Orchids: Acrylic and Oil on Canvas, 30″x30″
Kerri Eckes grew up in Abilene, Texas, but moved to Goldsboro, North Carolina, when she was 16. She now calls Raleigh her home, having lived here for the last nine years. Ms. Eckes received her BA in Fine Arts from Mount Olive College in Mount Olive, North Carolina, in 1999. She completed her MFA in Studio Art, with a concentration in Painting, at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, in 2005. She is currently a Full-time faculty member at The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham, where she teaches Foundations classes in Drawing, Color Theory, and 2d Design, in addition to Illustration. Ms. Eckes has also exhibited in solo and juried shows throughout Raleigh and Eastern North Carolina, and teaches workshops in Charcoal Portraiture and Pastels. She has been a studio artist at Litmus Gallery & Studios since 2005, where she has open studio on First Fridays.
The artist has been drawing since she could hold a pencil. As an adult, she found a box of homework and tests dating back to first grade, where she had drawn in every available empty space on the page. She took her first art class in high school, but had already begun to draw with realism. After initially declaring a Business Major as an undergraduate, Ms. Eckes quickly changed her major to the more “impractical” Fine Arts major. Even though she excelled in other disciplines, art and music were the only subjects that held her interest. She took her first painting course as a college freshman,and was immediately hooked.
Calla Lilly: Charcoal on Watercolor Paper, 49″x34″
Kerri Eckes’ subject matter was portraiture until 2011, when she desired a new challenge. Teaching Color Theory inspired a passion for color, so the most obvious subject matter was florals. Her photo-realistic paintings are characterized by bright, saturated colors, and strong color contrasts. She prefers working on a medium to large scale, which helps create stronger visual impact. Her charcoal drawings are also realistic, and characterized by value – dark and light – contrast. The interest in realism is rooted in her passion for Renaissance art, while the emphasis on contrast is inspired by the dramatic light and dark paintings of Baroque art.
