Meet Kelly Wine | Artist, Photographer, Writer, Background Painter

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

Hi Kelly, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My work/life balance has never really changed. For my sanity, having time to enjoy myself and spend time with my husband and my family and our friends is essential. While I love my job as a Background Painter and Designer, I must have time to create my own work. I paint and draw my own illustrations and character sketches. I have written two novels (during the pandemic), that will hopefully be published or turned into films/series. I take a lot of photographs.

My husband (Joe) and I have been together for almost 26 years. Even in the lean years, and there were a lot of them, we were able to find things to do. Hiking in Malibu, Joshua Tree, Big Bear, and Santa Monica. We spend a lot of time together in a tiny, rent-control apartment in Santa Monica. Communicating what we need has kept us together.

The balance has always been there. I have adapted it to the challenges of life. But, fun and pleasure and love is what helps keep me going.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My work as a Background Painter/Designer over the last 11+ years has been a ride. It was a slow start working on non-union shows for lower pay. Once I was hired on BoJack Horseman, things moved forward. Pay was better. The final season of BoJack Horseman, I was on the negotiation committee that successfully unionized the artists on the show. During the pandemic I was hired as a BG Painter at Bento Box on the AppleTV show, Central Park. It was a fantastic show and crew. When that ended, I moved over to the FOX/Hulu show, The Great North (also at Bento Box). Also a terrific show and crew. I am currently working on Season 5 of The Great North and hope to continue for many seasons.

Prior to working in animation, I was a freelance illustrator. Fun and sometimes lucrative . . . but often the income was lean. I worked as a Graphic Designer for a home furnishings company. I enjoyed it, but my employer paid poorly and didn’t respect his creative team. He once barked at me in front of other employees reminding me that I had signed a Work For Hire contract. He asked, “Do you understand what a Work For Hire contract is?” My reply, “Yes. It means that I don’t give you my best ideas.” I didn’t last there long.

Being a creative person isn’t easy. Artists are under-valued. Unless you are working with or for other creatives, often employers feel that what we do artistically is easy and we shouldn’t be compensated fairly for it. So, it’s always a struggle and often a fight to be treated as if our work matters . . . as if we matter.

The Animation Guild, here in Southern California, is negotiating with the AMPTP right now for our next union contract. It’s always a fight. We witnessed this first hand last year with the Writers and Actors strikes. These large studios made piles of money during the pandemic on the work of people working in Animation. Actors couldn’t film during the pandemic, so artists and animators and production people squirreled away at home and created amazing animated content for the big streamers. We kept them afloat during a truly horrible time. Once actors were able to film again, the studios began cutting animation shows and staff. There has been little to no loyalty to the hard work artists, animators and production people put in during the pandemic. As creatives, this is why we must always fight for our livelihood and to be treated fairly.

I think what sets me apart is that in my personal work, I create what I love. I don’t expect it to resonate or be embraced by anyone. If it is, great. I have found that my artistic friends respond well to my work. My creative portfolio can be viewed at www.kellywine.com.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love food. I love movies. I love exploring and taking photos. I love just sitting and drinking expensive coffees/teas and talking. When my husband and I travel, we meet up with family or friends and we have options mapped out. We have restaurants and coffee houses and places to see and do figured out. We like to go. I am a curious person. It’s a big world and I want to see it. I genuinely like people and I love to talk and know someone.

Last year we went to Mexico City for a week. We ate things we’ve never eaten. We did a sunrise hot-air balloon flight over the pyramids outside the city. We took a canal ride down the ancient Aztec canals at Xochimilco. We went to a lot of museums. It is what I love. Exploring and soaking stuff up.

~~~~ THIS IS TERRIFIC.
I wanted to list what the images/art/photography are if you need that for the article.

1. Motel 666 – Watercolor illustration – Portfolio piece
2. BoJack Horseman – background design/painting for the episode “Churro.”
3. Central Park – background painting of the New York Botanical Gardens
4. Shit Stain – character sketch for my portfolio
5. Photograph – Downtown Los Angeles Immigrants Rights March
6. Character sketch (compiled from several people) for my portfolio
7. Me and my husband (Joe) @ The Cathedral of Junk – Austin, TX
8. The Great North – background painting of a motel
9. Mike Judge’s – Tales from the Tour Bus – background design/painting of a funeral
10. Tiling Pattern/Design – created for my personal portfolio
11. Photograph – Pandemic Santa Monica before sunrise

Thanks so much.

Kelly Wine

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents never dashed my hopes when I was doing artwork as a child. They never told me that I needed some other training or schooling to fall back on if creating art didn’t work out. They supported my weirdness and uniqueness and creative side completely.

My husband Joe has been an extension of what my parents gave me. He whole-heartedly supports my creative side and encourages it.

The people that I work with in animation are amazing and kind and see the value in being creative. The people I work with on The Great North are always encouraging. The crews that I worked with on Central Park and BoJack Horseman were equally enthusiastic about the product we all created.

Website: https://www.kellywine.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellywine333/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-wine-37901a21/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kwine333/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BY49KbEBjaGASfD6azWo8w

Other: Yelp is under Kelly W.

Image Credits
All images were created by myself. The Background Design/Paint work were created for BoJack Horseman/Netflix. Central Park/AppleTV. The Great North/FOX Hulu.