Kelley Clark Art

Kelley Clark Art Thoughtfully designed. Beautifully executed. 🌿 Kelley Clark lives outside Chicago with her husband and three young sons.

Uniting creativity with precision—offering garden design, wildlife and architectural fine art, and the project management expertise to bring each vision to life. In addition to working as a producer at an advertising agency, she teaches wildlife painting and introductory drawing classes at the La Grange Art League, where she exhibits regularly. Kelley was steeped in nature and design from a young

age. Raised on the edge of a canyon outside San Diego CA, the walls of her childhood home were papered with drawings by her architect father, who taught her the power of the sketch and the importance of good design. Kelley went on to earn a BA in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She worked as a draftsman for an architectural firm before moving to Chicago and signing on with an animation studio, where she worked for six years before starting her own design and fine art business. ​

Drawing people away from the house and into small pockets of activity was the heart of this design. Too often, a yard re...
04/13/2026

Drawing people away from the house and into small pockets of activity was the heart of this design. Too often, a yard revolves around one central patio while the rest becomes just a planting plan—but what if every corner invited you in?
Imagine the allee along the driveway offering a breathtaking sense of arrival, a teahouse tucked behind the garage creating a quiet sanctuary, and a firepit perfectly positioned to take in the life of the yard. What if the pond became part of the deck experience instead of an afterthought? And what if your garden not only gave you armfuls of fresh-cut flowers all summer long, but also included a dedicated edible space to nourish your family?
This design is about drawing you outside—into nature, into movement, into moments—fully embracing the potential of every square foot.

Working from site analysis to a master plan takes a lot of observation and a lot of little details coming together. Sun ...
03/10/2026

Working from site analysis to a master plan takes a lot of observation and a lot of little details coming together. Sun patterns, prevailing winds, orientation, plant preferences, soil conditions—all of it plays a role in shaping a thoughtful, strategic design.
When you take the time to really read the land, the design starts to flow more naturally. The goal is creating something beautiful that truly fits the space and stands up the land, not just sits on top of it.
Function and form working together is what turns those first ideas into a strong foundation for the design.

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Evergreen elevations 🌲Committing to trees this big takes thoughtful planning — sunlight exposure, prevailing winds, scre...
03/05/2026

Evergreen elevations 🌲
Committing to trees this big takes thoughtful planning — sunlight exposure, prevailing winds, screening needs, drainage, and of course their mature size. These giant, majestic evergreens don’t just fill space… they define it.
Walking through layout options and combinations now so clients can clearly see what’s possible before we finalize the design. Big trees, big impact. 💚

First concept of 2026 taking root 🌲Black + white sketch, paired with a colorized render and corresponding plant list to ...
03/04/2026

First concept of 2026 taking root 🌲
Black + white sketch, paired with a colorized render and corresponding plant list to feature structure and intentional layers of an evergreen focused concept.
Install later this month… assuming winter doesn’t have one last plot twist left.

This backyard design looked out over a developing retention pond and future prairie path, so the goal was to echo that l...
12/19/2025

This backyard design looked out over a developing retention pond and future prairie path, so the goal was to echo that landscape while still creating a sense of enclosure at home. A clean, rectilinear layout is framed with “L”-shaped ornamental trees backing into one another, forming distinct outdoor rooms within the yard.
Grasses do the heavy lifting here—Scottish hair grass, pink muhly, and little bluestem ‘Standing Ovation’—bringing movement, softness, and seasonal drama, anchored by a small fountain as a quiet focal point.
This sketch helped the homeowner visualize the plan in elevation and understand how structure, layers, and plant personalities come together in three dimensions.


A windowless, two-story north façade can feel like a missed opportunity—so I treated it like a blank canvas. By building...
12/16/2025

A windowless, two-story north façade can feel like a missed opportunity—so I treated it like a blank canvas. By building elevation, the garden takes over the wall: an espalier backdrop for vines like trumpet honeysuckle or serviceberry, a trellis arbor over the walkway to create a sense of safe harbor, and layered drifts of pink muhly, Scottish hair grass, and little bluestem to soften edges and echo the surrounding prairie. What was once blank now feels intentional, immersive, and alive.
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Part of the plant selection process is personality — incidentally the most fun.How a plant reads from plan to elevation ...
12/14/2025

Part of the plant selection process is personality — incidentally the most fun.
How a plant reads from plan to elevation (the section) reveals color, scale, movement, and presence.
With endless options, personality becomes a third design layer — helping people recognize what they’re drawn to and why. Thoughtful plants make landscapes feel intentional and alive.
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Excited to share the latest addition to my shop: Western Springs Water Tower Art Print 2 | Original Urban Sketch | Ill...
11/12/2025

Excited to share the latest addition to my shop: Western Springs Water Tower Art Print 2 | Original Urban Sketch | Illinois Architecture Illustration Print in Multiple Sizes by Kelley Clark https://etsy.me/3JKE7oo

Visualizing from 2D to 3D can be challenging for clients to understand “what is it going to look like?” Small sketches t...
11/12/2025

Visualizing from 2D to 3D can be challenging for clients to understand “what is it going to look like?” Small sketches to show trees and shrubs to scale can help putting into context

Front yard post construction needed a new look. Concepts included both circular and rectangular options with a new walkw...
11/07/2025

Front yard post construction needed a new look. Concepts included both circular and rectangular options with a new walkway. The one request was to include a walkway that wrapped around a 50+ year old honey locust and include LOTS of evergreens

Small front yard updates can make a big impact when doing things like updating a walkway with evergreens, perennials or ...
11/04/2025

Small front yard updates can make a big impact when doing things like updating a walkway with evergreens, perennials or grasses.

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Western Springs, IL
60558

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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