“The Road Home”
24 x 48 in.
oil on linen
Private Collection
2017
Being raised in the panhandle of Texas and southeastern Oklahoma, scenes like “The Road Home” appeal to artist Kelli Folsom. Imprinted on her visual memory are elements of each place that are familiar from big blue skies and vast flat plains, extreme winds, tornadoes and fast moving clouds, farm lands, cattle, barns and hay bales. Her memories of riding combine harvesters with her Father and adventuring off on her own at her Nannie and Papa’s farm are still alive in the plein air painting she does. Whether it’s still life, figures or landscape Kelli always paints from life and is filled with the wonderment of discovery. She feels there is no better way to get the lifelike quality of movement, light and atmosphere and the true identity of a place or thing into the painting.
Since graduating from art school with her B.F.A. from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in 2011 she has received numerous awards and scholarships for her work including, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Anna Lee Stacey scholarship, Southwest Art and American Art Collector Magazine’s Award of Excellence, and the Oil Painters of America Honorable Mention Award in figurative art. Her work has been exhibited in many museum shows, represented by several galleries and in numerous private collections across the country.
“I love the intimate connection that I get from painting any subject from nature. Trying to capture it as sincerely as I can with bravery and vitality is what I am after. To communicate what is important about a scene or thing that will stir an emotional response is what I am seeking, not just to copy reality.”
“Nature compels me to create. Trying to capture it as sincerely as I can with sincerity, bravery and vitality is what I am after. To communicate what is important about a scene or thing is what I am seeking, not to just copy reality. To create a visual arrangement that stirs emotion and deep response is my objective. Painting is like a mirror for me and the longer I paint the more I feel like I’m finding some truth.”
View more of Kelli’s work at www.kellifolsom.com
Galleries:
The Howell Gallery
Reinert Fine Art
Bella Muse Gallery
Reuben Saunders Gallery
Tirage Fine Art
