BIO

Kelly O’Neal is an award-winning visual artist, actress, filmmaker, and educator. She studied at N.C. School of the Arts and Florida State University where she earned a BFA in Theatre.

Her mixed media collages are made by layering family stories and ancestral myth into the DNA of her visual narratives.

Her work has been exhibited in galleries, and commissioned for the covers of books and periodicals. She is the co-illustrator of Capes & Cowls, The Adventure Board Game.

While living in Atlanta, Asheville, and NYC, Kelly has acted professionally in film, TV, theatre, and stand-up comedy. She was a founding member of the 90’s glam/funk musical stage show Superchick & Goodpussy, and was a pioneer in the early days of YouTube content creation with her web series, The Gilda Sue Rosenstern Computer Internet Show. Her award-winning film Gilda Sue Rosenstern: The Motion Picture! is now available on Amazon. She continues to collaborate with Droom Vox Theatre, co-producing and editing the ongoing short film series based on the work of Robin Spriggs.

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STATEMENT

I hope to inspire a sense of wonder. Each piece is a magic spell, an invitation to look beyond the material world and into the spiritual. Exploring the ethereal nature of memory and the mystery of the collective consciousness. my work is a celebration of the nuance, complexity, and singular beauty of being human.

My life as an actor has revolved around breathing life into characters through storytelling. In my 20s, a dream visitation and an out-of-body experience led me to translate new visions onto paper through paint and collage—ultimately guiding me to explore the stories of my Irish and German heritage.

This began a life-long fascination with collage—piecing together tiny bits of paper. There was a mystery in the new world that had unfolded before me. In collage, images transform, reminding us that not everything is as it seems.

With an interest in Celtic and Norse mythology, messages from The Divine, and the human spirit’s delight in liberty, I dance with Mother Nature’s bold colors, creating mixed-media works on canvas and paper—layers rich in color, and meaning. As I mix watercolor, inks, pastels, and line drawing with found and painted collage papers, I am also piecing together fragments of the past to understand my place in the present.

Often incorporating intimate clippings from my grandparents' love letters, I weave my family’s stories into myths of the distant past. I frequently use my own face as a model, infusing each piece with my cultural and spiritual DNA. Yet, these are no more self-portraits than playing Lady Macbeth is a self-portrait. Each piece is a fragment of a story—left for the viewer to complete.

Shaped by my career as an actress, I have long been captivated by character and the power of storytelling found in the greats such as Chagall, Klimt, Schiele, Beardsley, Gauguin, Kahlo, and Neel.