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OGDEN — Kelie Babcock's colorful, modern paintings look as optimistic as the person behind them.
Using bright colors and heavy brushstrokes, Babcock takes a modern and pared-down approach to her paintings of nature. She sees her art as a story — one that she fills with bold brushstrokes that evoke courage, happiness and hope.
"I use heavy strokes of deep color. These strokes declare that I decide the course of my life and that we are all able to, with fierce courage, live the life we were made for," she said. "I'm inspired by things that grow and change. Nature is a big theme in my work. Nature is ultimate beauty to me. ... I use birds as an image to represent the human soul. A bird in nature is a parallel to a person living this life and the experiences they find."
Babcock grew up in Mountain Green, moving to Ogden to attend Weber State University where she studied art. When she felt a pull to switch majors to social work, however, she made art her minor and graduated with a degree in social work. After graduation her art further lulled, but she eventually determined to continue.
"I felt the absence of it in my life. I wanted to get back into it but kept making excuses for myself," she said. "I told myself I would pick it up again once I developed more skill and technique. I realized if I never got brave and started again, I would never be able to strengthen my skill. So I tried to let go of my ideas of what art is supposed to be and started painting. I worked to develop a style that felt true to me."
Now a social worker for the Utah Division of Services for People with Disabilities and an advocate by day, Babcock fills her spare time with painting these bold statements of hope in acrylic.
"I use nature to express the reassurance that no matter what, no matter how tough life gets, I am loved and watched over," Babcock said. "I am part of something much bigger than myself. I am a small part in a large world, yet I can leave my mark. I can still have influence. I can influence people by my attitude and my view on life."
And Babcock is one to know about the power of attitude. She has a disability that makes some of the logistics of painting difficult. She was born with a rare genetic disorder that causes short stature and her joints to contract. But in a world that isn't designed for her, she works around these challenges.
"I love to paint on large canvas. I often go buy my blank canvas and then have friends or my husband come help me haul them back home," she said. "Rather than affecting my art, I think perhaps life with a disability influences my perspective on life, and as I believe art is a reflection of life, I know my unique perspective has certainly influenced my artwork. Life with a disability is a creative challenge in itself. I have to live with a creative outlook in order to accomplish all that I want and to be as independent as possible. I am very independent. It's hard work. But everyone who had determination to create a good life has to work for it."
Her work seems to resonate with people because of her fine-tuned messaging. She has shown her art around Ogden at places like Kaffe Mercantile, Grounds for Coffee, and the Ogden Farmers Market. Her work has also hung at the Lamplight Gallery in Bountiful. Most uniquely, however, may be the utility boxes adorned with her art on 3300 South and State Street and 3300 South and 300 West in South Salt Lake. In 2014, the city reprinted three of her pieces as wraps to beautify the typically green boxes.
Find her work online on her Facebook page, Colors of Kelie or Instagram.com/ColorsofKelie. Her work is available for purchase through these platforms.