Interview with Illustrator Ingenue Kelly McKernan

Kelly's work is a unique, experimental (but still somehow always steady and sure) mix of "film photography and advanced darkroom techniques with aqueous media painting", paired with more traditionally rendered paintings. The result is personal and ethereal; personally, I could eat it up forever. Her focus right now is preparing for her upcoming solo exhibition at Beep Beep Gallery, which opens April 10th. In her tirelessness, positive attitude and brazen but nonchalant confidence in her artistic identity, Ms. McKernan embodies the reality of what it takes to be a successful young artist in today's cultural and economic climate, where opportunities do exist but sometimes only if you create them for yourself. 1) how do you feel about the work for your upcoming show compared to previous work, or even future work, if it's got your brain thinking ahead? Gosh, I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s hard to say, since I’m still immersed in the work for my upcoming show, but between my previous work and current work, I’m moving along stylistically and trying to get something cohesive going on in between my more illustrative work and painterly/photo mixed work. Otherwise, the approach has been similar followed by little epiphanies that result from the finished pieces, but with an extra cloud of responsibility, since I’ve got more attention now than I did with my older work. I don’t think I like that pressure. As far as future work, I’m itching to do something with clay, but that’s all I know right now. 2) Everyone I talk to seems to feel a certain way about this; In general, do you think it's healthy or important for an artist to constantly keep their work in context relative to their own past and future, or should they just say 'fuck it' and make what they want at that moment? I don’t think it’s healthy to force yourself to be consistent. It might be important to, though, when you’re building a body of work. But jeez, no. When you’ve got an impulse to create something that isn’t necessarily kosher with what you’re making as a career artist, follow through on it. I think some of the best discoveries for future work are found that way. And if nothing else, it’s refreshing. 3) So speaking of your career and time lines, you haven't been out of school all that long. How do you feel about your professional life right now compared to what you imagined you'd like to do? What ideally will your career look like in a few years? Actually, I’m a pretty goal-oriented person, and where I’ve gotten myself to today has been the result of a lot of deliberate choices. While I was in school, about a year and a half before graduation, I figured that I might want to be an illustrator, so I set out to make a body of work that explored what I’m capable of. I did that, and I think it was one of the smartest things I could have ever done for building my career. That’s the thing—it has to start while in school, so that you can hit the ground running when you graduate. Also while in school, I forced myself to learn how to network, how to talk to professionals, and how to inch my way into the gallery scene. Because of all of that, I’m exactly where I hoped I’d be at this point. No joke. A year ago I made goals to get a solo show at Beep Beep Gallery, to be showing at at least one of several key galleries in LA, and to have work as an illustrator. The key has been to make attainable goals, small and big. And ideally, in a few years, I’m a regular at certain galleries I have in mind, I’m sustained by my income from sales and work as an illustrator. As far as I can tell, I’m still on that track. :) 4) Atlanta is undoubtedly a city struggling with its identity and that definitely gets reflected in the art here; What's awesome about Atlanta and its art scene to you? What sucks? That’s true, and that can be discouraging, but there are a lot of encouraging things going on as well. I love Atlanta, and I’ve only lived in the city and known the scene for about a year now. I was actually terrified of Atlanta up until I moved here. What I love most is the community and the support for the arts and artists within it. It feels like a family. What gets me most excited is what comes from that community support, like these pop-up, overnight shows (AXIOM, Le Flash, etc), the enthusiasm of the emerging artists to contribute and carry on when the more weathered artists focus on other cities (and hey, that happens, and that’s okay), and the artist collectives and non-profit groups like WonderRoot. I have so much love for WonderRoot. What sucks? I think people get distracted too easily here. There’s not enough focus or dedication from enough people at one time to really get much moving. But I think we’re headed in that direction. I think people just need to believe in what can happen here. 5) Do you ever think about relocating? Or are you of the "this-is-home-so-all-us-artists-should-stick-around-and-make-it-what-we-want-it-to-be" school of thought? Oh, I dunno. I can do my work anywhere, but I do feel that living in a city (whether that’s Atlanta or LA or NYC) and participating in the scene is important for my career. I will stick around Atlanta for at least a couple more years, I think. It’s hard to say. I’m not really a transient person. 6) So you have a much anticipated solo show coming up, among other recent projects, and still managed to find time to get a totally awesome hottie to put a ring on it - do you ever find a struggle between the time you need to put into your career and the time you want to put into your social life? Oh, absolutely. It’s been a huge struggle to split time between wedding planning and my regular job and working on the solo show. I actually really enjoy being busy, though. It’s downtime that gets me agitated and unhappy. If I’m busy enough to have to make a to-do list and write things in on a calendar, then things feel balanced. But, coming down to two weeks before the show and 2 months away from the wedding, and rent due next week… I’d say I’m a little overwhelmed, but I’m not sure I’d have it any other way.