Rachel Kelly

My lifelong passion for social justice spilled over into my work life in the non-profit sector. Whether it was employment at a church, a health clinic, a homeless services charity, or a mental health organization; I was able to find both fulfillment and the endurance to win through (eventually) life’s hardest lessons. It was this journey, unbeknownst by me at the time, which fostered my artistic creative drive.

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a self-taught abstract artist, my art is the expression, through color and line, of human emotions, values and concepts. In wanting to visually replicate themes that run through all humanity: joy, passion, social justice and the urge to grow/expand. 

I have been heavily influenced by the works of Vincent van Gogh, Mark Rothko and Paul Klee. I work primarily with acrylics and mixed media, usually strong colors, laid down with brush or palette knives. For each piece, I rely on each stroke to cumulatively aid in the uncovering and translations of the impulses emanating from within my mind. More often than not…I have no idea of what it is I am going to paint: I just begin. Each piece is both a story I am telling about this existence, and a reflection of a piece of my soul.

I have had solo shows at several of San Francisco’s Coffee Houses; was a Marin Open Studios participant; included at a juried O’Hanlon Studio for the Arts Show; and numerous private sale showings. When my studio was located at Studio 333 in Sausalito, I participated in all the Gallery’s Open Houses and several of the Caledonia Street Fairs.