Today we’d like to introduce you to L. Kelly Lyles.

Hi L. Kelly, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was good at drawing since childhood (my parents were creative and encouraged us), so I wanted to work in art, though initially assumed I’d focus on fashion illustration or advertising. Both jobs seemed VERY glamorous to my younger self. I love clothing, my mother was friends with several designers in Europe (one even made me one-of-kind clothes, I was maybe in the 4th grade? An aside, I’m always surprised by how “boring” most artists dress, their love of colour and pattern seems strictly on canvas). I won several art contests, was an art editor on our high school yearbook committee, and did go to college(s) as an art major(s). However, when I graduated in the late 1980’s illustration was out of fashion- pun intended- in advertising, so I focused on more generic commercial illustration and graphic design. I still sketched and painted occasionally, but didn’t get serious until I dated a painter/fine artist in the 1990’s and was frankly jealous. Exhibiting in galleries looked fun. I clearly overlooked the part about discipline/hard work, self-promotion skills, marketing, bookkeeping, etc, the (more than) 3-legs of the stool in any art career. And they DIDN’T teach any of that to art majors…

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a relatively smooth road, I exhibit quite a bit, paint a fair amount of commissions, and don’t have to have a day-job, I love the luxury of my flexible schedule! On the other hand, it’s been a “bumpy” trail in that I wish I’d been more discriminating on where I hung my paintings; I accepted every opportunity offered, a more experienced friend told me that had been damaging. He thought I should have been more selective to be taken seriously, since many of those venues were less than professional.
I also believe agism is now a factor, & my younger self missed the opportunity to be “discovered” by higher-end galleries. As in any industry youth and novelty is prized. I also believe my style might be better suited to other parts of the USA, different states and regions have a stylistic “flavour” and my taste is more LA/SF. I think that’s a realistic assessment, not “sour grapes”. I never moved because life’s easier here, I’m deeply ensconsed in Washington’s art community and therefor too lazy to start over. This isn’t a great state to SELL art (there’s lots of money here, but much of it’s in tech), but we’re a friendly, supportive, fun bunch.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am primarily a 2D artist, drawing (pencil, charcoal, conte), and painting (watercolours, acrylics and oils). I find oils to be the easiest and most beautiful (blending, layering), but it’s more work setting up and cleaning up, so I mostly focus on (easy clean-up) acrylics. I drive a 1996 Honda Odyssey the EXCESSORIES ODD-YSSEY, covered in accessories (shoes, purses, jewelry). She’s one of my very favourite projects, and I’m part of a huge community of uniques who decorate our vehicles and share/drive our own public art daily. Another of my artcars is LEOPARD BERNSTEIN, covered in 700 lions, tigers and leopards, he has ears and a tail (now living in ART CAR WORLD museum in Douglas, Arizona). My 1st ArtCar was a Pinto horse-themed Pinto, I also was commissioned to paint a “HYBIRD” Prius, and covered a 5th auto in art materials.

I’m known for my sense of humour, which comes out in flamboyant clothes, artcars, and painting themes. I also believe my biggest strength is networking – not for myself, but putting people together- problem solving by means of personal connections and community.

Any big plans?
I have such a nice life already that I don’t need to ‘visualize the future”, rarely make plans (other than for international travel every year or two, with quite a few domestic jaunts in between. My trips usually have an art focus, love visiting museums, galleries and studios wherever I go). I have a hard-to-read-it’s so-full-calendar that keeps me on track (along with a computer monitor and car dashboard covered in post-it notes, & scrawled notes all over my own hand). I’ve never made resolutions, a vision-board, nor charted my life’s trajectory, there’s too much happening on any given day to bother with long-term plans.
Days evaporate. A good portion I focus (though not intentionally) on community: answering emails, texts, calls, writing birthday cards, thank-yous, sympathy notes, then posting art I see (and occasionally my own, but usually art I attend daily) on social media. By the time I’ve run a few errands, ideally got a few hours in the studio (though that sometimes happens after 11pm, I can paint til 2 or 3am) it’s evening. There’s something interesting happening almost every night (plays, auctions, parties, lectures; many/most free), I attend friends receptions multiple times a week since we all appreciate support. And there went the day, the week, the month: POOF!

Pricing:

• $400-$1,800

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kellyspot.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lkellylyles
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/L.kellylyles

Image Credits
Christopher Conrad