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Alice Kelsey
copyright 2007 |
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 "Mt Nittany Through Winter Fields," 2007 Pastel 12" X 18" sold |
I stood in snow banks in midwinter near Mt. Nittany Middle School to begin this pastel. This was just a day or so after a large snowstorm, so the snow was up to my knees. Its based upon a quick pencil sketch (it was cold and windy that day!). |
 "Early Spring Morning Near Beaver Stadium," 2007 Pastel 11" X 17" sold |
This was begun on location in the fields behind the Centre County Visitors Centre next to Beaver Stadium. As the sun rose behind Mt. Nittany, the clouds and trees formed arching shapes that complemented the mountain. |
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I painted this pastel entirely on location on a brisk fall day, off a side road Just outside of Pine Grove Mills. The expansive fields leading to the distance mountain were impressive. |
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I walked down a gravel road, behind the Visitors Centre and Medlar Field, and painted this view of Mt. Nittany in spring. |
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This oil painting is based upon a plein air pastel made along Nixon Road, near Pine Grove Mills. I like the golden, earthy colors of the soybean field, and the pull to the farther distance. |
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I hiked back through some fields off Rt. 45 near Boalsburg, and was interested in the sweep of the land in the foreground echoing the shape of Mt. Nittany. |
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I liked the patterning of the deep purple irises and dark water at the pond's edge, with warm and cool light greens interconnecting them. |
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I like the "POW!" of the colors in this painting. The blue really sets off the orange in the heart of the water lily, yet there is also subtlety in the many shades of blue. |
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I like the geometric shapes and energy going on in this painting. The colors and forms seem to lock into place. |
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This piece has a poem like wholeness and simplicity. This is an evoked image, that began as shapes, and only later did the pond subject emerge. I really like its feel of hazy, early morning. |
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I spent several days this June at a nearby spring-fed pond. I like the patterning of the bright pink flowers and lily pads. |
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There is something cheerful and uplifting in this piece, and it reminds me of the appreciation and gratitude I felt for while spending several peaceful days at the pond. |
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This pastel developed from an oil sketch done on location on a very early August morning. I liked the haze in the distance as the heat was beginning to take hold, and the dense shade. |
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The three sickle pears sure seemed at home on this piece of Swiss Pear wood (my husband had the imported wood left over from a woodworking project) |
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I really enjoyed the different color temperatures being really expressive within a limited palette. I also like the unusual balance between open and closed space. |
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It was quite a challenge to work on this very textured paper, but it ended up being very useful in describing the smooth glazed areas versus the rougher stoneware. The bowl was made by a long-term friend, Betsy Coop, who is a potter in Connecticut. |
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This was started on location in early fall, inspired by the way the sun coming behind lit up the periphery of the trees. |
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My husband made this cherry bowl and put some hot jalapenos in it, and the next thing you know, I started painting with pastels. |
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It was really exciting to work with hot, bright colors in the midst of winter, and the reflections were intriguing. |
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This was sketched in late winter, a mile or two from my house. It was a cold day, but no snow on the ground. |
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This painting was derived from a pastel sketch created on location on a cold, grey fall day. I liked the expanse and shapes of the farm fields stretching out towards the mountain, and the richness of subtle fall colors. |
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It was so great to see bright color on a bleak winter day, that I just had to paint this tangerine. |
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My husband set up this still life for me, using a chunk of ebony from his workshop and three sickle pears. The pears had especially bright color, with unusual and intriguing shadow colors set off by the smoldering darks of the ebony. |
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This pastel features a nearby farm, and was based upon several pastel and oil sketches. The challenge was to integrate a bright white, rectangular form in the surrounding landscape. |
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Libby is a beautiful, young warmblood belonging to a friend. I don't usually work from photographs, but was able to use digital images in conjunction with sketches and memory to give a sense of the horse's spirit and appearance. |
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There was subtle beauty in the wave of lilac grey along the apple tree rows at Tait Farm on the January day I sketched there. It was really nice to see pleasing color harmonies in the midst of winter. |
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This pastel evolved from a plein air sketch where I chose to emphasize the large masses rather than line and drawing. I like the mood in this contemplative piece. |
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This is a really special old barn in Brush Valley (just east of State College). It was the homestead of Major Neff, and is now preserved through the Centre County Farmland Trust. |
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This was painted completely en plein air in a special section of the woods with mature maples. I like the misty, early morning feel, and how the trail leads you beyond. |
 "Penns Creek - Upper Reaches" 2006 Pastel 12" X 19" |
This pastel was started on the stream bank, looking upstream on Penns Creek near Spring Mills. The dense overhead foliage and neutral color of the streambed set off the emerald green far bank. I'm really drawn to the movement of flowing water, and having flyfished extensively, have a feel for its current. Its also amazing to observe the nuances of reflections. |
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I started this on location on a hot August evening as the sun dipped below the far trees, casting welcome cool shadows. |
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As I painted this on location in Penns Valley, a rain shower passed over, but the sun remained behind. The raindrops actually helped with the underpainting by creating a wash of color! I like the effect of the bright sun coming from behind. |
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The heavily textured cotton duck canvas and thick paint in the foreground create a pleasing textural quality to this painting. It evolved from a time I was in the woods with the light coming quietly from the far distance. |
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This developed from a plein air sketch in Penns Valley. I liked the graceful shapes of the nearby trees and the sense of pulling uphill to the farther ridge. |
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The texture of this paper was interesting to work with, and some of the indentations helped to suggest the strawberry seeds. I like the cool/warm complementary color contrasts that really set off the red strawberry. |
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This is, in fact, a woods half a mile back from my house. Its a place I look at quite a bit. I like the mystical quality with the intervals between the trees in balance and a draw to the deeper woods. |
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My husband really likes this little oil painting of a stream. It is a composite image of the many times I've explored small wooded streams (and how well I like them!). |
 "Near and Far Fields" 2005 Oil 17" x 40" sold |
This evolved from a plein air pastel. I selected jute (rather than canvas) as the support for its heavily textured surface. Since the oil version had somewhat different proportions than the original pastel, I found it necessary to adjust the composition (in quite a long search process!). I like the end result. |
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This pastel is on a soft sanded paper, which grabs the pastel and builds color intensity. It seemed just right for this cozy group of three relating together. |
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I like the gentle wave the flowers form and learned a lot about the cool and warm shades of green in painting this series. |
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I like this sketch with gentle lines and a kind of tenderness, which is what I remember feeling while sketching them. |
 "Red Barn and Light," 2005 Oil 26" x 42" sold |
This oil painting developed from an on-site pastel sketch of a barn just outside State College, inspired by the golden late afternoon light streaking across and around the solid old barn. This special light just seemed to illuminate the barn and the land together, and it felt very special to be there. |
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I found these apples clustered under an old abandoned apple tree and loved how they grouped spatially, and the horizontal light which caught them. |
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Its really nice seeing these little chunks of saturated color. Its the intense color and interesting shapes, each one a little bit different, that I like about strawberries (plus they taste good!). |
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The texture of this paper was fun to work with, and lent itself to sparse, suggestive strokes. I like the "conversation" that seems to be going on between the apple and the pear, so I left it at that. |
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After hiking through melting snow, I painted this scene of the cornfields warming, and the "pull" to the slightly hazy sky. |
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Where the valley meets the ridge in Penns Valley, I liked the difference in density between the hedgerow and the woods beyond. |
 "Round Bales, Bright Sun," 2005 Pastel 10" x 9" sold |
This was completed en plein air near my home. I love the massiveness of the bales, and the brightness of June sun. The orange LaCarte paper energizes the work, since it is a complement of the color blue, and permits a delightful scumbled stroke. |
