Kenneth Kelsoe

Throughout my life I have always made things. As a machinist I made parts out of met-als and plastic. With the help of friends and family, I built our home. I have made cabi-nets, done ceramic tile work, plumbing and electrical. The need to design and create is an important part of who I am. Painting gives me an avenue to express this.
In my view, people are the most important thins in the world. So, most of my paintings are about people. I paint faces because the face tells a person's story. In the face we can see the marks that time has etched and the sum of life's experiences. I try to capture and convey the story in each face I paint.
I love the challenge that a face gives me. Every element must be precisely rendered. Then the subtle changes in color, line and texture must be recognized and interpreted. The slightest variation will cause the face to look like someone other than the person I am painting. Painting a face on canvas is much like forming it out of clay. I build it slowly working on one element and then another. Moving from feature to feature and then back again. Each time I make subtle corrections and changes. I continue the process until I feel that I have not only captured the look of the persons but have told the story in their face. When I am finished I have a feeling of accomplishment that nothing else gives me.
I normally paint every day for four to eight hours. It is not unusual for me to begin paint-ing at 2:00 am and to continue non-stop until 10:00 am. I work on one painting at a time focusing on it until finished. I have chosen to use acrylics because their drying time al-lows me the flexibility to paint this way. A painting usually takes me between two weeks to a month to complete.
The artists that have influenced me the most are Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) the greatest painter of all time and John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) the most successful por-trait painter of his era. Contemporary artist that I admire are Lois Duffy, Fabian Perez, and Pino Dangelico.
I painted some in college but didn't start painting seriously until I was 62-years old. Given my late start, I feel that I must work very hard in the years I have remaining if I am going to achieve a level of excellence in my work and for my work to have an impact the art community.