Laden with abstracts of southern landscapes, the walls of Mississippi State University senior Kelsey Pearce’s new art shop are full of color and history.
Two years ago, Pearce turned a hobby into a profit, as she developed her passion for painting. On Friday, she cut the ribbon for her small gallery in downtown Starkville.
Pearce, the creator of KP & Canvas, said opening her business was “surreal.” The biological science major said she has never taken an art class and only started painting a few years ago.
“This was kind of a release for me,” Pearce said. “When school got really stressful, it was easy for me to come back to painting.”
For the past two years, Pearce has used Instagram and her website to sell her artwork. However, between graduating this semester and having her sights set on veterinary school in the fall, Pearce decided to open her shop and work full-time until school starts.
Pearce said the help she received from the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship was invaluable in making her business successful. She received a $2,000 Key Capital Expenditure grant from the Entrepreneurship Center Advisory Board, which provides students and faculty assistance with their startup ideas.
“The funding helped a lot with getting art booths to be able to do different art shows,” Pearce said. “They paid for that completely.”
Pearce said E-Center director Eric Hill was especially supportive and helped her establish her brand. Hill complimented Pearce as a unique individual who is both creative and intelligent in the world of business.
“Our advisory board was impressed by her focus on the market and not just artistic merit,” Hill said. “This was a perfect example of where the startup grant program is valuable to help an entrepreneur cross a key hurdle. In Kelsey’s case, her award enabled her to acquire professional grade tradeshow materials, resulting in sufficient revenue growth to open her studio. We are thrilled to have her join a growing number of students setting up their worldwide headquarters in downtown Starkville.”
Pearce said she wanted to open her business in Starkville because over the years she fell in love with the town.
“I’ve really grown to love Starkville over the last three and a half years,” Pearce said. “If [vet] school doesn’t work out, this is a great alternative and hopefully I can build my ground from there.”
Pearce said there is less of an art scene in Starkville compared to other large cities, so she wanted to “liven it up” with her paintings.
Her style includes abstract settings of the south. She has depicted areas such as The Mill, the Chapel of Memories and the Cotton District using acrylic paint and palette knives, rarely using brushes.
“I think that’s something that makes it unique,” Pearce said.
Junior accounting major Kate Thomas said she met Pearce about two years ago through their sorority, Kappa Delta. Thomas said Pearce has a strong character of perseverance.
“Kelsey is very driven and talented,” Thomas said. “When Kelsey sets her mind to something, she is going to get it done no matter what. Her drive is just really incredible, and her talent, I mean, she just has an incredible gift.”
Thomas said she remembers when Pearce first started selling her paintings and when they became popular.
“We actually were sitting in her apartment about two years ago and she had this one painting that she’d done and we were like, ‘Kelsey, this is incredible. You need to sell this.’ So, she sold it, which made more people want paintings and now here we are two years later and she’s opening her own store,” Thomas said.
Thomas said she is a big fan of Pearce’s art, and she thinks the business will be successful because the southern style is one everybody loves.
Pearce said she could not have gotten her idea off the ground without her friends and family.
“I’d love to thank my family. Obviously, my parents have been incredibly supportive when I came to them with the idea,” Pearce said. “Telling them I was going to open up an art studio I thought they were going to be like, ‘Well, that’s ridiculous. You’re 21 years old,’ and they were immediately like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ So, they’ve been awesome, and all of my friends, my sorority and my soccer team, everyone’s been very supportive. I really appreciate that.”
Currently, KP & Canvas is open on weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. However, when Pearce graduates, she plans to open full-time on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.