Lakefield Herald Special Report

Kelly Dodge in the Galapagos: the genesis of a painting

by Anita Locke

2010 marks a career milestone for local artist Kelly Dodge as she celebrates her 10th anniversary as an artist and professional exhibitor at the Buckhorn Fine Art Festival.

In celebration of this she will doing, for the first time, an “Artist’s Presents” public presentation at the festival on Saturday, August 14, from 2:00 - 2:45 p.m. consisting of a slide show, short film and talk about her Galapagos expedition and a sampling of the resulting paintings on display as well.

Artists for Conservation Foundation will also be making a presentation at 3:00 p.m.

Kelly’s artistic career began in 2001 with her first professional exhibition at the Buckhorn Wildlife Art Festival. Later that same year Kelly was elected as a member with the prestigious Artists for Conservation (AFC) Foundation.

A highlight of her career has been the AFC Flag Expediton #10 Fellowship Award to travel to the Galapagos Islands; the expedition took place September 28 to November 6, 2009.

AFC fellowships make possible the artistic field study of unique and threatened habitats and rare or endangered species in remote regions of the world.

The Artists for Conservation Foundation made Kelly’s expedition, “Galapagos: Forty Days and Forty Nights – An Artist’s Sojourn” possible.

Kelly also wishes to thank both Accuped Orthotics and Footware, and Dodge Custom Carpets, for their supplemental financial support.

Of her Galapagos expedition she says, “I have had the privilege of meeting, firsthand, the creatures who became the subjects of my artwork. My desire is to share this experience with others who may never be able to encounter firsthand a wild creature in its natural environment. As stewards of Creation, we must remember our place in the natural world.”

One of the AFC objectives an expedition artist is privileged to partake in is to keep a combination sketch/diary expedition flag journal.

Kelly says, “I believe that the experience of filling a journal with 200 pages of sketches and personal insights has enriched the resulting finished studio paintings in a way that gives them increased depth and meaning.”

This special Herald feature traces the genesis a few of the finished paintings and some reminiscences of the original experience illustrated by sketches and photos. It’s also an exploration of the artistic process leading from initial experience to finished work.

The Galapagos body of work resulting from her AFC flag expedition will be unveiled for the first time, in its entirety, at The Lindsay Gallery on October 2.

This exhibition will mark the one year anniversary of her expedition. Her exclusive flag journal is being reproduced as a limited edition coffee table book and will be available for viewing and purchase.

Kelly has been a member of the Pastel Society of America, N.Y and the Society of Animal Artists, N.Y. since 2003 and 2004. Her work has been published numerous times, most recently being featured in Wildscape Magazine, U.K.

Kelly is represented by Canada’s leading wilderness and wildlife art gallery, The Alqonquin Art Centre.

For more information about her work visit her website at www.kellydodgeart.com or call (705) 652-9310.

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