Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenzie Miller.
Hi Kenzie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey began in Colorado, I was born and raised there, and lived there for the first 17 years of my life. My mom started to teach me how to paint when I was 7. When I was 13, my mom got married, and because of that I kind of fell away from painting, except for the art pieces that were assigned for art class. Little did I know, I was entering a depression. My stepfather at the time was very verbally abusive, and controlling, to say the least. After almost 5 years, my mom and I finally mustered up enough mental strength to leave for good. We packed what we could in our Nissan Juke, and we fled to Utah where my uncle let us stay with him until we could get a place of our own. We worked as hard as we could, and I enrolled in an alternative high school to help make up the credits I was missing due to me being in a depression at my previous school. We worked at Cafe Rio full time, about 80 hours a week on top of me going to school. I would go to work in the mornings, leave to go to school, then go back to work at night. Slowly I started to heal, and everything that went on helped me to stay present, in our new present. After we got our first paychecks we were able to slowly start building up our art supplies again, like paint and brushes. We were able to get an apartment after about 6 months, and around that time I graduated from Valley High School with honors. From there I slowly started to paint again, and I mostly painted sunsets and space. Sunsets sort of represent the end of a bad situation, and a new chapter in my life. Space represented my idea of peace; quiet, solitude, and the mind-opening view of the galaxy. In 2018 I got a job at Home Depot where I stayed for around 2 years. I was in the garden, and I was able to learn so many things about plants and trees, which I absolutely loved. Just that alone inspired me to start doing more nature paintings, and animals. I’ve always loved nature, when I was young I rarely ever watched cartoons. My main shows were Planet Earth, National Geographic, and Animal Planet. In 2020, I did 13 paintings, and in 2021 I did 19 paintings. I also became a forklift driver which was probably the funnest part of my day. A lot of my mental healing happened at Home Depot. I became physically strong, and mentally strong, as I wouldn’t let what anyone said phase me. I learned I don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy. And because of that, I completely bloomed. I actually messaged my old stepdad saying I forgave him, not because what he did was okay, but for my own healing, and that we were in a better place because going through that was a part of our path. I left Home Depot because I was asked to be a web designer for a gallery that had opened up in SLC. After a couple of months, it turned out to not be a good situation so my mom and I started our own paint business. Everything from murals, to furniture, to interior work. She and I are best friends, and we can help each other get through anything. For my art, I like to focus on a few different subjects; like cars, nature, animals, space, and sometimes even things you’d only ever see in a dream. Looking back at my past, I’m so proud of how far I’ve come as well as my mom. I’ve gained so much confidence in who I am, and in my views on life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve learned life is never a smooth road. Along the way, there have been some struggles like either finding the time to paint, or finding the motivation to paint. Whenever I’ve been in a situation or relationship where I have a multitude of ideas to paint, but can’t seem to find the motivation to materialize them, I know I have to flip the script. Change the situation, clear my thoughts, and paint.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in painting nature, because I love the untamed, untouched, and free feeling I get from it. I think the origin of my inspiration from that was always watching nature shows, and getting all the books I could on wildlife when I was younger. My main medium is acrylic on canvas, though sometimes I do paint in my sketchbook if I’ve run out of canvases. I also have started painting sports cars, because I love the speed, and adrenaline I get from them. The finished piece I’m most proud of is probably my car one titled, “Race at Dawn”. Though when I finish the horse portrait I’m working on, that’ll probably be my new most proud of piece. With all of the wildlife species I paint, I donate 10% of the proceeds from print sales to the corresponding sanctuaries. The sunsets I paint tend to be either subtle or dramatic, because I love the softness of some of them, as well as the rich, profound colors in others. They’re also symbolic to me, which is another reason why I love them. When I started to paint space as my place of peace after we first moved to Utah, and I started to think about the vastness of it, I became mesmerized. Seeing that there are so many stars and galaxies in the universe, and knowing those stars have planets, I know there’s alien life. And in my paintings, I love to depict how close space is to us, and the wonder one would feel from looking at it.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My mom deserves the most credit, as she’s the one who taught me how to paint. I would always ask how she painted something, which then turned to how I should paint it. She believed in me, and helped me through the moments when I was frustrated. My family played a big role as well, and would always hype me up along with my mom when I was little. They’d always listen to my little presentation of (bad) animal drawings, and facts on them. Also my old art teacher from my high school in Colorado. He would always believe in me, and would joke that I got all my talent from him. He was a fun teacher to work with, and had a great sense of humor which made school as a whole fun.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goghwithart
Image Credit:
Heidi Darden
