A Colorado native, returned Peace Corps volunteer, and lifelong storyteller, Kelly K. Branyik brings a writer’s eye to everything she creates. She found her colorful, surreal, galactic painting style almost by accident. Here’s the story about her creative path, the year-long piece that means the most to her, and the gentle advice she’d offer anyone just picking up a brush.
Artist Details:
- Name: Kelly K. Branyik
- Medium: Writing, acrylic painting, and photography
- Years Practicing Craft: Writer since I was in third grade, painter since 2024, and photographer since 2014!
- Artist Website: kellybranyik.com
What’s your story?
I grew up in Colorado and have lived there for most of my life. I have always wanted to be a writer and went to school for English because I wanted to write novels like Kristin Hannah, so I have a BA in English (Creative Writing) from Colorado State University – Pueblo. I am Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) and served in Chongqing, China, from 2014 to 2016.
I currently live in Cañon City and work for a tech company, Pax8, which has a satellite office in Emergent Campus. I also operate a boutique marketing agency where I often volunteer my skills to support small businesses, entrepreneurs, and authors in online success.
Besides my writing pursuits, I had a natural aptitude for creative arts and found that I am rather skilled in Canva design and WordPress website design. My dad, rest his soul, used to tell me he thought I should be an artist or fashion designer because he felt like I could see things in artistic detail, as if it were another dimension.
A year or so ago, when I joined the Royal Gorge Art Alliance to assist with marketing efforts, I was dabbling in painting and sharing older pieces of photography to help fill the walls of our First Friday art shows, when I accidentally discovered my colorful, surreal, galactic painting style
At heart, I am a writer and novelist and always will be. But I love anything that allows me to be creative.
What inspires your art?
Beautiful landscapes and faraway lands I wish I could escape to.
What is your favorite art piece/performance/work thus far?
One of my favorite pieces, which took me a year to complete is a 24×36 painting of my interpretation of Pleiades, a cluster of stars 444 light-years from Earth.
Favorite Quote
“There are those that do not believe that a single soul born in heaven can split into twin spirits and shoot like falling stars to earth… But, how else to explain love at first sight? We were convinced that there was no other life beneath the sky but ours. We believed that we would never die.” – Don Juan Demarco
What advice do you have for artists practicing your same medium?
As a novice, I’m not sure what advice I can offer, but one thing I always remember hearing when it came to art is that there are no mistakes. When I paint, I often have to go over my first layer multiple times to keep the color strong. And for Pleiades, I kept accidentally dragging my hands through paint and touching my nearly finished piece, and had to go fix it or recreate that color. Be gentle with yourself when creating.
Learn More About Kelly
- Find Kelly in the Artist Directory or
- Visit her website, kellybranyik.com, to follow her writing and artistic pursuits!
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