Charley Kelso is a well-known Atlanta oil painter who will be the featured artist in the Art Gallery during September and October. He and his wife Margaret have been UUCA members since 1963. Here’s what Charley has to say about himself:
For 40 years I was a labor lawyer based in Atlanta, and for 25 of those years, I worked as a weekend pecan farmer. I loved both jobs. Now, for the last 12 years, my principal endeavor has been oil painting—and I love that, too.
I paint regularly at the Chastain Art Center and sometimes at the Atlanta Artists Center or en plein air locally. Painting is such a great excuse to travel. My daughter, a medical illustrator, goes painting with me and I have a retired painter buddy in Oklahoma who likes to travel and paint as much as I do. Sometimes we’ll take a workshop, but usually we just rent a car and drive down the road until we are moved to paint something we see.
My goal is that my paintings will stir a good feeling in viewers. Almost everyone gets a good feeling from standing near a body of water, or in a group of people or things they know. Maybe something in my paintings can stir a similar good feeling. I don’t paint screams or misfortunes. I do paint bad weather and grizzled old men, because both give me good feelings. I love the Impressionist paintings for their liberal use of paint and colors. Close inspection of a Monet painting reveals that almost every square millimeter is a different color or value from the next. I strive for that mastery of color and value. If people get as much enjoyment from viewing my paintings as I get from creating them, I’ll feel fulfilled.
Charley’s work will be showing for two months, September and October. Enjoy the show.
You must be logged in to post a comment.