Reston Art Gallery and Studios (RAGS)

About the Artist

All of her life, Joan Kelly has surrounded herself with strong, bright colors. Her current acrylic paintings vibrate with intense color and exaggerated forms. This personal style has an expressive quality filled with energy and a love of painting! Joan finds working from the model particularly exciting and enjoys constructing dynamic compositions based on the human figure. She also paints landscapes, often sitting outside to capture the essence of the scene she is painting. "Working with acrylics enables me to work quickly and spontaneously, expressing the joy I feel when I paint! I never see blacks or grays. My personal world is filled with shimmering color."

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Mrs. Kelly taught art in elementary school and later worked as a consultant for the Greater Reston Arts Center, where she developed an art enrichment program for elementary schools in Fairfax County. Her paintings have received numerous awards from juries, and are represented in private collections in this country and abroad.

Joan Kelly received her M.A. in art history and painting from Stanford University.

Recent paintings have been used as covers for Women Today, The Publication for Washington Metropolitan Women, (Aug. 1997) and (Oct. 1997). Another painting was the cover for the Reston Newcomer and Community Guide published by The Connection newspaper. Mrs. Kelly was chosen as the poster artist for the 1998 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. The poster received an award in a national competition.

Media

Acrylic Painting

Contact

Email: JoansKelly@aol.com

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