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February 1, 2002
Grab your Valentine and Head Out for an Artwalk
THE KIRKLAND COURIER
—By Peter Stekel
  The Kirkland Artwalk is held every second Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. This month it falls on Valentine’s Day, February 14. So head on out with your sweetie and see some fine art.
The Marine Gallery will feature new paintings from Kathleen Elsey whose work is characterized by brilliant colors and bold brush strokes. Elsey says her landscapes give “a feeling for a sense of place that is universally soothing to look at much like the feeling of a beautiful, sunny day.”
A professional painter for just 3 years, Elsey has built an impressive body of work and an equally impressive list of solo and group exhibitions as well as awards and commissions. After a long career in marketing, as art director for large corporations and owner of her own design studio, Elsey turned to En Plein Air painting (painting outside, in nature rather than in a studio), immersing herself in her subjects. Her love of the outdoors is evident.
“My paintings are places that I have visited and dwelled in that have left an indelible impression on my mind,” said Elsey. “The vibrant color of the bright sunlight holds many possibilities for my work. My search for meaningful locations includes sun-drenched porches against ocean views, meadows exploding with spring wildflowers and wineries and farms nestled in hills and valleys.” She frequently hikes the trails near her home in Northern California to sketch and paint remote hillsides and intimate paths through the redwoods.
Elsey’s style shares a common thread with Impressionism but it is impressionism infused with bright saturated colors similar to the “Fauve” painting movement. “I anchor the Impressionism with big meaty brushstrokes, giving my landscapes weight and color in my own terms,” she said. “My hope is for my work to have a strong presence.” It’s that feeling of presence which gives Elsey’s work such a strong sense of place.
Besides painting, Elsey is a painting teacher. "They’re called ‘Brush with Life’ workshops,” she said. Elsey works with 10 students at a time so she can devote energy and attention to each person. The classes cover working with acrylics in the outdoors. Acrylics dry very quickly, especially when used outside and under a hot sun. Knowing how to keep the paint wet is an important technique for an En Plein Air painter and this knowledge makes Elsey a teacher much in demand.
Elsey’s students are beginners, intermediates and experienced painters. Her classes are devoted to the same themes found in her own work and reflects the change her life took after leaving the high pressure corporate world. “It’s wonderful to gaze at a field of wildflowers all day instead of a computer screen,” she said.
Today, Elsey pours her soul into her paintings. Thinking back on her old life of power meetings, working late and fighting traffic, she finds painting to be, “very soul-satisfying.” That contentment shines through all her work. “I can’t speak for anyone else,” she said, “but even as I was enjoying the money of the advertising world, I was dying a slow death inside. I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do. The work was punishing. My stress level was off the charts. In the end, the money just wasn’t worth it.”
The Marine Gallery will show Elsey’s work from Feb. 12 through March 30 with an artist reception on Feb. 14 during Artwalk. The gallery is located at 14 Lakeshore Plaza, Kirkland, Washington. 425 739-9895. More of Elsey’s work can be seen at www.elsey.com
© 2009 Kathleen Elsey. All rights reserved. All paintings are property of Kathleen Elsey
and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Kathleen Elsey.
This site was created by Kevin Bonner
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