ART STUDY

MONOCHROMATIC

CHIC

Local artist Colby Kern creates one-of-a-kind modern paintings that can elevate the design of any space.

BY MICHELLE LEWIS

With a background in photography and interior design, Colby Kern recently turned to the world of painting after being told he has a natural eye for composition. His paintings feature monochromatic palettes, texture and organic patterns. In each of Kern’s works he builds layers of paint to create a personality of the piece that can’t be recreated. This process of creating his paintings is what has become the most important to Kern. He falls in love with every piece he creates and works to make artwork he would hang in his own home. “If I wouldn’t hang it on my wall I wouldn’t want anyone else to,” he says. See more of Kern’s artwork at OH Gallery during February’s First Friday Art Walk.

SHOP IT

PINKIES UP

Step up your tea game this winter with a glass teapot.

Not only do glass teapots add an elegant touch to tea brewing, they also give a lovely visual display as you watch the tea leaves and fl owers unfurl as they infuse fl avor and aroma into hot water. Like the ones found at Chabom Teas & Spices (209 E Commercial St, Springfield, 417719-4311), these lovely vessels are particularly popular for brewing fl owering teas, which feature delicate fl oral bundles that "grow" as the tea steeps. —Heather Kane Kohler