Meet Alley Kocinski | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alley Kocinski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alley, how do you think about risk?
In terms of art, I believe just about all risks are worth taking. Everything feels like a risk in art – from deciding whether I should add or change something in a painting and risk regretting it, to sharing my work publicly and risk receiving negative (or no) interactions, to paying for space at a gallery or art fair with no guarantee that anything will sell. And each of those things have happened to me on occasion. But much more often the risks have paid off! I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere as an artist if I hadn’t taken those risks and I continue taking those risks now.

Even just starting a new piece can feel like a risk – your brain might think, “what if it turns out terrible”. And from experience I can say that sometimes it might! But if you don’t take the risk you’ll never know, and even the “bad” results are valuable learning experiences! Keeping a growth mindset helps a lot when something feels like a risk. That way, even if something doesn’t have the outcome you hoped for, the insights gained make the risk still feel worthwhile.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a third generation artist so I have been creating my whole life in various forms. Now, I am a painter working mainly in oil and gouache paints. My work is generally inspired by places or moments that make me feel grounded and at peace, which most often takes the form of landscapes. I believe modern life moves much too quickly, with so much overstimulation and unsustainable immediacy. I strive to challenge that through painting, focusing on slowing down, being present, and reconnecting with my surroundings. Rather than focusing solely on the reality of my subject, I aim to convey a feeling. I paint impressionistically and love using vibrant color and bold mark-making in my work to achieve a more illustrative quality.

I recently attended my first artist residency which was very exciting for me! I spent two weeks in the French countryside with 9 other artists and had the rare opportunity to fully focus all of my time and energy on my art. We lived and worked in a beautiful 12th century chateau, where the gorgeous landscape and fairytale-esque environment were the perfect inspiration for my work. A big takeaway from the experience for me was how much I enjoy painting from life, and how much of an impact I feel like it makes on my work. I love the inevitable imperfections caused by environmental factors, the way the energy of being there with my subject works itself into the art, and the way it pushes me to capture things quickly and not overwork it. The undisturbed time to create and the relationships built with the other artists also made me realize how impactful new environments and new interactions can be on my work, and that is something I will definitely make an effort to continue exploring going forward! (The residency program is called Atelier Artist-In-Residence for anyone interested!)

I often think about how lucky I feel to be an artist – to get to study and appreciate the world around me in such detail. Through my art I hope to inspire others to slow down, reconnect, and fully experience their own moments of peace and wonder.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live north of Denver, up in Loveland. When people come to visit, I like to take them into the mountains to go for a short hike or visit Rocky Mountain National Park. On the drive, I would definitely stop at Colorado Cherry Company for pie! Back in Loveland, I would take them to my favorite coffee shop, Dark Heart Coffee Bar, visit Lincoln Gallery to browse some local artwork, go take a walk around the Benson Sculpture Garden, and finally wind down by the river at Sweet Heart Winery. If the weather was nice, some more outdoor spots I’d have on my list would be Carter Lake, Devil’s Backbone, and Lory State Park. For restaurants I’d take them to Taste Local for breakfast, Pourhouse and Door 222 for dinners, or for a change of scenery we’d go down to Longmont for Pumphouse Brewery.

I also usually spend a day in Fort Collins with anyone visiting. My go-to’s there are La Creperie & French Bakery for brunch, Blue Moose Art Gallery and Trimble Court Artisans for local art followed by more shopping at the downtown shops, Cafe Vino for dinner, and the Holiday Twin Drive In Theater for a laid back evening.

Hopefully they’d also be able to catch a view of the sunset from Lake Loveland (even better if they can see it through the heart sculpture!).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This shoutout is dedicated to my family. My parents are both artists themselves in different disciplines, so I was raised in an environment that encouraged art and creativity. They always provided me with any art supplies I wanted to try growing up, and their walls are overflowing with my work from over the years. And my husband as well – he makes it to every art show, does the heavy lifting when I have a market booth, puts up with my art messes, and sits with me while I plein air paint for hours. I am so grateful for their endless support.

Website: https://www.alleykocinskiartist.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alley_kocinski_artist

Other: email: alleykocinskiartist@gmail.com