Featured Artist: Kelly Halbach

From the time I first picked up a pencil, I began sketching. Raised on a West Texas dairy farm, I was riding horses as soon as I could walk. Not surprisingly, my first charcoal at age eight was of a great black horse.

After studying applied art at Texas Tech University, I painted two series: one of impressionistic pastels and one of animals in oil.

Then, art was put on hold as business and family matters made painting impractical. Through the years, my extensive travels – safaris in South Africa, months in various European locales, studying in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and trekking through New Mexico and the Southwest U.S. – have inspired me. My paintings reflect the richness of these varied cultures and locales.

Now living on the Gulf Coast of Texas, I am inspired by the gorgeous shorebirds and scenery found in our coastline and birding trails. 
I endeavor to give them life on paper and canvas.

While I enjoy painting in oils, watercolors best capture the softness created by the hazy sunlight of the shores. My works featuring water birds, lighthouses and fish have been especially well received.

My training includes classes and private art instruction at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. I live and paint in Nassau Bay, Texas, just south of Houston.

Artist's Statement

Painting from life, capturing the light and feel of a specific location or setting, interpreting the world in a way that will inspire others and create a sense of harmony in their lives are my goals as well as my reward.

Painting is the way I communicate and express how I feel about the world around me. I want the viewer to share this emotional response to the subject.

Each day I paint fills me with great pleasure and joy and makes me look forward to the following day, so that I can paint again. My brushes and paints are the tools through which I speak: without them, I am silent.