The Old Mission is constantly changing with the seasons and the light of day. I’ve painted it several times from below the rose gardens, but this time I was fascinated by the early December morning light as the sun was coming up. It was yellow. I wanted to paint up close to the Mission, and I wanted to capture the yellow light and the life around the Mission. People were parading down the steps, cars were coming and going. The bells were ringing. I was married in front of the mission two years ago. I know many people who have had their wedding there, in the rose garden, or inside the mission. Kathleen Elsey

A review in the Santa Barbara News Press about “Figuratively Speaking,” a group exhibition in the Meisel Gallery: “Kathleen Elsey paints with a looser hand than the other artists, building compositions with dabs of paint and structures built from modules. Fauvist echoes sneak into her scene paintings, brightly hued but slightly tilted views, as in “Beach Days, Misty” and “Mission Morning Mass,” a strange but interesting take on the oft-depicted Santa Barbara Mission.” Josef Woodard Santa Barbara News Press