Veda Kinney Spotlight
Veda Kinney
Written by Sage Szucs, June, 2026
As an artist with a passion for interior design, Veda Kinney creates art specifically intended to be hung up in interior spaces.
“When I am in my space…I want to feel like that space is inviting, like it's a comfortable space for me. I want to be in there, I want to spend time in there, and a lot of that has to do with how it's decorated. What colors are in there that speak to me? So, I want people to connect to my art in that way–that it brings out some kind of emotion for them and comfort…I want it to feel like it completes that space, and it invites somebody in to just sit and enjoy.”
Veda attended Columbus College of Art and Design, majoring in illustration. She struggled to find her voice in her art because she was more fascinated by pattern, color, and texture than she was with realism, which seemed to be considered by a lot of people to be “real art.” She discovered her true artistic passion, though, when she took a surface design class.
“The first class I took that I really felt the most connected with was a surface design class…It was the first time that they had offered it. And so we were dealing with anything with a repeat pattern, like thinking about doing art for wallpaper, fabrics, wrapping paper, anything that you see out in the market that has a repeat pattern. I was really, really excited about that class and learning more about that.”
After school, she was all set to join a two-year graduate program at Miami University in surface design, but before she could get in, the professor who ran the program retired and the entire course was dropped. This instead led her to start working at a paint store after college. She would help clients with matching colors, picking wallpaper, etc. and really enjoyed working as a decorating consultant and designing, while also being able to pursue her own art as well as wall mural and custom work in the background.
“Shortly after starting to work at the paint store, I began teaching classes in painting techniques there. A lot of faux painting was very popular in home décor during this time and I taught some classes in that. I also really started doing a lot of color washing on walls, so I was doing a lot of faux painting on the side too. But I really started incorporating that in how I did my art: layering and textures, and kind of getting that transparent layering and build-up. Plus, I just really enjoy working with someone in their space, trying to take every element that they've got, whether it's fabric or wallpaper or textures, and challenge myself to come up with a custom piece of art for that space. That's a fun thing for me to do.”
Now, Veda strives to take all of her work and experience in home décor and faux painting and funnel it into her own personal art as well.
“I like the challenge of taking something that's already there and building off of it, but I don't know that I want to limit myself just to that. I do want to explore and try to build my style as I go and spend the time doing my art, because it's been mostly on the back burner of my life while raising my family…And now I’m in a position [where] my kids are grown, and I want to really explore and try to decide what kind of art I want to do. Ideally, my goal is to make a living with my art. I'm not there yet, but I’m trying to have an optimistic mindset for the possibilities in having a successful career making art…that’s really all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
As she continues her own personal artistic journey, Veda shared her concerns about the impact of “small town thinking” on artists and how many residents of Licking County may enjoy and want to see art, but not understand the price tags that come along with quality, original art. On the other hand, she remains grateful for Licking County’s artistic community and the opportunities she is discovering through meeting others in the art community.
“For me, I think, spiritually, God gives us gifts, and God is the creator of everything. So every color, every texture, every pattern–it's all in nature. There's beauty around us everywhere. For me, if that wasn't there, or there weren’t aesthetically pleasing things to look at, it would be a pretty boring environment to live in.”