Art has always been a part of Kayleigh’s life. At age three she was drawing circles instead of the squiggly lines more commonly seen in a young child’s artwork. By the time she was eleven she was taking lessons with a fantastic realism artist, Tami Hort. What she thought would be one year of lessons turned into four years of one-on-one teaching as Tami guided her through many different forms of art; including acrylics, oils, watercolors, and pastels, plus a rather unsuccessful but nevertheless entertaining attempt at clay sculpture.
Kayleigh took home her first award when she was only thirteen. This award came from an international contest called the Calgary Stampede’s Western Showcase. After this win, Kayleigh knew she could make it in the art world. Art was no longer just a hobby.
After her family moved Kayleigh could no longer continue lessons with Tami, so Kayleigh set on a journey to discover a style of her own. In recent years Kayleigh has come to realize her love for drawing the human face. Actors, musicians, hockey players; Kayleigh thrives on the challenge of capturing a person’s likeness on paper.
One of Kayleigh’s most recent victories was being announced as a Top Ten Winner in the Summer 2012 national art contest. Her piece, “Lost in a Senator’s Thoughts“, was chosen out of thousands of entries as one of the ten best in the United States and Canada. Her inspiration for this piece came about by a friend.
“I had drawn Padmè Amidala from the movie Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones back in 2010, and while the finished drawing was ok, I knew I’d want to do another one in a few years.” Kayleigh explains, “So when my friend asked if could I draw Padmè for him, I took the chance to do another attempt at her, never thinking that it may end up being a winning piece. My friends and family inspire me to keep on drawing. Without them, like friends who request drawings, I’d have a hard time picking up a pencil and put as many hours as I do into my artwork.”
Kayleigh’s plans for the future include going to CATO (a digital arts school) where she wants to graduate with a graphic design degree, and combine digital art with traditional. She also wants to eventually meet the band U2 and present the members with drawings. Her most important goal is for her relationship with God to grow deeper, her walk with Him longer and stronger, and to paint things of the Kingdom.
To view Kayleigh’s website, visit http://artismygift.weebly.com/.To view Kayleigh’s Fine Art America page, visit here.
To learn more about our national art contests, go to www.CelebratingArt.com.
Celebrating Art 