Where Have We Been, Where Are We Now, Where Are We Going? (after Gauguin) oil on canvas, 2018 SOLD
Kay Henning Danley is primarily a figurative painter whose love of nature is intimately connected to the relationship of the figure to the lands that she grew up in. The vast spaces of the West, — the landscape that harbors great freedom as well as emptiness, is often the context through which her paintings emerge. Kay has resided in Portland, Oregon since 1985, with several years spent in the Basin and Range country of Nevada as well as attending college in Prescott, Arizona.
The search for emotional connection is of primary interest through Kay's figurative painting.
"I consider myself a process artist. I experiment directly on the surface, discovering a relationship with the paint and what the images that emerge are trying to tell me. The process is intuitive and exploratory. It takes many sessions to wrestle with the piece to make it my own. I find the layers of painting history interesting and part of the journey."
Drawing is a fresh and accessible portal to the intuition. In drawing, there is no brush or tool separating the creative experience from the surface. It is immediate and powerful. Kay uses drawing to inform her paintings, to work out ideas, and to get to know her subject. . The preferred tool is usually a small piece of charcoal that becomes an extension of the hand. And the hand connects directly to the first impulse.The lump of dusty charcoal is the substance that creates a mark, but it also becomes a flying planet, a meander through a summer meadow, an illusive memory, or the bubbling of an approaching wave.
Kay’s work has been shown extensively in juried and international exhibits, and it is part of collections in the United States, Canada and Germany. One of her paintings was selected by the US State Department to be hung in the US Embassy in Thailand. She currently exhibits her work in the Portland, Oregon area. Her work can be viewed at www.kaydanley.com. as well as on Facebook and by appointment at her studio at N.W. Marine Artworks in Portland, Oregon.
Experiences
- Painting selected by the U.S. State Department for the United States Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. 1998-2002 (Artists in Embassies Program)
- Art in the Community: Beaverton Arts Commission Visual Arts Award for Excellence in Education, June, 2000
- Artist in Residence: Beaverton School District, 1994
- Artist in Residence: Portland Public Schools, 1994
Publications
- The Designer's Sourcebook 2 Publisher: The Guild, 1996
- Fibre Arts Design Book 5 (Contemporary Textile Art): Edited by Ann Batchelder and Nancy Orban, 1995, Lark Books: painting pictured on page 35
- Kay Henning Danley, (a restropective look at paintings, drawings, and mixed media of the previous 20 years), 2017 available through Blurb Books, click on the link below: http://www.blurb.com/b/7845025-kay-henning-danley (please note that this book goes on sale periodically for 1/2 price)
Selected Exhibits:
- Au Naturel: International juried show for figure painters: Curator, Laura Russo: Clatsop Community College, Astoria, Oregon, 2010
- Life in Action: group show: Gresham City Hall, Gresham Oregon, 2013-14
- Momentum: group show: The Bridge City Artists: Stonehenge Studios, Portland, Oregon May, 2014
- Remax Benefit Juried Exhibit: Portland, Oregon Fall, 2014
- Au Naturel: International Juried show for figure painters, Curator, Barbara Shaiman: Clatsop Community College, Astoria, Oregon, 2015
- Nudes Downtown: River Sea Gallery, Astoria, Oregon, 2015
- S.E. Portland Artwalk, The Ford Building, studio 234, Portland, Oregon, 2015
- "Convergence": group show, The Bridge City Artists, Stonehenge Studios, Portland, Oregon, October 2015
- "Winter Show", the Ford Gallery Artists group show: The Ford Building, Portland, Oregon, 2016
- The Third Annual Living Mark Exhibition, an international juried show at the Verum Ultimum Gallery, 2016, 6-8 p.m. 3014 NE Ainsworth, Portland, Oregon
- Hood to Coast, Landscapes of Oregon, Mel's Frame Shop, 2016, Portland, Oregon
- Bridge Cityrtists Juried Group Show, Village Gallery and Frame, 2016, Portland, Oregon
- Piercing the Veil: Chasing Ghosts, an international juried exhibit, Verum Ultimum Gallery, 2016, Portland, Oregon
- S.E. Portland Artwalk, The Ford Building, studio 234, Portland, Oregon, 2017
- The Fourth Annual Living Mark Exhibition, international juried group show, Verum Ultimum Gallery, 2017, Portland, Oregon
- The 5th Annual Living Mark Exhibition: international juried group show, Verum Ultimum Gallery, 2018, Portland, Oregon,
- N.W. Marine Artworks Studios Open House: 2516 NW 29th, Portland, Oregon, July 21st, 2018, 75 artists showcase their work along with food carts, live music and dance, a gala event!
- Six Artistic Voyages, Canvas, Paper and Clay: group show, Golden Gallery, Beaverton, Oregon, June-August, 2018
- A Sense of Wonder, solo exhibition depicting the exhilaration of life in landscape and figurative painting and drawing. Chehalem Cultural Center, Newberg, Oregon October 2018- January 5, 2019
- The Sixth Annual Living Mark Exhibition, juried international group show, Verum Ultimum Gallery, June- August 2019, Portland, Oregon
- Golden Gallery Invitational, group show, opening September 8, 2019 Portland, Oregon
- Northwest Marine Artworks Holiday Open House, Dec 8, 2019 11:00-4:00, 2516 NW 29th Portland, Oregon.
- Gallery 114, "With Bated Breath", juried invitational Gallery 114, NW Glisan Ave. Portland, Oregon. Dec.- Jan. 2020
- Creative Spirit Show of Fine Art and Craft: Westminster Cloisters, Portland, Oregon. Dec-Jan. 2020
- Corona Portrait Project: online exhibit of portraits created in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. coronaportraitproject.com The Corona Portrait Project is also located on Instagram. April, 2020
Upcoming:
- Northwest Marine Artworks Studio Open House, July 16, 2020 Portland, Oregon. (cancelled due to Covid 19)
- The Seventh Annual Living Mark Exhibition, juried international group show, Verum Ultimum Gallery, July (time TBA), 2020, Portland Oregon
- Kay Danley's paintings and commissioned works reside in many private collections within the United States, Canada, and Germany.
