Kelly Gowan – Q1 Art Competition – Artist Portfolio Magazine

• Artist Portfolio Magazine – Q1 Art Competition
• Kelly Gowan – Holly Lake Ranch, TX

I am a self taught artist that grew up in the Dallas Ft Worth area and am now residing on a lake in East Texas among the tall pine trees on a lake. I would say I have a real passion for life and it shows through in my art. Art to me is a combination of emotions that I experience through painting. I tend to do more abstract pieces, as experimenting is all part of the joy of art to me. I utilize all sorts of mediums such as: sand, glaze, resin, oil, acrylics, cold wax, inks and more. I may paint a piece because I feel something and decide I can capture that with color and light. Or I may start painting and not know what the outcome will be and in turn experience feelings from the process. Each piece is it’s own journey. This is often times reflected in my titles. For example, my painting “Strength”, began with bright colors randomly placed, moved, blended, wiped away, added back in, using various methods from fingers to knives, spatulas and splatters… but in the end it is an amazing tree, strong and full of movement. I do not want to limit myself to a style or type of painting, because for me it is a journey of exploration of the wonderful choices I have on mediums, colors, size, style, and subject matters. I have been told that my paintings are full of life, color and movement. They are ones that make you ponder, reflect, and feel something.

I am a person obsessed with art. It is all I want to read about, search about, and think about. I am a Breast Cancer Survivor with an incredible zest for life, as well as a mother to three amazing kids and happily married. I am a hippy at heart, outgoing and it shows in my style of art. I live on a lake now in East Texas and my studio is my backyard where I paint my pieces with the lake as my inspiration as well as life itself.