Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Stanley.
Hi Kyle, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid, I was constantly drawing, painting, designing things, or finding some way to make something. I was fortunate to have a lot of encouragement from my family, and one of the biggest artistic influences in my life was my late great-uncle, Michael Vollbracht, who was a fashion designer and illustrator in New York. His career and the things he created showed me at an early age that art could actually be a life and a career, not just a hobby.
As I got older, my creative interests expanded into a lot of different areas. I studied and worked in illustration, graphic design, video production, and web design, while continuing to make my own artwork. For a long time, I was doing art alongside everything else, and I built a small business creating original artwork and custom pieces.
Eventually, I found myself wanting to return more seriously to painting. I became particularly interested in combining my love of history, old photographs, vintage ephemera, and storytelling with painting. That eventually developed into the work I’m making today, including my collage-based pieces as well as my more recent traditional oil paintings.
I live in the Kansas City area, but have a deep love for New Orleans. A lot of my work is inspired by the places, people, music, and history I encounter when visiting. I’m especially drawn to subjects that have a sense of atmosphere or a story behind them. In many ways, I’m still doing what I was doing as a kid, making things because I can’t really imagine not making things, but I’ve spent the last several years figuring out what I want that to look like as an artist and building a life around it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. My path has been pretty winding, and there have been plenty of times when I questioned whether I was actually going to be able to make a life as an artist.
For a long time, I worked in different creative fields, graphic design, illustration, web design, photography, and video production, while continuing to make my own art on the side. Those experiences were valuable and taught me a lot, but there’s always been a tension between making a living and making the work I actually want to make.
One of the hardest parts of pursuing art seriously is learning how to deal with rejection and uncertainty. I’ve applied to galleries, exhibitions, competitions, grants, and opportunities and heard “no” far more often than I’ve heard “yes.” There have been moments when it was pretty discouraging, especially when you put a huge amount of yourself into something and it doesn’t work out.
At the same time, I think those setbacks have forced me to keep evolving. I’ve had to become much more comfortable with experimenting, taking risks, and figuring things out as I go. I’m still very much in that process. I don’t think the road ever really becomes smooth when you’re trying to build a creative life, you just get better at navigating the difficult terrain.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work is primarily focused on oil painting and mixed media, with a lot of inspiration coming from history, nostalgia, and storytelling. I incorporate antique photographs, documents, maps, sheet music and other ephemera into my paintings, combining those materials with semi-transparent oil paint.
In addition to my mixed media work, I also create a lot of traditional oil painting, particularly New Orleans scenes involving people, music, and places with a strong sense of atmosphere. A lot of that work is inspired by my own photography and experiences.
I think what sets my work apart is that I’m always trying to tell a story. I want a painting to feel like there’s something happening beyond what you’re immediately seeing. I’m most proud that, after years of experimenting with different creative disciplines, I feel like I’m finally developing a style that genuinely feels like my own.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something that surprises people is that before focusing more seriously on painting, I ran a small business creating custom hand-painted shoes. I ended up making and selling more than 800 original pairs through Etsy. It was a completely different type of artwork, but it taught me a lot about running a creative business and connecting directly with people who appreciate handmade work. I created custom work for people all over the world including a long list of celebrity clients including, Michael Rooker, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Jason Mewes, Doug Jones and many more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kylestanleyart.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/kylestanleyart and instagram.com/kylestanleystudio
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/kylestanleyart
Image Credits
Matthew Cook – Eighth Element
