Meet Kelsey Witt | Painter, Writer, and Designer.

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

Hi Kelsey, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Creativity is a muscle. It needs exercise in some aspect everyday. Picking a creative career was just my inherent reaction when I was forced to pick a major in my undergrad. I had been an artist since I was a kid, so whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was always going to walk a career path including art or writing in some aspect. I’m so glad that I went with my gut, even if looking back, it wasn’t always the easiest career path. I am a creative through and through. I chose art, but sometimes I think art chooses people. It definitely chose me back.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Oh gosh, what a loaded question. I don’t really think of my art career as a linear thing. My art career began when I decided to sell all my work from undergrad and venture from Virginia to California. I was really into the skate and graffiti scene that was happening in and around LA in 2013. I bought a surfboard, doodled palm trees, and generally let myself relax for the first time maybe ever. I sofa surfed and slept in my car. I watched sunsets and worked for Vans. I didn’t make much art during those six months, but the aftermath and creation period because of that time period in my life boosted me forward in my art career. It was a catalyst for 5 years of art making. I moved back to Virginia and started walking the Virginia Beach oceanfront. I saw potential. I went into a new coworking space in 2015 and made friends with the owners. Creative energy always attracts creative energy. I always tell artists that are just starting out to work a flexible day job and create in their free time. Don’t immediately put pressure on your work to support yourself. It will ruin its beginning potential. Everything you make in the first five years will be total shite so just create anyways. I began forging connections at the beach and an art district was born. In the city next door, Norfolk, an art district was also beginning to get footing. It’s crazy. I look back and smile at the timing of it all. I was a new artist in a new art community. I really couldn’t screw it up if I tried. I started with tiny art shows in local shops and began painting murals. My work was definitely influenced heavily by the surf shop I was working at, as well as the art I saw everyday walking the halls of The Chrysler Museum of Art. I was working two jobs and making art when I wasn’t. For four years I traveled between the Oceanfront and Norfolk’s city streets. None of my career was linear however. I feel like it paints it as an easy thing. Having a creative calling is never easy, but you compulsively do it anyways. I began landing more murals and more shows as time went on. I got plugged into the monthly art showcases. I finally launched my website and was selling online. I began looking towards Brooklyn, NYC, as I felt an inherent push towards the city that never sleeps. I finished one last giant mural at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and then moved to the city. It was the beginning of 2020, what could go wrong? Apparently everything. I was hired to paint murals for a massive company in NYC for a total of 2 weeks before the entire city shut down and stayed that way. When the pandemic first started, most people were saying it was just going to be 2 weeks and then a “return to normal”. I genuinely believe most people forget that. Four months later I crawled back to Virginia and went into a really dark place with my career. I had just lost my dream job and was lost on what was next. The momentum had dissipated. A lot of my art friends gave up their creative careers during this time period. Was I being stupid for continuing to go for it? I decided to move back to Norfolk and get my footing once more. Start creating and reconnect with friends. I did a lot of writing during those two years. I wrote a book that’s currently being edited. If I was going to get back into an art career, I was going to have to wait out the pandemic and the crash of the local art market. Towards the end of my two year lease, I started looking west. I knew it was either a full circle moment of moving back to Huntington Beach, or somewhere else. I couldn’t be in Virginia anymore. Mentally I had left in 2020. I chose Denver from a short list and risked it all and moved again. I’ve been in Denver for about 8 months now and everyday it feels more and more like the right decision. Everyone I have met here has been so kind. I’m excited for this coming summer and getting connected to RiNo and the Santa Fe District. I’m feeling creative energy again and have been working on a new series of work. My next series will focus on water. My work has always had a scientific aspect to it, and this next collection is no different. Drinkable water is a human right. I want to make work based on that idea. Looking forward, I want to land more shows and get back into painting murals again in my new city. I am genuinely excited for what’s next and can’t wait to share. One can’t be a snowboarder and surfer and not eventually have a soul connection to water.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a new resident I don’t know much about the city, but I’m currently obsessed with the Santa Fe and RiNo art districts. I have yet to meet a chicken sandwich that wasn’t delicious in this city. Voodoo donuts for a sweet treat, and Denver Beer Co. for a brewski are currently two of my favorites. One of the best parts of Denver is its closeness to the mountains, so a boarding trip would be a must. Maybe it’s a little touristy of me, but I also have been wanting to go on one of those miner tours, so I’d probably drag my visiting friend to one of those as well. A walk around Cheeseman or Wash parks with the pups would also definitely be on the list. There’s so much to do in this city, I will be exploring for years I am sure.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I was a senior in college when I came across the work of Heather Day. I have been following her work for years and she inspires me so deeply. I probably will never meet her, but the way she handles her painting career is so well done. She has inspired me to film my process, and be more intentional with social media. I have a lot of art friends but I have never had an art mentor besides my professors in undergrad. Watching her career has been a pseudo-mentorship. I am a visual learner, and I’ve learned more about the art world by watching artists ahead of me than anything else. If she ever reads this, thank you Heather Day for paving the way and giving me the courage to create and share.

Website: www.kelseywitt.art

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kelseywitt