Kyla Gilbreath - 🍓Painting

"Trail to Light" 30" x 40" Oil Paint 2025

While at Burnett Woods, I took several photographs and sketches of potential angles and moods for my next piece, in line with my style. A “Trail to Light” allowed me to work within my style while adjusting how the lighting affects the mood. The arieness in the foreground has a dark presence compared to the lightness of the background, allowing the viewer to feel as if they themselves are walking through a trail into the light.

"Untitled" 23" x 30" Oil Paint 2025

This piece was a master copy of an Untitled piece by Beauford Delany. I inverted the color pallete exploring how value and hue can change the mood and depth within the piece. The process became a way of questioning what and how an image can uphold different worlds of color.

"Childhood Core" 48" x 36" Oil Paint 2025

My childhood was marked by challenges, yet in those experiences, I found calmness through childhood objects and through internet culture, shaping my early imagination. Creating a piece that showcases my younger self with my current self, and surrounding ourselves with nostalgic items and references from online media. Reflecting on how items and internet culture really stuck with me. Just as I am still eating popcorn with my younger self, I am also still connected with my many core childhood cultures.

"Cat Craze" 10" x 7 1/2" Oil Paint on Paper 2026

I wanted to create a piece that celebrates my cats, capturing the playful and affectionate energy they bring to my daily life. By showcasing them in a lovable, cartoon- inspired style, I highlight the humorous and lighthearted qualities to define their personalities. This became an exploration on how this style can translate the reality of living with animals who feel like family.

"Lost" 16" x 20" Acrylic Paint & Impasto Paint 2023

During this period, I struggled deeply with anxiety in high school. I often felt like I was moving through the halls as a hollow version of myself. While I was visible to others, I wasn't seen for who I was. I wanted to be heard, but my voice was instantly overshadowed by the assumptions others would make about me. What I experienced shaped the emotion behind this work and mirrored the tension between the truth and external perception.

"Strangled Mind" 20" x 16" Acrylic Paint 2020

While working on this piece, everyone and I during this time were fighting through Covid-19, and although I never got the illness, I still encountered the isolation. The isolation drove me to fear for the future and fear for my life in the end. Would we make it out? Or was I going to remain a skeleton stuck in the present with no hope of escape or feeling free?

"Bottle Babes "12 x 14" 2025 Oil Paint

In this still life, I focused on the interplay of light and color reflected off two glass bottles. This piece is called "Bottle Babes" to evoke the relation of the blue and green bottles. Although they are different, they coexist with one another through cool colors and because they both have objects around the neck of the bottle. The symbolism between the two allow to see the companionship and that the quiet narrative that can exist in everyday objects.

"Remember" 11" x 13" Oil Paint 2025

This piece was created as a gift for my grandmother, honoring her childhood and the family that shaped those early years. Working from an old photograph, I kept its composition evoking the sense of belonging and remembrance so that I could bring back the presence of loved ones she can no longer see. Reconnecting her with the warmth of her past and the people who were most important in her life.

"Joey" 16" x 20" Acrylic Paint 2023

This portrait presents one of my closest friends, Joey, who served as the model for this piece. While I experimented with lighting in my portrait work, the light fell across her face, highlighting her expression. Peaking my interest to capture an intimate and real presence through lighting.