Batavia resident Kathi Luedemann often gets the urge to paint.

“I’ve been waiting for an airplane and have sat down, I might have some water nearby, and paint in an airport,” Luedemann said. “I look to paint as often as I (can).”

On Sept. 17, Luedemann was involved in the “Art of Giving” charity event at Cantigny  with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Luedemann donated four watercolor paintings for sale and helped the food bank raise more than $10,000 at the event. At least 150 people attended.

“I know that with these economic times and people losing there jobs that the need is more and more,” Luedemann said. “Where before I think I looked at it as being more or less people that were needing to go on food stamps and things like that, I (realize now) that it doesn’t just affect the poor anymore, it affects everybody.”

Luedemann said she got involved with the event through friends of herself and her fiancee who work for the food bank. They asked Luedemann if she would want to help the food bank by donating about 20 percent of proceeds from each painting to the charity.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the artists to present our work,” Luedemann said. “And the title of the event, ‘The Art of Giving,’ is very, very appropriate. It just shows there’s different ways to contributing to the community.

Last year, the event raised nearly $10,000 for hungry people in the 13 counties the food bank serves.

Luedemann said although the area may be more affluent than most, Kane and surrounding counties are not currently without their problems.

“I think that it’s not until it happens to you or until it happens somebody near you,” Luedemann said. “All of the sudden it’s a wake up call that it’s happening all around us.

“We have to be as open to these things and be as (generous) as we can be now to be able to help our community and the people around us.”

Notable
Luedemann works at Fermilab in Batavia as a compensation analyst supervisor for the human resources department.

& quotable
“I just find that the need is more and more for people to donate and to be able to feed the average American.”

Philosophy
On painting: “I don’t paint abstractly,” Luedemann said. “I like to capture the beauty of nature and be able to then show that through as realistic as I can.”

Favorites
ARTISTS Georgia O’Keefe, impressionists, “a lot of artist friends; they’re all my favorites.”
FOOD German and Italian
MUSIC Andrea Bocelli- “Vivere”
OTHER INTERESTS Going to craft fairs, flea markets