We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Franké. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I can honestly say that it’s been my lifelong dream, ever since I was a small child. I wanted to be just like my dad, who worked in his home-studio as a commercial illustrator. Much of my early childhood was spent camping out under his drafting table, crayons & paper in hand, trying to emulate him. Being an artist has always been my identity. So while I can’t remember my first drawing, I do know that I never stopped – and the rest is history.

Kelly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a fine artist, specializing in charcoal drawings on birch wood. My drawings depict linear landscapes – so it may be nautical docks, bridges, barns, city scapes… anything that allows me to focus on linear elements & architectural detail.

Since each drawing is done on wood, my first step is to match my desired composition to a wood grain that will best suit it. The wood grain speaks to sky and water, adding a naturally abstracted layer to the artwork. My goal is to balance my structured drawing with the organic world around it, giving each piece of wood a new life so unique that I could never recreate it.

As for the freelance side of my business, I offer commissions with a continued focus on architectural drawing. My clients can select from three different mediums: my signature charcoal drawings on wood, graphite pencil drawings, or watercolors. Most often these are home portraits, or illustrations for publications. Additionally I run an etsy shop with illustrated ornaments depicting iconic Long Island landmarks.

As a brand, I’m proud of my reputation for craftsmanship. Whether someone’s purchasing a gallery piece, commissioning a watercolor for commercial use, or shopping my etsy for sentimental gifts – there’s something for everyone. Each piece, big or small, is always made with the utmost attention to detail.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2012, with both my BFA & MFA degrees behind me, I landed a job as an Adjunct Instructor of Drawing at a university. Only my timing was not great – tenure was ending, and professors were being replaced with adjuncts whose pay was severely severed in comparison. I decided to accept the position regardless, since I loved teaching and it was a career I wanted to pursue.

Teaching as an adjunct alone was not financially feasible, so I had to balance it with something else. That other thing had to be reliable, so waitressing it was. It was incredibly frustrating to have to balance this prestigious job with serving tables. I had worked so hard… I finally had my career all lined up, only to have the rug pulled out from under me. Speaking with my fellow MFA colleagues, I saw that this was a trend, and that I wasn’t the only one in this situation.

Eventually, and reluctantly, I left teaching all together. It was a difficult and emotional decision, but it didn’t make sense to have a job that couldn’t offer me the security I needed.

Initially waitressing full-time felt like a huge step backwards for my career, and I was questioning everything. But I soon realized that it actually allowed me to return to MY studio art practice. I would draw by day, wait tables by night. Steadily, I was able to build up my fine art portfolio & client base, gradually taking less and less shifts at the restaurant. Fast forward to today, I’ve been working solely as a full-time artist in my studio for almost 3 years. In retrospect, it was all meant to be – and I’m thankful that I knew my worth, and didn’t let my ego keep me from making tough decisions.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Throughout my BFA + MFA, the biggest criticism I always received from my professors was that I was too “illustrative”, always with a negative connotation. The insinuation was that I should be more painterly, abstract, or conceptual. That because I liked to draw what I saw, and had a linear style, I somehow wasn’t a “fine” artist, and instead should be an illustrator. There seemed to be a line in the sand between fine art and illustration. Yet this confused me, as there is so much crossover when studying the art of drawing over the centuries. Getting this feedback repeatedly, I started to question my direction as a fine artist.

Wanting to understand, I dug deep and did the work. I tried different mediums & styles, intentionally abstracted my work, continually asking myself “Why this? Why that? What does this mean?”. While some of my personal favorite artists are expressionists, for me, abstracting something just for the sake of doing it felt inauthentic. I kept coming back to my “illustrative” style, realizing that what I truly was interested in was the subject and the process. I was attracted to architecturally intricate landscapes. I was interested in line itself. I wanted to achieve explicit detail, and complex perspectives, with minimal, elegant marks.

I had to unlearn the suggestion that my work was inferior because it wasn’t painterly, or abstract, or profoundly conceptual. And while it may seem like a silly concept, as a young, impressionable student at the time, it was something that was said or insinuated often. In retrospect, I’m very thankful for that criticism. Once I found my way back to my style, it not only reinforced who I am, but it elevated my artwork. My artwork had improved, and I had grown. I had a better understanding of the choices I made, and why – giving me the tools to take my confidence back.

Contact Info:

• Website: kellyfranke.com
• Instagram: @kellyfrankeart
• Facebook: Kelly Franké
• Other: my etsy shop: KellyFrankeArt etsy.com/shop/KellyFrankeArt