Kathleen Elsey

This painting is made "plein air" at Alice Keck Park in Santa Barbara. I paint here several times a year as the seasons and light change. I include everything I like in my paintings. Some objects are physically visible when I begin a painting. Some I add as needed for composition or mood, and many I imagine as I paint. They all help each other get along. This painting began with a complex composition, making the objects work together, fit together, like a symphony. In my mind, any color works as long as the value is right.