UNITY — "I'm so glad I didn't judge my beginnings harshly," said artist Kay Lock Kolp in reference to the very first pastel painting she ever made. It's of an amaryllis bloom and took her two years to complete – partly because a chronic illness made using her hands difficult at the time, and partly because she hadn't yet given herself permission to be an artist.

Six years after she finished it, that first painting now hangs beside another amaryllis in "Courage & Joy", Lock Kolp's 18-piece solo pastel retrospective. 

 

"The difference between them visibly contains a journey," said Lock Kolp, in a news release.

 

The five-week exhibition is on view at Unity Public Library in Unity, Maine, through November 14. An opening reception with Lock Kolp will be held Thursday, Oct. 8, from 5:30 - 7 p.m. 

"For me, the courage has been in giving myself permission to begin and keep going," said Lock Kolp, "and letting joy be part of the process instead of some future reward." 

 

Her paintings play with the love, fun, and vibrant color she notices around her.

 

Among the stories in the exhibition: Lock Kolp's experience of sitting in the sand on a Massachusetts beach on July 4, 2023, painting fireworks in such darkness that she had to guess where the colors were in her pastel box.

It includes a painting, "The Best Seat in the House", of the view from a restaurant restroom in Spain – "displayed, naturally, in the library restroom," said Lock Kolp.

"Courage & Joy" can be viewed during Unity Public Library's regular operating hours.

 

For more information, visit unitypubliclibrary.org, follow Lock Kolp on Instagram at @weturnedoutokay, or visit kaylockkolp.com.