Kay Brathol-Hostvet's pastel and acrylic landscape paintings have been described as "Contemporary Regionalism" and "emotive landscapes." She works from her home studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin as well as teaches workshops in the Midwest.
Brathol-Hostvet is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Studio Arts. Her works are in corporate and private collections around the Midwest including University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Her pastel paintings have been featured in The Pastel Journal, the Dane Arts (Dane County, Wisconsin) annual poster and calendar, and her acrylic paintings are included in North Light Books, AcrylicWorks 2: Radical Breakthroughs. She works from her home studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and is represented by Edgewood Orchard Galleries in Fish Creek, Wisconsin; Riverwood Art and Frame in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; artZ Gallery in Amery, Wisconsin, and Abel Contemporary Gallery in Stoughton, Wisconsin. If not marked SOLD or Artist’s Collection, the works on this website are available through one of the galleries listed above or directly through the artist.
Gallery Representation
Abel Contemporary Gallery
Stoughton, Wisconsin (Madison area)
www.abelcontemporary.com
artZ Gallery
Amery, Wisconsin
www.artzgallery.org
Riverwood Art and Frame
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
www.riverwoodartandframe.com
Edgewood Orchard Galleries
Fish Creek, Wisconsin (Door County)
www.edgewoodorchard.com
Artist's Statement
Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again.
And suddenly we take the hint.
---Robert Frost
For decades, my focus has been the Midwestern landscape. My works are a synthesis of the American landscape tradition and self-expression. The artists George Inness and Martin Johnson Heade, in particular, have had a profound impact on my interest in the emotive landscape. The open expanse of a landscape can personify sincerity; it can also represent personal freedom, or embody loneliness or isolation. Dynamism in nature is intimately linked to psychological states. The landscape with its constantly changing light and shadow, weather and seasons becomes a metaphor for our moods and emotions.
My work in soft pastel has been described as Contemporary Regionalism—a celebration of the land, but with a modern aesthetic. I am particularly interested in the concept of quiet anticipation—an expectant stillness that one feels at certain times of the day. I work from a combination of sources: my own photographs taken on photo journeys into the local countryside, notes that I take when on those journeys, and design and value studies. The photos act as a catalyst and reminder of form.
Kay Brathol-Hostvet, PSA