Love at First Sight

by Kelley Hensing

I’ve enjoyed pairing teeth with flowers in some of my pieces over the years, using their symbolism to combine contrasting themes. Teeth can bite or smile, while flowers are often (though not always) beautiful or endearing. And a bouquet can be given for many reasons, such as love, congratulations or condolences.

This painting is titled “Love at First Sight” (small version), and is the smaller first version for a larger, similar concept I plan to finish down the road. In this idea I’ve included sprigs made up of little eyeballs, adding a layer of captivated allure (and perhaps a bit of paranoia) next to the otherwise sightless flower-mouths reaching outward.

Medium: oil paint on birch wood, pencil underdrawing. The oval background is painted directly onto the wood in gold paint marker

Frame: vintage wood, color is pale gray-blue with gold accents

Size: art 7.5 x 9.5 in, with frame 10 x 13in. (To me this piece looks smaller and more delicate in person, so I’ve tried to convey this using my hand for scale in a few of the pictures)

~This image is being used as a part of my print & note card series at my traveling art booth & online shop, as well as other future potential purposes including the use as a study for my larger version. © 2024 Kelley Hensing ~Purchase price is for sale of the original artwork only. All copyright & reproduction rights belong to & remain with the artist.

$410 $410

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Kelley Hensing

Kelley creates new pieces every month! Feel free to contact her for a current list of work available from the studio.

Bio: Kelley is inspired by the mysterious. She grew up in a house by the woods surrounded by animals and wilderness, so many of her themes bring together strange nature, mortality and spirituality. Using archetypes of characters from folklore and myth as well as her own stories, she enjoys portraying unusual tales that symbolize our hopes and fears.

Kelley earned her MFA from the School of Visual Arts and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of design. Her favorite mediums are oils on wood and pencil on paper, and she loves to create her work by hand. Her favorite genres range from gothic and steampunk to classic fantasy and legends. Traveling is her only other passion equal to a career in art and is a vital component in inspiring her work.