Biography

"You paint because it feels good so swing easy kid." These simple words from Jean Mosher, my grandmother and teacher, have been the mantra for my life. Well that and "It's a dog's life, kiddo", although I have chosen to be less inclined to follow the latter. From a life in the Canadian Navy to running a B&B I have toured the world, celebrated diversity, and have painted all along the way.

I work in both acrylic and oil and let the project decide which one should be used. My style often changes as I continually experiment with new techniques from painting to painting. The spacious basement studio in our century home provides enough room to work on really large pieces and allows me to paint with reckless abandonment without worrying about ruining anything. Especially since I usually paint with knives and am rather messy. I also like the fact that there is little natural light as I am more of a nocturnal painter and like to control the light in the room while creating.

In 2009 I was also honoured to have been awarded the contract for the 90th anniversary mural at the local Legion branch 009. This is a 12' x 4' representation of the military, the Legion, and the Windsor community and how they have all grown together over the last 90 years. Titled Cadence, it is the largest work I have created to date and was the impetus for all of my larger works there after.

I am always busy within the art community creating new venues such as Paint Windsor and helping with other charitable organizations to encompass art as part of their platform. Hoping to bridge the gap between artisans and community and support the local economy and charities all at the same time I am continuously promoting a more holistic approach to art and getting recognized for it.

I also teach acrylic paint lessons and have developed a real fondness for instructing and sharing my art with others. To that end I create lesson plans for simple paint techniques for Grumbacher as well as teach local on site workshops.

Being self taught, I am still experimenting with my style. I love saturated hues and working with the knife, however this requires larger canvases and a lot of room and paint, most of which ends up on me. Somehow no matter how many aprons or smocks I wear I still get it on my clothes. I am now banned from making lunch while I am painting since I will inevitable leave a trail of paint wherever I go.

In the last few years I have had a break through with my work . I paint almost every day and have shipped my work internationally sharing my creations with my patron.s homes. I see where my work is headed and I am excited .I am slowly becoming the artist I want to be. It would be remiss of me not to thank my husband Jonathan for this development of my skill and confidence. He is my biggest fan and supporter- without whom I would probably still be in the Navy trying to find my way home. Thank you, my little atlas.

You can see Kelly’s work at her home gallery at the Phoenix Hollow B&B.