Kaye Hall Author/Artist/Search and Rescue Volunteer

Since winning a drawing contest in the fourth grade, Kaye has been exploring various kinds of art.  She has been studying art at Napa Valley College (her first class was with Frank Altamura soon after her arrival in Napa.)  The beauty of her outdoor environment  provides an unending source of inspiration for her artwork. Since  retirement from her career as a psychotherapist , Kaye has been taking numerous art classes at NVC and has also recently taken workshops with Sterling Hoffman, Camille Przewodek and Cheryl Laube.  She was selected February, 2011 Artist of the Month by the Napa Valley Art Association. Some of her paintings are displayed at the Artists of the Valley Gallery, 1307 First St. in Napa.

Kaye also assists in the search and rescue for missing persons with her trailing dog, Julot.  Recently she has combined art and search work by writing, illustrating and publishing a children’s book entitled Stop and Stay Put: A Guide to SAFER Adventures Outdoors.

Statement

I love being outdoors in nature, and I love dogs.  Both nourish me, relax me, and bring me tranquility.   Both are varied and full of endless surprises.  Both have motion and action.  This movement–whether from shadows, light, wind or muscle–is something I attempt to capture in my art.

Colors, shapes and sound stimulate ideas in me.  I react viscerally to the beauty of light as it mixes and weaves and pushes and pulls colors as the colors influence each other.

My favorite media are oils and encaustics.  Oil paints can quickly capture the changing natural light when painting outdoors, offer rich colors, and are versatile from fine detail to expansive gesture.  Encaustics offer great potential for layering, texture and surprises. The smell of beeswax brings nature indoors for me.