Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Latham.
Kelly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Kelly and I draw things! I’ve been drawing for about 15 years, all of which started in my sophomore drawing class in my hometown of Lawrence Kansas.
Lawrence is known for being the home to Kansas Jayhawks basketball! That was definitely a change when I moved to the South; it’s all about football down here, which KU is quite bad at, so I know nothing about it!
I had always been skilled at drawing and was always the kid excited when there was an opportunity to make a poster project for science class. However, I did not have the chance to take formal drawing classes until high school. My high school drawing teacher, Mrs. Vertacnik, really helped me on my way to the creative career I have today. While in high school, I took as many art classes as possible, which resulted in me building a portfolio of drawing, photography, and jewelry to apply to the Illustration program at the University of Kansas.
Once accepted at KU, I was very excited and hit the ground running, but was quickly halted when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma the December of my freshman year. I ended up doing six months of chemotherapy and a bone marrow harvest and would go to my chemo appointments in the morning and attend class in the afternoon as long as I was able. I did make it through my freshman year, and that summer was declared in remission from cancer.
The rest of my time at the University of Kansas was busy with my illustration classes, but I also traveled quite a bit for a student in their 20s. I spend half a year in Rome Italy, finishing my art history minor, and plane hopping on the weekends to other places such as Paris, London, Norway, Athens, and every corner of Italy. While there, I began painting on-site in a travel sketchbook with ink and watercolor, also known as “urban sketching”. I was also accepted into the Disney College Program and spent a semester working at Walt Disney World and taking classes in creativity and innovation. After many years at KU, I graduated with a BFA in Illustration and a minor in Art History.
From there, I moved to Savannah GA, and started my graduate degree program at Savannah College of Art and Design in Sequential Art. While there, I continued to hone my drawing skills, and thanks to careful penny pinching, I was able to travel to Morocco and Asia and continue to document my exploration of the world through urban sketching.
After graduation from SCAD, I moved to Atlanta GA, where I live today with my cat and my fiancé. I work as a freelance illustrator and designer and commute to Savannah during the week to teach Foundations Studies at SCAD. I continue to urban sketch, and illustrate kids lit such as children’s books and graphic novels, as well as the freelance storyboard, surface design, and merchandise for my online art shop.
My life is very busy, but I am very happy and fortunate to be in the place I am today, thanks to the support of my friends and family.
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?
Hahaha, no way. Everyone has their struggles. As I mentioned, I had stage 4 cancer, which was a bummer. But after that, everything doesn’t seem nearly as awful as it could.
I was laid off in March this year due to Covid, but I have found a place for myself teaching as SCAD and freelancing on the side. Freelancing can be stressful and unpredictable, but so far I’ve been able to stay afloat.
Getting laid off was a kick to my pride and stability, but that evening my fiancé and I binge-watched Wandavision, and I realized I still have all my people, and that’s what matters. Jobs and physical stuff are replaceable, but people matter the most.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I usually introduce myself as “Hi, I’m Kelly and I draw things!” It is even the tagline on my business card. I freelance lots of different aspects of art and design. To name a few, children’s books, graphic novels and comics, surface design, illustration, graphic design, home and decor design, Plein air painting aka “urban sketching”, storyboarding, concept art, and a few other extraneous creative things. At the moment, I am teaching and focusing on my comics.
I specialize in environment and backgrounds in limited color palettes in storytelling mediums. This means I like to draw places with very few colors for the whole image, and I like to tell stories.
I’m most proud of my understanding of perspective and how to apply that to illustrative works. I think it really sets my work apart because they always have in-depth environments that sometimes even become characters themselves.
What does success mean to you?
I don’t think success can be defined by a standard definition; it is too personal of a concept. Everyone’s definition will be different, but for me, success is being able to live comfortably while enjoying my work.
I will always have goals for myself, but success is also in the eye of the beholder. There are some people who have done what I wish to achieve someday, but if you asked them, they are also probably reaching for something too. The grass is greener on the other side heavily applies here.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.kellylatham.com/store
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleepyheadkl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyLathamArt
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sleepyheadkl
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sleepyheadkl
