Life Imitates Art

by Samantha Schell

They say that life often imitates art, but what about for the martial artists that are also artists in some other form or another? While I have been an avid Jiujiteira for years, I have not one
inkling of an artistically creative bone in my body, but I have an exceptional appreciation for
those that do. My triplet brother is a Professor of fine arts in painting at the #1 art school in the country, SCAD, so I have always had an admiration for those who posses the skill and talent to
cultivate incredible works of art from their bare hands in various facets.

I decided I wanted to focus an article on martial artists artists, meaning Jiujiteiras who
participated in art on the mats and off of it, whether for profit or just for a hobby. I began to
search for a few different ladies to write about, as long as they met a few bullet points of
criteria. Being a Jiu-Jitsu focused magazine, I wanted to of course hone in my search on women
who currently and actively trained in Jiu-Jitsu, were prominent and forthcoming in producing
and advocating their artwork, and varied the different mediums they used. Meaning, I wanted
to showcase different art styles to show our readers the versatility of talents our BJJ athletes
are capable of.

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Evelyn Sutton

There was one artist I knew of immediately that came to mind without so much of a second
thought. Our exceptionally multi-talented editor-in-chief, Evelyn Sutton. Evelyn is currently a
blue belt under Professor David Sutton at Carlson Gracie Jiu Jitsu Team in Melbourne, Florida. A
Brazilian-American artist, she has a background in graphic design and eventually took up
painting where her works were displayed in galleries across the country.

You will find lots of tropical themes and vibrant colors in Evelyn’s art, where oil on canvas is her
preferred medium to showcase the ‘joie de vivre’ of the Brazilian culture. Evelyn’s favorite artists are
Picasso, Caravaggio, and one of my personal idols, Frida Kahlo, whom I actually purchased some
sticker prints of Evelyn’s beautiful portrait of her for my collection. You can find more of her
work or commission her for pieces on her Instagram: @EvelynSuttonArt or Website:
evelynsuttonart.com

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Chelsea Dudley

Chelsea Dudley is currently a white belt at Star City Jiu Jitsu Academy in Roanoke Valley, Virginia
under Professor Colby Veronko. SCCJA is an affiliate of 5 Points Jiu Jitsu Academy under Jose
Salinas in Texas. While newer to Jiu Jitsu, Chelsea has been exploring navigating this new
journey through expressing it in the art mediums of water color, acrylic, and colored pencils,
and takes a very feminine and soft approach with her works of art through the eyes of a white
belt.

Her gorgeous pieces demonstrate her creative thought process and have recently been
developed into sticker versions as well. She notes that Jiu-Jitsu has inspired a whole slew of new
types of pieces, and they can all be viewed on Instagram: @ChelseaDudleyArt or her Facebook:
Chelsea Dudley Artwork.

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Kellsey Villafuerte

Kellsey Villafuerte was recommended to me by multiple people for her art. Kellsey began
training in 2016 and is currently a brown belt at Liberatus Jiu Jitsu in Texas under Professor
Johnny. They are a part of the BJJ Revolution team. She has a bachelor’s degree in Graphic
Design and Illustration from Virginia Commonwealth University and now runs a graphics
printing business called Flourish, where they print custom designs on various apparel such as t-
shirts and hoodies & products such as pens.

Kellsey’s favorite medium to work with is dip pen and ink, and she loves to add pops of color
with watercolor. With her background in graphic design, she also enjoys creating digital
artwork. You can find many of her BJJ related pieces on Instagram: @kellseyv and Youtube
@kellseyv

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Kimberly Bailey

Kimberly Bailey actually inspired this entire article when someone shared one of her digital
artworks in a BJJ online forum. She has been training 8 years and is currently a purple belt at
Paragon Santa Maria in California under Professor Lance Glenn, an Alliance affiliate. Kimberly
credits her roommate with helping her gain the confidence to start training, after being
physically assaulted she has asked them (a brown belt at the time) to teach her some self
defense before gaining the confidence to join the gym. She says it was the best decision of her
life.

Kimberly has a Bachelor’s in Art, and the majority of her work is graphic design and illustrations,
but her preferred mediums are Gouache, acrylics, and watercolors. Her works prominently
feature Jiu Jitsu and Jiu Jitsu practitioners, and she also does commissions for stickers and
shirts. You can find more of her work on her Instagram: @citrusgoldfish and Youtube:
@citrusgoldfish

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Jamie Kimak

Jamie Kimak is currently a blue belt and Muay Thai student at A-Force BJJ in Syosset, New York.
Throughout her 4 years of training, Jamie worked as a BJJ/fashion industry hybrid for 93 Brand
doing the prints for both the “Fibers” series and the “Tigers” series in 2019 and really began her
work on trying to develop better fitting spats for women. She has recently found a small
company local to New York that offered flatlock sewing capabilities, which has really only been
available in BJJ brands overseas, and is working tirelessly to create ethically manufactured, high
quality leggings and products.

Jamie’s medium is clearly fashion, and her goal is to create luxury and functional garments
inspired by MMA and BJJ apparel, while exploring her artistic expression and creativity through
celebrating femininity and female empowerment both on and off the mats. She creates these
pieces to order through upcycled, limited stock fabrics and you can find more of her work to
request custom orders on Instagram @Jamie_kimak or E-Mail: [email protected]

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