Kelly first fell in love with PEI shortly after she was married. Her husband had brought her to meet his family, excited to show his new partner where he had spent his boyhood summers on the MacDonald farm. She soon understood his love for the Island: the beauty of the landscape, the music, the tight communities, and care that people showed toward each other. Almost thirty years later, including many lobster dinners, bingo nights, and church suppers, PEI is now where Kelly and her husband spend most of their time. Having recently retired from a career in the fashion industry, Kelly now spends much of her time painting the PEI landscape. Kelly is self-taught, developing her knowledge and experience through classes at Ontario College of Art and Design and Dundas Valley School of Art (DVSA), as well as at inspirational workshops, most recently in Santa Fe, NM. She sells at the DVSA annual art auction and was most recently juried into Fine Arts Society of Milton. She is grateful for the mentorship from generous talented artists that has taken her from working exclusively with acrylics into working with oil and crayon on canvas. As an abstract landscape painter, she is heavily influenced by Impressionist artists and particularly The Group of Seven. The Island’s historic barns and farmhouses are a fascination and a focus of much of her work. Through her loose brushwork, she captures the essence of these fading beauties that are slowly disappearing from the Island. ARTIST’S STATEMENT: I am a contemporary abstract landscape oil painter. I am inspired by the stories of PEI—the landscape, families, and nearly forgotten buildings. They touch my heart and demand my attention—before they are lost. Keeping with the Island’s love of storytelling, I often explore the theme of “if these walls could talk,” as I reimagine buildings and pastures with a bold colour palette.