Meet Kelly Ryan

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelly Ryan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, why did you pursue a creative career?
I chose to pursue art because I knew that if I pursued anything else, anything at all, that I would not feel as fulfilled as I would doing art. As a child, I wanted to be an artist (I even wrote it in my elementary school yearbook), and when things began to get “serious” my career path never changed. There was never any question of where I would go. Even with the looming risk of failure, it was an obvious choice from the start. I could go after something stable, with a clearcut career path and spend every day wondering what could have happened if I had just tried. Or I could put everything I had into it and make it work no matter what. Even if I had to spend every day working, even if I was never as financially successful as I could be following a different path, and even if it all went up in flames, I would know that I pursued my dream, which is something that not everyone can say, as unfortunate as that is.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love the woods. I have lived in the same house my whole life on a dead end street, and as a kid I would tag along with my brother and his friends to explore the woods, oftentimes looking for bamboo. A lot of my art is inspired by nature, and one of my favorite parts of the process is when I get to drag one of my friends out into the woods to take reference and gather ideas. It’s a timeless entity, a perfect backdrop for any story, in any time, in any genre. It is so versatile as a muse, and I never get tired of exploring it.

It’s not so much my own story that’s important to me, but the ones I create. I love to explore story within narrative illustration as well as in longer form with comics. I love to take inspiration from old stories and folktales, giving them a visual re-telling, as well as creating my own original works. Working independently on stories is a beautiful (and often frustrating) process, being able to explore absolutely anything, and building stories and characters that other people begin to care about. That is what I hope the world to know.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love hanging out in parks, and part of my town is on the water, so I would definitely do a picnic day and watch the sunset by the beach or waterfront parks. Depending on the time of year, I love driving around different towns and seeing all the Holiday lights, and seeing how extravagant they can get. A staple food place is definitely All-American Burger, some delicious, cheap, greasy food. For breakfast the next morning I think a Long Island bagel is necessary, however my favorite place is Brooklyn Bagel in Manhattan. I love taking the train into the city, listening to music and staring out the window (although I hate it going back home), and theres a beautiful cathedral it passes by in Rockville Center every time, St. Agnes’ Cathedral. New York City is a great spot for concerts (among many other things), and Madison Square Garden is a very convenient spot for commuters, so we would definitely have to see a show during their visit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout my parents, for always being supportive in my artistic endeavors, and never making my goals feel unreachable. Thank you.

Website: https://kellsterart.myportfolio.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellsterart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-ryan-b0a8101b5/ 

Image Credits
Damaris Chamorro