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My painting titled "Cousin Kyle" was inspired by young cousins meeting and sharing their world with my Son, a new immigrant to Canada in 1998. We are born to explore and be curious about our life, thus the accompanying poem:

Young Explorers
We have a beach at the end of our road.
Come see! Come see our treasure trove!
Of seashell sand,
Of rocks and hidden life,
Of dragons asleep in driftwood shape.
Come see! Come see our Deep Cove.

- Kathleen Katon Tonnesen (2002)

Art PRINTS available. Please click on link to purchase - Thank you!

Your Light and Energy are Contagious! Inspired art and poetry: Girl in a Twirl / Inside neutral space, / A tiny heart beats calm, / A center of a universe, / Unfolds happiness, / In every twirl. - Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, 2020.

** My painting "Girl in a Twirl" was inspired by observing the sensational happiness, my six year-old granddaughter Riley exuded, as she folded and unfolded her effervescent spirit of love, into the twirling fabric of her flowing party dress.

Podcast on Spotify - Christine Blanchette, "Run With It" interview with professional artist Kathleen Katon Tonnesen. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Y4eUT1QDosRjfwX6PFek6

COVID - 19 GRIEF is a physically painful reality. It is normal and very necessary, to allow yourself the time it will take you personally, to process the personal loss in your life, that you are experiencing. There is no quick fix, no shortcut. It is helpful to you, to give yourself licence to express, in word, in paint, or any other creative format, the various stages of grief, that encompass you. At present 2020, world populations are experiencing mass grief, as many people are dying and many people have lost their sources of financial income and face most uncertain futures. This is a scary time for everybody. Perhaps, many people will wonder what is the point of even trying. The point is, that you are valuable and very necessary, in that you alone bring your own personal being, skill sets and love into the world like no-one else can, and together we can share our skill sets and thinking and participate in creating a world we want to live in post COVID - 19. But first, take care of your precious soul and express your pain in word, so that you can read and meet your personal pain outside of you, and begin to find a way to manage your pain, so that it does not cripple your mind and body. The exercise may be messy, that is expected. Keep trying. As a means to inspire you to not be shy about expressing yourself at this time in history, I offer you an example of how I have used poetry in my own life, to deal with my own personal grief. I pray that my poems "Twisted Stab" and "Embrace Life or Not" will be helpful to you at this time - Kathleen. Poetry link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcRAmqBXbNo

TV interview Part 2: Vancouver artist, Kathleen Tonnesen, shares her inspiration for the painting "Seawall Ascension" with host Christine Blanchette. Produced by "Run With It" TV Christine Blanchette; Camera, Ezra Wood @ezra_wood; Hair and Makeup, Sammy Tomita @snoww.whyte

For Lovers! "Two Souls on a Moonbeam Love Poetry & Verse" available in stores, on Amazon and on Kindle. "Two Souls on a Moonbeam" is a modern love story of two creative souls, artist and musician, separated by distance, who fall in love online and have a poetry texting and phone relationship. The story is the never ending hopefulness of lovers and the importance of words. "Kathleen Katon Tonnesen’s new collection of poetry, "Two Souls On A Moonbeam," resonates with love and passion. Tonnesen finds the pulse of love not just in the depths of the human soul, but in the beauty and graphic imagery of everyday things, including the details and colors of autumn leaves. What is truly remarkable about her new work is that she distills that most profound human emotion of love down to its bare essence, often in just a few words. In her poem “Waterfall,” she writes that her love is “like the splendor and power of this waterfall.” Her work is gilded with the beautifully conceived images only lovers can know." - Richard Merli, Managing Director, October Hill Magazine, New York, USA.

"Tonnesen invites us to transcend time and step into the whirl and swirl of this powerful book of love poetry. It is laced with spirituality, touching on the esoteric and ethereal, while adeptly sketching the hubris of reincarnation and karma and expounding on the powerful pull of magnetism between soul mates." - Candice James, Poet Laureate Emerita, New Westminster, BC., CANADA.

Book Interview: 2020, January. "Run With It TV" online Novus (TELUS) TV & YouTube & social media posts, interview by host Christine Blanchette with guest artist and author Kathleen Tonnesen.

TV Show "Run With It" Hosted by Christine Blanchette, with guest artist, author, Kathleen Tonnesen, January, 2020.
Kathleen's NEW Book "How to Draw Step-by-Step Charcoal Portraits for Beginners" is available in stores, Amazon, and on Kindle. "I have created an easy to practice guide, demonstrating simple portrait steps for beginners. I love charcoal! Charcoal affords the artist the opportunity to sculpt with dust, by building layers of charcoal and then softening the lines with your fingertips. Massaging the dust into the contours of the facial features and removing the highlighted areas with a kneaded eraser, is for me almost a 3D experience - as I move the charcoal into the energy of my sitter. I am a self-taught artist. I remember as a young child of six, being hungry for knowledge of how to bring my drawings to life in the manner of Beatrix Potter. I loved Peter Rabbit and the washed irregular brush strokes visible in her illustrations. As I grew older, at eight, I would marvel at the wrinkles, dark skin, and character lines of an African man my grandfather Peers, had sketched in charcoal and graphite, that hung proudly in our home. Thus began, my life long love affair with charcoal and it is my hope that you will fall in love with charcoal too!" - Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, 2019.

Excitement and suspense filled my studio this week with the tenacious and successful Screenplay Writer, Kevin Mosley. Behind a mischievous grin, Kevin is alert to every nuance and sensation within the circumference of his sphere. His energy field is huge. Kevin does not miss anything. This attention to detail and heightened sense of awareness is what Kevin brings to his screenplay and story writing. His words create visuals of tangible sweat, guaranteed to make you hold your breath in thrilling expectation for what happens next? Kevin says that he is “a huge Stephen King fan. I grew up reading his books and he has had a big influence on me. My dream job is to adapt one of his books. I also read a lot of Peter Straub, Whitley Strieber, John Saul and Clive Barker.” After reading Kevin’s most recent screenplay the director remarked that the quality was so good that he felt like he had just watched the movie! Kevin is pictured in front of my original painting "Two Souls on a Moonbeam".

READ More BLOG https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/kathleen-katon-tonnesen/news/master-of-suspense

“WHAT WOULD IT FEEL LIKE TO HAVE YOUR LEADERS INSTILLING PURPOSE AND PASSION INTO THE TEAM AT EVERY TURN?” LARRY YATCH, FORMER NAVY SEAL.

(Photo) Kathleen Tonnesen, Artist, Darren Jacklin, Philanthropist, Larry Yatch (Ret.) Navy SEAL, Gary Shuster, Inventor

Recently I had the honour and privilege to attend "The Navy Seal Secrets for Leading High Performing Teams in Every Aspect of Life Event" with Larry and Anne Yatch. This excellent learning opportunity for high-performing individuals, was hosted by Philanthropists and Humanitarians, Darren Jacklin and Tatiana Mersiadis, of Vancouver, BC., Canada.

Although I was aware that I was in the presence of a giant amongst men, Larry Yatch, a highly decorated former Navy SEAL, is possessed with a unique quality of a great leader, he makes you feel very comfortable by his genuine interest in your questions and invites feedback on his own content delivered. Thus, Larry demonstrates by his own actions the high value he places on TEAM effort. As Larry says, “No matter what you do, you are a part of a team - in life, in relationships and in business. Your ability to coordinate action and results with others is what allows you to be effective or not in every aspect of your life.” A remarkable couple, Larry and Anne are Co-Founders of Plan Sight and offer a variety of innovative lifestyle courses based on their combined experiences to empower individuals, youth and adult; couples; and improve business profits by growing teams and leaders. Larry will show you how to rethink and redefine the term leadership!

READ More BLOG https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/kathleen-katon-tonnesen/news/what-would-it-feel-like-to-have-your-leaders-instilling-purpose-and-passion-into-the-team-at-every-turn-larry-yatch-former-navy-seal

"We need more Canadian art -- and we need more Canadians to experience it " (Grant Gordon, 2016.). In response, yes, I agree. However, it is not that Canadians are primarily a country of hockey fans, that is marketing "normalizing" on purpose, an idea of what it means to be Canadian, fed to society from birth in the media etc., for Canadian business trade. Canada has branded itself, same way Canada branded itself with the Group of Seven artists, for a sense of time and place, and Indigenous art. Thus, the Canadian education system lacks in additional content to expose and create platforms of inquiry for elementary and high school students, to explore all other living Canadian artists and their unique stories and contributions to Canadian societies.

I would suggest that more media exposure be available for living Canadian artists e.g., to be interviewed on television etc., about their stories and their art REGULARLY, as a way to normalize the existence of influencers and creative role models in our midst. By normalizing the expectation that there are many, many, excellent creatives that are representative of our beloved Country, and have their own journeys as Canadian artists valued, then we will uplift our populations appreciation and pride in ourselves as a CREATIVE thinking nation!

Creative thinking is a valuable asset which is likely to raise the health mindset of our populations, thus, boosting health, and is therefore good business practice for Canada.

Creativity feeds on creativity, generating originality across disciplines, and encourages collaboration amongst peoples, therefore boosting business within communities. In my painting "Granville Island Sound", I tried to capture the emotional experience of sound. As Granville Island, Vancouver, BC., is full of buskers and it is their lovely sound and personal musical energy, that gives the venue a whimsical holiday feeling, from daily worries. When I was a preschool teacher on the island, I would enjoy their sounds on my way home from work, amongst a throng of tourists celebrating Granville Islands wares.

Our future leaders are our children, it is necessary to cultivate a culture of Creative Thinkers, in the home and in our schools, if we really wish to be an asset to the World, in which we live and share, with all life forms.

Read More BLOG https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/kathleen-katon-tonnesen/news/creative-thinking-populations-are-assets-to-their-countries

Extraction Focused Cannabis Industry British Columbia Canada
Relaxed among the large pristine wilderness paintings in my studio, of the Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows BC., landscape, Adam Temple stands tall as a maverick entrepreneur. As a young man of nineteen, possessed with a drive and tenacity beyond his years, a middle-aged couple gave him his first break into the cannabis industry, by renting him a warehouse in Abbotsford BC. Elegant, poised, patient, a creative thinker quick to harness and seek out new opportunities to evolve his business and personal skills, Adam graciously made the time to visit my studio the evening prior to his international departure to Colombia, South America, for a conference. Adam is pictured in front of my original painting titled Gold Creek.

As the CEO of Evolved Extraction Solutions Vancouver, BC., and as the Director of BC Micro License Association, Adam is broadly informed and says that he “works to lobby municipal governments in BC., to affect positive change in land-use policy for small and medium size cannabis ventures.” Due to his accumulated business experiences launching four cannabis industry ventures since 2014, Adam is a known expert on every facet of the cannabis industry.