“Illustration has a lot of different avenues. It’s not just children’s literature or comics or posters, it’s communicating with an image. Anywhere you see an image that is giving you information, that is illustration.” - Kelsey Merkle, Interview in Clarence Bee, 2018

The Opening Reception for Belle, an exhibition of paintings by Kelsey Merkle, who designed this year's Allentown Art Festival poster logo, will take place on 9 November 2018, from 6-9pm, at Maison Le Caer, 1416 Hertel Ave, Buffalo, NY.

Capturing the essence of several beauties, Belle highlights Merkle's passion for portraiture. Her subtlety of expression creates exaggerated moods and reveals a glimpse into the souls of her muses. She uses a blended hyper-realist, yet surrealist style reminiscent of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Pop-Art, and a variety of mediums such as oil, acrylic, and colored pencil. She is able to imbue grand personality and individuality to her subjects through her attention to detail and color, and her desire to tell a story through the deeper meaning of her imagery. 

Kelsey Merkle is from Clarence Center and a graduate of the Visual Creative Arts Program at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada, where she received a Bachelor of Illustration degree. She has been painting since she was a child under the guidance of her artistic grandmother and has been taking formal classes since the age of seven.