Meet Kelley Wills | Illustrator

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

Hi Kelley, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As a freelancer, work life balance can be a tricky thing, and it has definitely taken me some time to figure out. The simplest step for me is taking a walk in the middle of the day. Just stepping away from the grind for 30 minutes to an hour can be the best way to refocus. A bigger picture step that has helped is figuring out how many projects I can take on in a week and booking things out a couple months in advance (this is also a great way to get a little more stability as an independent illustrator). And most importantly take a day off! It’s so important to have a day away from work, even work you love, to prevent burnout.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art journey has been a long winding road, I finally settled on illustration as a career path after college. Up to that point my background had been in traditional art mediums like oil painting, black and white photography, and printmaking. I often felt limited by the cost of materials and lack of studio space so illustration became a natural choice to fulfill my creative energy and figure out how to earn a living. It definitely wasn’t easy, it took years for me to be able to turn it into a career. There were lots of detours along the way, like working at coffee shops, a flower farm, traveling to fiddler’s conventions/touring with my partners band. But I am glad that my path was a little less traditional, it’s opened my eyes and enabled me to find inspiration in unlikely places.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in rural Oregon but I’m just about 15 min from Eugene so there is a lot of fun stuff to do in the area. Top three favorite spots to eat in the city would be Stretched (homemade noodles), Yardy (West Indian Caribbean) and Pandita. Then for adventures there’s the Oregon coast, endless hikes in the cascades, and some fun swimming holes. Depending on the time of year the hot springs are also a great escape.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom has always encouraged me to pursue art, signing me up for art classes as young as 5 years old, shuttling me to arts magnet schools and supporting me through college. She has always been so supportive of my creative journey. Without a doubt I would not be where I am today (or even alive!) without her. LOVE YOU MOM!

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