Say hello to Sheffield artist Kelly Walker

It’s time for us to chat to another locally-based creative and this month it’s the turn of local artist Kelly Walker, we spotted one of her paintings while creating this years Art in the Gardens programme and we just had to get her on board.

Volta:  Are you self-taught or have you had formal training?

Kelly: After leaving school, I studied for an HND in Graphic Design and Visual Communications in Sheffield, although that was quite a few years ago now! Life took me in a completely different direction, and I ended up working in the Civil Service. Even so, I never stopped creating whenever I could find the time. Art was always the thing I really wanted to be doing.

I was lucky enough to retire early a couple of years ago, and I love that I can now spend my days doing what I’ve always enjoyed the most.

Volta:  Can you remember the first piece of work you ever sold? What was it, and how did it feel?

Kelly: I can! Many years ago, I painted a series of three portraits of members of the Wu-Tang Clan and entered them into the Sheffield Art Show. I’d only recently started painting with acrylics and was experimenting with developing a loose, expressive style.

At the time, I was quite nervous and didn’t have much confidence in my work, so I wasn’t expecting much. On the final day of the exhibition, I walked in and saw three little red dots underneath my paintings—they had all sold! I was absolutely thrilled. I don’t think my feet touched the ground for days afterwards. It gave me the confidence to believe that other people connected with my work too, and that’s a feeling I’ve never forgotten.

Volta: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your creative journey?

Kelly: A few years ago I enrolled on an online course that I’d discovered on social media. The Let’s Face It course, created by Kara Bullock, was a real turning point for me. Over the course of a year, there were weekly lessons taught by a different artist each time, covering a huge variety of techniques and materials. I found it so enjoyable so I enrolled the following year too.

It was a complete game changer. I learned so much from an incredibly talented group of artists, and their different approaches encouraged me to experiment, take risks and, most importantly, find my own voice. Looking back, it also made me realise that I probably would have been much better suited to studying Fine Art than Graphic Design all those years ago. But better late than never—I love the way I work now, and I feel like I’m creating the kind of art I was always meant to make.

Volta: Do you have any routines or rituals when you’re creating?

Kelly: My perfect painting day is when I have nothing else to do! I have a small studio set up in my garage, and I love nothing more than taking my morning coffee in there, putting on a good podcast, and disappearing into a painting for the day.

Once I get started, I completely lose track of time, it’s my happy place. I quite often have to set an alarm if there is somewhere I need to be at some point! After spending so many years fitting creativity around work and everyday life, I feel grateful that I can now dedicate a few days each week to doing what I love most.

Volta: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a creative?

Kelly: I would say the time and effort it takes to promote my work on social media. I’m not the best with the technical side of things, although I’m learning all the time. If I ever win the lottery, hiring someone to do all of that for me will be great!

I’d much rather be tucked away in my studio, quietly getting on with painting. That’s where I’m happiest. Having said that, it is very rewarding when people connect with my work. Knowing that something I’ve created resonates with someone else makes all the effort worthwhile.

Volta: Describe your creative process from initial idea to finished piece.

Kelly: My paintings usually begin with a photograph. I spend far too long scrolling through copyright-free sites like Unsplash and Pexels, looking for images that resonate with me. I’m drawn to dynamic, striking poses and unusual perspectives, and I’ll often crop an image several times until the composition feels right.

I mainly paint with acrylics on either paper or canvas, and I almost always begin with a vibrant neon red underpainting. Recently, I’ve been enjoying letting flashes of that colour peek through the finished piece—it adds energy and a sense of life to the painting.

Once I’ve sketched out the composition, I build the painting up gradually with lots of layers. Some pieces seem to come together effortlessly, while others refuse! I have plenty of half-finished paintings tucked away in my studio, but I’ve learned not to see them as failures. They’re all part of the process, and I actually enjoy having them around. Sometimes I go back to rework them, sometimes I paint over them and start again. I’ve even been known to rip some of them up to use for collage!

Volta: What do you love most about being a creative in Sheffield?

Kelly: I’m Sheffield born and bred, and although I love getting away on holiday in both the UK and abroad, I think I will always stay put. My family and close friends are all here, and whilst I really value my time alone in the studio, I also love getting together with everyone in and around Sheffield for a catch-up.

Having studied here too, (and thanks to the wonders of social media) I’ve stayed in touch with a few of my old college friends—some of whom have gone on to have incredible creative careers. We were all so young back then, full of ambition and dreaming about what we might do one day. I love seeing where everyone’s journey has taken them, and it’s a reminder that creativity has a way of staying with you, even if life takes you down a different path for a while.

Volta: Which piece of work are you most proud of, and why?

Kelly: It’s almost always my latest piece. Every painting teaches me something new, whether it’s a technique, a process, or experimenting with a different medium. I love that feeling of discovering something unexpected while I’m working.

What fascinates me most is how each painting seems to inform the next. Looking back, I can see that’s how my style has gradually evolved. At the moment, I’m enjoying leaning further into abstraction and becoming more adventurous with colour. It feels like the possibilities are endless, and that’s what makes painting so exciting for me. I’m really looking forward to seeing where it takes me next.

Volta: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Kelly: “Turn the radio up, love.” My Dad, whenever anything went wrong with the car. I miss him.

From a creative point of view though, the best advice I’ve received has come from the many wonderful artists I’ve learned from over the last few years: go with the flow, embrace the unexpected, and turn mistakes into happy accidents. A little secret, the butterflies in my latest piece ‘butterfly girl’ are covering significant mistakes and rescued a piece which would otherwise have been abandoned!

Volta: Is there a project you’ve always wanted to create but haven’t tackled yet?

Kelly: If I had the space, I’d love to paint on a much larger scale. Huge canvases have always fascinated me, and I think working that big would completely change the way I paint.

I remember visiting the National Portrait Gallery years ago and seeing a portrait of Mo Mowlam by John Keane. It was enormous, and it absolutely blew me away. The scale gave it such presence and impact. I stood in front of it for ages and felt quite tearful.

Looking back, I think that painting was one of the moments that sparked my love of expressive portraiture. I’d love to create work that has that same ability to stop people in their tracks. Maybe one day, when I have a bigger studio, I’ll finally give those giant canvases a go!

Sheffield artist Kelly Walker

Want to find out a little more about Kelly and her work, here are links to her website and Social Media accounts – enjoy!

Kelly Walker Art

Learn more about our previous Fellow Sheffield Creatives

Capstone Framing
Vicky Scott
Katherine Rhodes
Jim McElvaney
Eva Juusola
Zoe Genders
Janet Wass
Rebecca Stewart
Juliet Forrest
Alan Pennington
Debra Burrell
Joe Scarborough
Cath Dunn
Meghan Downs
Mark H Wilson
Laura Page
Wendy Carlton
Bryan John
Paul Hilton-Tapp
James Green
Jill Ray
Gavin Kilcommons
Rob Richardson
Mark Turner
Graham Clark
The Clear