“Love one another. Give of yourself if you can. We’re all in this together.” – Kelly Owens
“Love one another. Give of yourself if you can. We’re all in this together.” – Kelly Owens
KELLY OWENS
Love Lifts us Up
Ink
Giclee Print
Memphis Pointillism Artist, Kelly Owens has created this Exclusive, one of a kind piece of artwork, inspired by A Lee Dog Story.
Featured Artist
KELLY OWENS
Kelly Owens began her current body of pointillism work in 2016 after the sudden loss of her fiancé, Matthew Owens, who was also a local Memphis artist. Her illustrations, most simply put, are snippets of their story- a fairytale of sorts, with oddly whimsical creatures and surreal surroundings that blur the lines between the lovely dreams of what could have been, and the heartbreaking reality of what is.
Kelly tends to work in two mediums/textures- graphite drawings made with crosshatched marks for the drawings that depict her state of longing at the time, and stippled pen and ink drawings with one or two bright colors to depict the alternate reality her heart so desperately wished for.
These characters are based upon actual human beings, but their appearance appropriately expresses both the otherworldliness of their bond, as well as the strangeness and loneliness felt in the throws of absolute vulnerability and grief. The fact that they do not represent anyone in particular allows them to represent everyone at once, creating a shared experience amongst viewers.
Kelly Owens received her BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Memphis in 2017. From prop design for ‘The Brian Banks Story’, Illustration Design for Memphis based group ‘Rusty Pieces’, silk screen printing while working with West Tennessee Print and trade, design work in the Memphis Flyer for Alchemy Memphis, countless paintings, children book illustrations, poster designs, apparel designs, product designs, to her most recent pointillism artwork created with ink, Kelly has become a well respected artist among the Memphis Community. Kelly’s work can be found at the Cooper Young Festival and River Arts Festival, both held annually in Memphis, TN. She currently lives in Memphis with her two sons, and is continually building her prolific artistic portfolio.
“I love the fact that, in spite of our differences, we are much more alike than we think. We were meant to be a communal species, but instead we tend to live life trapped in all these little bubbles we make for ourselves (status, race, gender, etc.), and our spiritual welfare suffers because of it. My favorite part of being a creative is when I share my work and a complete stranger sheds a tear, or says, “ I really feel this”, and for a moment, we pop the bubbles- we see commonalities instead of difference, togetherness instead of isolation, individuals instead of snap judgments… and in an instant, a connection is formed.” – Kelly Owens
At A Lee Dog Story, we believe that art is incredibly powerful and helps to connect and celebrate community, showcase values, and embrace the humanity of all people. In order to change the current paradigm on homelessness in Memphis and around the country, we will come together as a community to learn more about the humanity of those experiencing homelessness through a variety of artistic mediums.
