Kelly Quinn (Kelly of the Wild)
Illustrator and Educator
Kelly of the Wild or Kelly Quinn is a Florida-based wildlife artist, educator, and illustrator, uplifting the stories of nature through art. She uses her gift to connect her community to nature through highly detailed, colorful, and immersive paintings on canvas and instruct art classes with Canvas of the Wild at local parks, preserves, and schools.
Central to her art are core values of community, education, and storytelling inspired by Florida and her shared wild heritage. She spent her youth on conservation lands in central Florida, where her passion for understanding life and curiosity about the world around her was cultivated and explored through pencil and paper until she began painting in early middle school. After graduating from the University of Florida, she dedicated her personal and professional life to sharing the natural world.
With these inspirations guiding her and encouragement and direction from friends and family, she worked with organizations such as The Florida Aquarium, Coral Restoration Foundation, and the Hillsborough County School System to uplift the stories of science through art. In 2019, she partnered with Biscayne National Park, creating an exhibition that engaged the community with conservation and education utilizing stories told through art to communicate science and providing an opportunity for educational non-profits to share their research and connect people to nature.
From 2020 - 2021, she was nominated and awarded Artist of the Year by the Sea Keepers Society, and recently became the Oceanic Preservation Society Featured Artist. Throughout 2021, in collaboration with Canvas of the Wild and Shark Allies, she planned, designed, and executed on a large-scale mural project at the iPrep Academy in downtown Miami-Dade that uplifts the story of Biscayne Bay to students through an interactive mural experience.
It is her mission to communicate the stories of nature for the community to connect more deeply with the environment that we depend on for survival, so we become inspired to protect and restore our home for the next generation.
