Brendan Kelly Pop Up Exhibition
“Through my art I aim to create a unique and exciting experience that evokes contemplation of life whilst sharing my own experiences and eccentricities as an Australian.” - Brendan Kelly
“Growing up in a typical suburban Australian home in the 70’s, my first experience with paint was working with my father on the house. I recall my father painting a green figure on the side of a box with paint oozing onto the ground. This moment sat in my mind for years and after some experimenting with art as a teenager with my siblings my creativity manifested through my work firstly at a surfboard factory, followed by my training as a Graphic Reproducer with a large printing company, which inspired my initial cartoon drawing and poster art. When the printing company turned digital, I gravitated to working on the land as a bricklayer and landscaper designing gardens and creating earthy garden structures along with building my own mud brick house.
After moving to Mullumbimby in the 90’s to live an alternative life on 12 acres of bush with my partner, the peace and isolation of living in the raw native bush created a sense of nostalgia and a yearning for more. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s when I got into stand-up comedy working on the Australian stage as ‘Brendan Lovechild’ and writing parodic children’s books that my confidence in the creative arts grew. Attending drawing classes, self-reflection and working with a neuro-linguistic programming therapist, my mind opened to a heightened sense of awareness and all I wanted to do was make art. Moving into T-shirt design and cartooning full-time led to my work being published in various Australian magazines and newspapers. The subsequent development of my art has evolved into a distinctive painting style which encapsulates elements of my character and life experiences, this includes my response to living in the bush in Northern New South Wales.”
“Through my art, I aim to create a unique and exciting experience that evokes contemplation of life, whilst sharing my own experiences and eccentricities as an Australian.” – Brendan Kelly
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Trouble in the Order , The Wellington Gallery, Sydney
2020 Flight To Light, The Wellington Gallery, Sydney
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017-2020 The Forest Art Show, Forest Art, The Forest Comes Alive, Enter The Bower, Flesh and Bone Experiment, multi media charity art shows, Forest Art Studio, Mullumbimby NSW.
2016, 2017 Byron Bay Arts Classic
2016, 2017 Ocean Shores Arts Expo
PUBLICATIONS
2004-2014 Cartoonist published in The Big Issue, The Byron Shire Echo, The Byron Shire News, The Northern Star, Wingspan, Wellbeing, Nimbin Goodtimes.
2012-2015, The Perfect Poo, The Runt Who Said C#nt, The Ugly Dickling, I Wish I’d Never Been A Chicken, humorous adult and children’s book illustrations.
EDUCATION
Marist Brothers Eastwood, School Certificate 1985
Apprentice Graphic Reproducer, William Brooks and Co Sydney 1986
Apprentice Landscape Gardener 1987, Trade Qualified 1990
Byron School Of Art 2015, 2016
Ron Curran Dynamic Drawing 2014-2018
41 Military Rd, Neutral Bay, Sydney NSW Australia 2089
Tue – Sat 10am – 5pm
Sun – Mon open by appointment
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