Kirsten Doyle

Studio #25

I grew up in a small German town across the Rhine River near Basel, Switzerland.

The area was influenced by the Textile Industry and my first professional education was in Textile design, where I was very fortunate to use pencil, tracing paper, brush and paint every day.

Living close to Basel I quickly got interested in all the art galleries, fell in love with the museums and especially the Basel Art fair.

I left my profession to study Art and Film in Basel and after completion I transferred to the Stadel Academy in Frankfurt which was then under the leadership of Kasper Koenig who inspired us all and I was very blessed to study painting for 6 years with amazing artists around me.

It was there when I received a scholarship for the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine, the summer of 1996.

At this wonderful program I met my husband, Michael, a sculptor. We stayed for a while in Europe to explore and were able to show our artwork in different galleries.

In 2005 we moved to NYC and decided 2018 after falling in love with upstate to move to Saugerties, be surrounded by nature and to have enough studio space.

My abstract paintings often start out with a grid, following a strong interest in structure and relationship of patterns. I have to admit that each painting requires patience and endurance, it demands time and energy to achieve, but it will eventually and always often to my surprise reveal its own expression and composition.

I really love to work with oil on canvas, but I am also experimenting with acrylic, watercolor, pencil and needle point.

Abstract Artists have been a great influence of mine, but I am also very inspired by figurative art and love to explore both with my skills.

I would like to end my statement with a quote from our beloved Pablo Picasso who did it all:

“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”