Korey Edmonson: Oil Paint and Social Media

Desiree Vuocolo

June 3, 2023

Korey Edmonson grew up in Hazelwood and Jefferson Hills area in a family of artists going back multiple generations. Both of his grandfathers were painters, inspiring him to become an artist and painter himself. Korey decided to major in Graphic Design and he worked in that field for a bit before finding his way back to traditional art.

When experimenting with traditional art again, Korey found himself playing with different mediums, like charcoal, watercolor, and oil paint. Korey’s process begins with a sketch and he moves back and forth between the sketch and his computer until he is ready to tackle the canvas. When painting his subject, Korey tries to replicate the brevity of early art by spending only two to three days on each painting. Korey uses his paintings to explore the experiences and the surroundings of his subjects while also staying true to their physical appearances. In this way, his art is both realistic and abstract. Korey’s art dives into the human experience and presents life on canvas in a candid and beautiful way.

Korey’s story is heavily influenced by social media. As he began transitioning back into traditional art, Korey started posting his art on social media and ended up blowing up on Instagram and Tiktok. As someone who grew up at the same time as social media, Korey understood the important role it could play in his career and took advantage of the platform to share his work with the world. Korey was shocked by the growth he had on social media and continues to preach the importance of social media for artists looking to build an audience.

Some memorable moments in Korey’s career thus far have been his collaborations with Yeti x Public Lands and Patagonia. An old college friend reached out to Korey in search of someone to create a mural for the store opening of Yeti x Public Lands. Korey agreed, creating the mural live at the grand opening. At that event, a connection from Patagonia asked him to create an anti-fracking window art piece for their new location and Korey agreed, creating the piece months later. Another milestone in Korey’s career was his Skillshare class. Skillshare is an online platform that provides customers with thousands of classes in multiple fields from professionals. Korey became an instructor this past year and teaches people watercolor and oil painting.

If you want to learn more about Korey Edmonson and check out his art, please check out the link below!
https://local-good.com/creator/korey-edmonson/