for Kathleen Dunphy, painting outdoors was never really a choice — it was simply the place her two lifelong loves, the natural world and the animals in it, were bound to collide. A celebrated plein air and animal painter, Dunphy treats the two disciplines as entirely separate pursuits, yet both are rooted in the same conviction: nothing beats working from life. In this conversation with Christopher Volpe, InsideART’s original editor, she talks about what draws her to each subject, why she’s finally letting herself sketch just for the joy of it, and why she believes the pursuit of mastery — always just out of reach — is less a burden than a gift.

Kathleen Dunphy works up a larger landscape while her studio assistant stands ready to help

 

Kathleen Dunphy: My love of the outdoors is hardwired into me- hiking, biking, walking, skiing, gardening…anything that gets me outside has been a draw as long as I can remember. But I didn’t even realize you could take your easel outside to paint when I first started out as an artist. When I heard about plein air painting, it was just such a natural fit for me that of course I had to pursue it.

 

Kathleen Dunphy, Groundskeepers, oil, 12×25.5 inches

 
Kathleen Dunphy: Going hand in hand with being outdoors is my love of animals. I found companionship in dogs and cats as a child and that has only gotten stronger (and included more species) throughout my life. I can’t seem to go anywhere without noticing the other living things that share the planet with us.
I’m absolutely fascinated by their lives and habits and interactions, both among their own kind and between species. When an animal bridges that gap and gives its trust to you..that’s just a magical moment. Sometimes I think I paint animals just as an excuse to be around them more often and to get to know them better.
Inside Art: They seem very different; do you see any interesting similarities in terms of technique involved in painting them?
Kathleen Dunphy: They are different disciplines and I really treat them as such –I very rarely combine animals into the landscape where the animal is just an accent in a larger scene. When I see an animal, everything else stops and all of my focus goes to the animal. I think that’s why I’m not so concerned with elaborate or complex backgrounds on my animal art; I just want the creature to be the sole intent of the artwork. 
The same idea holds true for my landscapes: usually I’m focused on dramatic light and/or atmosphere and I don’t want a living creature to interrupt that train of thought. 
 
My approach to both subjects involves one key element in common: working from life. I can’t paint a larger studio landscape with conviction unless I’ve painted the scene en plein air, and I can’t accurately convey an animal’s physical form and natural habits unless I’ve carefully observed it and made several sketches from life.

Condor studies, from Kathleen Dunphy’s sketchbook

Inside Art: How does the sketchbook fit into your routine?
 
Kathleen Dunphy: I love to draw! My sketchbook is my daily dairy, sometimes just scribbles and notes, sometimes more complete drawings, either from life or photo reference. This year (after taking a Dina Brodsky online sketchbook habit class), I’ve given myself the luxury of spending more time with my sketchbook.

Kathleen Dunphy, Sundance Study, oil, 8×10 inches

 

I have always felt a little guilty and self-indulgent when I just draw for the sake of drawing and fool around with different ideas, but I’m finding that it really feeds my creative soul and just makes me so happy. Sketching lights the fire of my imagination and opens me up to different possibilities beyond the obvious.

Inside Art: You’ve built quite a successful career, and your work seems to always be evolving and improving. What do you do to grow as an artist and improve your work?
Kathleen Dunphy: Any success I’ve had has honestly come from constantly pursuing something just out of my reach. Every step on the ladder of learning just allows you to see further and realize what might be possible if you just worked hard enough at it. There’s so much to learn!!
I love taking classes, being a student, and trying new things. It’s so easy to get complacent if you start to have some success with your work, but I really feel like that’s the death knell for so many artists. You just have to keep pushing forward…plus, it’s so exciting to finally be able to do something that you’ve been struggling with for a long time.

Kathleen Dunphy, oil, Lift Off

We are so blessed as artists to have this constant, unreachable goal of being the best artist we can possible be….we will never be bored and will always have something interesting and challenging to occupy our time.

Inside Art: Do you have any thoughts on the place of creativity and art in a life well-lived?
Kathleen Dunphy: Art and creativity have always been such a part of my life that I just wouldn’t exist without them. I find it so interesting that, since time immemorial, mankind has been compelled to make marks that represent his existence. Cavemen picked up burnt sticks and drew mastodons, and there was really no life-sustaining reason for that. But somehow, art must be fundamental to us all if it’s been around since humankind first existed.
Kathleen Dunphy captures the light in the foothills of the magnificent Sierra Nevada mountains in her instructional step-by-step video, Capturing the Light. She teaches you not just why understanding the quality of light is so important to strong paintings, but also how to express it confidently and consistently within your own work.