“Hi, I’m Kenlyn Stewart. I’ve turned my life’s artwork into a deck of cards, because what better way to tell an artist’s story than with a little mystery, risk, and revelation? I’ve spent years painting enjoying nature, animals, people and playing poker. I’ve discovered they all run on the same fuel: curiosity, intuition, guts, imagination, and commitment. This deck isn’t just art, it’s a gamble on connection, a love letter to legacy, and a reminder that in art, poker, and life, the real jackpot is knowing who you are, and having the courage to play your hand.”
This deck had its first beginnings back in 1958, when a precocious 4-year-old me ditched the crayons and picked up oil paints. Fresh off a camping trip and already channeling Mother Nature I discovered I had a flair for the dramatic, dark cloudy skies, rivers, camp fires and old burned pine trees. I liked telling my story with paint. Like this card:
Back when I was living with my parents in sunny Santa Monica, I moonlighted as a pint-sized art dealer—helping my mom hustle her paintings on the streets of L.A. to bankroll my dad’s UCLA dreams. Who needs lemonade stands when you’re funding higher education with fine art?
I kept dreaming of the day I’d grow up and live off my art, no day job, just paint, passion, and the occasional dramatic flourish. So when my mom let me hang my little paintings next to her actual masterpieces? Game over. I was obsessed. I figured if I wanted to be a real artist someday, I’d better start acting like one immediately. My dad, ever the theatrical coach, would pose as a curious customer, schooling me in the fine art of public charm and creative salesmanship.
Somewhere around the ripe old age of 7, my dad introduced me to the fine art of poker, because what goes better with finger paint than a full house? He’d hit Vegas now and then or deal cards at charity gigs, and when he started bringing home shiny silver dollars, I knew two things: one, I had to learn poker, and two, this was clearly the missing puzzle piece in my budding art empire. That’s when poker and painting teamed up to become my unlikely but fabulous life coaches.
Fast forward a bit, I scored a scholarship to the Santa Barbara Art Institute and later graduated from UCSB with paint in my veins and big plans on the horizon. In 1976, I graduated, met Greg (now my husband and forever co-conspirator), and off we went to Tennessee so he could chase his MFA dreams. Naturally, I pulled a page from my mom’s playbook and supported his academic adventures by diving headfirst into the art show circuit. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I took a Batik class and fell madly in love with hot wax, unruly dyes, and the glorious chaos of fabric storytelling. Who knew mess could be so meaningful? 1982 was the year the art for the Queen of Spades was finished and I was featured on Craft’s Woman.
Never one to settle for the ordinary, I cranked up the creative heat. I started dry-mounting my batik fabrics onto museum board, then slicing them into intricate little puzzle pieces and piecing them back together like a mosaic storyteller. Voilà: I invented my technique, which I dubbed Inlaid Batik (because why not name your artistic breakthrough?). It became my way of saying the things words couldn’t touch, like dreams, emotions, and life’s weird little winks. I used colors, patterns, and personal symbols together in an abstract, nonobjective celebration. See all non-objective images on the cards.
Why cards with bears and fish, you ask? Well, when you fall head-over-heels for a sculpture thousands of miles away and you’re flat broke but high on obsession? You buy it anyway, ship it home like a lunatic in love, and surprise! It starts popping up in your artwork like an uninvited houseguest you secretly adore. As for the fish? Blame my dad. He passed down the fishing bug along with the poker face, and before I knew it, fish were swimming through my art like they owned the place. Apparently, my muse wears waders.
Fast forward to 2017—cue the dramatic music—I had a wild idea: why not round up the greatest hits from my lifetime of art, toss in my love of poker, a dash of wilderness wanderlust, and my obsession with visual storytelling, and turn it all into a deck of custom art cards? What started as a simple gathering of favorite pieces quickly morphed into an epic 8-year treasure hunt, digging through decades of creativity, redesigning, reframing, and occasionally questioning my own sanity. The result? A one-of-a-kind legacy project, stitching together the images (and life lessons) that made me who I am. And just so you know… the stories are far from over. Stick around, this site has plenty more magic in the cards and stories to tell from my log cabin life, with husband Greg, a Parrot named Bean and a couple of mischievous cats.