Born in the folds of West Virginia Appalachia, I have always been drawn to the deep crevice mountains and valleys of those early years and then to the soft hills and ridges of my later Kentucky years. These experiences are the sources of my inspiration. Over the years I have saved a large collection of the small pencil renderings of these many areas.

After drawing a selected image onto a canvas, I start applying color fields and instead of simply reproducing the site with color, form and composition, I work to emphasize the emotions I first felt when viewing the site. Now the paintings are set in a different context whereby the colors are expressive and the composition more simplified.

Elsie Kay Harris
(859) 254-6050