Mississippi State University biological sciences graduate Kelsey Pearce first picked up a paint brush to have some fun and relieve the stress of school.
From there, her business continued to grow until she was able to open her own art studio in downtown Starkville, across the street from the former Holli’s Sweet Tooth location.
Pearce’s studio, KP & Canvas, opened in November at 113 Lafayette St.
“I was a biological sciences major, and it got a little stressful at times,” she said. “So I started just dabbling in painting for my own apartment my sophomore year in 2015.”
Pearce had never painted before or taken any art classes.
“I got sick of the painting I had hanging on my wall, so I decided to try another one,” she said. “I wanted to sell that one just to make enough money to buy another canvas. I posted on the sale page for my sorority and it just blew up from there.”
Pearce said she went through the Entrepreneurship Center at MSU and received the Key Capitol Expenditure Grant which allowed her buy a tent to participate in art shows and build a website. Her business continued to grow until she was able to open her studio in November.
“We don’t have much of an art scene here in Starkville, so I thought it would be a cool thing to start my studio and help revive the art community and get people interested in art again,” Pearce said.
Pearce uses stretched, gallery-wrapped canvases, acrylic paint and almost strictly pallet knives to create texture and layers on her artwork.
“I rarely use brushes at all, which I think is unique,” Pearce said.
Pearce’s artwork include churches, barns, cotton fields and other scenery, bridges, birdcages and florals.
“I started with churches because my faith is really important to me, and I also did crosses,” she said. “Then I started branching out from there with things that I loved. I’m from Memphis, so bridges were a natural thing for me to paint.”
Pearce said she also draws inspiration for her barn and scenery paintings from the drive to her family’s home in Alabama, and her mother’s love of birds inspired her birdcage paintings.
The majority of her business comes from custom orders, Pearce said, and the sole purpose of her studio is to give herself a place to work and a headquarters for people to pick up their paintings and meet about custom works.
“People can send me a picture of what they’re wanting and pick out their colors,” she said. “Painting people’s houses is always fun, but I think wedding bouquets are my favorite. The one I’m working on now has lace from her grandmother’s wedding dress in it and a necklace strung through it with her grandfather’s picture. It’s little things like that you can’t just buy; it’s so personal and one-of-a-kind.”
Pearce graduated from MSU in December, and she is working full-time painting in her studio until she starts veterinary school in six months. Pearce said she plans to continue KP & Canvas while in school.