Artist believes it is ‘only the beginning’ as she proudly welcomes community to solo exhibition
An artist and muralist believes it is “only the beginning” of her journey as she proudly welcomes the community to her solo exhibition this month in Northamptonshire.
Kayleigh Smith is currently hosting her first exhibition at Forge Coffee in Whittlebury Park, which will remain open to the public until Monday June 30.
It is a showcase of her recent collection ‘New Beginnings’ and the abstract series explores emotional reactions to change, using bright colours, texture and expressive marks. Kayleigh’s aim was to represent the intense and mixed emotions we feel.
Kayleigh’s dream of becoming an artist began at school, but she was deterred after being told there were no career options in the industry.
Having chosen to study fashion design instead, Kayleigh worked in luxury fashion for eight years until her marriage broke down and she decided to travel across South East Asia and Australia.
Kayleigh got stuck in Australia during the pandemic and felt inspired to pick up her paint brush, having not done anything artsy for 13 years. It was travelling that inspired her.
She returned home in 2022 and picked up art as a side hustle. Her sister requested that she painted a wall in her hair salon, which is when she added murals to her offering and Kayleigh Smith Creative was born.
Though Kayleigh still offers freelance styling and fashion services, art is her main dream and the hope is that she will soon become a full-time artist.
Kayleigh is fully self-taught and describes her work as “expressive and bright abstract with bold and textural marks that evoke emotion”.
“Bright and vibrant colour is a huge thing for me,” said Kayleigh, who is continually inspired by nature and the world around us.
She continued: “I’m still at the beginning of my career and didn’t expect to get a solo exhibition as my first one. I’m thrilled with that.”
Kayleigh knew about Forge Coffee as she used to live nearby, and she contacted them as they host a local artist each month. She believes this has given her the push and confidence to get her work into the world.
The exhibition has received “really positive” feedback, particularly about how it fits the space at Forge Coffee and that visitors have a clear understanding of what her abstract art is trying to convey.
Kayleigh’s exhibition is available to view during Forge Coffee’s opening hours of 9am until 4.30pm from Monday to Saturday and 9am until 3pm on Sundays.
The artist hopes to continue creating art that “engages and inspires” those around her. She also hopes to launch a print shop in the near future, to make her art more affordable and accessible as originals are often expensive.