Kath Balamuth enjoys a visit from her 15-year-old Labradoodle, EZ (pronounced Easy), in her Orinda art studio.
Kath Balamuth loved drawing and painting as a child, but never felt she was “good enough” to pursue a career as a fine artist. She spent decades “nibbling around the edges of the art world” as a graphic designer, calligraphy instructor and owner of an art supply store before deciding to seriously pursue her passion for art at the age of 59. Today at a vibrant 77, she is going strong with a showing of her paintings at the Moraga Art Gallery as part of the “Stories on Canvas” exhibit.
How long have you lived in Orinda and what brought you here?
My husband Barry, our daughter Kelly and I moved to Orinda from our Oakland starter house in the Diamond District in 1976. We moved here for the schools, the weather, the small town atmosphere and the community, which I’d become familiar with in my youth when my parents bought a lot in Orinda and we joined the Sleepy Hollow Swim and Tennis Club.
Tell us about your family.
My husband (and high school sweetheart), Barry Balamuth, was a personal injury attorney. We were married for 52 years before I lost him to a long series of health problems in 2019. I have two daughters; my oldest, Kelly Balamuth, is an attorney practicing estate planning in Lamorinda. My other daughter, Brett Anne, is almost 19 years younger than Kelly. She was born three days before we took Kelly off to her freshman year at UC Davis. Brett Anne now works for a company specializing in wildfire defense.
You designed the iconic Orinda logo. How did that come about?
I received my degree from UC Berkeley in design. The City of Orinda and my arts supply store, Artability, were both started in 1985. The first Orinda city council asked for submissions for the new city logo. Looking for some good publicity for our new store, my partner, Marilyn Hajjar – also an artist and graphic designer – and I both submitted designs. And my design, inspired by the hills I see from the back of my house, ended up winning. I chose the Bauhaus type to repeat the historic, iconic look of the Orinda Theatre.
Your work has been described as “endowing everyday objects as shoes, boots and unhatched eggs in a bird’s nest – with transcendent meaning.” Is that an accurate description of your work?
I love the process of doing art, but I always have a difficult time coming up with ‘what to paint?’ So I decided it didn’t matter. I could take an everyday object – like shoes – and tell a story with my images. The same can be said about anything in our lives. Things tell stories. It’s about sharing my view of things using line, shape, space, color, value, contrast and composition, in an effort to tell a story, while making something that people will want to look at and hopefully live with.
As a child and young adult, you loved to draw and paint, but never felt you were good enough to make it a career. What changed and enabled you to pursue your art?
What changed was taking art and art history classes at Diablo Valley College (DVC). After having several careers, it was time to do what I had always wanted to do: make art! I also think maturity was something I needed before I could accept that I could do this.
Was your family encouraging of your pursuit of art?
My parents weren’t really encouraging or discouraging. My husband always supported my many pursuits. Without his supporting me during the Artability days, I would have been living in the back of the store. Art doesn’t really make sense if you want to make money. But the world needs art.
Tell us about your “Mom as Muse of the Masters” series of paintings.
At the time I was working on figures, and who better to paint than one’s mother? For me, copying famous artists has always been a useful way to understand their processes and techniques. I picked one painting each from seven 20th-century artists that were painted during my mother’s lifetime, and one more from the 17th century, because I wanted to copy Girl with the Pearl Earring. My choices were Vermeer, Picasso, Thomas Hart Benton, Chagall, Diebenkorn, Alex Katz, Alice Neel and de Kooning.
Then I went through old photos of my mom and chose images from different times in her life. First I painted eight 6” x 6” panels attempting to copy each artist’s style. Then I used the photos as a resource to paint different-sized paintings of my mom in those styles.
What did your mom think of it?
I think she felt honored. She became one of my fans when she realized I was doing what I loved. I took her out to the DVC library, where my art group was exhibiting, to see the very large painting I did of her in the style of Chuck Close. I donated the painting to the library because it needs a big space to be appreciated.
What advice would you give to other budding artists, especially those who don’t think they’re good enough?
You don’t have to have talent to be an artist. Of course it helps, but passion and patience are more important. Take as many classes as you can, in as many mediums as you can. Don’t plan to make money or be famous. Just express your unique voice. Everyone has one. And practice, practice, practice!
The “Stories on Canvas” exhibit, featuring Balamuth’s work, can be seen at the Moraga Art Gallery, located at 432 Center Street, Moraga, through mid-March.