Expressive brushwork and rich color characterize the portraits and figurative works of Kathleen McKenna. Marianne Berardi, former director of The Cleveland Artists Foundation wrote: “McKenna’s use of color is not simply bold but truly adventurous, and gives her work a power that goes beyond mere transcription.”

Widely exhibited nationally and internationally through the Art in Embassies Program, her work has garnered numerous awards including the Allied Artists of America’s Gold Medal. McKenna’s oil paintings and pastels are in several Cleveland area collections, among them The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Intercontinental Hotel, The Cleveland Play House, and Cleveland State University.

Kathleen McKenna received her training at the Cooper School of Art in Cleveland. While there she won several awards in student competitions for her life drawings and portrait paintings. She furthered her studies in New York at the Art Students’ League with a number of contemporary masters including Robert Brackman, Frank Mason, David Leffel, and Everett Raymond Kinstler. She teaches in the Fine Arts Department at Lakeland Community College.