Artist Statement IV Edited by My Lovely Aunt Kelly

Artist Statement 

I have a happy life and because of the joy in my life, I create happy paintings. I use bright colors to excite the viewers’ eyes and to spark memories of their childhood days when everything was light and cheerful. As an artist my goals are not only to attract a viewer, but also to bring them into my paintings.  I want them to give them the opportunity to escape their mature life of stress and woes. I want them to be caught up in my delicious colors and live in a fantasy world made of sugary, baked goods. My paintings are calorie free and come without that feeling of regret you may experience after you indulge.

I love to teach children about art.  My art style is affected by the joy I experience when I share art with a child. I use bright colors and simplistic compositions to attract the dream quality that many children possess. Life as a child is simple, carefree, and full of wonderment. This is how I feel as an artist; I draw in a simplistic way that is playful and whimsical. I want to create images that are clear and vivid for a child.  Images that they can relate to. My painting style is bold and vibrant, similar to how a child finger-paints. A child finger-paints by aimlessly smacking down paint and moving it all around the paper. This is similar to what I do when first creating my paintings. I create a style of art that is visual appealing to children but will also bring out the child in an adult viewer. I want to bring you back to the days when you would put your nose up against the glass and stare adoringly at some tasty treat you had eaten as a child. My painting will initiate a mouth-watering experience for you.

To create these tasty works of art, I was inspired by abstract expressionistic paintings. I was attracted by the thick paint that would build on the canvas. After seeing Picasso’s Women Seated in a Chair I saw that he used paint straight from tube to canvas, it was verification for me that this is what I want to achieve as well. From this, the idea of using this thick paint to create a realistic texture began to develop. I use large amounts of oil paints to create the texture in my desserts. Then I use various objects to sculpt into the paint to create different textures. I use toothpicks, plastic forks, popsicle sticks, and anything I can find to help me mold the texture I desire. With masking the paint texture to mimic the realistic texture, I achieve a three-dimensional quality in my paintings. Underneath I use my bright pallet of rainbow hues to enhance the playful quality in my style. I use unique composition by cropping the image, while still keeping balance through out the piece. This draws you closer to my paintings and takes you inside. My goal in creating these paintings is to make the viewer smile and recall happy memories of their childhood youth. I want the viewer to look at the painting and think, “It looks so good that I could eat it.”