Birds of a Feather – Amy Reisland-Speer
With a passion for bringing the beauty of nature to life on canvas, Kelsie Grant’s work is a testament to her talent and dedication as an emerging artist.I began painting as a girl growing up in the village of Tanana and Denali National Park. TV was non-existent so I humored myself with crayons and coloring books given to me by my parents. They realized I was spending more time drawing mountains and lakes behind Barbie than coloring her dresses. Eventually they bought me acrylic paints, brushes and sheet canvas. I painted the canvas and when that was gone I painted every piece of cut lumber from my dads construction sites that I could get my hands on. Mountains, flowers, birds and animals I saw around me daily became my obvious favorite subjects along with Yukon River scenes as I grew older and more attuned to my environment. Recently I have been enjoying painting dark backgrounds with highly detailed birds with much attention focused on feathers and eyes. I graduated from UAF with a degree in oil painting but have also enjoyed acrylics, egg tempera and and currently dabbling with watercolor botanicals. When I was 2 months old my family moved to the village of Tanana where we would live for the following 15 years. As my mom was first meeting the women of Tanana they asked what the babies name was. She replied “ Amy Sue”. They nicknamed me Amy Sitsoo. Sitsoo means Grandmother in Koyukon Athabaskan. So I have been called Grandma my whole life and I am not even a grandma yet!
“Follow Me”
Acrylic on Canvas
A white raven was spotted in Anchorage last fall and has been the star of the city since then. S/he has multiple social media sites on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Being a painter of Ravens I was asked many times when would I create a painting of this significant and important bird in Anchorage. Finally, last winter I drove to Anchorage to see this oddity for myself. S/he is a powerful being to see in person. S/he displays typical raven behavior being silly, raucous, playful and regal all at the same time. I am not a photographer so I scoured the internet for photos I could use for reference. When I came across this particular image I immediately contacted photographer Mike Lewis for permission to use his image as a painting reference. He agreed and I picked up the brushes. “Follow Me” is an appropriate title for this piece because s/he has many followers and active posts about where s/he is at any given moment in Anchorage so people can see her.
“Preening”
Acrylic on Canvas
Sandhill cranes are my second favorite bird only behind Ravens. As I was searching the internet for an image to inspire me, I came across this one on a Facebook page where photographers share images at no cost for artists to use as reference photos. I contacted the photographer Randi Senzer Najac and asked for permission even though it was on the free photo page and she happily agreed. I enjoyed laying many layers of glazes to create the feathers and added depth with a dark background.
“Spring Nest”
Acrylic on Canvas
This painting is a compilation of multiple images I found on a Facebook page that photographers use to post images for artists to use for reference photos at no cost. Because it is a creation of multiple photos I can not give credit for the images to any one in particular. I enjoyed painting the grasses and wanted to emphasize the drying edges of the green grasses plucked for the nest. A common theme with these three paintings is a dark background with light feathers. The feathers are painted in many layers of acrylic glaze. Eyes are my favorite part of any bird or animal to paint and are the first part painted so I can get to know the personality of the bird I am creating. The dark backgrounds are an attempt to push the birds forward and create more striking light on the subject in the setting as is a common practice in Old Master works.