Kelly Vivanco was born in Redondo Beach and grew up in front of a sketchpad with a box of colors in suburban Southern California. She received her BFA with honors from Laguna College of Art and Design in 1995. Kelly enjoys setting whimsy to work upon natural enigmas and pulls influence from animals, vintage photographs, children's literature and the idiosyncrasies of dreams.

In 2004 Kelly became a Studio artist at Distinction in Escondido and maintains a working studio there still today. She has shown solo and in group shows at the California Center for the Arts Museum in Escondido, Distinction Gallery, Thinkspace, SURU, Subtext, DvA Gallery and Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts. Her work is held in collections across the U.S. and abroad.