Meet the artist
Alley Kocinski is a third generation artist who has been creating her whole life. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs, pursuing the arts from a young age through a combination of traditional training and self-guided practice. She now resides in Colorado, where the natural beauty provides endless inspiration for her work.
She paints using oils and gouache, and her paintings are often characterized by her visible brushwork. A common thread throughout her current work is a feeling of seeking presence - of intentionally slowing down despite the chaos of the world and truly seeing, appreciating, and connecting with our surroundings.
Gallery Representation
What is plein air?
The term “plein air” is a french phrase meaning “in open air”. When an artist creates en plein air, it means they are creating outdoors, on location.
Painting from life in nature provides a lot of unique challenges - quickly changing light and shadows, seeing paint colors differently in the sunshine or shade, and being impacted by the elements - heat, cold, rain, wind, even bugs.
In my opinion, these factors give plein air paintings a special, raw feeling. They’re not as perfect and polished as studio paintings. But the physical authenticity of being created on-location adds something beautifully intangible to the artwork.
I paint both plein air and in a studio setting, and the observations from my plein air work provide deeper insight into my studio work as well.
I do not use generative AI in any part of my creative process. Not in my references, not in my titles or words. I value the soul in human creativity.