Kati D'Amore......by Joyce Oroz

Kati D'Amore is a wonderful generous person, and relatively new to painting, although her father was a well-known painter in Germany. Once she decided to paint, the world became a better place with her beautiful landscapes, seascapes and amazing portraits. Her oil paintings are "fresh", never overworked. Kati uses vibrant color and free, painterly strokes for an amazing look at nature. 
She will be demonstrating her painting techniques at the Dragonfly Gallery, 380 Blohm Ave., Aromas, Saturday, April 12th from 2:00 to 4:00. The public is invited for refreshments and conversation.

I recently interviewed Kati:

Kati, was there a place or a person that influenced your decision to paint?

As my daughter so eloquently described on my shop page on easy I was influenced by my father who was a painter well known for his portraits and landscapes in Germany. So I grew up with paintings all around me and visiting many art galleries in Munich Germany. My actual kick off to paint was after having moved to Florida for my husbands job and being in Sarasota at the Ringling Museum of Art. They had a show on Grandma Moses and her paintings. They showed an interview with her on a screen and I heard her answer the interviewers question why she started painting at 70: "well I could have cleaned the house more or fed the chicken more often….." That made me realize that it is never too late to follow a passion, and so I started with one watercolor class.

What mediums do you like best?

 I now prefer oil over any other medium, watercolor requires a lot of pre-planning and that is not how I paint. Oil lets me develop the painting and correct my mistakes, so I feel much freer as I work on the canvas.

Please tell us what your favorite subjects are. And most difficult.

The most fun to paint are landscapes en plain air. I belong to the Monterey Bay Plein Air Artist Association and we have monthly paint outs at all these wonderful spots in this area. You get to experience the smells and sounds of your landscape because you are right in it.

The most difficult are portraits of babies because they don't have very developed features yet. But in general I love doing portraits the most.

Kati, where do you live?

I live in Royal Oaks on five acres. My studio is a newly converted two car garage with skylights and windows and I love the privacy and rural feel of our home.

 When you are not painting, what do you like to do?

My husband and I love to hike and bicycle, I like gardening and reading  and occasionally cooking.

Where can we find your lovely paintings?

You can find my work at www.etsy.com/shop/KSDStudio and by contacting me at katidamore@gmail.com to arrange a visit to my studio.and of course at the Dragonfly Gallery in Aromas :)