Kathleen Elsey - California Painter, Juror and Workshop Teacher Colorful fauvist paintings

“I don’t want my paintings to be perfect. That is the beauty of painting– let it be rough and spontaneous.”

My interest in painting is with direct paint application in an expressive manner while using pure color combinations and meaty brushstrokes. My colors are intensified and spontaneous in my hopes for a painting full of spirit. I search relentlessly for colors. If I don’t see the colors, I make up the colors. I try to hit the values in the range they should be, but with color, I think anything goes. While I am searching for colors, I am thinking about composition. I like to experiment with planes and their relationships to each other. With big brushes I make swift rough strokes using blocks of color beside each other until an image emerges, especially when painting a multitude of figures like in “At the Beach, Brighton” and “Parade .” One recent art reviewer described my paintings as mighty and memorable with a bold touch of post-Fauvist meets punk. Ten years ago, a San Francisco art critic said my Fauvist paintings exhibited a dramatic brush with life. Since then, I have been teaching painting workshops known as “Brush with Life” across the country.

I paint interior spaces, figures, beaches, still life, and landscapes in acrylic and oil on canvas. I chase light and shadows. I freeze colors and shapes and make those marks on my canvas. Recently my compositions have taken on a complexity forcing me to simplify as I sort through the shapes I see and try to organize them through paint. This has led my recent works such as “The Workshop” and “At the Beach, West” toward a more abstract interpretation.

“Sometimes I don’t know what I am looking for.
But, I always find it."

As a Fauve, often I make up the colors or exaggerate the colors. This is what I love about painting. I can work fast, spontaneously while I search for colors and shapes. It is this impression of what I see and feel that I want to transform into paint.

“Being exact is not as important as expressing a feeling with paint."

Education

1967 – 1971 Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, Honors Program
1980 UC Davis, Chico, CA Fine Arts Travel/Study Program, London, Paris, Basel

Solo Exhibitions

2012 “Slice of Life” Thos. Moser Showroom Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 - 2012 Solo Exhibition Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards, Healdsburg, CA
2011 “Brush with Life” Thos. Moser Showroo, Gallery, San Francisco, CA Kathleen in Santa Barbara Studio
2009 “Inside Out” Architectural Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA
2009 “Living Color” Divine Inspiration Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2007 “Bold Visions” University Club, Santa Barbara, CA
2006 “The Fauve” Bartholomew Park , Sonoma, CA
2005 “Lavender & Country Scenes” October, Matanzas Creek Winery, Santa Rosa, CA
2003 “New Paintings” Sun Valley Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
2002 “New Paintings” The Marine Gallery, Kirkland, WA
2002 “Spring Color” The Edmunds Gallery, Sonoma, CA
2001 Bank of the Redwoods, Santa Rosa, CA
2000 October City Hall, Sebastopol, CA
2000 California Collectors’ Gallery, Kentfield, CA
2000 Solo Exhibition, William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes, CA
1999 R. W. Nielsen Gallery, Sunnyvale, CA

Group Exhibitions

2011 “The New Fauves,” Kamp Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2011 Maritime Museum “The Salty Edge” Two-Woman Exhibition, Santa Barbara, CA
2010 “The Spirit of Place" Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico
2009 National Association of Women Artists’ Annual Exhibition, Salmagundi Art Club, New York, NY
2009 Bakersfield Museum September 08 through March 09, Bakersfield, CA
2008 Albuquerque Museum “Miniatures & More” Albuquerque, New Mexico
2008 Fielding Institution, Santa Barbara, California
2008 International Society of Acrylic Painters Juried Exhibition, Santa Cruz, California
2007 American Impressionist Society Juried Exhibition, Chicago, IL
2007 International Society of Acrylic Painters Juried Exhibition, San Luis Obispo, CA
2007 “Figuratively Speaking” Harris & Fredda Meisel Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2006 Sedona Plein Air Invitational, Sedona, AZ
2006 Carmel Plein Air Invitational, Carmel, CA
2006 William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes Station, CA
2005 Carmel Plein Air Invitional, Carmel, CA
2005 Marin/Scapes Invitational Benefit Exhibition, Larkspur, CA
2004 Carmel Plein Air Invitational, Carmel, CA
2004 Marin/Scapes Invitational Benefit Exhibition, Larkspur, CA
2004 “En Couleur” Nancy Dodds Gallery, Carmel, CA
2004 “En Couleur” William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes Station, CA
2003 Two-person show, California Collectors’ Gallery, Kentfield, CA
2003 En Couleur, William Lester Gallery, Pte Reyes Station, CA
2002 MarinScapes, Larkspur, CA
2002 En Couleur, William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes Station, CA
2001 National Juried Exhibition of Painting, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
2001 National Association of Women Artists Juried Exhibition, Heritage Hall Museum, Talladega, AL
2001 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes, CA
2001 Two-person Exhibition “New Color” California Collectors’ Gallery, Kentfield, CA
2001 May, En Couleur Group Exhibition, William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes Station, CA
2001 Days of Wine & Lavender Invitational, Matanzas Creek Winery, Santa Rosa, CA
2001 November, California Collectors’ Gallery, Kentfield, CA
2000 Marin Open Space Invitational, William Lester Gallery, Pte. Reyes, CA
2000 Carmel Art Festival Juried Plein Air Exhibition, Carmel, CA
2000 “Arts on Fire” Juried Exhibition, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
2000 “Monday Morning Painters” Juried Exhibition, Gallery One, Petaluma, CA
1999 Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito, CA
1998 Mill Valley Paint Off, Mill Valley, CA
1998 Marin Open Studios, CA
1998 Don Pedro Painting Exhibition, Sayulita, Mexico
“Open Fine Arts” Marin Society of Artists, Ross, CA
1998-1999 “Energy-The Gift of Nature” EPRI, Palo Alto, CA
1981 Women in Design, Board of Directors, San Francisco,CA

Awards/Commissions/Honors

2011 Maritime Museum Lecture Series, Guest Lecturer, Santa Barbara, CA
2011 April Featured Artist, National Association of Women Artists
2007 Winner of the Golden Award, International Society of Acrylic Painters’ Juried Exhibition
2006 Special Award, SCAPE Spring Exhibition, Santa Barbara, CA
2005 Best Oil or Acrylic Painting, Carmel International Plein Air Festival, Carmel, CA
2005 Second Place, Southern California Artists Painting the Environment, Santa Barbara, CA
2005 International Society Acrylic Painters, Honorable Mention
2005 Featured Artist Sawtooth Botanical Gardens Sun Valley, Idaho
2004 Carmel Plein Air Invitational, Honorable Mention, Carmel, CA
2003 American Impressionist Society National Exhibition, Honorable Mention, Vero Beach, Florida
2003 National Association of Women Artists Juried Exhibition, Jeffrey Childs Willis Award, NYC
1999 “Open Fine Arts”, Honorable Mention, Marin Society of Artists, Ross, California
1998 EPRI, Palo Alto, CA “Energy the Gift of Natue” Commission
1988 Print Magazine graphic design Award of Merit
1967-1971 Scholarship to Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
1960-2011 Student art selected to be part of permanent historical murals "The History of the United States” Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Juror/Painting Classes/Painting Workshops/Art-Related Employment

2007 - 2012   Selected as juror of emerging artists as well as professional painters for the Santa Barbara Art Association, Goleta Valley Art Association and Santa Barbara Library Exhibitions
2007 - 2012   Private painting lessons, Santa Barbara, CA
2003 Juror Pittsburg Arts Collaborative, Winter Fine Arts Festival, Pittsburg, CA
2001 - 2012   “Brush with Life” Painting Workshops in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, California Chautauqua, New York and Taos, New Mexico
2001-2002 “Marketing for the Professional Artist” Santa Rosa, CA
1994-1995 Volunteer ArtTteacher, Cesar Chavez Elementary School, San Francisco, CA
1984-1999 Owner, Creative Director Kathleen Elsey Design, a design and communications agency, San Francisco, CA
1985-1999 Association of International Graphic Artists, New York
1982 UC Santa Cruz Lecture Series “The Artist’s Role in Technology” Cupertino, California
1979-1982 Women in Design, San Francisco, CA, Board of Directors,
1982 Women In Design Workshop “Marketing & Communications for the Artist”
1974-1982 Art Director & Design Manager, Hewlett Packard, Cupertino, CA
1972 - 1974 Art Director, Product Promotions, American Greetings, Cleveland, OH

Bibliography

2012 Featured Artist “The Acrylic Artist’s Guide to Exceptional Colour” by Quarto Publishing, London 2009 CASA Magazine, Marc “Inside/Outside”
2008 The Independent, November Kathleen Elsey in “Terra Firma”
2008 Santa Barbara News Press, February 28
2007 Santa Barbara News Press, January
2007 Southwest Art, February
2006 Southwest Art, March
2006 American Art Collector, April, “Flowers in the Landscape”
2005 Southwest Art, May, June
2005 Plein Air Magazine, September
2004 Monterey Herald, May, “Complement of Color”
2004 SOUTHWEST ART May, June
2003 SOUTHWEST ART, July, “Best of the West” En Couleur
2003 Kirkland Courier, “Destination Kirkland, Washington”
2002 Eastside Seattle Journal, “Kathleen Elsey, California Impressionist Landscapes”
2002 Southwest Art Magazine, En Couleur
2002 Sonoma Index Tribune, “Elsey Presents Seminar, Exhibit”
2001 Mill Valley Herald, “Artist Moves North and Blooms-Elsey hits her stride”
2000 Marin Independent Journal, Matanzas Winery Celebrates Plein Air Painting
2000 San Francisco Chronicle, “Sonoma County Artist-Brush with Life” May 2000
1999 Mill Valley Herald, “Artists Open Intimate Spaces”
1999 MarinScope, “Event of the Week, Kathleen Elsey’s Spring Day, Spirit Rock”

Representation

Chalk Hill Winery, Healdsburg, California
Kathryne Designs & Gallery, Santa Barbara, California
Kamp Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Auld Alliance Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee

Kathleen Elsey / Painter / Teacher “I am honored to have my colorful fauvist paintings featured in the Acrylic Artist's Guide to Exceptional Color by Quarto Publishing of London. This high quality color book will be available in the summer of 2012.” Kathleen Elsey

Kathleen Elsey / Painter / Teacher
“I am honored to have my colorful fauvist paintings featured in the Acrylic Artist's Guide to Exceptional Color by Quarto Publishing of London. This high quality color book will be available in the summer of 2012.”
Kathleen Elsey