Artist Statement

Growing up, making art gave me a way to carve out my own private, joyful world—a place where the colours I mixed or the designs I invented were entirely my own. Retreating to my bubble of art-making filled me with a sense of calm. The feelings art gave me in those early years drove me towards creative pursuits later in my life, too. I studied art in high school and university, and later as part of my professional career in Vancouver.

I eventually took time away from painting to raise my two amazing children, and when they were very young, there was little time for art. But as my children became school-aged, I found that I wanted to fill my spare time doing something that made me completely happy, something that could allow me to spread that happiness to those around me. A longing to connect with myself through creativity is what finally brought me back to my studio, where I began to paint simple, pure bursts of colour that felt like natural articulations of my body and heart. I had rediscovered my Zen place.

My abstract acrylic paintings are designed to illuminate people’s spaces and lives. From the feminine circles of my Sweet Dreams and Pops of Joy series to the interconnected shapes and brushstrokes of my Joshua Tree and Shapes of Water series, my artworks affirm the deep connections people make with others and with the world around them. Inspired by the rocks of Joshua Tree National Park and several bodies of water throughout Canada, my canvases convey my love for the places I’ve lived in and visited, and for the people who have accompanied me through those spaces. The simple, majestic natural objects of treasured landscapes have supported cherished experiences with people I love. My shapes represent the happiness that can come from being with family and friends—connecting together, moving around, uniting and separating—all part of a whole story across time. My bright colours infuse these shapes with positive feelings, reminding me just how crucial art is to happiness.

Biography

Abstract artist Kelly Radcliffe has studied, worked, and played in many Canadian communities, from Ontario to BC to Manitoba. Kelly grew up visiting her family cottage on a small lake near Ottawa. Later, she spent summers with her husband on the shores of Lake of the Woods, Ontario, and studied Art History at Queen’s University, on the edge of Lake Ontario. She later pursued the Design Essentials program at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and worked in Vancouver’s not-for-profit arts sector, where she cherished living by the ocean. She currently paints from her home studio in Winnipeg, where she lives with her husband and two children and spends summers at the lake.