Philip Kelsey

www.philkelsey.com

Artist Statment

 The goal of my work is to capture in paint the essence of a scene that I have in my mind’s eye. When I encounter a motif that appeals to me, I make a number of sketches and photographs. The objective is to record a full and accurate representation of what I see. I take all this information back to the studio where I create a composite image that eliminates the superfluous and reduces the image down to its essential form and color.

I evoke a dream-like state in my paintings via a stylized graphic interpretation and luminosity. I believe that dreams and memory overlap. A dream-like rendering of a place is the most powerful way I can express it. It includes multiple moments in time that elicits the psychological mood that a particular environment inspires.