STATEMENT
My canvases are filled with vivid characters—old gods, folk heroes, figures of legend or even my imagination—with fragments of their stories left up to you to complete.
With every canvas I am in communion with The Mystery Supreme. Each is unique and unrepeatable, built slowly with playful improvisation, and purposeful intention. My painted and sourced papers are assembled in layers to inspire you to see beyond the surface, and to wonder at the magic around you.
This runs parallel to my life-long work as an actor. Though I sometimes use my own face as a model, these are not self-portraits any more than playing Lady Macbeth is. However, the art is very personal, featuring the mythologies of my Celtic and Norse ancestors, and even including torn pieces of my grandparents’s faded love letters.
The Avatar Series explores how ancient gods reveal themselves through modern cultural archetypes.
I also make improvised abstracts to connect me to Source in a way that isn't rational or representational. I alternate between the two styles to stay loose and creatively free.
BIO
Kelly O’Neal is an award-winning visual artist, actress, and filmmaker,. She studied at N.C. School of the Arts and Florida State University where she earned a BFA in Acting.
As a mixed media artist, she layers family stories and ancestral myth into her visual narratives, exploring themes such as the ethereal nature of memory, messages from The Divine, and the human spirit’s delight in liberty.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries, and commissioned for the covers of books and periodicals. She is the co-illustrator of Capes & Cowls, The Adventure Board Game.
Kelly has acted professionally in film, TV, theatre, and stand-up comedy. She was a founding member of the 90’s glam/funk musical stage show Superchick & Goodpussy, and was a pioneer in the early days of YouTube content creation with her web series, The Gilda Sue Rosenstern Computer Internet Show. Her award-winning film Gilda Sue Rosenstern: The Motion Picture! is now available on Amazon. She continues to collaborate with Droom Vox Theatre, co-producing the film series based on the work of Robin Spriggs.
She lives in a purple house in the woods, surrounded by many four-leggers, and one creative genius two-legger to whom she is married.