reimagined: kelly nicole hatfield exhibition recap

Kelly Nicole Hatfield's mixed media paintings can be viewed at Kentuck's Gallery at Hotel Indigo until October 30, 2023. Kelly's work is a take on a fine-folk art style combined with illustrations. She is often inspired by her southern surroundings and things that make her contemplate the world around her.

Kelly Nicole Hatfield is a mixed media artist based in Alabama. Most of her work is made from recycled materials with an emphasis on paper.

“The title of each piece may, at first glance, seem obscure, but it comes from the paper I use, so the words are within the text before paint is applied. Each painting carries a bit more uniqueness that way." - Kelly Nicole Hatfield

Hatfield also heavily incorporates flowers, leaves, and branches into her work — as nature is one of her primary muses. The creation of the floral foregrounds often requires a level of "deterioration" for her. When she creates the elaborate flowers featured in her work, she often has to peel strips away, create layers, and apply paint precisely. In this delicate process, Hatfield finds that unintentional (but nonetheless beautiful) actions are inevitable.

"Nature inspires my work greatly so I usually have a floral or botanical outline." - Kelly Nicole Hatfield

When she applies paint to the layers of paper or peels paper away from the canvas, she will often notice imperfections that she was not expecting. Sometimes the paper leaves behind "remnants" that she did not anticipate, but Hatfield has learned to accept this as part of her artistic process and even inspiration.

"Some of the paper comes off, and some remnants stay. There are times when what remains is not exactly what I intended but the initial thought of the painting is intact: letting it resolve itself and letting that conflict happen." - Kelly Nicole Hatfield

Kelly Nicole Hatfield received her associates degree in graphic design from Luzerne County Community College in Pennsylvania before becoming a Gallery Curator for Schulman Gallery in Pennsylvania for three years. As such, Hatfield has battled with the urge for perfectionism and organization when it comes to creating art. Over the years, she has embraced a more abstract style and carefree attitude towards her work. While she maintains an overall vision of the work, she no longer dwells on the gaffes that may happen during the process of creation.

"The graphic design part of me still wants everything organized, therefore abstraction is a practice of letting go. I welcome that challenge as it invites expansion of that horizon. I constantly learn from what I say I can't do to pushing the boundaries of my own imaginary box." - Kelly Nicole Hatfield

This act of relinquishing control has now become a source of motivation for much of her art. She no longer attempts to correct the unexpecting things that happen, nor does she see them as "mistakes." She simply sees them as part of the artistic process, a release. Her work echoes the message of "letting go" of things outside of one's control.

"Art represents life for so many. The way it shows itself to me, is that interaction with struggle. The accepted imperfection is where we become ourselves and where untraditional beauty reveals itself." - Kelly Nicole Hatfield

Hatfield's work reminds the world to let go of the reigns of control sometimes, to not be hypercritical of themselves, and to work with the given circumstances—often resulting in an unexpected but beautiful outcome. Don't miss the opportunity to see Kelly Nicole Hatfield's work at Hotel Indigo until October 30, 2023. See below for available work. Several of these pieces are framed (HI-HNH-01-06; 09-10; 13-17). For images of the pieces framed, please email mbell@kentuck.org. Please call Kentuck at 205-758-1257 to inquire about purchasing Hatfield's work.

Available Work: