Interview with an artist

A simple, happy life

There is nothing “humdrum” about Jessie Kinsey. When I drove into her driveway, I just had to smile. From the big “Howdy” sign to kids’ trucks in the yard, this house feels like a home. There are two doors in the front. Methinks it’s to confuse people. I walked to one, then the other, then back, knocked and waited. Then I walked to the other one, and a tall, slim cowboy opened the door. I had my first glimpse of Marion Kinsey. From my conversations with Jessie, he was just as I expected. A handsome weathered cowboy. He let me in, and Jessie gave me a big hug.

We settled at the kitchen table where everything happens in the Kinsey household. Just as in many other households, I suspect, including mine. The house is homey and warm. The company, as always, makes me smile. Giggles often accompanied our conversation.

As a young child, Jessie always wanted to paint, but in the small Vega, Texas, school she was attending, no art classes were offered. So, she didn’t paint for a while. She married young to a dormant artist who, to this day, will not grab a pencil or a brush. Marion would only draw when the children needed a poster or a picture for school. So, Jessie started painting on her own.

When her girls were “grown and gone,” Jessie met a lady who taught painting from her home. Kitchen no doubt. Jessie says: “Grace was a big inspiration for me. She said, ‘don’t work it to death, it’s enough, ’ and she always told us that when you put your name on it, you’re through, don’t go back in. It’s very unlucky.”

A small painting can take as little as six hours, but a bigger, more involved one, will take longer what with the drying process for the oils. Jessie has the kind of studio I would expect from a painter. Paintings everywhere, on the walls, against the walls, on the easel. Mostly nature, but some studies in perspective, lots of cowboys and horses. “I feel like I know horses, and cattle, and ranch life, and sunsets and sunrises. And I know that my God has splashed [those colors], and there is no way I can copy Him, but I really strive to get His colors.”

She also paints Kachina dolls, native religious icons that are carved from cottonwood root and painted to represent figures from Hopi mythology, according to the native-languages.org website. Jessie says: “I like Indian folklore and each Kachina doll has a history of either being a weather doll or a doll that heals. It has something to do with the Indian faith. I always liked them.”

Would you have wanted to make it into a career as a painter? “I probably would have because I love it. I probably would have, but in a small community, married to a cowboy, that’s kind of a far-out thing.”

Why wasn’t he interested, do you think? “I don’t know; he’s still not. When I actually started painting, I bought [supplies] for him, and he said, “Honey, I wouldn’t do that if I could.” He used to sit and make all the posters for the kids in school. They would tell him they needed a picture of this or that and he would draw it. I have to have something to look at. I can’t just draw it from my head, but he’d just sit and sketch it out.”

Your aha moment: “I don’t think I have that moment yet. I’m still searching for that.”

What do you want to be when you grow up? “I want to be a dancer.”

What do you want to accomplish this year? “I think if there [were] one thing, it would probably be to do a terrific painting that no one else ever did one as good, just strive to do better and better.”

Do you paint every day? “I wish I could say I did, but I don’t, twice, three times a week. I like to do other things too, I don’t like to get tied to any one thing, I have the great grandchildren all involved in school, and I go with them. I’m interested in watching them grow. I’m just really, I’m not a very interesting person, pretty humdrum, just laid back.”

Laid back is pretty attractive. The first time we met, it was easy to build a rapport… People are attracted to you. “I hope so because I love people, I dearly love people, from all walks of life it doesn’t matter to me, each one has their own personality, but you don’t have to be like them, you listen to them, they can help you grow in some aspects. I like people, I’ve always liked people.”

Your biggest frustration: “Politics.”

“I played volleyball, basketball, love sports, [getting my] hip replaced kind of slowed me down and age does too. When you look across the net and you see a young person, and you think, ‘Well, you can’t get there from here!’”

“Biggest frustration is for people to say one thing and be doing something else at the same time, I hate that I think a person tells you something that’s the way it should be, if they don’t tend to follow through, well clean your mess up!”

If you were not an artist: “I’d probably just be a grandma. I used to like to sew; I designed my kids’ clothes, they used to be pretty special. I’d sketch off something, I didn’t sew with patterns, I’d just make my own pattern, I’d just start with a basic something and add to and take away until it became our own one of a kind thing. I would probably sew a lot. I don’t sew much anymore. The kids are grown and gone, and the grandkids are not here to fit so. I never learned to use patterns. I used to really love to sew.”

Favorite city: “You know I would probably live right here. I’ve been [to] a lot of places, but I always like it here. We have a daughter who lives in Cape Coral, and it’s beautiful down there, and I like it, but I wouldn’t live there. I didn’t like California, didn’t like Washington, you know I think if I could live any place it would be right here I’m perfectly happy to live right here.”

“I think when you paint for money, you lose the joy of painting. A part of me [goes into] every painting, and that’s one of the reasons I never cared that much about selling stuff. [But] when I do, I like to know who [bought] it, because they’re carrying a part of me. I work at it; it’s not real easy for me.”

As we talk some more about her art and her life, I realize this is the dream. Loving what you do, having a strong sense of community, and a tall and handsome cowboy who will love you and be your true partner throughout this life. Jessie is a truly gifted artist and individual. One thing she is not, is humdrum.

Please contact Michele for more information.