Abstract explorations of resilience, wonder and becoming
My paintings explore memory and transformation, layering fragments of history with luminous abstraction—spaces where ruin and renewal converge, inviting reflection, resonance, unexpected delight and glimpses of possibility.
My mother taught me to see rainbows. Even in her nineties—painting, writing poetry, living with wonder—she showed me that creativity isn’t indulgence; it’s oxygen.
From her I learned it’s never too late to become who you’ve always been.
I come from a family of makers. My husband and I met in art school at the University of Michigan, where I earned my BFA in metalsmithing and graphic design. From there, life expanded—raising a family, leading teams at work and helping to build businesses, one acquisition after another—yet art was always knocking. I created in windowless basements and at kitchen tables, long before I claimed the title “artist.”
When my mother passed away at nearly 98, something shifted. Her loss cracked me open, pulling me toward what’s essential.
My paintings inhabit the space between loss and becoming, where beauty and decay, order and chaos, stillness and motion coexist. Through layering, scraping, revealing, and rebuilding, I follow what feels alive.
Each piece is an act of excavation and renewal. They are reminders that transformation is rarely tidy, but always true.
FEATURED SERIES
DOMESTIC TENSION
In these works, I explore the layered experience of womanhood—where beauty, order, and care exist alongside mess, loss, and quiet struggle. The stitched lines, repeated vessels, and soft shapes nod to traditional domestic tasks—sewing, cooking, organizing, nurturing. Like quilt squares, these elements speak to the labor of holding a family together, piece by piece.
But beneath the surface, there’s a different story: the rawness of aging, the anxiety of yearning, the ache of lost dreams. That inner chaos seeps through in scratched textures, smeared colors, and imperfect edges—reminders that even in our most composed moments, the messiness of life is always just beneath.
These paintings are about that duality—the visible and invisible, the controlled and the unraveling, the sacred and the stained.
CURRENT WORK
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Please Note: All art is available upon request except where marked as //SOLD
COOKIN' WITH GAS: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board //SOLD
HAPPY NEW YEAR: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board //SOLD
**CROWDED BEAUTIES: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
**UNMAPPED TERRITORY: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
RUST NEVER SLEEPS I: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
RUST NEVER SLEEPS II: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
RUST NEVER SLEEPS III: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
PEERING THROUGH: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
MOMENTS OF ANTICIPATION: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board /
FEELING THROUGH: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
**THE RELEVANCE OF RUIN I: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
**THE RELEVANCE OF RUIN II: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
ST. AUGUSTINE SUNSET: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
BEYOND BOUNDARIES: 12” X 12” Mixed media acrylic, collage on board
CACTUS DREAMS I: 5” X 7” Mixed media, watercolor, ink, pencil on paper
CACTUS DREAMS II: 5” X 7” Mixed media, watercolor, ink, pencil on paper
CACTUS DREAMS III: 5” X 7” Mixed media, watercolor, ink, pencil on paper
CACTUS DREAMS IV: 5” X 7” Mixed media, watercolor, ink, pencil on paper
MILKY PINK: 16” X 20” Mixed media watercolor, gouache, charcoal, pencil, wax on paper
MIIDNIGHT NOTES: 16” X 20” Mixed media watercolor, gouache, charcoal, pencil, wax on paper //SOLD
PAIN, JOY: 18” X 22” Mixed media collage, acrylic, crayon, on canvas
AND YES: 18” X 22” Mixed media collage, acrylic, crayon, spray paint, on paper
LARGE WORK
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Please Note: All art is available upon request except where marked as //SOLD
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My Creations by Doris Kennedy
(My mom wrote this poem when she was 93)
Can I sit here and watch
While my paintings go up on the wall
The sum of my life’s work
That totals it all
What’s being hung
With a hammer and nail
The spacings of hangings
That tell the whole tale
The myriad of colors is easily seen
Many bright reds
That work
With the greens
Abstracts and trees
Are mostly what’s there
As surprising a mixture
As the eye can bear
So I’ll be happy
That others can see
Parts of life
Important to me