Kelly Kondis

Living and painting within the Sherbrooke rainforest and in McCrae on the Mornington Peninsula, Kelly Kondis’ landscapes are impressionistic reflections of her encompassing environments. Inspired by natural light, colour and texture, her works unify the depiction of these elements, whilst portraying their consistently fleeting and ever-changing temper.

Raised on the outskirts of Melbourne’s north eastern suburbs, Kelly discovered oil paints at the conclusion of high school. Opting to develop her style through practice and repetition, she painted intermittently while working a range of retail, administration and self-employment positions. After losing her business during the COVID-19 pandemic, she began painting more steadily than she had previously, and it soon became her primary line of work.

Since 2021, Kelly’s works have exhibited in regional Victoria, Melbourne and regional New South Wales. Additionally, she’s been a finalist in several Australian art competitions, and won the Starving Artist’s Prize at the 2022 Blarney’s Biblio Art Awards.

In the early phase of the painting process, Kelly selects a number of colours to form her foundational base and applies them directly to the surface of the canvas. Painting principally in oils, with occasional details produced in watercolours and pastels, her landscapes are constructed over many layers and in muted palettes, as a means to describe shifts in weather patterns and environmental facets. While periodically creating works alla prima, most scapes are completed over the course of several weeks, as layers are provided the time to dry, emerge and be added to.

Producing scapes that exist in a state of augmentation and transformation, Kelly’s works are often immersive and sensory renderings. Frequently yielding to her intuitive responses and allowing these reactions to guide her process, her works are highly evocative in their nature, and summon sensations of curiosity and enlightenment.