We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kennedy Bailey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kennedy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

As an artist, I aspire to create a legacy that goes beyond aesthetics or technical skill. To create a different perspective, emotion or playfulness in each individual piece of artwork, that I hope will resonate with people in various ways. For me, art is not just a medium for self-expression but also a tool for connection and healing. I want my audience to feel seen, understood, and validated through my work. In hopes that it will leave an imprint that expresses to people that I am someone they can lean on and trust. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. If I can help people feel something through my art, help them heal or even inspire them to express their own creativity, that’s success.

Kennedy, 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?

My name is Kennedy Bailey of Essence of Art and I am 21 years old. I just recently started my own business, but I’ve been utilizing my art skills since I can remember. I recently completed my fourth major project and have several more on my calendar, including Paint Madison County on September 17th. Art is my therapy and I believe that sets me apart from other artists. I want to provide courage and motivation to others to explore their artistic and creative side even when they think they don’t have one and I hope by promoting my business it reaches those who need that extra ‘push’.
I try to bring a sense of peace to each project and wish for my clients to feel valued, respected and overall joy when they look at the finished product.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have amazing family and friends that one way or another has helped get my name out. That is the biggest struggle becoming a new business owner in my opinion. I think posting content of my art has also helped me because those friends and family members have something to show the potential new client. Though I am fairly new I have had a lot of great comments and people reaching out to me.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started building my audience through my ‘Essence of Art’ Facebook page and my personal ‘kennedyjewel’ TikTok page and it continues to build. I capture videos of myself creating art and post them for people to view along with photos of all current and prior pieces that I’ve completed. I recently completed two large murals for Wild River Studios that resulted in other local businesses reaching out to me for quotes on other pieces. You just have to keep putting yourself out there for the right people to see you and the business will grow.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Essence of Art
• Other: TikTok: @kennedyjewel

Image Credits
Sunflower (last photo) – Vera Mcleran