I live in La Crescenta, California. I am a mom of three grown children, married for 29 years, a graphic designer and I love to draw! My artistic training began in childhood when my dad, an architect, taught me to paint with watercolors. Both of my parents were art lovers, and our family went often to galleries, museums, art openings and festivals. I only took a few art classes in high school, focusing more on music. I studied art and design for two years at UCLA, then went on to Art Center where I obtained most of my art training, earning a BFA in advertising design. After a career as an advertising agency art director, I stopped working to have a family. (I mean I stopped working for a paycheck!) Now that the kids are all in college or graduated, I have more time to enjoy both my graphic design business and my portrait work. (To visit my graphic design website, kellygraphicdesign.com, click here.) I love the graphics side, working on a Mac and being all about business and technology, but there is nothing like putting pencil to paper to really connect with my artistic self.
Although I work from photos, my portraits are not photo-realistic. I love the way pencil marks look on the paper, and the way they give a unique emotional quality and spontaneity to the finished work. My goal is to create a portrait that captures a striking resemblance, while not precisely duplicating the photograph. After all, you already have the photo; you want something more extraordinary. It would be my great pleasure to create a unique work of art for your family that will be treasured for generations to come.