Kathy Braud Artist Bio

Kathy Braud is a signature member of the Red River Watercolor Society (RRWS) and NorthStar Watermedia Society (NSWS) - a designation reserved only for artists that have been invited to have work shown in their national exhibitions. Most recently, Braud’s paintings were featured in two Juried National Shows (2018 and 2019) and the Juried Minnesota State Fair’s Fine Art Exhibition (2018).
Kathy also received an ArtPlace grant to install five art pieces at Sprout Growers & Makers MarketPlace in Little Falls, Minnesota.

Although all artists begin their careers as students in some capacity, Kathy soon began offering private art lessons; then graduated to giving demonstrations to artists groups at a variety of venues, including the Red River Watercolor Society, Fargo, North Dakota and the Artist Market at the Minnesota State Fair - Fine Arts Building hosted by NSWS. For four years Braud served as the Vice President of the Central Minnesota Watercolorists (CMW) and is currently a member of the Great River Arts (GRA) visual arts committee.

Exhibitions, juried shows, and art fairs have been important components of Braud’s success as an artist, along with commissioned work. Kathy’s work has acquired many beautiful ribbons and awards acknowledging her mastery of the watercolor medium. Her work has a worldwide presence of view - mirroring her global sales on the web through Fine Art America (https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/kathy-braud or kathy-braud.pixels.com).

Originally born in Little Falls, she returned to the community with her husband Jim after acquiring her nursing degree. She retired in 2000 after working at the St. Gabriel’s Hospital for twenty-four years. Her two children were also Little Falls graduates. Her children are both married and currently live and work in Duluth, Minnesota, along with her four beautiful grandchildren.

Kathy Braud Artist Statement

After more than 25 years of creating art, I continued to infuse new knowledge into my watermedia. Even as an artist, I take workshops to expand my portfolio of techniques based on other artist’sperspectives. I pay attention to important details of line, color, shape and the principles of design. My work consists of value
studies, with interlocking shapes that focus on light, middle and dark values. I often use a sharp contrast of dark values against the path of light to capture very bold and dramatic scenes. Even by arranging different color combinations can produce exciting mood variations. For example the “Embracing Fall” image featured in this exhibition showcases these skillsets. It is so fun!

I have really enjoyed my journey of creating art throughout my life. As a former registered nurse, I use the people skills I learned, along with my artistic talents to be an effective artist. I love painting large images – benefitting from the use of a variety of mediums. My purpose as a painter must go beyond recording an event with the accuracy of a camera. Instead I feel a need to describe in color - this mood, memory or pleasure that is enriching my spirit. My goal in my paintings is to have fun, be enthusiastic and to share this impression with you, the viewer.