Kelly Zeeb is an emerging local artist who has arrived at this point in her life by “happy accident.”
“It quite literally was an accident – a car accident – that changed the trajectory of my life and led me here,” says the Airdrie resident of 14 years.
“I have lost a lot, and I still grieve, but art is definitely a happy and unexpected outcome of it all.”
Zeeb’s teaching career came to an unexpected end after she sustained a traumatic brain injury in 2018. In the months and years that followed, she went through extensive physical, occupational and mental health therapies. The brain injury manifested in many ways; affecting cognitive and visual function, focus and mood, and motor skills.
Part of her recovery therapy included exercises in drawing and sketching: a skill she didn’t know she had.
“It was the first time in three years that I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride. That feeling of productivity and achievement led me to enrol in Emily Carr [University] to pursue art further,” Zeeb says.
She began a part-time fine art diploma program at Emily Carr in Vancouver in 2021. Taking it one course at a time, her artistic talents grew and she began to realize the impact that art was having on her recovery and mental health.
However, the visual challenges she was experiencing were affecting her ability to create some of the projects she wanted to undertake. Zeeb began exploring the use of dark backgrounds and canvasses with “Irlen” colour palettes in her paintings and digital illustrations and noticed an improvement in her ability to focus and take in the artworks.
“Over time, I found that working on a black canvas with cooler colours decreased both the visual and mental load and this new style manifested from that,” she says.
“It is exceptionally unique in design, aesthetic and technique. I have never seen any other artist work this way or produce pieces like mine. I think people are drawn to unconventional creations.”
In late 2022, she joined Route 22 Artist Collective in Cochrane and has participated in many juried art exhibits during her tenure. In spring 2023, Zeeb was juried into the Calgary Artists Society and has participated in many of their shows. In spring 2025, Zeeb had in her first solo art exhibition, Forest Bathing, at the Route 22 Gallery in Cochrane.
“I would just like to encourage people not to give up. Life may not go as you planned,” Zeeb says.
“Sometimes terrible things happen, but, if you take each day as it comes, and keep going, you might just turn a disaster into a masterpiece.”
Learn more about Zeeb’s work at jackpinearts.ca.
