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Kelly TunstallKelly TunstallKelly Tunstall
Kelly Tunstall
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco-based artist Kelly Tunstall works in acrylic, collage, spray paint, pencil, pen and ink, gold leaf and some secret sauce.
She frequently works together with her husband Ferris and primarily creates figurative art that tells a story with a movie aesthetic and characters that are full of inspiration, imagination, and vibrant life. These stories aim to reflect the viewer's inner conversation and create a happy feeling.
Her experimental yet classically grounded works live somewhat comfortably in a space between graphic expression, stylized representation, surrealism, and sketch. Her use of patina as an aging element and calligraphic drawing methods lend further depth to her story-filled worlds.
Kelly works closely with clients to come up with specific ideas for commissioned pieces. She calls it "a very personal process," resulting in a highly unique piece tailored to it's setting and intended to stoke the viewer's imagination. The simplicity of the messages is enhanced by the underlying vitality and complex layering within the work. In her portraits, Tunstall renders stylized female figures and their adaptations to environment: nests built of painted boards held together by drawn nails or far-off planets. The physical form and its accompanying exterior become a mirror for internal thought processes and turmoil.
She frequently works together with her husband Ferris and primarily creates figurative art that tells a story with a movie aesthetic and characters that are full of inspiration, imagination, and vibrant life. These stories aim to reflect the viewer's inner conversation and create a happy feeling.
Her experimental yet classically grounded works live somewhat comfortably in a space between graphic expression, stylized representation, surrealism, and sketch. Her use of patina as an aging element and calligraphic drawing methods lend further depth to her story-filled worlds.
Kelly works closely with clients to come up with specific ideas for commissioned pieces. She calls it "a very personal process," resulting in a highly unique piece tailored to it's setting and intended to stoke the viewer's imagination. The simplicity of the messages is enhanced by the underlying vitality and complex layering within the work. In her portraits, Tunstall renders stylized female figures and their adaptations to environment: nests built of painted boards held together by drawn nails or far-off planets. The physical form and its accompanying exterior become a mirror for internal thought processes and turmoil.
IMPACT
Handmade
Woman Owned
Made In USA
Made To Order
Locally Sourced
Wescover creator since 2017
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Projects Portfolio
InterContinental Miami, an IHG Hotel
Miami, FL
SPQR
San Francisco, CA
Mr & Mrs Miscellaneous
San Francisco, CA
Salt and Straw Ice Cream
San Francisco, CA
More About This Creator
Q&A
How do your pieces come to life? Tell us one interesting thing about your creative process?
"I paint flat. On a 10 foot long Mission oak table that came from a boys' school in the Haight. I bought it at a street sale, and we've had to find studios to fit it ever since. Almost all of our work starts on or around this table. It's perfect."
Kelly TunstallQ&A
What do you want people to do or feel when they encounter your creations?
"I work towards an elegant restraint in some works, joyful explosions of color in others. All in all I really hope to enable an immersion in that space- to travel elsewhere."
Kelly TunstallQ&A
What is your favorite material to work with?
"I adore gold leaf. It can cover any mistake, in the instance of a mistake happening."
Kelly Tunstall