Meet Kelsy Gray | Full-time Artist, Mama, and Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsy Gray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I grew up in a household where my dad was a full-time artist and my mom was a full-time small business owner. I began doing art at a very young age, following in the footsteps of my dad. As an adult and a full time artist now, I wanted to incorporate a mix of being an artist and small business owner. I saw my mom growing up killing the boss mom life and I thought to myself as a mom too, that I can do the same. I wanted to test my potential deep inside of me and see how hard I can push myself to be a successful artist and business owner. I love the freedom I have of creating my products and selling them and seeing how amazing people are at my pieces and products, but also the challenge and hard work that comes with it all as well.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am truly proud at myself for how dedicated and consistent I am and have been with my art for the past two decades. I began drawing truly at the age of 5-6 years old. I was surrounded by art and creativity at a very young age with my dad being a full time artist and my mom being a nail artist and technician. I received so many art supplies for my birthday every single year as a kid and it made me so happy knowing I had so many tools and supplies to use that I can express myself with through my art. I began perfecting my art around 3rd grade, drawing full human figures and clothing and detailed drawings. Seeing the reactions on people’s faces when seeing my art and creations is what really inspired me to keep going. I am completely self-taught, my dad use to try and teach me techniques but I was more interested in learning in my own way. I did fall off a few years as a young adult with my art due to a dark space I was at in my life, but when I learned how to turn my pain and feelings into something beautiful, I opened a totally new way of how I create.
I am definitely different from other artists-I mean each artist is different. But I like to compare myself to myself, if that makes sense. I love changing things up from what I just did a year ago, a month ago, a week ago. I love challenging myself to create something I would have never even thought to create. My art consists of colorful, trippy and cosmic creations and sometimes they have a creepy or goth-like twist to it. I love doing something new with each painting or piece I create.
I want the world to know that my art has passion, spirituality, self-evaluation, and a weird but electrifying feeling you get when you see my art, that you may not get from another artist or painting. I infuse my art with a sense of energy and aura, I paint and create with intent, I want to leave my viewer feeling totally different (in a great way) than they felt before ever viewing my art.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them OTR in Cincinnati! I’d recommend a nice airbnb right in the heart of OTR, since it’s surrounded by tons of awesome restaurants, small businesses and scenery. We’d go get some lunch at City Bird and eat some yummy tenders and fries, then go checkout 19 Something OTR which is a vintage antique shop, then go to i75 OTR, a local small business with streetwear fashion as well as tons of local artists paintings and pieces (including mine!) then checkout Kismet, a eclectic and holistic mini shop with hippie/boho style clothing and crystals and jewelry. Then we’d go to the Contemporary Arts Center which is right next door to the 21c Museum hotel. It’s a free exhibit of art from local artists and it’s modern-style. Then we’d walk a street over and checkout the square, ride the electric Bird scooters to the Smale riverfront park, checkout the views and vibes, walk on the Purple People Bridge and take some pics and chill! By then it would be abut time for dinner, so we’d go to Louvino OTR and have some yummy esoteric style foods! Then go bar hoping starting at the beautiful Somerset Bar, that’s full of beautiful exotic plants and architecture and has yummy signature cocktails. Next we’d head to Alice Bar and enjoy the dance floor with the lit projector of art and cool designs that change on the wall, with the electrifying beats. Last we’d head to the Lytle Rooftop bar and get a super yummy cocktail on the roof and enjoy the beautiful view of downtown Cincinnati.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom has been the flight to lifting my small business off the ground since I made my very first product. I want to give a tremendously huge shoutout to her, because she is truly amazing. I run two businesses at once that I kind of merge together most of the time; my natural handmade skincare business where I make my soaps and body scrubs etc. from scratch, and my art business where I sell my paintings and products and more. My mom has her own salon, she’s a nail technician, and she does pedicures. My first ever product I created for my skincare business “Kelsy’s Scrubs” was my homemade natural Lemon Sugar Scrub. She tested it and asked if she can use it on people at work for their pedicures. People loved how it felt on their feet and legs, and was shook at the results it gave them. She had bought me a dozen empty jars to fill with lemon scrub so she can sell them in her salon. I sold out within a few days! She also has my art and paintings in her salon hanging on the walls. She has a handful of my soaps there too and helps me make purchases in person at her shop. In addition to all of this amazing acts of consideration, she watches and homeschools my three beautiful daughters for me while I work, make art, and handle business with no problem at all. My mom is so awesome, and I wouldn’t be as successful as I am now with my clientele if it wasn’t for her generosity with spreading the word of my products and talents.

Website: www.kelsysscrubs.com and www.kelsyskreationsus.com

Instagram: @trippykelz @kelsyskreations @kelsysscrubs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelsys