Another Amazing Woman Artist

Welcome to week two of six series where we’re looking at another amazing woman artist. Last week, we ventured into new territory by sharing work by artist, designer, maker and educator, Precious Lovell. This week we’re back in oil painting territory. But hang on to your hats! This young whipper snapper of an artist will blow you away. I promise. But first a reminder!

A couple of weeks ago, I asked if you, gentle reader might be interested in learning about some amazing living women artists. And the answer in the comments was a resounding ‘yes!‘ Also, I am going to be away doing research on all things art and painting for awhile. So, I hope these posts about amazing living women artists will sustain you while I take a break from posting my paintings on Thursdays until mid-May. Here’s what you can expect.

Landscape or Ground Rules

Just to set the ground rules so you understand the landscape and road ahead, here are some details. I don’t personally know any of these artists. If I have met them in person, I may share that. But what’s more important to me is that these are working artists, whose work I admire and who you may not have heard of.

The scope will be short and sweet. This means I hope to share one or two images of the artist’s work and, if you’re interested, how you learn more about them. That’s it! The plan is to share these amazing living women artists’ and their work, once a week from now till mid-May. Are you excited to ‘meet’ this week’s artist? Me too! Here she is.

Meet Kelly Micca

I first heard of Ms. Micca back in 2017. I was painting a Master Copy in the museum at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art. The painting I had selected was next to a huge painting by Thomas Eakins called “The Gross Clinic.” Turns out Ms. Micca’s high school art teacher was taking a photograph of the Eakins painting.

She asked me to take her photo in front of the painting. I agreed. She explained that her art student, Kelly Micca, had done a self-portrait using Eakins’ composition as inspiration. Instead of wielding surgical tools, her student was holding paint brushes loaded with paint in her painting. What an amazing story about a teenager, fledgling painter. Her teacher glowed as she talked about her. And, she said I’ll be able to pick out from the crowd thanks to her long, curly red hair.

As luck would have it, I attended a lecture at PAFA the following week by David Kassan. The audience was packed with students and the general public. Guess whose telltale hair was sitting in the row in front of me? These days I’m not bold enough to introduce myself to strangers. But I did start following her on Instagram.

Genius or Hard Work

This young woman painter and sculptor is talented. But what inspires me the most is her work. I have no idea how many hours she works. But the size and scope of the work she did while I was in Philly was vast. Since finishing school, she posts her paintings, outdoors. She reaches her outdoor painting destinations in Philly by bike. Can I just say that’s completely bad@$$? The traffic alone is difficult to navigate in Philly, let alone navigating the traffic by bicycle! Here’s one example of her paintings.

This painting is entitled USS JFK. I can picture this huge hull of a boat along the river in Philly. I love the reflections she has captured on the water, the composition and the colors she chose. Even though this painting is relatively small (12×9 inches), it feels vast!

A More Current Self-Portrait

Here’s a more current self-portrait of Ms Micca. She continues to produce amazing work both large and small pieces.

The feeling in this painting reminds me of Edward Hopper….on steroids…if there is such a thing. I’m intrigued by the way she is looking off to the right of the painting. Her elbow brings my eye back into the painting and towards the left. And, I love how she used warm light on her face and cooler light in the upper left.

How to Learn More

If you are intrigued by these paintings as much as I am, consider following Kelly Micca on Instagram. Thank you for reading along today. I’m curious to hear what you think of this artist’s work. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. And, just a reminder, these posts will be coming out each Friday till mid-May. I look forward to sharing a new artist with you next week.