fbpx

Small Business Highlight: Kelly Hovis Art

Today, we are featuring local Greensboro, NC artist Kelly Hovis. We loved hosting her website shoot last year and we thought she would be a great person to start our small business series with. I’m also the lucky owner of one of her beautiful paintings, and if you can believe it, they look even more beautiful in person! We know you’ll love Kelly and the heart behind her work.

 

Kelly, thank you so much for chatting with us today! For those who don’t know you, please introduce yourself.

I am a North Carolina native and have lived here for most of my life. I graduated from NC State with a degree in History (I know, NOT ART AT ALL), and taught high school for 4 years upon graduating. Also shortly after graduating, I got married to my college sweetheart and have been married to my husband for 10 years (in July!), and we have three crazy kids. We have had the opportunity to see the world and live abroad, which greatly shaped our worldview and has affected nearly every big decision we make. One of those big decisions is that in June, we will be leaving our NC home and moving to Tampa, Florida to start a new church! We are excited yet sad to leave our home but can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to do.

 

Greensboro, NC Event Venue

How long have you been in business and when did you start painting? 

I have officially been selling my art for a year. It’s quite a crazy story how I began to paint. I honestly didn’t even know I had this gift until about a 2 years ago! To set up the back story, when we decided to plant a new church, my husband accepted a major job change which put us in a tough financial position. We knew this job change is what God had for us, so we knew that required us to trust his plan and walk in faith, not knowing how we would pay our bills. So keeping that in mind, before he changed jobs I desired to have original art in my home but knew it would not be something we could afford. So I decided to try it myself. I found it very therapeutic and it uncovered a creative side of me that thrived. I felt alive painting. As I began to post my art on social media, I had people interested in purchasing. I was not yet confident enough to sell my art quite yet but kept practicing and learning new techniques. Eventually, I felt confident enough to sell! What started out as a hobby, God used and developed to support us through this job change. It blows my mind when I think about His plan and provision! It’s like the moment we took that leap of faith, He handed me this gift of art as a reminder that He cares for us.

Greensboro, NC Event Venue

What’s your favorite part of your process?

There is a moment in my painting, that I can’t really describe, but it is that moment when the composition pours out from the paint so easily. It’s like my brush knows where to go and the composition organically takes shape. Sometimes it takes days or weeks for it to happen on a particular painting, and sometimes it takes a couple of hours. But usually, when that moment comes I know I am close to finishing. And then I step back from the painting and I know it’s finished. That is a good feeling. The whole painting is a process and each piece arrives at the finished state in its own unique way.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Everywhere! There are certain artists that inspire me. Sometimes when I’m reading scripture or listening to worship music. Painting is such an act of worship, I desire for the Lord to be pleased with the heart behind each one. Often times colors and textures inspire me! You will notice in my art that I incorporate lots of texture. Or times I look in a home decor magazine and see the way the designer has used textures and color palettes in the way they have designed a room, and that will inspire me!

Greensboro, NC Event Venue

 

Thank you, Kelly, for joining us and sharing your art and the heart behind your process with us! You can follow Kelly on her website & Instagram to stay up to date with her work and her upcoming move to Florida.

 

Photography by Amanda Castle | Styling by Marla Lawson

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *