Kelly E Marra
Mixed Media

This mixed media painting - Be Kind. Our Choices Affect Many Generations.- was a response to a poem by the lovely poet Molly Middleton Meyer called Into The Rain.
It is about a strong woman who refused to let a horrible injustice bring her down.
I love experimenting with pastels & acrylic on canvas to achieve this soft, grainy texture. When I was little, my grandfather would take me to a park that had a winding creek throughout. When the water was low, you really got a sense of the power it had to carve out these towering banks – some hanging in a sort of gravity defying hook jutting out over the water. We looked for wildlife – although hoping to see muskrats, turtles and frogs, it was a thrill to see a snake or two slither into the water as we surprised them and interrupted their sunbathing. I remember the anticipation of what we might see around the next bend, his repertoire of bird calls and the songs we would sing along the way. Kicking aside horse-apples as we strolled along, he would explain that the water might look smooth on the surface, but could be churning underneath – sometimes life is like that.



I have always loved Bettas or Chinese Fighting Fish. There are many types and colors of Bettas. This was my Betta, Jewel. He was a vibrant violet specimen and lived almost 3 years! I don't know why I didn't take more pictures, but I did get a few blurry ones with my cel phone and was able to paint this portrait of him and his favorite bowl decoration - the pink high heel. I had the most fun incorporating the clay pieces, making the mosaic on his body and dyeing the fabric for his fins.
Addison's Debut is a portrait of a talented photographer who I met while belly-dancing. He is so kind to take & post pictures of dance performances.
I also enjoy photographing dancers & musicians - usually for reference to paint at a later time, and one time I happened to be in the audience when he had his drumming debut! What struck me the most about his performance was his sweet smile and colorful attire. He was wonderful! I had to paint this!
This mixed media painting has Graphite, Sharpie, Acrylic & Pastel.


This mixed media painting celebrates the curves of a woman. Having made a few belly-dance costumes myself, I wanted to emphasize the complexity with crochet, sculpture and jewelry design incorporating natural stones, glass, fiber, clay, metal, beaded trim & shells on top of the Acrylic Paint.
This mixed media painting is of a beautiful winged dancer. Her silver & gold metallic wings glowed with the stage lights in almost every color of the rainbow. I tried to capture the movement in the fabric, the highlights, shadows and hints of magenta & violet.


This dancer's momentary downward glance was so stunning to me. The softness of her smile, the magnificent profile of her headdress...it was this moment of vulnerability, humility or reflection in this gorgeous dancer's thrilling tribal dance that captured me. Every time I looked at the photo of her I knew I had to paint it and share her beauty. Does she know how beautiful she is?
A small detail painting from a fountain at the Heard-Craig House's Tea Garden. This mixed media painting is a combination of Pastels & Acrylic on canvas. I started the sketch for this piece at an En Plein Air Workshop with a marvelous painter, Rusty Jones, in the Tea Garden that afternoon.
