Local artist's 'Gypsy Boys' chosen crowd's favorite

Thursday, March 21, 2013
Loretta George/Tribune photo Kelsey Kellenberger was the winner of the popular vote at last week's Bourbon County Arts Council Fine Arts Exhibit.

Kelsey Kellenberger was the winner of the popular vote at last week's Bourbon County Arts Council Fine Arts Exhibit, which was at the Fort Scott Community College's Danny and Willa Ellis Fine Arts Center.

Viewers were asked to vote on their favorite piece of art at the exhibition, and one of Kellenberger's paintings received the most votes.

"The board feels that this is a way to recognize and encourage artists who do not receive prizes from the juror," said Peggy Cummings, executive director of the BCAC. "Coincidentally, in the 21 years we have been doing this, the popular vote winner has never been a winner selected by the juror. Kelsey was one of 13 new artists in the exhibit and 'Gypsy Boys' caught the eye and imagination of everyone. She is very talented."

Her portrait of six smiling young boys sitting close to each other is Kellenberger's favorite.

"I went to Romania in 2007 on a six-week art/mission trip. We worked with gypsies and the impoverished. We did Vacation Bible School and spent a lot of time hanging out with them. Those (children in the portrait) were some of the gypsy boys we worked with. That painting is very meaningful to me," Kellenberger said.

Also on the trip, she taught art at youth camps in England, Kosovo, Finland and Belgium, through Creative Arts Europe, an organization ran by Christians, she said.

Kellenberger is a Christian and attended Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn.

"I became a Christian at age 6, under Dr. Adrian Rogers, with Love Worth Finding Ministry...I was homeschooled and very active in my church throughout high school," she said.

Her artistic expression also came at an early age.

"I always had a God given passion for art, especially drawing, but no talent...but my parents encouraged me. My dad especially encouraged me to do what I loved," Kellenberger said. At 17 she began to be tutored by a professional portrait artist, who was also her Sunday School teacher.

"She taught me to draw what I see, not what I think I see...the importance of spacial relationships...one shape relating to another," she said.

It was then that she had an epiphany.

"It all clicked...in a few months I could draw a portrait and it looked like a real person," Kellenberger said.

She went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree in painting from Union University in Tennessee, and set out on a career.

"Then I became a self employed artist doing commission work and teaching homeschool art classes myself. I have a heart for mentoring and encouraging others to work hard at it and seeing them grow is so rewarding to me," she said, "My specialty is portraits."

Because portraits would require subjects to sit still for long periods of time, she uses photographs to base her art on.

"I strive for excellence in what I do, so usually I use high quality photographs to capture the life of a person....especially the spark in the eye," she said. "I enjoy getting into it and taking my time to do something excellent. I also like when someone gets the portrait, seeing them enjoy the finished product."

The artist recently moved here from Memphis, Tenn., following her marriage in October 2012 to Kent Kellenberger.

"Kent and I met January 2012 at a young adult Bible study at Faith Baptist Church in Memphis. We got engaged in June, then one week after, I went to Europe for seven weeks," she said.

While home for Thanksgiving last year, visiting Kent's parents, Dr. Rick and Karen Kellenberger, Kent interviewed for a position at Citizens Bank in Fort Scott. Kent got the job as vice president of accounting, and he and Kelsey Kellenberger moved to Fort Scott in January this year.

"It was the right move for us...very providential. We are so happy to be here in Fort Scott, it's a different pace of life," she said.

Kellenberger also has some of her work displayed at the Common Ground Coffee Company in downtown Fort Scott.