We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Steller Hrad. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kelly with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
From my Dad for the first 34 years of my life. Stretch joined the Air Force in 1938, he was a navigator and bombardier in B47’s and B52’s. He served 25 years and was stationed all over the world. I came along after he retired as he was beginning his 2nd career in the Automotive business as Fleet Manager. I still have his first paycheck from January 1964 for $24.00. Stretch could do anything and do it well. There were very few things around the house that he couldn’t take care of himself. So if he wasn’t working at the dealership, he was working on a project at home. I was a Daddy’s girl so I always loved to help him and learn from him. When I passed my typing class in middle school, he put me to work helping him. Countless summers I would ride with him to work and help with all his contracts and deliveries. One summer we delivered over 400 cars – just the two of us. He was a tough meticulous boss, but I learned how to create a plan, manage a plan and execute a plan. Dot the I’s and cross the T’s. No surprise that I married someone much like him with the same high standards and drive for excellence. That keeps me motivated to do my absolute best every day.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a contemporary abstract painter who expresses my thoughts on canvas through multiple mediums from acrylic to three-dimensional oil and beyond. My artwork is an expression of my life through color and line which captivates the eye with rich vivid layers. I feel my distinctive styles exude joy, peace and express a vibrant spirit that emanates off the canvas. I paint in both acrylic and three-dimensional oil, meaning the paint is thick and layered creating a sculptural feel. Each canvas is like a page of my life’s journal. Growing up I took art classes and painted what I was told to paint or what my parents wanted to hang in our home.
When I reconnected with painting 9 years ago and was staring at a blank canvas it was so cathartic to paint what I was feeling. As I continued to express my emotions and tell my life’s story on canvas. My heart and mind opened, allowing me to share all of my feelings.
I didn’t intend to start a business, but here I am. I said YES to the voice in my head that said “follow your heart”. Trusting that voice to become a full time artist was terrifying, but it is so amazing.
I love to hear the initial reactions from clients when they see a commission piece for the first time. The emotions that they express feed my passion! Being invited into clients’ homes is very personal and my mind begins to paint as soon as I pull in their driveway. I truly love getting to know the clients and incorporate their likes along with our connection into the commission paintings. The opportunity to create something unique is so exhilarating – whether it is creating an entire gallery wall, a mini Monet inspired painting, or a bright colorful piece for the Louis Vuitton Boutique at Legacy West. Each one is special; each one is a colorful page of my journal.
2022 was my first year as a full time artist – what an amazing year of lessons, opportunities, connections and inspiration. I completed 15 commissions, secured gallery representation and had the best time doing all of it! Everyday I woke up with gratitude. Art is all about the feelings for me as that is where it started. My art journey is still being written.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I feel that my time in corporate America gave me the confidence to set up my business in a manner that represents me and that I feel proud of. The painting is the fun part, everything else is the work. I did a lot of research, scrolling social media and other websites looking for what appealed to me, what made me feel great. I wanted to create that feel for my clients. Whether I met them at a show or via the internet, I wanted the feeling for the client to be memorable from start to finish.
Always being ready to work, have your resources teed up so that when the iron is hot you can get after it. Organization, finding ways to work smarter not harder, streamline if possible, and having your core materials on hand.
Put together a great team of honest, trustworthy supporters and vendors. You can’t do it all alone, you will succeed with the help of others. Be that person for someone else, to quote a great art friend “We’ve got to row this boat together to get anywhere” .
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
A blank wall and trust. I was at a friend’s home over the summer, they are clients and have a couple of pieces, but they still had so many blank walls! Sometimes people can’t see past the blank wall and need a diagram – I fall in that category frequently. Some clients have colors in mind, others have seen a style I have done before, others are willing to let me create a vision I have in my head. I just want to create work for clients that they love everytime they walk by. Work that they see something different in everyday.
To share a quote from a recent commission:
“I love walking into this room with the colors and patterns in your painting. Different colors move in and out as the light changes in the room throughout the day.
It’s like watching the Sandia Mountains at sunset!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kellystellerhrad.com
- Instagram: @kellystellerhrad
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyStellerHradArt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellystellerhradart/
