Rising Stars: Meet Kelly Turley of Gainesville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Turley.

Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always been a visual artist specifically, a painter. After graduating with a BA in Art from Valdosta State University and continuing to sell and show my work professionally, I started to crave more connection with people, so in 2018 when a friend asked if I would work part time teaching at her mothers sip and paint studio I was open to the opportunity. After teaching my first class I was hooked. Walking others through the art making process was extremely rewarding. Very quickly it occurred to me that I could actually start my own business. A few months later I amicably parted ways with that company and began ordering supplies as well as envisioning how my business would work and what I would name it.

The name would be Infinite Art Events. With that name my goal was to have the ability to expand my creative services in the future. At the time I had a studio at Tannery Row Artist Colony. The plan was to start holding my In-Studio paint parties there as well as offer mobile parties. I ordered my business cards, promoted in person and created a facebook business page. I also began cold calling and visiting numerous establishments including businesses and Activity Directors from neighborhoods, apartment complexes and senior living centers. They started booking dates and before I knew it my business was off the ground.

Infinite Art Events has grown a lot over time. I have maintained many relationships and have also been blessed to get a lot of
referrals, but things really took off when I hired Topline Pro to create my website and help set up my Google business page. From that point forward my main focus has been getting reviews. I am so grateful for every single person who takes the time to leave one so that I can continue to do what I love. Today In-Studio paint parties are held in Gainesville, Ga. Being stationed here has more deeply connected me to my community. Having a huge service radius for Mobile parties has been a really fun part of my work. I could end up in Atlanta or the mountains of North Georgia. The variety of businesses I work with and people I meet just continues to expand. It keeps me excited about all the possibilities in the future.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes and no. It was not the starting and operating of the actual business that was stressful, but more so the work that I did along side of it in the beginning. I knew that I needed more financial cushion to withstand the ups and downs that would likely come. In the summer of 2019 and 2020 I actually worked a door to door sales job. It was 6 days a week knocking and selling pest control from morning until night. I still had paint parties, but because of Covid things had definitely slowed down. If I was successful in sales the income would be high in a short amount of time. It tested every part of me, but I finished both summers with great results. It also gave me so many skills that have helped me not only in business, but in life. Once that money was set aside I knew that I would not need a full time 9-5 job. That was exactly the position I wanted to be in. Being able to schedule weekday parties was important for it to continue to grow. I could now do part time work as my business grew if and when I wanted to. The only other aspect that was rough was before I bought chairs for the parties my co-artists at tannery row allowed me to borrow the heavy medal chairs from the colony. I also had to borrow my brothers truck to hall them. Loading everything could be physically tiring for big mobile parties when I was alone, and especially difficult if it was raining or I had to bring everything up elevators. I used them for quite a while before getting lightweight event chairs. At the same time I liked being physical so while it was hard, it was also good for me.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am both a visual artist and the owner of Infinite Art Events Paint Parties. So as a whole I specialize in painting and teaching. My personal work could best be described as abstract surreal however when I was a kid I got into landscape painting after watching Bob Ross a lot on TV. So when I started my company I knew that I wanted to gear the subject matter towards landscapes. I have created a gallery of over 50 paintings to choose from and also take custom requests. Among my friends and family I am best known as simply an artist. I specialize in really giving one on one attention during class so that each person can walk away feeling like they truly learned something. I am known for not tracing on the canvas which is fairly rare in the paint party realm. Out of all of the paintings in my gallery there are only a few instances where I may use a stencil for a small part of it. It usually makes people more timid in the beginning, but as I walk everyone through the composition it helps them to better understand perspective and proportion. It also helps them overcome fear. I’m really in love with watching the process unfold in everyone. I’m also known for stressing the magic in so called mistakes. A mistake can actually be what ends up making the whole painting come together and it is such a gift to be able to show someone that. That approach in art is really beautiful to me because it is also mirrors a way of having faith in life. I guess I am most proud of marching to the beat of my own drum and staying true to my beliefs. I believe the things we were passionate about as a kids are sort of a given blueprint to a fulfilling life, and all the pressure we put on ourselves can make it easy to abandon that. I’m grateful I didn’t. I think what sets me apart from others is the same thing that sets us all apart and that is our ability to be authentic. I genuinely love painting and deeply love people.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Yes. I would love to share that intuition and faith have been what has guided my journey. I was told an Art degree would not pay off, but when I painted I knew thats was who I was. When I got that part-time job teaching at the paint and sip studio I was 29 and by a lot of peoples standards it was not necessarily a big career move, but the positive energy of the people there made me want to take it. Without taking that job I would have never been inspired to start my business. Sometimes you’re being called to something that doesn’t make sense on the surface, but it paves the way to something you’re meant for. I’m really grateful that I have always had supportive people around me. It is especially important having other friends who are entrepreneurs because we inspire one another. If you are thinking of starting something find the people who get excited with you, who brainstorm with you. Starting a business isn’t hard, all the time an idea stays in your head is hard, thinking it has to be perfect is hard. Just take those first few steps no matter what that looks like, the momentum will build from there. Celebrate the small victories and they’ll keep getting bigger. Sometimes success just comes from just never quitting.

Pricing:

• 35.00 per person for 6 people and up

Contact Info:

• Website: https://InfiniteArtEvents.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/InfiniteArtEvents
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/InfinteArtEvents
• Other: https://KellyTurleyArt.com