Shelby Kelley’s Portraits of the Animals
That Keep Him Centered
Shelby Kelley’s attachment to wolves began with a dog.
During a childhood he describes as coming apart around him, the family dogs were the steady thing. “I’m forever grateful to the dogs that were in the household during my childhood as some were the only providers of love and comfort while my parents were destroying the family unit with their failing marriage,” he says. “My dad started over and got on with his life, my older siblings scattered, but the dogs never left me. They were always there.”
One dog stood apart from the rest. Smokey, a large, long-haired German Shepherd mix, had been left chained and alone when his people moved away. Kelley heard him calling and got him out. “Once he was freed and with me, we were inseparable. We protected and looked after each other and communicated in ways that seem otherworldly now.”
Smokey looked a good deal like a wolf, and Kelley traces a lifelong fascination back to him. Photos and artwork keep Smokey present in the Kelley household today, alongside the wolves he has met in the years since.
Meeting the real animal
His first wolf encounter came during an art seminar at Wolf Park, where participants were allowed into the enclosure with the park’s ambassador wolves. “It was an experience like no other.” Later he learned about Wolf Creek Habitat, which offers visitors the chance to interact with wolves, and he goes whenever he can manage it. “It’s very therapeutic for me. Each experience has a way of re-centering me.”
He won’t dress the relationship up. Asked whether the wolves recognize him when he returns, he says no. “I wish I went there often enough that they did but, unfortunately, I don’t.” Visitors spend time with the wolves more tolerant of people, and even those take his measure first. “Because I’m a decent-sized male, the wolves are sometimes wary of me when I arrive and view them from the observation deck. Once in the enclosures though, they eventually warm up to me or they don’t. It’s hit or miss. Wolves are picky like that.”
Time around both animals has shown him where dogs picked up some of their habits. A dog scratching at the grass after relieving itself is carrying a wolf trait forward. Past those shared echoes, Kelley finds wolves to be their own creatures, and poorly served by the fear people still carry about them. “When you are in the presence of that, you can’t help but to respect it. Wolves are the connection to the deep wild within ourselves.”
Putting wolves on paper
Kelley has worked across several disciplines, and much of his personal work returns to wolves. Graphite is where he feels he does them justice. “I think my graphite drawings are more striking than other mediums I’ve used.” Lately he has been thinking about how to turn that personal work into something that teaches, especially for young people.
He works from his own photographs taken during sanctuary visits. Being there with a camera lets him wait for the wolves to settle and act like themselves, and that relaxed, natural moment is what he looks for in a reference photo. “I think it brings a different type of depth to the art.”
The exception is when he draws a specific wolf he never met, such as Romeo, the black wolf who befriended people and their pets around Juneau, Alaska, until he was killed. “When memorializing him I use others’ photos.”
What he’s reaching for goes past likeness. “I’m trying to capture the spirit of the animal and the life that’s within. I want the wolf in my art to be a great representation of the power and beauty these beings possess and do my best to represent that honorably.” He has little patience for the way wolves usually turn up in popular art. “Wolves, in art, have been reduced to cartoon portrayals or flea market T-shirt designs and roadside kitsch.”
The pieces pictured here span his materials: a wolf’s face burned into a slice of wood, a framed graphite study of a pale wolf, a painting of a white wolf pressing its muzzle to a darker companion, a gray wolf in profile with its mouth open, and three wolves crowded together in greeting.
The piece he holds closest is a painting of a juvenile wolf at Wolf Creek Habitat who had no interest in people. “I think I captured that in an honest way.” The framed painting hung in a local gallery for a while before Kelley gave it away to the one person who connected with it. “That connection is what mattered the most to me.”
An artist going nine directions
Kelley has spent years making visual art and music in Indianapolis, with his work traveling well beyond the city. That kind of working life leaves little room for art made for himself. “As a working artist, I’m usually going in nine directions at once at any given time. It’s difficult to do art for myself. So it really takes something I’m passionate about to slow me down or point me in another direction and wolves always do that for me.”
“Wolves tend to keep it real for me. They center me. When I’m with them, I realize the artist I want to be and what I want to be doing with my talents and abilities.”
Most people who see his drawings will never stand near a wolf. His answer to bridging that gap is honesty. “By being an honest conduit with my talents and to be true in my portrayal of these amazing animals. That’s why I refuse to create whimsical images of wolves howling against full moon backdrops because that’s just not an honest portrayal of them. That’s fantasy and there has been much damage done to wolves through their misrepresentation in art through folklore and fantasy.”
Their future, and what he wants people to understand
When people talk with him about the drawings, he steers the conversation toward Wolf Creek Habitat. “I believe it’s the best place, for people in a state where wolves have been eradicated long ago, to dispel the fear and connect with an animal we, surprisingly, share many traits with as humans.”
His read on the threats wolves face is short. “I’ve learned that man will always be the challenge for wolves both in the wild and in captivity. The majority of Americans believe wolves are blood thirsty beasts and have little issue with them being killed off simply because they have not been in a situation that allows them to view wolves through a different lens.”
He is grateful for sanctuaries without mistaking them for the goal. “In my opinion, I would rather wolves be safe in the wild than safe in captivity but I’m always grateful for those that run these sanctuaries that educate the public and offer those who might not ever come across a wolf, the opportunity to be in the presence of one.”
What he wishes people understood fits in a sentence: “That the myth is just a myth and education is the key to ending the stigma.”
His hopes for the series are modest in scale and specific. “I just want my art to stop someone long enough for them to take notice of this animal and maybe view it in a different light or for it to spark some kind of curiosity towards wolves.” The larger dream is to travel to wolf sanctuaries across the country, meeting wolves and gathering reference photos for future work. “If I could get my art to pay for this, it would be a dream come true.”
For readers who want to help, he points first to the animals. “I would begin by finding a local sanctuary to support. Sponsoring wolves is always a good thing. If you want to support the art, or me as an artist, I would be honored and it would help me along in my journey.”
The story still being drawn
Kelley plans to keep making wolf art in some shape or form, and to travel and meet more wolves as he goes. Asked what these animals have given him after a life spent with dogs, art, music, and sanctuary visits, he says, “They continue to inspire me and have given me purpose. They also provide me with a sense of calm while in their presence.”
And for someone who comes across one of his drawings knowing nothing about him, the sanctuary, or the wolf on the page: “I hope they come away inspired with a desire to interact with wolves.”
For prints, commissions, or media inquiries, contact Shelby Kelley at shelbykelleyart@gmail.com.
All images in this post are property of Shelby Kelley
