Kelly Reark

"My art is inspired by nature. The colors, the magnificence of creation, the flow of water …
so many things each day that I am grateful for … those are the things that make me want to paint."

Hi, I'm Kelly Reark. I have been painting all my life. In 2002, I began to exhibit at galleries, fishing tournaments, invitational exhibits and juried art festivals. My art has been featured in magazines, newspapers, as tournament artwork and art show featured art, and I have won awards for my work. My parents brought me up with a deep respect for nature and that has always stimulated my brush. As a native Floridian, I've immersed myself in the biology and botany of the shorelines, estuaries, reefs, swamps, woods and waters since I was a child. I love working in many mediums, and the Dharma silk products are some of the newest additions to my work. I use the Dye-Na-Flow paints on the silk satin and silk charmeuse fabrics. First I create my drawing and transfer it to the silk. Then I use the Sennelier Aqua Gutta or the Jacquard Metallic Resist to trace my drawing. I mix the Dye-Na-Flow paints just like I would mix watercolors. I also use silk salt, alcohol, table salt and water to change the composition of my dyes and the way they react on the fabric. Sometimes I will set the entire silk and then go back and draw on top of the finished product with other metallic resists. Silk is very much trial and error and really there are no errors. Every mistake is a new avenue for creating something amazing. I once spilled an entire bottle of green Dye-Na-Flow paint all over a silk I had spent hours tracing. After using the "ruined" silk to mop up all the dye covering my work table, the frame and the floor, I crumpled it up and ran it under water in the sink. It turned out to be a beautifully dyed mottled green silk which was the perfect background for a new drawing.

See my art in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-oXXV4g1PY