Kelley Smith is a third generation Arizona native. After raising five very creative daughters, Kelley attended Scottsdale Community College where she received numerous scholarships, including the Helen Bychinsky Artist of Promise award. Her essay on art education won a partially funded trip to Italy and Greece. The college then sponsored her first one woman show. Kelley proceed to attend Arizona State University to continue her art training.
At that same time, Kelley was honored to receive the Scottsdale Artists League Scholarship for emerging artists, which started her involvement in art organizations in the valley. Kelley helped found and is on the board of the Arizona Art Alliance and was instrumental in the formation of the art classes taught to incarcerated youth at the Southwest Juvenile Corrections Complex. For this service, she was awarded as a nominee for Arts in Education for the 25th annual Arizona Governor's Art Awards.
In past years, Kelley has been on the boards for the Arizona Pastel Association, Arizona Artist Guild and Scottsdale Artist League. Kelley's art has hung in several galleries in Arizona and New Mexico. She participated in First Fridays in Downtown Phoenix, The Celebration of Fine Art and The Sonoran Art League's Hidden in the Hills shows.
Currently, Kelley continues to paint for commission from her studio at home and teaches private and group classes on drawing and painting with oils and pastels. She continues to volunteer teaching art for youth group and elementary schools in the greater Phoenix, Arizona valley in addition to working as an event designer and jewelry artist.
Artist Statement:
'With half of the world full of creepy people doing even creepier things, I purposely choose to concentrate on the other half. There are a tremendous about of good people and things even in this troubled world of today. I may be too old to sound 'Pollyanna-ish', but choosing to see the positive is how I stay sane. I continue to find excitement in painting these good things with slightly pushed colors, and the shear act of placing brush strokes onto canvas to create shapes and textures is exhilarating for me. I receive a tremendous amount of joy interpreting the beautiful things in my life, even if it is just by painting a piece of fruit. It's as simple as that.'
Kelley Smith joined Pixels on May 10th, 2013.
