Jack Kelly grew up in a small town in the countryside just outside of London, England. The English countryside is a beautiful place, but it is a far different environment than our tropical waters.
Kelly was determined, crossed a major ocean and found his way to the Florida Keys because of his love for tropical marine life – which he shares through his work as a marine biologist and through his artwork. He started drawing at a young age, and after he sold his first piece, he has been painting non-stop.
Kelly is primarily an animal or nature artist. He also specializes in producing scientific illustrations of animals for use in museums, magazines and scientific journals. His passion is wildlife, whether it be sea turtles, crocodiles, sharks or sportfish. While he paints other wildlife, such as gorillas, his most prominent theme is ocean and marine life. Marine life has been an obsession since he was a child in England. His parents would take him to aquariums as a child. This love would lead him to become an avid SCUBA diver in his teens.
Kelly cemented his love by obtaining a degree in marine biology from the University of Plymouth. Besides using his degree to create stunning works of art, he uses it for what as it was intended, as a marine biologist. He works as an animal care specialist at Theater of the Sea. Being a specialist, he works with rescued marine animals such as sea turtles, sharks and crocodiles. Kelly has been living in the Florida Keys for about six years.
“My dad worked as an art teacher in England while I was growing up, so he definitely fueled my interest in creating art, as well as educating me on the use of different techniques and mediums as well as the history of art. Although now retired, he still paints and creates some amazing pieces,” he said. “I have many of his paintings hanging up at my home here in the Keys.”
One of the artists whom he admires is Tiki and Polynesian-style artist Jeff Granito. Another is Western landscape artist Mark Magiorri. Finally, he admires marine life artist Joyful Enriquez’s subjects and style of painting.
Kelly works mostly in acrylic paint on canvas, but for some of his scientific illustrations he uses some digital. When asked which of his paintings is his favorite, “Probably one of my most recent pieces, featuring a green sea turtle swimming in the shallows of the Keys, hovering over a Queen Conch shell. This large piece was commissioned by a client as a gift for their mum, who was battling breast cancer at the time,” he said. “He asked if I could incorporate the breast cancer awareness ribbon into the painting somehow, so I subtly included it in the pink portion of the conch shell. The overall composition, color scheme, and message behind this piece makes it one of my favorites. “
Kelly prepares for a painting by googling a lot of photos, browsing nature’s photos and going through his own animal photos. If a photo online particularly inspires him, he asks the owner for permission to use the photo as a reference for a painting. Kelly’s paintings are made by someone who loves animals for people who love animals.
“I hope to keep working on commissions. I’m always happy to work with clients to produce their ideal painting and I find it the most fulfilling aspect of being an artist. I also aim to keep creating scientific illustrations for museums, magazines and scientific journals,” he said. You can find some of Jack Kelly’s artwork at jackkellyart.com. He is also very active on Instagram (@jackkellyart). He loves working on commissions so for anyone who’s interested, drop him a message via email (jakkelly@gmail.com) or through Instagram.
