Kippi Leonard is an artist working in oil, graphite, and charcoal.

Working from her Cathedral City California studio, Kippi Leonard creates work that is poetic, subdued, and revealing. She creates an evocative tension between elements within her paintings as she layers rich colors onto raw linen and birch panel.

Her monotype print work is multidimensional, intuitive and process driven. She creates one off monotype prints, ghost prints, and Chine Collé using oil relief inks, collage materials, her own created materials, and a traditional printmaking etching press.

She was a recipient of La Jolla Fine Art Festival, CA, First Place Painting Award, and Indian Wells Fine Art Festival, CA, Second Place Mixed Media Painting Award.

Leonard’s work can be found in numerous private collections across the US, Hong Kong, London, UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Dublin Ireland, and Switzerland.

Working from her Cathedral City California studio, Kippi Leonard creates work that is poetic, subdued, revealing. She creates an evocative tension between elements within her paintings as she layers rich colors onto raw linen and birch panel.

Her work consists of oil paints collected during her travels here and abroad, cold wax medium, graphite, charcoal, oil stick and desert sand she gathers in the wild.

Unearthed moments of color are revealed during her process using potter carving tools and sandpaper. Her body of work is innovative in her approach preferring to paint flat and work around the surface adding layers from many different perspectives. Her finished pieces are a minimal color palette with expressive intentional line work, unexpected moments of color and surface texture.

Her monotype print work is also multidimensional and ethereal. Her works on paper are intuitive and process driven. She creates one off prints, ghost prints and Chine Collé using oil relief inks, collage materials, her own created materials, and an etching press. She never begins with the end in mind but allows the process to lead the way.

Upon first glance, Kippi’s work is subtle but as one studies the work, the generous depth of layers within her paintings are revealed.

AWARDS

2022 La Jolla Art Fine Art Festival, First Place Painting.
2019 Indian Wells Fine Art Festival, Second Place Mixed Media Painting.

RESIDENCIES

Chateau Orquevaux France July 2024 Juried, accepted and recipient of the Denis Diderot Grant.