In episode No. 10 of the Femin • Is series, I sat down with painter Philomene Bennett to hear about her fifty plus year career as an artist. Having read Bennett described as the "grand dame" of art in Kansas City, I was eager to learn more.

Now in her eighties, Bennett's lasting influence on individual artists through her long-running studio ateliers and the very fabric of the Kansas City arts scene through the co-founding of The Kansas City Artists Coalition is simply undeniable.

In our conversation, we touched on everything from how her identity as an artist started in childhood, her first big break in Kansas City, a fateful night that started an arts organization now 40 years strong, and, of course, her own work as a painter, including a few works close to her heart. Below are images of the work we discussed, as well as some extra treats. Enjoy!

My Very Own Fishpond, oil on canvas, 8 x 5'

Philomene Bennett working in her studio in the River Quay (River Market) in the 1970s

Bennett (seen left) at an opening of her work featuring a monumental work on canvas on display.

The Shadow Persists, oil on canvas