About Kel Jordan
I explore freedom through the lens of female resilience—the quiet, enduring strength that emerges when vulnerability and courage exist side by side. My work explores the tension between strength and softness—where darkness becomes light, where doubt becomes courage, and where a woman claims her voice and steps into the hope in front of her despite pain.
Welcome
I'm Kel Jordan
My understanding of freedom began at six years old, riding horseback with my mother. In the saddle, I felt both small and powerful—aware of the animal’s strength beneath me and my own rising confidence within. I felt both small and powerful—grounded in nature, dependent on a creature stronger than myself, yet completely alive. That early sense of courage—of being a girl who could trust her body, her instincts, and her spirit—still guides my work today.
Each painting begins with prayer and raw honesty. I bring my chronic illness, my questions, my fatigue, and my hope to the canvas. I allow the color and texture of lived experience to exist first. Then, slowly, darkness begins to take over just as light emerges. Layers of memory, love, and hope build strength into the surface. The markings of chronic pain remain visible—not as defeat, but as proof of endurance.
Influenced by my Native American roots and the California ranching landscape, I work in a contemporary Southwest palette of leather, grass, sun-washed earth, and open sky.
My paintings are acts of reclamation. They are declarations that resilience is feminine, sacred, and transformative. That early experience shaped my belief that true freedom is not the absence of fear, pressure, or pain, but the willingness to move forward despite it. My work is shaped by the women’s ability to endure, adapt, and create beauty from brokenness.
CV
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Feb-April 2026 | Solo Show, The Calm & The Wild, Spice-Topia, Ventura, CA
2010 | Solo Show, Travel Through Europe, Anne’s Wine Shop, Costa Mesa, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
March-May 2026 | Group Show, Before The Fall, Dama Gallery Ventura, CA
March-May 2026 | Group Show, Members Juried Show, Buenaventura Art Center, Ventura, CA
Feb-April 2026 | Solo Show, The Calm & The Wild, Spice-Topia, Ventura, CA
Feb 2026 | Group Show, Buenaventura Art Association Members, SpiceTopia, Ventura, CA, Ventura, CA
Dec-March 2025-2026 | Group Show, 16th Art About Agriculture Exhibition, Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula, CA
Dec 2025 | Group Show, Opulent Mobility, Los Angeles Makery, CA
Dec 2025 | Group Show, Holiday Reflections, Buenaventura Art Center, Ventura, CA
Dec 2025 | Group Show, Small Image Holiday Show, Harbor Gallery, Ventura, CA
Nov-Jan 2025-2026 | Group Show, Buenaventura Art Association Members, SpiceTopia, Ventura, CA
July-Sept 2025 | Group Show, Buenaventura Art Association Members, SpiceTopia, Ventura, CA
Aug 2025 | Group Show, PAVC, Ventura Fairgrounds, Ventura, CA
Aug 2025 | Group Show, Professional Arts, Ventura Fair Grounds, Ventura, CA
July 2025 | Group Show, Grayscale: A Picture Show, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
July 2025 | Group Show, Summer Blues, Buenaventura Art Center, Ventura, CA
July 2025 | Group Show, Plein Air, Harbor Gallery, Ventura, CA
EDUCATION
2002-2005 Brooks Institute of Photography, BA in Videography + Film Production
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
20+ Years as professional photographer in California and Oregon.
PRESS
Meet Kel Jordan, Bold Journey - Dec 2nd, 2025
https://boldjourney.com/meet-kel-jordan/
Meet Kellianne Jordan, Canvas Rebel - June 19th, 2025
https://canvasrebel.com/meet-kellianne-jordan/
AWARDS
2026: 1st Place, Buenaventura Art Association Juried Show
2026: 2nd Place, Buenaventura Art Association Juried Show
2025: Honorable Mention Award, Professional Arts Ventura County Fair
2025: Honorable Mention Award, Tera Arna, 15th Abstract 2025 International Juried Art Competition