Kristye Addison Dudley - Contemporary Fine Artist

" The Jo u rney" © Kristye Addison Dudley   This painting was commissioned by a collector and good friend of mine , Chris Draft. He also uses the artwork for the logo for his foundation. Chris Draft Family Foundation     He also heads up Team Draft after the death of his wife, my close friend Keasha, to lun g cancer. He has made it his mission to c hange the face of Lung Cancer. Keasha was not a smoker, b ut her life was still taken too soon by cancer. Please visit the links to learn more. I took some ti me at the end of the year to reflect on the highs and the lows. The biggest change in my art career was the daily painting challenge I accomplished in the Spring. It really sparked my passion for painting, and helped me grow as an artist . It also reintroduced me to social media through my friends online,   collectors, other artist and prospective galleries. My work is being represented in a local gallery and I am teaching my first palette knife class ...

My dream car 1958 Corvette Ok, so one of my friends on Facebook posted this list of things people didn't know about him, the viewer was to then post the numbers that they knew and then you were given a number to make your own list. He gave me the number 7.  So here are 7 things most people don't know about me. It took 3 towns to make up my High School. I love to take things apart and make them better. Closet handy-woman who owns a Dremel and lots of other power tools. I am a kitchen beautician. I have been doing my own hair for the better part of 20 years. I am an art supply hoarder. Everything from screen-printing to ceramics, photography, painting and so much more. I have a patent and a registered trademark for my graphic design biz. I am one of the very few Black Homecoming Queens for Clemson University. (I was the second or third in school history) My dream car is a 1958 corvette. Baby blue with white detail to be specific. The one pictured ab...

"My perspective, your perspective" (Detail of diptych) © Kristye Addison Dudley January is almost over and I have only blogged once. I have got to get back to it! Well, here's an update. A memorial fund has been set up for Keasha, here is the link Keasha Rutlegde Draft Memorial . And I still can't believe that the new year started off with such a huge loss. I love you girl. On the home front, my 22 month old is settling in to all-things-toddler and keeping me and my husband very busy. My husband and I have been making plans on my career change and recently found that "our" best laid plans had some flaws. That's probably because, our plan veered slightly off of God's plan. The painting above has a partner that is right side up. It's always reminded me of how different a situation can appear from your point of view. Sometimes you need a new perspective. And I thank God for that. "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is w...

Thy Will Be Done - Acrylic on Canvas © Kristye Addison Dudley Purchase Print * It's been an interesting start to the year. I have been asked numerous times "How was your holiday?" I know that people are asking out of routine, because usually the response is "It was great. How was yours?" Then we fall in line with the dance of sharing all the good things that happened. I have had a harder time staying in step with this dance this year. The response "We went to a funeral for one of my college friends." Is not what people really want to know and I try not to over share. But that is the truth. We had a great Christmas eve. We spent it surrounded by our close friends. We had a great Christmas Day. We enjoyed a church service and spent the afternoon opening gifts and hanging out eating left overs from the night before. The next couple of days were just as lazy, until I received the call that changed the tempo for New Years. We drove from Louisiana to S...

There are so many moments in our lives where we question why things happen. There have been times where I wondered "how did I get here?" and "why me?". I have been reflecting on this year, my relationships, my hopes and dreams. I have had the opportunity to see many of my dreams come true. I am married to a wonderful man. I have been blessed with a spunky little girl. I am able to not only create art, but to walk, paint, laugh and share my life with wonderful family and friends. In the picture above, I am standing with one if my childhood idols. Yep, we are the same age, but Keasha was always two or three steps ahead and without her knowing made a path for me. We met in high school at a science and engineering camp at Clemson University. She was so pretty and smart. She graduated from high school a year early, and then majored in engineering. She had her own car, I couldn't even drive yet, and a personalized license plate that some how spelled QT-PIE. ...