Kelly Allen creates tightly rendered paintings based on collages, featuring clusters of animals, plant life, and a variety of colorful forms and objects. Every image is lovingly and meticulously hand painted with gouache, oil, or acrylic. Oftentimes her dedication to technique initially fools viewers into thinking they are experiencing a traditional collage. Kelly Allen lives and works in the Mission District of San Francisco, CA. She currently holds gallery representation at Bold Hype Gallery in New York and Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City, CA, who will be featuring her work in a number of shows in 2011. In addition to creating original paintings and commissions, she works as a freelance illustrator, having worked for New York Magazine and The Sunday Times UK Edition, among others. She holds an MFA in drawing from Kendall College of Art and Design and her B.A. in painting from Humboldt State University in Northern California.

“I live in San Francisco with my husband Jay, in a tiny apartment that also serves as my painting studio. As a new girl to the city, I love exploring the different pockets and neighborhoods, sniffing all of the rose bushes and dodging the piles of human detritus on the sidewalks of the Mission. In addition to painting and drawing, I am a freelance illustrator and writer, and I occasionally design screen-printed apparel that Jay fantastically executes in T-shirt form.

When I’m not painting, I can be found: inventing new kinds of soup, picking through thrift stores, walking for miles around the city, watching reruns of Ren and Stimpy or nature documentaries, drinking wine and dancing to soul music (with or without the company of others).” -Kelly Allen

Kelly Allen’s website: http://www.KellyAllen.com