Meet Keli Gonzales!
- Charisma Edmonds- Massey
- Nov 20, 2022
- 4 min read
Questions with Keli Gonzales, Cherokee artist: 1. Who are you and where are you from? My name is Keli Gonzales. I am from Welling, Oklahoma. Technically, I’m from the Tenkiller community. 2. What's the biggest painting that you have ever created? Do you have a picture of it?
The biggest painting I’ve ever done was 30”x40” and it was a portrait of a friend for an art class. I don’t have a picture of it unfortunately.
3. Acrylic or oil paint?
Acrylic.
4. Has it become more relaxing to incorporate the Cherokee language into your art over time or even more pressure?
I think I feel more comfortable doing it. I don’t feel any pressure to put it in my work. If I put any writing at all, it’s usually in Tsalagi.
5. What advice would you give to the youth about becoming an artist?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You can learn a lot from those mistakes and it’s okay to keep changing up your style.
6. What's the longest you have taken finish a painting? Did it truly feel complete when you were done?
I think the longest I’ve taken on a painting has been like a month. It did feel really complete. I’ve been trying to slow down with my work ever since.
7. How do you stay disciplined enough to finish a piece? Can you share some of your routine with us?
Drawing and painting is very calming to me, so it’s like a meditation. I’m just very comfortable when I work on things. I also know when it’s time to walk away from it and take breaks. It’s always good to do something else for a little while.
8. When you're feeling down, do you use that energy to create more art or do you take some time off to reflect?
I can’t usually make anything if I’m sad or feeling down.
9. Do you enjoy independent projects or collaborations more? Why?
I think I enjoy independent projects but that’s only for the moment. I don’t think that my work is strong enough to really collaborate with anyone right now.
10. Your artistic style is a really nice hybrid of animation meets realism, can you tell us who or what inspires this?
Cartoons from the 90s and even older cartoons like the looney tunes were influential. Anime really changed how I looked at cartoons when I was a kid. I saw that they could be really dramatic and still be fun. 11. Digital art or classic, paint brush + canvas?
I love painting. I love the whole experience.
12. Was getting into digital art an adjustment or something that came to you naturally?
It was an adjustment. I felt like I wasn’t making “real” art. Like I was cheating somehow. But I learned that it takes quite a lot of skill to do digital art. I don’t use the medium to its full potential.
13. What are some of your favorite digital applications to use (past or present)?
I currently use Procreate for the iPad… but when I was a kid, I loved to draw things on the “Paint” app.
15. Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone with art?
I don’t think that I have yet. I really like all of the things I do, so I’m pretty comfortable my work.
16. Do you come from a family of artists or are you the first?
My dad used to draw a lot when I was a little kid. My cousins also used to draw. I just thought it was so cool. I was amazed that people could use make pictures from their heads.
17. Do you aspire to create art full-time? Why or why not?
I don’t currently. I feel like if art was a full-time job, I wouldn’t enjoy it as much. I’m afraid I would start to hate it.
18. Do you feel like when creating art, one's intentions can alter the outcome of the work? Like do you believe that you could feel the love that someone put into a piece?
I definitely think that art is medicine. I wouldn’t ever give someone a piece that I made while feeling bad. I wouldn’t want that bad energy with someone else.
19. Mural or canvas?
Murals are way more fun. :)
20. I read on your social media where you let people know purchasing your art is giving back to the community because you give back to the community; What does ꭶꮪꭹ (togetherness/ community) mean to you?
I think it means taking care of each other. I think it means checking in on one another and really caring about the people that you live around. I think knowing and caring about your neighbor is important. No matter who they are or where they’re from. Let the people know how they can reach you: Instagram is probably the best place for me:
Purchase art by Keli:
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