Kasia Polkowska Art: mountain art

Showing posts with label mountain art. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Milkyway Above an Aster Meadow

Milkyway Above an Aster Meadow, acrylic on art board, 12"x12"x1.5", 2023 NFS
See Other Available Paintings: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product-category/paintings-drawings/

I painted this night sky painting for my sister Gosia. We wanted her to come along on a recent Tucson Road Trip with us but she couldn’t make it this time around. So in good spirit we brought her painting with us and it did some sightseeing for her, then we shipped it to her from Arizona. The painting enjoyed a lovely sunset among the Saguaros and even camped with us, then it traveled all the way to New Jersey where it now had a loving home.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Beaming Mountain Sunset IV

Beaming Mountain Sunset IV, acrylic on board, 10″x8″x1.5″, 2023 ~SOLD
See Other Available Art: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product-category/paintings-drawings/

This painting is inspired by a beaming, setting sun in the mountains. I strove to express the unique ambience of that brief magic hour when the colors of the landscape become more intense and vivid. Sometimes some hues seem to only last minutes, maybe less. But they sure make an impression that can often last a lifetime. The atmosphere is just right to intensify all the hues, not just in the sky but in the landscape itself. Its as if someone came by and pointed a magic wand at the view and said ‘Be bright and magical but make it quick!’ Momentarily the landscape feels like its ablaze with warmth and color, creating a nearly unreal scenery.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Summer Solstice Star Show

Summer Solstice Star Show, acrylic on board, 10″x8″x1.5″, 2023 ~SOLD
See Other Available Art: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product-category/paintings-drawings/

This painting is inspired by Summer nights in the Rocky Mountains. Right around the Summer Solstice, the weather warms up in the high country, the meadows green up and begin to be blanketed by colorful wildflowers. The surrounding mountains are lush and green and full of life. Add a moonless night with clear skies and the sky can be filled with more stars than there are wild flowers in the meadows. I wanted to create a magical, little painting that seems to be bursting with color and mystic found in remote wilderness.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Beaming Mountain Sunsets

Beaming Mountain Sunset I, acrylic on board, 12″x9″x1.5″, 2023 ~SOLD

See Other Available Art : https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product-category/paintings-drawings/

Both of the paintings I shared in this post were inspired by a beaming, setting sun in the mountains. The atmosphere is just right to intensify all the colors and momentarily make the landscape feel like its ablaze with warmth and color, creating a nearly unreal landscape. Yet those who spend a lot of time in the mountains may have been lucky enough to witness such a phenomenon. And if you have not seen a similar scene in person, I hope that it inspires you to seek it out.

Often when I paint, I enjoy exploring colors and compositions in groups. This allows me to paint more freely and to let the ideas and inspiration overflow onto an extra substrate, or if I am feeling particularly full of inspiration, it may be more. I loved painting these new vivid vistas and hope to find some time to dive back into these colors soon!

Beaming Mountain Sunset II, acrylic on board, 10″x8″x1.5″, 2023 ~SOLD

See Other Available Art: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product-category/paintings-drawings/

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Wintry Night Sky Symphony

Wintry Night Sky Symphony, acrylic on board, 24"x14" (25"x15" framed), 2023
Available at the Two Old Crows Gallery in Pagosa Springs, Colorado: https://twooldcrowsps.com/kasia-polkowska/

Every night that I go to bed, I look out my window toward the cosmos. Its not exactly intentional. I've never been a particularly cosmic person, growing up in Warsaw, Poland and then in the NJ suburbs and finally New York City in my early adulthood, I wasn't exposed to the magnificence of the night sky on a regular basis. As I became immersed in the great outdoors in my early adulthood, I got to enjoy the night sky more and more.

Today, I live on the boarder of the National Forest in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. My bed is right next to a window that exposes the nightly display of stars or the moon to me on a nightly basis. Its a unique experience for me to look out toward the universe before checking out for the night. It fills me with wonder and awe. I look out toward the trees and know that the Weminuche Wilderness is just a bit beyond there. It is the largest wilderness area in Colorado and is filled with what seems like an infinite layer of mountains. The sky out there is beyond magical. I think of all of this each night, of the mystery, the endless beauty and wonder out in those mountains, much of which happens at night while we all sleep in our homes. These days, I am more drawn to the mysteries and beauty of the night sky and that is more and more present in my art.

Prior to Framing

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

'Mountain Layer' Wall-Mounting Hanger

This latest product from Kasia is no ordinary coat rack, but rather a Limited Run Artist Edition Functional Art Piece signed by the Artist. Each one is unique and hand made so there will be some variation from one to the next. Pre-Order one here: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product/pre-sale-mountain-layer-coat-hanger-turquoise-hue-10x27/

Many steps and various processes went into creating each one.

Choose between Blue, Turquoise and Orange
Weight: 3.5lbs
Made from 1/2 mdf which is hand cut and sanded before painting
Painted with 2 coats of sating black paint on the back and the edges
Front is primed white, then two coats of the different colors is applied
The black and accent linework is done with an acrylic paint marker
The finished artwork is first spray varnished then a coat of satin varnish is bushed on by hand
It is signed by the artist on the front
On the back there is a graphic with artist info

I first came up with this idea 2+ years ago, when I started noticing more and more sweaters, jackets and dinosaur costumes being thrown around the house – something that is a given with 2 little kids and us going in and out of the house 20 times a day in the constantly changing Colorado mountain weather.

A wall mounted coat hanger was what we needed but I couldn’t find one I liked enough to hang in a prominent part of our house, so I took matters into my own hands, transforming a typically simple but very essential and functional object into an artpiece that expresses something about me – my love of mountains and bright colors. Today we have 3 of these hanging at home and I don’t feel bad about having all these wacky outfits hanging on the wall because they are accompanied by art that I love.