We recently connected with Kelynn Alder and have shared our conversation below.

Kelynn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

When I was 9-years-old I drew a portrait of my Schnauzer, Schultzie and submitted it to the “Junior Artist’s Contest” in our local newspaper in Rochester, NY.

I won and they awarded me two whole dollars! I thought, “Wow there’s a lot of money in this business! I’m going to be rich!”

Not only that, but they also published the drawing of Schultzie, with my name clearly credited underneath! So obviously there was FAME and FORTUNE to be had as an artist!

I have that drawing framed in my studio.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I remember way back when, sitting in my highchair and drawing cartoon characters like Felix the Cat and Popeye. My mom promised they would visit me if I captured their likenesses. I’m still waiting… But the point is: you only get better at doing something by doing it a lot, and doing it for a long, long time. It’s also important to keep experimenting and not worry about successes or failures. What did Van Gogh say? “Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures.” And that old adage “quality over quantity” should be turned on its head. It’s through “practice, practice, practice,” trial and error and a huge quantity of output that will eventually yield the best and most creative results.

Aside from honing my technical skills, what made me evolve the most as a young artist was the Illustration as Visual Essayism Master’s Program at the School of Visual Arts, led by Marshall Arisman. Marshall blurred the lines between illustration and fine art. He taught us how to go beyond our technical capabilities and how, more importantly, to engage with our image making through our hearts. This propelled me to seek out my own stories. So, even when I was commissioned to do a portrait for a publication like The New Yorker, I would ask if I could meet the person and have them sit for me instead of just duplicating their likeness based off some publicity photo. I wasn’t paid extra for investing additional time in the work—such as traveling a distance to get to the person being portrayed, but the experience was much more fulfilling and the portraits more profound.

I still work this way when I do portraiture. I want to see the person with my own eyes, hear their voice, see their expressions from different angles and in different lights… Maybe that’s because I know it’s impossible to say everything about a person in one portrait, but I want to at least get a real sense of who they are below the surface so I can do my best to represent them inside and out. Even if that means traveling across the country to be in their presence.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I moved back to New York, from Australia some thirty years ago, and began to delve into and express more of my Mexican ancestry in my work, I was met with a lot of push back from gallery directors. Back then, living Latino artists were hardly represented in New York City’s major museums, and I encountered even less appreciation or understanding of Latin American themed subject matter out on Long Island where I lived and had my studio.

When I persisted with my Mexican-American themed work, I was for a time labeled an “ethnic artist.” I’m not even certain about who that term would define.

Three decades later, my work continues to explore my Mexican American ancestry and culture and I am exhibiting this work widely. I’m also a founding member of Latino Arts of Long Island, which allows me to help shine light on the work of other Latinx artists who may have felt isolated and unseen. In April 2024, I received an Engaging Communities award from the Museum Association of New York for guest curating the exhibition SOMOS/WE ARE for the Long Island Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian. The exhibition featured 82 talented Latinx artists from Brooklyn all the way to Montauk. My goal for SOMOS/WE ARE was to illuminate the magnitude of Latinx talent across Long Island.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I once felt my role as an artist was more as a journalist and documentarian—to record impartially what I saw through sketching and painting. Aside from paid editorial assignments, I set out on self-initiated projects to portray Balthus Island Aboriginals hunting, tribal wars in Papua New Guinea, boardwalk scenes in Coney Island and the disappearing culture of the Lacandon Maya in Chiapas, Mexico.

Today I feel my role as an artist is not solely to document human events I am witness to. As a contemporary Latinx artist, as well as daughter and granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, my responsibility through my work is to speak out against social injustices inflicted upon Latinx communities, and ultimately through my image making, proudly share our rich cultural heritage through the echoing voices of our ancestors.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kelynnalder.com
• Instagram: @kelynnalder
• Facebook: kelynn alder
• Linkedin: kelynn alder
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk-xTixns4E
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTaGZ1CZvd0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zplGajTTBE

Image Credits
The photo of Kelynn Z. Alder was taken by Michael Drakopoulos. Otherwise, all the photos are images of art that are the property of the artist, Kelynn Z. Alder.