"Broken Open" 
​Abstract Expressionism
Kelly Kiss & Nathalie St-Amant, May 13 to June 1, 2022.
Salt Spring Gallery, 135 McPhillips Ave., Salt Spring Island.
Gallery hours, Wednesday-Saturday 11am-4pm

My abstract art reflects the inner journey I have travelled over many years as I have “come home” to myself and followed my heart.  Like most of us, my life has been filled with many challenges that I have had to overcome, and somewhere along the way, I lost myself.

My love of art began at a young age, and I would spend hours perfecting drawings and learning basic skills from books my parents would purchase for me.  However, my formal training did not begin until later in life (at the age of twenty-nine) graduating from the Fine Arts program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC in 2001.  Soon after completing my studies however, I chose to put my passion for art on hold to focus on raising my son, and a career in healing and wellness.  As time went on, it became harder and harder to pick up a paint brush.  My perfectionism and fears had a grip on me, though in my mind I would imagine painting again –most often when I was in nature.

Two years ago, I woke up one morning and asked myself “if I were to die tomorrow would I have any regrets?” The answer came to me quickly. Yes, not painting.  Not allowing myself to express myself through my art.  The journey back to myself began. 
Abstract painting has been a way to free myself from my limiting beliefs, especially my perfectionism.  It has helped me to reconnect with the little girl that just wants to play, drip paint, use bright colours and scribble with crayons.  It has helped me to tap into my subconscious, bringing healing, light, and joy back into my life. It has brought me back to life and given me the freedom to be myself again.  Painting has shown me that it is the little things that make life special.

“I am love and have been on a journey of love back to myself. I now welcome myself home. Through this journey I had to be turned upside down in every way to see who I was.  I was beautifully broken open, and from this have emerged, like a butterfly flying free from its cocoon.”
 
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ~Pablo Picasso