfolio in recent months.

Primarily a plein air painter, Bush paints alla prima, a wet-on-wet technique that allows her to complete her outdoor paintings in under two hours.

"I have the advantage of being a fast painter," said Bush who also commented on how much work she has amassed since making the leap to stop working outside of art.

Some of her recent work is currently on view at the Summer Salon Show at Artists' Gallery in Frederick, Maryland through August 21, 2011.

She is also a repeat winner in several GFAA juried shows. At this year's , Bush garnered First Prize in the Oil category. She won Best of Show in the 2010 show. She also won First Place in Watercolor in the GFAA's 2009 and 2005 Montgomery Village Annual Juried Art Shows, and Best in Show in Watercolor in 2004.

Bush moved to Gaithersburg from Michigan in 2001 just after the events of September 11. Having visited the Washington, DC area before 9/11, she remarked on how much it had changed:

"It was like an armed camp. There were fences and armed guards everywhere."

Having grown up on a farm in rural Michigan, Bush did not find her niche in high-strung DC, but in rural Maryland, where she frequently paints at a friend's farm in Laytonsville.

"Linda Phillips has her studio, Something Earthy Pottery Studio and Gallery on her farm in Laytonsville. I often go out there and spend all day painting and then attend the free summertime concerts under the stars. She hosts them on a built gazeebo platform."

Like other area artists, Bush also likes to paint along the Potomac River.

"I prefer to paint during the day for the light. Painting alla prima means painting in the moment, all at once. Painting en plein air disciplines you to work at the light because you only have a short window to record that moment," said Bush who also commented on how painting with oils makes the process flow more smoothly.

In the last year, Bush has been focusing on developing her figure and portrait work, which is relatively new to the artist.

"I'm a country girl. I grew up on a farm in Michigan and have a can do attitude. If I try it, I bet you I can do it," she exclaimed.

Whether painting outdoors or in the studio, Bush follows her flow:

"When I am painting, I am in a zone. I am following the way the light falls. Sometimes, I kind of surprise myself. I take a break and when I return I wonder if I am the one who did that! I usually follow the mood of the painting."

Bush ascribes her fluid and rapid process to being a hairdresser for 35 years. She always had to keep moving, she said.

According to Bush, the last 5% of a painting is the most challenging. That's when she adds the finishing touches.

"I put the painting up on my mantle, stand back looking at it, and start tweaking. My husband can't talk to me when I am in critique mode. We are our own worst critics," she said.

Offering a glimpse into her past, Bush recalls the three years she spend in Zurich while her husband was doing doctorate work in the Swiss capital from 1988-1991.

"I immediately was drawn to other expats. When you live abroad, the community of expats always presents you with a diverese and interesting group of people. I had friends who were ballet dancers, quilters, lace-makers - one of them even taught me how to make lace. It takes hours to get one inch of lace," said Bush drolly.

A prolific watercolorist even then, Bush showed her work in downtown Zurich and taught watercolor classes from her home. She even learned to speak Swiss-German.

Besides her increased involvement with the GFAA, Bush is also a member of the Art League of Germantown (ALOG), the Montgomery County Plein Air Artists and more recently the Maryland Society of Portrait Painters.

To visit the artist's website, click here.