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S MERIDIAN; EAGLE
KELLY KADLEC (Wildlife Acrylic Painting) Kelly has been drawing and sketching wildlife since he was about 8 years old. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, so was in the outdoors all the time getting new ideas. Throughout high school, he was more interested in what he was going to hunt and draw next instead of getting good grades. When he left high school and went to college, he had several people telling him to paint professionally and start entering Ducks Unlimited and State Duck Stamp contests. He sold his first painting in 1986 and that's really when it all took off. He continued to paint ducks and geese throughout the late 80's and early 90's. He was entering several DU competitions throughout the US and finally won the Idaho Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Artist of the Year contest in 1994. This launched his art career to another level. He was getting several commissions and selling out of prints that were made of a couple of his pieces. Galleries were showing his work throughout the northwest. Then it all came to a stop. Galleries were closing down everywhere and art as a whole really slowed down. At this point, he had an opportunity to go into the corporate world, and, working 50-70 hours per week on average, thought he would never go back to painting. About 6 years ago, he had a health scare that made him realize life was too short to continue running at that pace. He left his Director role and went into Real Estate for a few years. Once he realized that this wasn't going to be enough to fulfill him, he decided to pick up the paint brush again with a lot of coaxing from friends and family. Now in Eagle, ID, he has an incredible studio in his home and is painting full time. Last year he won the Oklahoma duck stamp contest, and also placed in the top 20 for the Federal Duck Stamp contest. He has released 2 new giclee print editions and both have almost sold out. He feels fortunate to be teaching classes as well, and loves it! View Kelly's Video Interview |
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