BIO

I began my artistic journey as a painter and illustrator and eventually found myself transitioning to a career as a graphic artist. I’ve been fortunate to operate my own freelance design business for over 25 years in the Austin area. In the last decade, I’ve been able to transition back to pursuits in fine art. While my aesthetic tendencies have not shifted significantly over the years, my medium of choice has changed quite a bit.

I was able to tap into my unique skillset as a longtime graphics Leslie lives in the professional to create an original technique that synthesizes Austin area with her the artistry of both design and photography. In late 2008, husband of over 30 I created my very first digital composition using my own years, her loyal dog photos and Adobe Creative Suite. I quickly realized that the Frida and two cats. possibilities were endless and ten years later I am still chasing that elusive vision of the perfect image. Today I call myself a digital artist. Of course, this means eating the words of my 20-year-old self: “I will never create art on a computer”. Let’s face it, the world has changed; the rules have changed and I can live with that.

Leslie is honored to have been included in the 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2019 People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall. She has participated in dozens of exhibits over the last couple of years, including several shows featuring digital art. She was awarded first place in the 2019 Re-Imagine Juried Exhibit in photography and won an honorable mention in the Round Rock Arts BIG Show in 2018. She also created custom artwork that was featured on the cover of the Georgetown Arts and Cultural Guide two years in a row. She has had an active exhibit schedule in 2019, including a solo exhibit at the Elisabet Ney Museum for FotoATX 2019. Currently, her works can be found hanging in various venues and juried shows around the state as well as in galleries where she is represented. ARTIST STATEMENT

My artwork is created using an original technique that The space between synthesizes the artistry of design and photography. I work with architectural and natural forms to create surreal environments reality and illusion in which my photos are assembled into the spaces and patterns is where the magic of my designs. The complex and layered works are visual happens. It’s in encounters that push the bounds of vision and reveal a place you that moment when might not recognize—but somehow, have been waiting to visit. they slide into each My photography is captured at every opportunity and selected other and produce based on a theme, location, color and texture. As the imagery an otherness, a interacts to create the highlights, shadows and contours of sublime encounter. the new image, it also offers deeper discoveries within the composition. Because each piece may use up to a dozen photographs, there is always something new to encounter.

I often use recurring themes of water, light and reflection to capture that instant of sensation when these elements slide into each other. I find the shimmering images and ephemeral changes of light to be a powerful reminder of the fleeting nature of our visions.

My art is optimistic and celebrates beauty while revealing a fresh glimpse into a new world. When people stand before my work uttering surprising exclamations and discover the images that wait in the sub-layers, I feel that I’ve been successful in creating an experience. It’s meant to be a captivating and sublime encounter that will be hard to leave behind... the realization of “the more you look, the more you see”. Time is on Our Side, In-Between Collection

4 lesliekell.com THE OTHER SIDE COLLECTION

The newest series of designs in The Other Side Collection feature partially submerged pyramids. These pieces are as much about the seen as the unseen. Perhaps they can remind us that things are not always as they appear on the surface.

Can You Feel It Now, Come Closer Collection

In a Strange Game, Come Closer Collection

6 lesliekell.com IN-BETWEEN COLLECTION

“... your art takes us in Vistas provide a vantage point that highlights the relationship of our own places that are like time. presence in space with the mysteries of a far-off horizon. The sensation It feels like memories, of our unique memories and experiences layered with possibilities of the but of something we unseen is dizzying.

might not actually be These images seek the shadowed realities that can not be seen until we reach able to remember. Quite the apex and look back, revealing the echoes of lifetimes playing across the astonishing!” —VC topography. It’s in the space that lies in-between that we find where we belong.

Come Along, In-Between Collection

Where We’re Going, In-Between Collection

8 lesliekell.com MYSTIC COLLECTION

“Working with more than a dozen layers of digital images, Austin artist Leslie Kell, creates an intense feeling and a visual memory unlike any other art form with her highly expressive works.” –VV

Feel the Sky, One More Dream, Mystic Collection Mystic Collection, (Artist Master)

10 lesliekell.com INFINITY COLLECTION

Mazes and mirrors captivate my surrealist side and drive the design concept of these illusionary pieces. The collection is optimistic and celebrates wonder while creating an encounter that reveals a fresh glimpse into a new world of endless possibilities.

Paradise Waits, Infinity Collection

12 lesliekell.com CREATIVE PROCESS

“Inspiration comes in many forms. Sometimes you see it coming, like the day I stepped into a Hall of Mirrors in San Antonio”.

The creation of an image begins in the sketchbook and is developed into a line drawing. Images are selected to fill the spaces. Photos are based not only on theme, subject matter, and location, but also for color, texture, value, and design. Most of the photos for “Into the Sun” were captured in Alaska.

As the images are layered and combined into the spaces of the drawing and the process progresses, the image begins to emerge. Into the Sun, Infinity Collection (Artist Master)

14 lesliekell.com ARTIST MASTERS

A selection of my images are transformed into “Artist Masters”. Each Artist Master is an original, one-of-a-kind creation. An archival canvas is printed and hand-stretched, then paint and textural elements are added. The piece is finished with enhanced framing that is custom designed for each individual artwork. In a Place of Mirrors, Mystic All works come with Collection, (Artist Master) a signed Certificate of Authenticity.

“Kell’s working the sort of high-level graphic wizardry that’s impressive in and of itself, even when it doesn’t result in – as it so often does, in this exhibition – in exquisite beauty.” –Austin Chronicle Spring from Night, Infinity Collection, (Artist Master)

16 lesliekell.com CUSTOM CINEMAGRAPHS PRINTS

My images are highly I’ve set some of my flexible and can be mesmerizing images adapted to provide in motion in videos. unique options for The vibrancy and collectors ranging from energy of the ethereal museum quality one- images will activate your of-a-kind Artist Masters imagination and inspire to limited-edition prints a metaphysical awe. on fine art paper to Many of them can be open editions on metal, found in the gate areas canvas and more. of the Austin Bergstrom

I offer virtual hangings International Airport. to my collectors and

clients so we can work View at lesliekell.com on together to fill the the StudioNotes page. space just right.

All prints are produced Feel the Sky, with archival museum- Mystic Collection grade materials, hand Custom triptych on canvas. signed and include a Certificate of Authenticity.

lesliekell.com/custom

18 lesliekell.com DIFFERENT WORLDS

FOTOATX

FotoATX is an annual month-long celebration showcasing Austin photographers in libraries, galleries, and community centers across the city.

In this solo exhibition, presented by the Elisabet Ney Museum, I created a custom triptych centerpiece that mirrors the museum’s rich history and honors the vibrant spirits that fill the space. The installation offered a view that can only be experienced by stepping into this different world.

20 lesliekell.com EDUCATION “Elsewhere”, Link & Pin Art Space - June 2018 – The Vineyard at Florence – Solo show AVAA Members Show • Austin Art Space • Austin, TX CV 3 Person Show Light Space & Time Online Gallery, 5th Annual “CityScapes” EAST (East Austin Studio Tour) – Real Gallery Bachelor of Science in Art, 1986, Texas A&M - Round Rock Arts BIG show – Awarded Commerce Old Bakery and Emporium Art Gallery – 2 Person show Origin Magazine Art Show – Quattro Gallery Honorable Mention 3rd National, K Space Contemporary – National Juried show SELECTED EXHIBITIONS September: D3: Electric Dreams, Austin Georgetown Art Hop Juried Exhibition – National Juried show 2010 Bergstrom International Airport – 3 Person Show 2019 Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, TX – Solo show Fair Bean Coffee, Real Gallery, Austin, TX – Solo show November: D3: Pixelscapes, Gallery at “Floating Points” – Georgetown Art Center – the J – 3 Person Show Scarbrough Building Lobby, Austin – Solo show curated group show 2014 Live Oak Art Center 2010 Juried Exhibition, Columbus, TX “Art of Celebration” Art for the People Gallery, 2017 2014 People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall, Austin, TX “Rhythms of Nature” Juried Exhibition, studio2gallery, Austin Austin TX – juried exhibit “How Did They Do That?”, Gallery at the J – Dougherty Arts Center – Free Expressions Juried Show MSC Forsyth Center Galleries, Bryan TX 2019 People’s Gallery Exhibition at Austin City Invitational Group Show “Between Space & Time” - Link & Pin, Austin – 2 Person show “For the Love of Art”, Walker’s Gallery, San Marcos, TX Hall, Austin, TX – juried exhibit Mixed Media Group Show – Lost Pines Art North Hills Gallery – Creative Arts Society Juried Show Haven Gallery, Austin, TX 2019 Round Rock Arts Interlude, An Art Exhibit – Center, Bastrop, TX 2014 Third Coast National Juried Show, Corpus Christi, TX juried exhibit West Austin Studio Tour Wildfire, Georgetown, TX – Solo show 2009 2019 re[IMAGINE] – juried exhibit – Awarded 1st Art at the Y, Townlake YMCA, Austin, TX – Solo “The Mirror Effect” St. David’s, Austin TX – Solo show Place – Photography Central Market Cafe, Westgate – Solo show The Big Show – Texas State University, Round 2014 People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall, Austin, TX WEST Austin Studio Tour, Blue Genie Big Top Live Oak Art Center 2009 Juried Exhibition, Columbus,TX Rock Arts – Juried show Round Rock Arts: IMAGINE Juried Show “Adventure, Fantasy, & Fun”, Art for the People “Digital Diversity” Juried Open 2009, Topanga Canyon Gallery “Elsewhere”, North Hills Gallery, Austin, TX – 3 Gallery, Austin TX – juried exhibit Austin-Bergstrom International Airport – Gate Area Posters “Organic: Basic Inspiration” Juried Exhibition, studio2gallery Person Show “Creative Currents”, Link & Pin Art Space – 3 SNAP TO GRID: Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, L.A., CA person show 2013 2016 Special Exhibit – Invitational Group Show ArtList.com – People’s Choice Award HONORS and AWARDS Georgetown Arts and Cultural Guide 2016–17 – “Prismatics” – featured artist at Art Connections Manhattan Arts Int. “Healing Power of Art” Exhibition Cover art 2019 re[IMAGINE] – juried exhibit – “I Was Learning to See” FotoATX, Elisabet Ney Museum – solo exhibit 2013 AVAA WEST show, Austin, TX – Invitational group show Electron Salon, LACDA, Los Angeles – Awarded First Place, Photography Laura Bush Community Library, Austin TX – 3 Invitational Group Show Live Oak Art Center 2013 Juried Exhibition, Columbus, TX Round Rock Arts BIG show – “What Have I Done?” Awarded person show 2016 Art Hop Competition, Georgetown Art Dougherty Arts Center, Austin TX – Juried show Honorable Mention 2019 Red Dot Art Spree and Exhibition – Center, Georgetown Gallery by Jeana Marino, Austin ,TX – Invitational group show Dougherty Arts Center – Free Expressions Juried Show – Invitational Group Show Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, semi-finalist, Awarded Best of Show 2019 Art Hop Juried Exhibit Art on 5th Gallery 2012 North Hills Gallery – Creative Arts Society Juried Show – Jackson Hole Fine Art Fair – represented by Third Coast National, K Space Contemporary, 2012 People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall – Juried show Awarded Best of Show Steidel Fine Art Corpus Christi – National Juried show Scarbrough Building, Austin, TX – Solo show Light Space & Time Online Gallery, 5th Annual “CityScapes” Art Austin Bergstrom International Airport – digital Exhibition, Special Merit Award “Pixels & Patina” - Link & Pin Art Space – AVAA 35th Anniversary Show, Austin, TX – Juried show displays – public art The ArtList.com People Choice Winner – March 2013 2 Person show Luminaria, San Antonio, TX – performance collaboration Bruegger’s Bagels, Austin TX – solo exhibit Old Bakery Emporium Art Gallery Juried Show, Juror “Behind the Seen” - Kerr Arts and Cultural Art on the Roof, Austin TX – Invitational group show TownLake YMCA, Austin TX – solo exhibit Center, Kerrville – 2 Person show HONORABLE MENTION: Live Oak Art Center 2009 Juried Summer Eclectica – Phoenix Trade Depot Tiny Art of Texas, 218 Coop Gallery “Collective Dimensions: The Space Within”, Old Exhibition, Columbus, TX East Austin Studio Tour – Cement Loop Bakery & Emporium, Austin – 3 Person show 2011 VOLUNTEER Featured Artist, Studio 2 gallery, Austin, TX 2018 2015 Austin Creative Arts Society, Public Relations, 2019 Vino 100, Round Rock, TX – Solo show “Dulce Bytes”, Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, 2015 People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall, Austin, Austin Creative Arts Society, President, 2017–2018 North Hills Gallery, Austin, TX – Solo show Curated Group Show TX – Juried show Austin Creative Arts Society, 2012–present “Sense of Place”, Cultivate 7twelve, Waco TX, Gallery Georgetown 2015 featured art, Jung Center, Houston TX – Solo show Invitational Group Show Arts and Culture Guide cover Art Across the Americas - National Juried Exhibition, UT

22 lesliekell.com CONNECT

LeslieKell.com [email protected]

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Looking for Somewhere, Mystic Collection

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