Artist: Teresa Kelly

Location: Hayle, Cornwall, England.

Educated: Camborne Grammar School for Girls.

Training: Self-taught.

Medium: Soft Pastels.

I was born and still live in Cornwall, England. I come from an artistic background, my paternal grandmother was a painter in India and my mother is a cornish painter who originally trained as an illustrator/draughtsperson and recieved her art tuition by a master of his time, Arthur Hambly. She was then to pass on much of her knowledge to me.

I have had no formal training in drawing or painting, but my parents encouraged me from a very young age. Growing up on a small farm in Cornwall, with far reaching panoramic views - I have always loved wide open spaces and this is often expressed in my work. My mother would give me huge pieces of hardboard, which she had painted in white emulsion, for me to paint on in oils. I sold my first painting at the age of twelve.

 Over the years I have developed my style, using the difficult and challenging medium of soft pastels. With this, I feel I can express the light, colour, line and moods of the cornish landscape. I also find pastels ideal for portraiture as they create the luminosity in varied skin tones. I have very recently returned to oils, another favourite medium, but will still paint mostly in pastels and pure pigment. I have exhibited my work at various venues in cornwall over the last twenty years and have commissions for clients, worldwide. Now that my four children have grown up, I am able to devote more time and energy into my work.

I am inspired by the many different colours in nature, whether stones,rocks, skies or seas and the light and spirituality of a scene will become an obsession that I just have to capture on paper or canvas, especially the dramatic and ever changing Cornish scenery.

I am also greatly inspired by the uniqueness of people from different cultures and backgrounds and find pastels the perfect medium for this.