Art

Love Meets Art at this Westerly Studio

An artist spreads the love, one drop at a time

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Kim Ellery doesn’t just wear her heart on her sleeve, she wears it on her leg. The big, bright heart tattoo on her right ankle is identical to those that appear in many of her paintings, and reflects the message she wants to send with all of her work: “Spread the love.”

She doesn’t necessarily dress or look the part, but Ellery describes herself as a modern-day hippie. Indeed, the spirit – and some of the style – of the ‘60s is evident in her work, and it’s no surprise that her influences include psychedelic artist and illustrator Peter Max, particularly in his use of color.

Less immediately apparent is the inspiration provided by the work of Vincent Van Gogh. “Van Gogh’s technique is a lot like sculpting; his brush strokes are as if he is carving out a person,” says Ellery, herself a sculptor before taking up painting. As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, she also relates to the legendary post-impressionist’s use of art as therapy. “Van Gogh was troubled, but in his painting there is such serenity,” she explains.

With colors as vibrant as a tie-dyed t-shirt, Ellery’s textured and multilayered paintings are deeper than the simple scenes of nature they depict. To the artist, trees, which appear in virtually all of her work, represent God. “When I was a child I used to run into the woods and look up at the trees and talk to God,” she explains. Birds – another frequent inhabitant of Ellery’s paintings – “are so agile and free; they represent to me what people should be like. My work is always a story between God and God’s children.”

The sculptor in Ellery prefers working in three dimensions, so she uses unframed canvases with broad sides that can be painted with equal attention. In places, up to a dozen layers of painted surface are visible, as are subtle messages of peace and joy. Birds and falling leaves stand out in relief, and a three-day protective layering process ensures that each of her creations “can be touched and loved.”

Ellery works primarily in acrylic paint in additional to other mediums – a carefully drawn line here, a dripped and running drop of paint there. A bit of alcohol applied to the surface of the painting adds another abstract element to her work. “It randomly disperses the paint, and I love that,” she says.

A native Rhode Islander, Ellery began to blossom as an artist in middle school and studied fine art at Rhode Island College and stone carving at RISD. She and her husband of 25 years, Michael, ran a costume jewelry business for several years before founding a successful art studio called Plaster Palace in West Warwick. After selling the business, Ellery focused on improving her painting skills. “I did it while my kids (daughters Megan and Alicia, now 21 and 23, respectively) were still in high school, because I knew that if I didn’t start doing something I would be looking for an identity when they graduated, and I’d be lost,” she explains.

Having recently become empty nesters, the Ellerys are in the process of moving from their longtime home in East Greenwich to Westerly, where Michael works and Kim recently opened her first studio outside her home. She paints what she wants, when she wants to; the few commissions she accepts are done with a deeper purpose in mind – a painting featuring cardinals for a friend who felt the presence of her late father whenever the birds appeared, for example. She wanted a scene with her and her father sitting under a tree together.

“There’s enough trauma in the world; I want to be the opposite of that,” she says. “I want people to look at my work and see their own story, their own hope and joy.”

Kim Ellery, Art, Artist, Painting, Paint, Spread the Love, so rhode island

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