Kelly Herbold

I've been surrounded by art for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite pass-times as a little girl was curling up with big, wonderful art books from my parents’ library. I wanted to understand what or why masters like Van Gogh, Picasso and Salvadore Dali didn't paint scenes or people realistically. The colors, the dimensions; everything that created a picture in the mind's eye seemed to be skewed or out of proportion. However, I found that I was fascinated and drawn-in by the very reason these artists’ works were deemed to be unconventional.  
 
Once I realized that art did not have to look like a photograph, I began to see the world in a whole new way. A few years back I decided to try my hand at painting with acrylics again. It had been a while, but when I held the brush in my hands, it was like putting on a comfy old pair of sneakers. The freedom of the smooth, creamy paint flowing from beneath my brush onto a stark blank canvas was absolutely liberating! After working on cloth canvases, I realized that I enjoyed a smoother surface instead. This is when I discovered art panels. They need no frame and hold up very well.
 
My artwork is a symbol of my personal journeys. They each represent a memento of that portion of time in my life. Most of my subject matter is organic in nature. It’s akin to the game that children play while staring up at the clouds. You might see a bird, a fish, or a mythical creature. I never intend to create them - they just seem to appear as though they've been restrained somewhere in my imagination and are longing to come out and play!  Sometimes I feel like I'm simply a conduit, enabling these imaginary beings to become physical manifestations that dance upon my canvas.