Check Out Kelly Peters’ Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Peters.

Hi Kelly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Growing up in the Detroit suburbs I am a midwest girl at heart. After college I had the urge to go west and landed in Portland, OR for about
a year. In 2015, I made the spontaneous decision to pack up my car and leave Portland, OR behind, to Aspen, Co to pursue the ‘ski bum’
lifestyle. To be honest, I had never set foot in Aspen before, and initially, I thought I’d only stay for a single winter. But the ‘ski bum’ lifestyle stole my heart, and I ended up defying expectations—both societal norms and my own—by extending my stay for much longer. It is a bigger narrative for how I live my life by trusting my intuition and pursuing my passions.

Over the course of four years, I navigated a myriad of part time gigs, working in the service industry predominantly while nurturing my
studio practice. Fortunately, I secured a cherished studio space at the base of Aspen Highlands and later acquired another one at the base
of Snowmass Mountain. During this time, I gradually gained a devoted following among clients and collaborated with various local brands.
These opportunities paved the way for me to pursue art full-time—an incredible privilege and my biggest dream at the time.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Presently, my days are spent in the sanctuary of my studio, where I combine the wonders of the natural world with my passion for color. I
have an instinctive intuition for color mixing and theory, and when I embark on a new painting, I typically choose a focal color that serves
as the cornerstone for the entire palette. Armed with the various objects in my studio I am able to experiment with color on the
regular, especially in the first stages of the painting.

Once the foundation feels solid, I transition the artwork to the wall and shift to using oil paint to add intricate details and depth. It’s during this stage that I often cater to specific requests from clients, capturing the essence of their preferred mountain ranges in commissioned pieces. Each collaboration is a journey, where we explore the interplay of color, detail, and contrast to bring their vision to life. It’s a joy to create a visual piece for a client that started as an abstract concept.

During my college years, I studied the human form, allowing me to understand form and color from a classical perspective. It was during
this formative period that I had the privilege of studying under accomplished fantastic realist painters in Italy, renowned for their expertise in traditional Renaissance techniques. Immersed in their teachings, I absorbed invaluable knowledge and insights that continue to shape my artistic style today. Learning from these painters who’ve studied traditions of painting before them it has instilled in me that art is a never ending learning journey. I will always continue to seek out other artists to study and collaborate with.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I cannot hide that my artistic path has not been without its major challenges. There have been moments—those big crossroads—where doubts crept in, tempting me to abandon it all and seek a more conventional path. Being an artist means embracing the responsibilities of running a business, juggling unpredictable income sources, and consistently honing my creative skills. Discipline, both in the studio and in
managing the business side of things, has been a hard-won lesson that I continue to refine daily.

Despite it all, I remain steadfast in being creative. It’s not something we necessarily choose, I do believe the artist lifestyle chooses us. Transparency is important to me, and I strive to convey the realities of the journey through my social media accounts. It’s vital for others to recognize that success is not all the pretty and successful instagram posts but rather the layers of failures, rejections, and most importantly the discipline that keeps us going. There is a note on my studio wall that bluntly states “Never f+++++++ give up.” It encapsulates my mantra.

Looking to the future, I am open to the possibilities of where the art world is moving. I am ready to broaden my horizons across Colorado,
with a particular focus on expanding into Denver and other mountain towns.

If you’d like to explore more of my work or connect with me, feel free to visit my socials and website:

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kellypetersart.com
• Instagram: @kellypetersart
• TikTok: @kellypetersart

Image Credits
Lizzy Fowler