During the height of the pandemic, Caroline Kelly took advantage of her free time and explored her interest in art. From being solely based on Instagram to operating an established website and business, Art by Caroline Kelly has only grown since Kelly's freshman year at Auburn.
Kelly, junior in communications with a minor in art, did not experiment with art until March 2020. When gathering ideas to decorate her freshman-year dorm room, she decided to take things into her own hands and create an art piece.
When Kelly displayed the piece in her room, she gained interest from girls in her dorm during her freshman year, and it gave her the opportunity to profit from her talent. In 2020, she officially launched her business: Art by Caroline Kelly. Instagram was her main platform for sales until she launched an official website in 2021.
“I really like fun pop art. I started doing things that college students would like because that was my demographic for selling them,” Kelly said. “My targeted audience is younger people because I want to make sure I like the stuff I’m painting. I’m also a college student and so it’s easy for me to have an eye for what they might want.”
Kelly emphasized the importance of following trends when creating new pieces for her website and for clients. Recently, Kelly has experimented with portraits and has the desire to make them a bigger part of her business.
Kelly’s portrait of Audrey Hepburn is her favorite portrait thus far. Currently, she is working on a Harry Styles portrait where he is blowing a piece of bubble gum.
Popular pieces on her website are her Toomer’s Lemonade pieces with a wood base. Her abstract paintings have also become popular after a client’s special request.
“I made a big abstract, about two feet by four feet, of orange, pink and gold. I probably sold 15 this summer. It started off as a request from a client and once I posted it, I named it and put it on my website,” Kelly said.
Kelly has had to plan accordingly for the increasing demand for her work. Kelly says approximately 80% of her sales are in the summer when college girls want to purchase pieces for the dorms or apartments for the upcoming school year.
“Last summer was when I definitely noticed a big increase. I had to start cutting off my waitlist, it was crazy. I am just anticipating this summer and getting everything together before May,” Kelly said.
Kelly emphasized how important it was not to rush her paintings and has taken the time to understand the time it takes for each piece to get work to her clients on time.
“Starting in March I’ll have a waiting list, so if you want to be secured that you’ll get your painting before July, you can enter the waitlist. I’ll make sure they have it and they can tell me what they’re looking for. Other than that, it’s a first come first serve basis,” Kelly said.
Even with the growing demand for her art, Kelly intends to follow a path in communications after graduation working in marketing and social media with her art business on the side. In the future, she hopes to make art her full-time business and focus more on her portrait paintings.
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Piper Bosart, junior in journalism, is the assistant culture editor for The Auburn Plainsman. She has been with The Plainsman since January, 2022.
