LA Roots

Kelly Garni’s journey to become the artist he is today, has taken some very unusual turns along the way. His roots are based in the music business starting at a very young age. At fifteen years old, he and his best friend, Randy Rhoads, formed legendary heavy metal group, Quiet Riot.

Five years and two albums later, Kelly made an abrupt turn in his professional life; he became an EMT. And for the next ten years, he worked the tough streets of Los Angeles in the back of an ambulance.

The Call of the Desert

It was the early nineties when Kelly moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to pursue a new line of work. It was here, that he himself as a professional commercial photographer, specializing in photographing Las Vegas’ models and entertainers. Word of his talent spread through the valley and soon, his Sin City clientele includes escorts and those in the adult entertainment industry, leading him to become proficient in nude and erotic photography. Collectors love Kelly’s work of this time because it captures the sensuality and true beauty of women. A few images of this work can be viewed in the “Infamous” portfolio.

Though work kept him busy, Kelly found time to hike and explore the beautiful desert landscape, thus, beginning his love affair with the Mojave Desert.

Naked Vegas

Over the next ten years, Kelly masters his chosen medium and begins to refine his photographic style. His artistry is revealed when he begins to merge his model subjects with his love of photography, and the desert. Favoring old mines and the remote desert as his backdrop, Kelly begins shooting his Artistic Nudes. Beginning with his “Cowgirls” theme, these images feature beautiful models in the rough western landscape of desert ranches and abandoned sites. As a natural progression of his work, soon his work in “Contours” emerges, as Kelly begins shooting his Artistic Nudes against the natural dry lake beds and awe-inspiring desert rock formations in hard-to-reach locations in Death Valley. From his work in “Cowgirls” and “Contours”, the resulting images are a beautiful juxtaposition of harsh desert landscape and the soft contours of the women he photographs.

Kelly shows his work in many galleries and art venues, where he receives accolades and finds affirmation for dedicating his life to art.

Today

These days, Kelly rarely shoots any photos. He has found a new artistic medium- steel. Kelly still loves exploring the remote desert and places with grit and history, like the old mines of Pioche. Finding old rusty metal pieces, at these beloved places, Kelly turns discarded “junk” into works of art. Going beyond pedestrian steampunk, Kelly scours the desert ground for small objects that speak to him. Gathering them up, Kelly then “draws them” with 100-year-old steel, creating visually dynamic steel art pieces steeped in history, born of the desert, and forged by passion.

Working as an artist full-time, Kelly is either scouring an old mine or ranch for art supplies or creating in his studio.

Although the demand for his steel artwork is high, Kelly still finds time to create in other aspects of his life. He has written two books which he also considers his art. Accomplishing great critical success, his first book, Angels with Dirty Faces is a memoir of his musical years growing up in the Hollywood Music Scene of the 70’s and an insight into his personal friendship with Randy Rhoades. It is the story of his life, his friends, told his way.

In his newest book Naked Vegas Kelly highlights his journey as a photographer in 1990's Las Vegas. Accompanied by a lush pictorial of his photographic work of the time, Garni tells a personal story of how he carved a professional photography career while interacting with a range of interesting Las Vegas characters.

Meet Kelly

Kelly enjoys doing book signings and art show events. He always brings his stories told with a gonzo style, and always packs the house. If you are interested in having Kelly at your venue, please contact him.