About the Artist:
“Germinate”
Drawn to storytelling, Lexis Beesley illustrates cozy exchanges between plants, creatures, and figures. Lexis was born in 2003 in Quinter, Kansas. Her childhood was split between a home in Dighton, Kansas, and a small family farm in Gove County, Kansas. Growing up, she loved spending time in her grandma’s garden, playing in the yard with her siblings, and painting in the living room with her mom. Lexis graduated in May of 2025 with a BFA in Studio Art at Fort Hays State University and has since moved back to Dighton. Lexis is inspired by graphic novels, animated TV shows, and children’s books. She often plays with scale in her work to capture a sense of adventure or comfort usually felt in childhood, but she loves that anyone of any age can connect with her work.
I have been thinking a lot in the last year about growth and stagnation; about how these two states are both opposites and intertwined. Growth requires rest, rest means standing still, stillness leads to stagnation, to rotting, which is again alive and growing. I have been thinking about how this process relates to nature and my own interpersonal experiences. In a way, I am trying to sort through my own feelings about change through these paintings, and I have been trying to remind myself that standing still is not failure; that stagnant waters are not devoid of life. I love the quiet, still moments. I find so much joy in watching spring roll in, with tiny flowers blooming in the pastures and onions waking up in the garden. As summer creeps in, I want to spend my afternoons studying how a devil's claw plant grows this tiny jungle of winding stems, blossoms, and seed pods. Paying attention to these changes in nature reminds me I am part of the flowers, bugs, and earth. The inevitable changes in nature are part of me too. Overall, I am drawn to scribbly gestural lines with movements and life, as well as bright colors. I work primarily with watercolor, pen, and colored pencils, but occasionally I also love exploring other modes of storytelling through mixed media. I love utilizing different textures created through certain painting or drawing processes in my work. I find comfort in creating work and being able to share it with others. I want to create illustrations that inspire anyone and everyone to explore the world and find adventure and warmth all around them, no matter how small.
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