Sisters artist goes international

Several months ago, Sisters artist Kimry Jelen launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to take her art to the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Normandy, France at the end of summer.

Because of her enthusiastic backers, Jelen was able to ship herself and several equestrian-themed paintings to the vendor village at the games. She was in France for nearly a month, with time before and after the games to meet some fine horse-people and explore a few Paris art museums.

Back home now and finishing commissions that were part of her fundraising efforts, Jelen is reflecting on the experience of a lifetime.

"I was thrilled to meet great people," she said.

She added that the French citizens she met didn't live up to their reputation for rudeness.

Whenever she needed help, someone was there to offer it.

There were some organizing snafus as the vendor area was being set up, and transportation to and from the venue wasn't able to keep up with the hundreds of thousands of visitors wanting to use it.

The entire show shut down for a rest day halfway through the two-week games due to a French rule of no work for more than seven consecutive days.

That seemed a strange thing to an American with a strong work ethic, but after being immersed in everyday French living, Jelen realized the truth of the phrase "c'est la vie - such is life." She used the rest day to explore Normandy.

Jelen's work was hung in a 600-square-foot booth in the vendor village shared with three other painters and four sculptors. The artists are represented by le Galerie du Cheval, owned by Benoit Gottot, who was there daily to help and encourage. The artists looked after each others' work and helped with language difficulties. Jelen was the sole American artist, and there were only two other individual artists operating small booths. Many others had been turned down in a very competitive selection process.

After three days of dealing with the disorganized administration and lack of traffic through the vendor area, Jelen wondered if she'd made a mistake in coming. While she was pondering how to make the best of things, two women turned up. They were Australian, and since Jelen was the only native English speaker in the booth, she was able to help them and they ended up purchasing one of her large paintings. In the end, she sold six paintings and completed a commission during the event.

A woman needed a present for her daughter and asked Jelen if she could paint a portrait of the daughter's horse. She set up her easel under some nearby trees and worked on the piece before the booth opened and during quiet times in the day. Jelen's activity attracted people to the booth, plus it was a productive way to pass the time.

She brought most of her unsold work home, but left some to be represented by la Galerie du Cheval.

"Benoit is a wonderful representative," said Jelen. "He thought my work was energetic and poetic and it was great to have his perspective. He loved hearing the stories behind the work."

Jelen said that she thought many times of the people who supported her through Kickstarter and the sales of her calendars and commissions.

"I felt empowered by the group effort, and I can see why they call them 'backers'," she said. "I really felt like someone had my back."

A 2015 calendar is available at Sisters Feed & Supply, Two Blue Ponies in Tumalo, and Absolute Horse in Bend. Most of the calendar's pages are images of the expressive paintings that traveled to France with Jelen.