An award-winning artist, John Ned Kelly grew up in the small wheatbelt town of Quairading, WA. From an early age, his God-given talent was recognized by teachers and family alike, and at the tender age of just nine years old, he was seen to be painting perspectives into his artwork. This was later attributed to his dyslexia, which enabled him the ability to view everything as three-dimensional, a helpful technique that he uses to this day. The nickname of Ned was given to him later in life and has become a preferred name, especially given the themes seen within his works. A mostly self-taught artist, Kelly specialises in acrylic on canvas and his current Stockman Series has won him both accolades and awards in some of the most prestigious exhibitions in Western Australia.Steadily building a solid body of work, he says of himself, “Being an artist is who I am, it comes from very deep inside.” This drive to paint has been fed by a constant flow of inspiration and his talent is conveyed across a variety of genres, from traditional to surreal. Reflective of the artist’s insight and commentary on a myriad of subjects, his works are distinctively individual and recognisable; with dark background colours used as base tones, he works to bring subjects to life from the dark.