Comfort Food for the Soul

In today’s world, we can often find ourselves caught up in the bombardment of imagery, scrolling past pictures and information at a rate that keeps us separated from the real world.  Every so often, it is medicinal to step away from the online world and experience stillness envisioned by someone in our community. We can make that transition from the barrage through silent contemplation on works of art created by hand and the imaginations of our neighbors.

Art brings us closer to nature and subjects that create an atmosphere of quiet acquaintance that becomes a healing salve when we choose to surround ourselves with their beauty. A single work owned and hung on your wall can be returned to again and again to reaffirm the peace of mind we found the day we first discovered the piece.  When considering local art, this relationship multiplies as we discover familiar scenes that can become comfort food for the soul.

One such local artist is Kathleen Cobb, who creates cozy comfortable wistful paintings that bring back memories from our past and prompts images in our dreams. Seeking out the stillness of nature and the perfect scene to express her love of the land, Kathleen regularly goes out seeking her inspiration throughout the flint hills and our beautiful landscape throughout northeast Kansas near her Holton home.

“As a child, I spent many hours exploring the creeks and woods on our 50-acre farm. I felt comfort in nature, and today I paint things I see in the land that are beautiful to me,” explains Kathleen. “ I try to convey that "sense of place" to the viewers of my art.”

Often beginning a painting on site, en plein air, Kathleen will extend the light with quick photographs to capture the inspired moment when she returns to her studio to complete her quiet images. These adventures result in misty visions created with her distinctive color pallet with soft brush strokes that echoes lazy days of our own encounters in nature.

Kathleen wants to inspire adventure and ignite your imagination through her work.  “I hope to draw the viewer into feeling as though they're there, and wanting to go around the bend to explore more. Whether in a vast, open landscape, or a cozy corner of the woods, I want to be there.”

Her work can be found on KansasArtGallery.com where you can see a video short of her discussing “Light on the Past” a piece that inspires memories of those simpler days when the old country store was a familiar site in our neighborhood.

When we take the time to unplug, pause and soak in the imagery, the hectic hustle of this demanding season is washed away in that moment of meditation. This is certainly the time to consider the soulful sanctuary that can only be found in the work of this local artist. Come in and escape the daily hustle and bustle and soak in the quiet beauty presented by this Kansas artist, Kathleen Cobb.