Jacqueline, a portrait of the artist’s mother, occupies a significant place in Carol Kent’s life. Ten years ago, when she noticed that her mother’s health was deteriorating, Kent convinced her mother to sit for this painting. In this portrait, Kent tried to capture the pain and struggle that her mother has experienced throughout her life, and most importantly, her attitude toward it. She explains that her mother gave her a strong work ethic, which was the best gift anyone could have given her.

Kent’s enthusiasm toward painting started 23 years ago in Hawaii where she lived at the time and where she took her first painting class. She remembers, "I was terrified that day, I thought I could not do it." Ironically, since that day, she has never put her brushes down. For Kent, painting is the air she breathes; it is the essence of her being. Painting allows her to unfold what is beyond the images, to undertake a spiritual self-discovery, which she considers the most exciting part of the painting process. She thinks of her creativity as a divine gift that is bigger than she is, and which she embraces as the most valuable of her possessions. She dedicates 100 percent of her love and energy to creativity.

[artist biography by Ximena Cisneros; artist photograph by Jessie McIntyre ]
Carol A. Kent
Jacqueline, 1990, oil on canvas