As a husband and wife duo, they often get asked who creates the work. Sometimes, it's "him." Sometimes, it's "her." Sometimes, it's both. Here's how 2 styles have come together to offer an eclectic range of art.
Him
Kevin is more linear and structured, focusing on more complex woodworking.
He started off making furniture, such as Adirondack chairs and tables, and then ventured into various types of flags and mountain decor.
Common Tools & Materials: T-square, ruler, blow torch, grinder, clamps, and a chopsaw.
Trademark Features: 90-degree angles, sharp corners, oak, & barrel rings.
Go-To Products: Krylon Spray Paint, Old Masters Polyurethane, Minwax Water Stains, and bottle opener hardware.
Workshop Style: A place for everything and everything in its place. A clean shop is a good shop.
Her
Margaret is more fluid and organic, focusing on detailed art and color.
She started painting at a young age and circled back to art at various points in her life. After drifting away from it while her kids were little, it became a welcomed respite during the days of COVID. Once the creative faucet was opened up again, it couldn't be quelled. She then branched out into different mediums including burn art and resin, eventually combining multiple mediums.
When you see curved, organic lines with nebulous edges and fluid form, that's likely one of her pieces. "I start off with a general idea of what I want to create, but I often end up going in a different direction than planned, and that's the fun of it. Sometimes the pieces don't work out as I had hoped, but when they do, it's magic."
Common Tools & Materials: Wood panels, canvas, burn pen, hair dryer (for fluid art), resin, respirator mask, paint (oil, acrylic, watercolor), band saw, crushed glass, & metallic foils.
Trademark Features: Curved lines, the occasional sparkle or metallic, organic edges, bright colors (especially blues), gloss finishes, mixed media including crushed glass, wood, sand, & sea glass.
Go-To Products: Dremel Versatool, TotalBoat Resin, Razertip & Tekchic Wood Burners, Liquitex and Amsterdam Paints
Workshop Style: Organized chaos (at best).
Joining Forces
With roots in canvas art, Margaret started painting and burning wood due to Kevin's influence.
Eventually, the two started collaborating. One of the first projects they did together was a set of painted Adirondack chairs featuring Margaret's favorite iconic painting, Starry Night. That was on March 10, 2020, days before the lockdown.
They had no idea what was about to unfold, for better or for worse.
Then came a commission that Kevin could only bring so far: an American/Argentinian/Irish flag. Kevin built the 5'x3' piece and handed it off to Margaret for the hand-painted detail.
"I was scared to death to mess up this huge, beautiful piece he made," said Margaret, "but he said there was no other option."
He encouraged her saying, "Worse case scenario, we sand it off and repaint it." But that wasn't necessary. And so the collaborations began, first with paint, then with resin.
For Kevin's linear mountainscapes, he wanted to add another element, so Margaret completed some with resin skies, which opened up a whole new category of possibilities and color schemes. "What's nice about those is that you have uniformly angled, rustic wood against a wild, high-gloss sky." It's the perfect fusion of their 2 styles.
They are no strangers to creative differences or the challenges that come with marriage, raising kids, and/or running a business. As they say, the couple that fights over oak scraps is the couple that stays together. That said, they are enjoying the opportunity to channel their creativity, show their kids what it means to hustle, and give people a little piece of their joy through their work.
