COVER ARTIST KAY BRATHOL-HOSTVET

Kay Brathol-Hostvet is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and has a BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Stout in studio arts. Her primary focus has always been the Wisconsin landscape. Her soft pastels have been described as Contemporary Regionalism—a celebration of the land with a modern aesthetic.

Kay’s works are a synthesis of landscape tradition and self-expression—artists George Inness and Martin Johnson Heade have a profound impact on her interest in the emotive landscape. Kay says, “The open expanse of a landscape can personify sincerity; it can also represent personal freedom, or embody loneliness or isolation. The landscape, with its constantly changing light and shadow, weather, and seasons, becomes a metaphor for our emotions. I am particularly interested in the concept of quiet anticipation—an expectant stillness that one feels at certain times of the day.”

A combination of sources form Kay’s work: her own photographs taken on photo journeys into the countryside, notes taken on those journeys, and design and value studies in her

sketchbooks. The photos act as a catalyst and reminder of form. While the paintings may look photorealistic, they are carefully designed in the studio with an intent to capture the transient moment.

Kay works from her home studio in Eau Claire, and is represented by Abel Contemporary Gallery in Stoughton; Edgewood Orchard Galleries in Fish Creek; and Riverview Art and Frame in Eau Claire. Kay’s works are in corporate and private collections all around the Midwest, and her pastel paintings have been featured in the Pastel Journal and the Dane Arts annual poster and calendar, and her acrylic paintings are included in North Light Books’ AcrylicWorks 2: Radical Breakthroughs. She regularly teaches art workshops in drawing, design, pastel, and acrylic. To see more of Kay’s work, visit kaybratholhostvet.com.

Submitted by Kay Brathol-Hostvet.

Photographs by Kay Brathol-Hostvet.