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I was born in England and moved to the island of Bermuda when I was one and have lived here all my life. My father’s family (Kitson & Gorham), are Bermudian and my mother’s family are from the New England area in the US. I studied Fine Arts & Graphic Design at the School of Fine Arts, Boston University, graduated 1985. I am currently working as Creative Director & Owner, Kitson Group of Companies in Bermuda.
Statement: “My true passion is for painting outdoors on the beach or by the sea, and capturing the subtle colors of shadow and light. I love working in my studio building on what I have learned outside. I made a commitment years ago to attend an intensive workshop overseas every year with a master oil painter to further develop my skills. It has truly been a rewarding and challenging process!
My process: ” After I select a location to paint, I walk around and sketch small drawings from different directions. I ask myself, what is the focus of this painting? The story. The magic. Once I find it, I transfer the composition to my canvas with paint. There are several questions I ask myself before I start: What is the mood I am trying to convey? Is it a cool or warm day? I try to find a way to link all darks and lights so the viewer’s eye can travel through the painting. I remind myself that the air is filled with color, (atmosphere) and the earth sky is a dome. The sky reflects on everything & light usually comes from one direction but can be reflected from another. Bermuda is a beautiful place to study the transparency of water. It is so rewarding to paint the translucency and reflective qualities.”
Intensive Workshops & Continued Education:
2013, Susan Sarback 5 day Workshop Susan works solely with a palette knife and a full spectrum palette. A real challenge for me! Her paintings are about capturing the quality of light, color and atmosphere. Susan earned a Masters Degree in Art and studied with an American Impressionist painter, Henry Hensche, in the lineage of Charles Hawthorne and Claude Monet.
2013, John Cosby 5 Day Workshop John is from California and works with a limited palette – only Primary colors. He mixes secondary colours and this creates a harmonious painting. I would highly recommend his workshop to anyone who wants to learn how to paint outside from life. His style of teaching is very generous and easy to learn.
2014, Kim English 5 Day Workshop A Colorado Plein Air painter that works with models outdoors. This was a very advanced class; painting a new position every 5 minutes for 3 hours at a time, for 4 straight days. Kim used a completely different palette from the other workshops, one that was more conducive to flesh tones. By the third day we were all in the flow and producing quality pieces. Kim’s art is full of intense color, unique compositions and movement. Take away: Don’t get too precious with your work – scrape it off if you don’t like it and start again.
2014, Boot Camp, with Camille Przewodek at the Cape School of Art in Provincetown MA. We painted from 8 am – 6pm every day and learned the colorist way of painting. Its foundation is using color to build form, a Henry Henche theory. Hensche, wrote: “Only the education of the art of seeing, unique as it is, supplies the possibility of continuous growth. As a good music teacher makes the pupil aware of finer sound tones and how to produce them, the good art teacher will make his student aware of finer color tones and how to paint them.”
2015 Kathy Anderson, 4 Day Workshop; an outdoor floral painter who is passionate and extremely patient with her work. She shared new paint colors and techniques to make the painting process easier. She also introduced me to new brushes and a new surface to paint on – Oil primed Canvas. Kathy studied with Richard Schmid who held a Doctorate in Fine Art and was a recipient of The John Singer Sargent Medal for Lifetime Achievement. Take Away: Use vibrant paints first. When setting up an outdoor garden still life, cut additional flowers and put them into water tubes to add color.
In 2017 Colin Page 5 Day Workshop in Chesapeake Bay MD. ( I have been waiting for almost 2 years to get into his class. ) I admire his work and style of teaching. Colin introduced me to new paint colors by Gamblin. The pigments are very intense and rich in color and safe! Take away: I learned to see warm tones in shadows.
2018 Daniel Keyes 4 Day Workshop, A self taught master of flowers and still life. Daniel’s workshop focused on still life composition, light set up for indoor painting, brush work & new paint colors. Take away: I learned how to mix beautiful greens and studio set up.
September 2024 Joanne Johanne Mangi- Animal Portraits as Fine Art – Oil in Studio, Joanne’s art development was self-directed but was soon discovered by the famous artist Richard Schmid and The Putney Painters in VT. The principals of her teachings are similar to painting outside en Plein air. Do the research, design & composition first, study your subject from life, take photos in case you want to create a larger piece later, have fun and don’t expect to produce a masterpiece every time. Each painting is a learning experience and will improve your next painting.
Member of the Bermuda Art Center at Dockyard, Masterworks, Bermuda Society of the Arts & the Bermuda National Gallery.
Influences: Joquin Sorolla, Hensche, Hawthorne, Monet, Renoir, Degas