about the artist

Kay & deer Quiet places and nature's infinite variety are particularly favorite subjects for artist Kay Polito. As a youngster, exploring the fields and woods on her uncles' farms, during many family trips through Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as weeks spent in the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains formed a deep appreciation of the natural world.They were the initial inspiration for her love of painting it.

Her paintings invite the viewer to enjoy the spirit and character generated by the light qualities, forms, textures, and colors of the landscape along with the birds or animals who live in it. They evolve from time spent in the environment of the subject where she doe sketchbook drawings and takes photographs to use for reference.

Any field notes, coupled with observations and other reference materials are the basics she relies on to complete a painting. She often brings tree branches, feathers, rocks, grasses, and moss back to the studio to use as examples. Her watercolor and acrylic paintings range from detailed images layered with glazes to achieve depth and glowing color to less tightly rendered subjects on more loosely interpreted backgrounds. The subject determines which technique will be used.

The artist's paintings, commissions, and prints are included kay in numerous private collections around the world. Five Limited Edition prints of her work have been published so far. She and husband Bill reside in Rochester, New York with an assortment of animals. They are members of and contributors to Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club, and Greenpeace.

A partial list of selected exhibitions:

Group Show-Lower Mill Gallery, Honeoye Falls, New York
Group Show-Austin Harvard Gallery, Rochester, New York
Group Show-Lucy Burne Gallery, Rochester, New York
Group Show-Nazareth College, Rochester, New York
Outdoor Festivals-Clothesline Art Shows
Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York
Group Show-Wildlife Art Exhibit-Juried Competition
September 2001 New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York
Group Show-Wildlife Art Exhibit-Juried Competition
Spetember 2002 New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York
Group Show-Wildlife Art Exhibit-Juried Competition
Spetember 2003 New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York
Group Show-Wildlife Art Exhibit-Juried Competition
September 2004 New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York
Group Show-Wildlife Art Exhibit-Juried Competition
September 2005 New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York

A partial list of donatations to local and national charities/organizations:

Designed and painted cowboy hat for National Intercollegiate Rodeo benefit
WXXI Public Television Fund Raising Auction-yearly
Federal Wildlife Officers Association-FWOA
Pennsylvania Wildlife Rescue
Animal Rescue League-Pittsburgh, Pa.
Beth Klice Medical Expense Fund- Rochester, N.Y.
Howell Nature Center - Michigan
St. Louis Zoo

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