Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Bellamy.
Hi Kayla, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been the little girl who loved arts and crafts. Creating things in a way that brought my imagination to life was so soothing to me growing up. My older brother Tarell has always been so skilled at drawing and so watching him draw inspired me to sketch too, and I immediately fell in love with it! Art class was always my favorite period in school. It never felt like work, instead it felt like a time to connect and ground myself while learning how to create. As I got older I didn’t create as much, and when I graduated high school I didn’t go to college to major in art because we all know artist are known for having a hard time finding stable income, and often having to work 3X harder than most careers to be able to become an actual established professional. At the time, that almost seemed impossible to do especially where I’m from, and with a demographic that didn’t seem very interested in the arts.
So I went to college to major in Psychology, and minor in the arts. I didn’t get very much time to dive into the experience before COVID came and cut the college life short for me. I was back at square one. Thinking what did I want to do, and who did I want to be? After awhile I came to the realization I didn’t care what others thought of me taking a chance and putting my self out there. This is my life after all and all that mattered to me was that I could be proud of myself.
Now here we are 5 years, 3 self made art shows, 15 + vendor events, 2 school presentations, 1 showcase, and over 60 sells later , and I couldn’t be more proud of myself for beating all the odds and making a name for myself! This year has really picked up for me, and I am excited for what is to come! I’m just getting started!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Anything but smooth! Juggling working a 9-5 to be able to fund your lifestyle, while also funding art materials, and trying to build a business from the ground up, while also putting in hours and days of mental and physical work to be able to finish pieces, and dealing with everything in your personal life can be very difficult at times.
In the first 4 years I really struggled with the fact that people who I thought would be rooting the loudest for me, turned out to be the quietest ones through every single milestone I hit, and that never felt good. My bf, and family are my biggest supporters though!! I love them down!
Trying to promote myself can also be challenging, it would be great to have an assistant to take on the social media aspect sometimes lol.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a visual artist, specializing in acrylic paintings. Original and custom pieces! I am most proud of my willingness to be different and try new things with my art. My 3D paintings get a lot of positive feedback!
I think the fact that I have a “budget friendly” option for my customers sets me apart, because I understand people may want something nice, but cant afford to spend a lot. So if someone says they want something for $10, then honey we will work it out, and I will make sure that I make something nice for them in that $10 range. I don’t believe I’m above anybody, and so it really makes my day to know that I put a smile on someone’s face by something I poured my essence into.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
So many to choose from, I think I have so many favorite memories because there weren’t as many devices that caused us to be distracted from one another. No phones with multiple apps that we are constantly looking at, just people having actual genuine interactions and connecting in a way that I believe the development of technology has taken from us.
I hated thunderstorms, but I use to lovee when the power went out because my family and I would sit around telling stories, reading books to each other, playing games, I mean we truly knew how to make the best out of any situation and I hold that dear to my heart! ❤️
Pricing:
- Prints- $5
- Keychains -$5
- Custom Art – Depends on the size of canvas, and what you’d like painted
- Paint party – Details coming soon!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/100shadesofkay_/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllThingsArtt?checkpoint_src=any
- Youtube: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2F%40100shadesofkay%3Fsi%3D0fL3sM012uvMj0wk%26fbclid%3DIwcGRvZgVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFHZ3FYbVNKQUdrcTlGSWY3c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhUMZrqNUQcvrYr0fZBKZkU3FBwttOS-ofsvzmQsuBcitO6tImbN_tqbgRKP_aem_QxoYAKK3oM1Un_lv0tzFQg&h=AUACy4g4VJXqutQFVMq-6ycLR16ZFkqilV6ucQGiSrZTP4IiDqN7Hd9qe257_boDW_bgjriS50i7vdysavAZOAB8NdFYaXoYptS6jS_B3u_rlO28D-6T_YCF9i0X5QNIdxyvxSVbUwv4aGEcWJnL
