Vignette: Celia Kelly

"Spencer County Farm Lane" by Celia Kelly, oil on canvas, 14x18in, 2017, $300

Celia Kelly is a landscape artist working primarily ‘en plein air’. Kelly enjoys the challenge of “navigating a variety of conditions” – discerning color, form, and space within the constantly changing natural light. Plein air might seem old-fashioned, but a better description might be ‘timeless’’, for many artists a nearly spiritual relationship with the mercurial personality of the environment. Temporality shows up on the list of media for many contemporary artists, yet it has always been a part of the plein air experience, a tradition for painters that dates back several hundred years.

"Springhill #3" by Celia Kelly, oil on panel, 11x9in, 2017, $100

“A few years ago, I switched my focus from painting urban scenes to rural landscapes,” Kelly tells us. “This has allowed me to leave the city, spend an entire day outside exploring vast open spaces. I have come to love the geometric compositions offered through open fields, hillsides, rows of trees, highways, and still waters. I also look at stagnant, standing structures (such as a barn) and see how it fits into this natural environment. One of my favorite subject matters are fields of grapevines, because of the symmetrical arrangement and cultivation is involved within the rows.” 

“I like to describe my painting style as one that straddles a divide between abstraction, representation and impressionism. There is a spiritual connection that occurs between landscape artist and the landscape. I attempt to capture this through the use of color, value, and expressive brushstroke. In other words, I don’t see the need to paint every leaf. When one travels, impressions are made, and I try to do justice to my own impressions of these landscapes through my work.”

Most recently, in August, Kelly participated in the notBIG group show at M.S. Rezny Gallery in Lexington, Kentucky.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, Centre College; University of Louisville, post-baccalaureate studies, Painting
Website: celiakelly.blogspot.com

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"Tobacco Storage" by Celia Kelly, oil on panel, 8x10in, 2017, $125

"Yellow Field Stripes" by Celia Kelly, oil on canvas, 18x14in, 2017, $300

"Sunswept" Celia Kelly, oil on panel, 11x14in, 2017, NFS

"Harper's View" by Celia Kelly, oil on canvas, 12x9in, 2017, NFS

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Hallie Brunson

"Stormy Night" by Hallie Brunson, acrylic, 10x8in, 2013, $65

Painters have used more than brushes in the application of paint for generations now, and it became particularly noticeable in 20th century Modern Art with the move into abstraction and unorthodoxy. Hallie Brunson uses a palette knife to a significant degree, and there are times when the technique injects her images with a vigorous, almost kinetic energy resulting strictly from that rough and rustic application. The wind-blasted rocks surrounding the lighthouse of “Stormy Night” are reflected in the tempest of palette marks, and “The Green Door” suggests the movement of the sunlight across the surfaces. These are perhaps the strongest examples of this quality

Brunson began painting under the direction of Janice Miller at the Wood Shack in Garrard County. "The best advice given to me at the time was 'get in....get out' teaching me not to overwork my paintings," says Brunson. "Janice introduced me to painting with a palette knife and I was set free!”

"Bridge Over The Brook" by Hallie Brunson, acrylic, 8x10in, 2017, $65

The artist exults in the spontaneity of the approach: “I love the texture and boldness of painting with the knife, it is my favorite means of expression in my painting.  Although I love the palette knife and acrylics I also paint in oil and watercolor."

Brunson has won several awards for her artwork and has taught classes in palette knife painting. Her work is currently available direct from the artist or from the Gift Gallery in Lancaster KY.

Hometown: Lancaster, Kentucky
Website: garrardarts.com
Gallery Representation: The Gift Gallery (Richmond, Kentucky)

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"Stormy Night" by Hallie Brunson, acrylic, 10x8in, 2013, $65

"In The Meadow" by Hallie Brunson, acrylic, 11X14in, 2017, $125

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Macel Hamilton

"Butterfly" by Macel Hamiton, Acrylic on wood, 6x12in, 2017, SOLD 

When someone picks up a brush and begins painting with no formal training or experience, are they hobbyist, amateur? In a time when art intelligentsia is either busy manufacturing new nomenclature to capture new trends, or rejecting all formal classifications (inter or multi disciplinary?) how do we describe the new artist who enters the fray motivated by curiosity or edification?

"Cow" by Macel Hamilton, Acrylic on wood, 10x12in, 2017, SOLD

Consider Macel Hamilton. The designation Folk Artist connotes a lack of education and primitive technique, but Hamilton is an educated professional, and her skill after a very brief time painting is estimable, and "hobbyist" foreswears the dedication she has put to the task. Her subjects are simple: animals and insects, but she has also painted portraits of people. All of it indicates an innate skill of observation and the controlled manipulation of a brush and medium. That Hamilton often paints on unfinished wood introduces a rustic quality certainly, but compare the delicacy of her color in this butterfly and the rougher, more spontaneous marks in the image of a savage rooster improbably named “Cow”.

Clearly some of Hamilton’s work finds its roots in her rural upbringing: “I was raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky and now live in the knobs of Casey County. I am mostly self-taught and have taken a few day classes at a local community art center. I have been painting for about a year and a half. I began doing art approximately two years ago, teaching my self to draw portraits.”

So if there must be a designation, perhaps Rural Artist would be apt in this case, a reflection of both Hamilton’s background and the sensibility expressed in her work.

 Age: 55
Hometown: Liberty, Kentucky
Education:  BS, Psychology, ADN Nursing
Facebook: Macel’s Art

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"Untiltled" by Macel Hamilton, Acrylic on canvas, 16x20in, 2017, $200

"Sarah's Love" by Macel Hamilton, pastels, 12x16in, 2017, NFS

"Hummer" by Macel Hamilton, Acrylic on wood, 10x12in, 2017, SOLD

"Dogs" by Macel Hamilton, Acrylic on canvas, 16x20in, 2017, SOLD

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Barry Burcaw

"Pixilated" by Barry Burcaw, oil on canvas, 50x50in, 2-16, $2800

Barry Burcaw studied graphic design in school, earning a degree from the University of Bridgeport, but he only began painting once he retired from a long, successful career in advertising. This provides an easy explanation of why his compositions are so dominated by forceful geometric structure and bold saturated colors.

Often the abstract images remain rooted in representational sources; Burcaw is fond of landscapes and architectural sources as a point of departure, but it is not unusual for him to veer into diagrammatical structures of pure pattern and shape. “Pixilated” does this, as does “Vernal Equinox”, even if the title makes explicit that the qualities of atmosphere and climate that we assume were in the artist’s mind here. The lower half containing dark grey and earth tones beneath the blue and yellow tones in the upper half cannot help but connote landscape, if only because our expectations fill in the blanks with little prompting – doesn’t the abstract artist appropriately depend on the viewer’s frame of reference?  “Solar Flares” is more obvious in its subject, placing a brilliant yellow orb in the center, and Burcaw’s curled linear forms representing the sun’s angry expression are more whimsical in their effect than the fiery astronomical phenomenon that provide the inspiration for the piece.

"Impressions of Santorini" by Barry Burcaw, oil on canvas, 50x50in, 2017, $3500

There is an unyielding exactitude in Burcaw’s work that suggests a highly structured perspective on the world at large. Perhaps this is a common underlying truth of any artist who utilizes geometry in such bold, almost confrontational terms.

Burcaw recently placed 4 paintings with Zephyr Gallery as part of their Corporate Art Program.

Hometown: Palisades, New York
Age: 74
Education: BS in Graphic Design, University of Bridgeport, CT

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"Vernal Equinox" by Barry Burcaw, oil on canvas, 50x50in, 2017, $2800

"Solar Flares" by Barry Burcaw, oil on canvas, 50x50in, 2008 $3500

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Shae Goodlett

“Humor has always been at the forefront of my work." - Shae Goodlett

"Forever Endeavor" by Shae Goodlett, Acrylic on Wood, 4ft x 2.5ft, 2017, $300

Shae Goodlett brings humor and a youthful, gleeful energy to his art that is infectious and bright – even when it tiptoes around darkness. He brings together pop culture and everyday life in ways that are instantly familiar and relatable, and Goodlett finds the fun in every simple detail. “Humor has always been at the forefront of my work,” he says. “Creating imagery that evokes laughter is something that I strive for, as it can serve as a means of connection between two anonymous parties: artist and viewer.”

"Brain Freeze" by Shae Goodlett, Acrylic on Wood, 4ft x 2.5ft, 2017, $250

After graduating from Bellarmine last spring with BAs in Painting and Digital Arts Technology, Goodlett is currently a first-year graduate student at the University of Louisville, enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program at the Hite Art Institute with a concentration in Painting and Drawing. He also recently wrote and illustrated his first book for all ages, “What the Moon Saw on Halloween”. Additionally, he often draws amazing donuts.

He refers to the cartoons he grew up watching when he says he uses amusing subjects to present more serious ideas that comment on what’s being discussed around him. He filters these concepts through his personal views to comment at times on politics, religion and other weighty topics through his art.

“I feel that an artist’s work serves as a reflection of his or her soul, built by the creator’s personal past experiences,” he continues. “To be able to apply that to various current events, cultural movements, and conversations in contemporary society is essential to the work of a modern artist.”

He says there is nothing he is more passionate about than his art. He hopes he can find ways to offer new perspectives to viewers of his work. What he wants each viewer to take away, more than anything else, is “how much art-making means to me. The joy and excitement that is brought to my life through each project is something that I will forever be thankful for.”

Hometown: Crestwood, KY
Age: 23
Education: BA in Painting & BA in Digital Arts Technology, Bellarmine University (May 2017)
First year MFA candidate at the University of Louisville's Hite Art Institute: Studio Art & Design. Concentration: Painting & Drawing
Website: shaedraws.com
Instagram: @shaegoodlett

The artist in his studio.

"POP Gothic" by Shae Goodlett, Acrylic on Plywood, 4ft x 2ft, 2017, $450

"Untitled 2017" by Shae Goodlet, Acrylic on Plywood, 4ft x 2ft, 2017, $450

"POP Gothic II" by Shae Goodlett, Acrylic on Plywood, 4ft X 2ft, 2017, $300

"Take Another Little Pizza My Heart Now, Baby" by Shae Goodlett, Acrylic on Plywood, 3ft x 4.5ft, 2017 SOLD

Written by Peter Berkowitz. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Louisville Visual Art.
All rights reserved.

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