Laurie Kennard

Laurie Kennard’s oil and pastel paintings rely on the interplay between light and shadow, capturing the quiet moments on a side street, in a garden or, conversely,  the normal bustle of activity of the city.  

As Director of the Plein Air Painters Chicago (PAPC) and a member of the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art, she finds working en plein air or in the studio equally challenging. Her paintings have earned multiple awards including the People’s Choice Award/PAPC Annual Exhibit 2022 and 2023, the Top Three non-pro at Paint Carmel, Indiana 2024, and Honorable Mention Evanston Plein Air 2025.

A New Jersey native, Laurie holds degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and Rochester Institute of Technology, and she is also an active student at the Old Town Art Center and the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts. Laurie is thankful for her mentors, including Don Yang, Kathleen Newman, Errol Jacobson, and Eleanor Spiess-Ferris, among others.