Judi Geer Kellas, painter and printmaker living and working in Lawrence, Kansas, has a creative passion that began in 1996. A series of paintings, drawings and prints about flight and the women in aviation is the result. Her work uses Kansas and women's history to encourage appreciation for and recognition of the magnificent women in aviation, from 1910 to the present. Inspired by the birthplace of Amelia Earhart in Atchison and the historical birthplace of modern aviation in Wichita, Geer Kellas creates her series, "Celebration of Flight: Women in Aviation." Fifty-eight paintings, drawings and prints now honor 40 women aviators. The series embodies the artist's missions to preserve the birth and living heritage of women in aviation and to inform and inspire today's art audience to follow their dream by commemorating the lives of these women. Geer Kellas works in mixed-media and acrylic paintings, collage, silverpoint drawings and original prints (serigraphs, lithographs, relief prints). She has shown her works in more than 40 solo shows and 85 group exhibits in art galleries and museums regionally, nationally and internationally. "My art work never was plein aire painting. Early on I used photography as a sketching tool, solving Cezanne's problem of making the world sit as still as an apple. Gradually photography became an integral part of my work, not only using photos as sketches, but also giving the art work content and spirit. I sometimes use manipulated photographic images collaged on or affixed directly to the canvas or paper combined with painting, drawing and metal leafing," explained Geer Kellas. "I tend to work in series; I've done over 70 pieces in the Celebration Of Flight series. I have a Waterflower series and a Dauphin Island series. I often work on 2 or 3 series concurrently, doing one Dauphin Island painting, then one of a woman pilot who has inspired me." Both of Geer Kellas' parents were amateur artists, and at age eight she painted her first oil painting on canvas. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Birmingham-Southern College and a Master of Arts in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Alabama. When she married George Kellas and they moved to the Midwest, Geer Kellas taught at Kansas University in the 1970s. She owned and operated 7E7 Gallery in Lawrence, Kansas for 11 years. Upon selling the gallery, she returned to her studio full time. |
Copyright is reserved by the artist. No unauthorized reproduction, duplication, public exhibition is permitted. Distribution of the artworks or writings about the work through any means, including electronic media, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. |
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| J. Geer Kellas |