Tessa Kennedy               home / paintings / cv / contact / links

Tessa Kennedy was born and brought up in Tanzania, East Africa.  She returned to the UK to complete her education taking an Environmental Science degree at Aberystwyth University, Wales.  Although enjoying art subjects at school, she had no formal training in art..  She came to Cumbria and began to paint when her three children were at school, when one grey November afternoon she experimented with paint colours and an old brush she found.  Finding it excellent therapy for the grey British climate, she continued painting, joining the local art groups in her area and having her first solo exhibition in 1996.

Tessa became a keen rock climber and fell walker, and became inspired to paint what she saw of the rugged Cumbrian terrain.  At this time, she joined John Campbell at the Mountain Painters Gallery in Patterdale, Cumbria which they ran jointly for the next five years.  They later moved to Keswick, where they now share Sharp Edge Gallery.  Tessa has exhibited for many years with the Lake Artists Society in Grasmere.  In 2007 she won second prize in the Upfront Open exhibition, and took part in a mixed exhibition, 'Inspired by Water' also at Upfront, Penrith.  Tessa has taken part in numerous exhibitions throughout Cumbria, and has work exhibited  in galleries in Cumbria and Australia, as well as at Sharp Edge Gallery.  Her website is www.tessakennedy.co.uk, and Sharp Edge Gallery is at 135 Main Street, Keswick, tel. 017687 73788.