Kylie O'Grady calls them "sexy skinnies."
They are ink-and-watercolour pencil drawings of slender girls, each in a different outfit and at varying stages of life. There is something fragile about them; the soft pastel colours and partially naked bodies. Altogether O'Grady has 40 "skinnies." When placed together, they represent different moments of her travel-packed life, like a dairy.
"They are like journal entries," O'Grady said.
Born and raised in Squamish, O'Grady's passion for art sparked when she was nine. O'Grady and her mother visited her mother's sister in Australia. Her aunt, Robyn Palmer, was a well-known landscape painter Down Under. O'Grady spent hours in her studio and, directed by Palmer, completed her first painting.
"She is my main influence," O'Grady said.
In her late teens, O'Grady left Squamish on her own, this time for New York. Working as a model, the job opened the doors to adventures all over the world. Europe's rich history and art scene inspired O'Grady, while New York's hustle and bustle motivated her to get out her pencils.
"I also had my [sketch] book in my bag, 24 hours a day," she said.
During her travels, O'Grady crossed paths with painters and photographers. She became a close friend of Italian artist Michela Martello, who in 2006 was selected in the Emerging Women Artist Juried Exhibition held at the New York Design Centre. Each encounter helped spur O'Grady on to develop her own work.
Having been back in Squamish for the past nine years, O'Grady recently strayed from her "skinnies" and is delving into mixed-media pieces. Her recent work includes layering, ink and acrylic. The subject matter in the pieces also differs from her focus on abstract portraits. Instead of people, O'Grady's new work experiments with nature.
Seated in the lobby of her latest art exhibit at the Paul Bride Gallery in the Artisan Building, O'Grady faced her ink-and-acrylic picture of a birch forest. To the left of her, on the wall, hung a large, white square art piece, overflowing with watercolour purple-and-blue flowers. All the blooms were individually cut out before being suspended in synthetic resin. The end effect is a glossy image, which looks as though it's made of ceramic tiles.
"The flowers are really new," O'Grady said, noting they were popular at the show, which ended last weekend.
O'Grady currently juggles her time between her artwork and working as a hairdresser at Special FX Hair Design in Valleycliffe. Her art explorations take over portions of her house. It's a problem that's only expanding, O'Grady admits. Having completed a few large projects, she plans to do more big pieces in the future.
"If I could, I would just do art all the time," she said.
For more information on O'Grady's work email [email protected].
