Kelly Kilmer is a Los Angeles-based painter and art instructor.

For over 25 years, Kelly has taught art workshops across the US as well as internationally. When the pandemic hit, Kelly embraced the change in the art world and began to develop new ideas and ways to teach her workshops online.

Kelly’s workshops teach people to discover their own unique and creative voice. Using a variety of media and techniques (acrylics, drawing, collage, writing), her workshops bring out the artist in everyone. Kelly’s workshops are process-based and center on problem-solving, idea-generating, and forward-thinking. Kelly believes that art and creativity should be accessible to everyone.

Kelly says “My work is all about connections, connecting to myself as well as the world around me. Books have been a passion of mine as well as a constant companion since I was a child. Twenty-five years ago, I began recycling discarded and unwanted books into visual, painted journals. I dissected them, sewed in new pages, and gave them new life. They become unique vessels of color, pattern, and image that reflect how I see and experience the world. Painting and working in book form is my primary form of creativity.”

When Kelly is not painting and teaching, writing in her studio journal, or reading (mostly books about artists, painting, philosophy, and classic literature (Moby Dick is her favorite book)), she enjoys being with her family, watching films (especially on film!), collecting autographs, visiting art museums, walking, a good road trip, and spending time surrounded by giant trees or sitting by the ocean.