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A few weeks ago, Kyla Roades Farkas dropped a challenge on her Instagram story: “Hey, I’m gonna be doing this (art challenge),” she said. “You guys have any recommendations for where I should go?”
A friend from college recommended Raymer’s Cove on the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Though Roades Farkas grew up in Madison, she had no idea where the cove was. On a sunny day last week, Raymer’s Cove became the site of Day 11 of her 30-day challenge to paint the sights of Madison throughout August.
She’s been sharing her art — both the process of making a piece and the final product — through Instagram reels at @phthalo.art.
Kyla Roades Farkas paints on the roof of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. The landscape she painted included the Capitol, the Orpheum Theater sign and remnants of the older parts of the Overture Center.
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She’s painted recognizable spots like the Thai Pavilion at Olbrich Gardens, the boats off Wingra Park and the Dane County Farmers’ Market. But as more people discover her page (she went from 1,000 to 4,000 followers in just a few days, and her videos have thousands of views), she’s learned about new spots from followers, like a small cove in Hudson Park on Madison’s east side and the outside of Turn Key Supper Club, a restaurant on East Washington Avenue.
She discussed her art challenge while painting a scene atop the roof of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
“I’ve taken a lot of recommendations from people who are following me, which I really appreciate, because I’ve gotten to see a lot of new spots,” she said.
The comments and stories followers share have been the best part for Roades Farkas. People direct message her to share stories about how significant the spots she’s painting are to them.
With some time on her hands before she starts graduate school in the fall, Kyla Roades Farkas decided to paint iconic landmarks and scenes of Madison.
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“It’s very humbling when (the art) goes beyond me,” she said. “It means something to people, and I think that’s been my favorite part.”
Renewed perspective
Roades Farkas grew up in the city but left to go to college at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and formed a tight-knit community there with other artists. She came back to Madison with her husband in June.
She will start a graduate program in mental health counseling at Marquette University in Milwaukee in the fall (she’ll still be based in Madison). With some time on her hands, she set this art challenge as a way to connect with the local art scene.
“Madison’s a bit of that bigger city where it was like, ‘OK, how do I start to engage with the community and show my love for the city as well?’” she said.
Roades Farkas travels to each site by bike. She stumbled upon the very first scene she painted — off the railroad tracks by Lakeside St. Coffee House — because of a bike detour due to construction on John Nolen Drive.
Kyla Roades Farkas uses watercolors for her work and estimates she spends about one to three hours putting a piece together. Occasionally, she’ll sketch out a scene before painting.
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“There was this really cool view of the Capitol over the railroad tracks. It just caught my eye, and it stuck in my head when I biked by,” she said.
The spot isn’t in a park, nor is it a landmark, but people from the neighborhood responded.
People have reached out, sharing that they walk past that scene all the time, recounting memories of that strip, she said.
That video got over 4,000 likes and 50,000 views. Someone from Henry Vilas Zoo reached out to ask when she was going to paint there. (She painted the zoo on Aug. 13.)
“It was like when Nike comments on a teenager’s post,” she said. “I was like, ‘The zoo sees me. They know who I am.’”
Social media for good
It can take anywhere from one to three hours for a painting to come together. Roades Farkas is using watercolors for this series, occasionally sketching out the scene before putting brush to paper.
She also works ahead in case of inclement weather (and because she tries to take Sundays off to spend with family), sometimes hitting up more than one spot in a day.
Kyla Roades Farkas recently moved back to Madison after leaving her hometown to go to college. Painting the city’s most iconic landmarks and notable views has helped her reconnect.
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Despite its awkwardness, Roades Farkas chose to use Instagram to share this journey and harness the platform’s power for good.
“I’m trying to get across and bring a positive energy through social media,” she said. “I do have a little bit of awkwardness within me. I think a lot of artists do, and so I had to kind of start to overcome that and just put myself out there.”
Kyla Roades Farkas says she’s received dozens of messages and comments about her work, including inquires about how to buy her paintings. She’s planning a show at Lakeside St. Coffee House in September.
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Right now, the paintings live in a little stack in her home. Roades Farkas said she’s working on putting together a show at Lakeside St. Coffee House in early September, and originals and prints will be for sale. After that, prints will be on her website.
“I’ve been working in my free time on taking quality photos of (the paintings), editing them, and getting them ready to make prints,” she said. “I’ve had so many people interested in them, I’m having trouble figuring out what they’re monetarily worth.”
Kyla Roades Farkas challenged herself to paint 30 different scenes of Madison and has been sharing each day’s work on social media. She’s gained thousands of followers and some of her videos have more than 50,000 likes.
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She believes what people resonate with is a feeling of nostalgia, something she’s familiar with as someone who left and came back.
“I hope my paintings inspire people to notice the areas around them more,” she said, “and to take a second and appreciate both the natural world and the architecture.”